Kabeerdaas ji is categorized as a saint but his thoughts and compositions are not confined to religion, spirituality, meditation and bhajans alone. He also deals with worldly life – the character and behaviour of individuals; practices (and malpractices) rampant in society; evils of caste system which divides people into ‘high’ and ‘low’ classes, etc. He also goes in depth in denouncing superstitions and hypocrisy prevalent in practice of religions and sects in general. He considers them as obstructions in the way of health, peace and happiness of society. We should take all these things into account if we want to understand and interpret Kabeerdaas ji’s poetry correctly.

— Kusum Banthia

हिन्दी में पढ़िये

जिनके नौबति बाजती, मैंगल बँधते बारि ।
एकै हरि के नांव बिन, गए जन्म सब हारि।।

Jinake naubati baajatii, maingal bandhate baari
Ekai Hari ke naanv bin, gaye janm sab haari

In the opinion of Kabeerdaas ji, chanting the name of Hari, that is, meditating on God is the real object of human life. A person can be extremely prosperous and powerful, but his life is meaningless if he does not have devotion for God in his heart. This couplet draws attention to the fact that people in this world consider wealth and luxury to be the be all and end all of life and neglect to find time for spiritual pursuits. As a result, their souls fail to attain liberation and remain entangled in the cycle of death and rebirths. According to Kabeerdaas ji, people should understand that they have come in this world to realize that it is just an illusion created by Maya. This realization may lead the soul to liberation. If they fail to do this, their life ceases to have any meaning.

मैं मैं बड़ी बलाइ है, सकै तो निकसे भाजि ।
कब लग राखौ हे सखी, रुई लपेटी आगि ।।

Main main badii balaai hai, sakai to nikase bhaaji
Kab lag rakhao he sakhii, rooi lapetii aagi

As Kabeerdaas ji has pointed out in many other couplets, egotism, the sense of one’s being a completely independent entity, is a big obstacle in the path of divine knowledge. Our attempt at seeking that knowledge can succeed only if we banish our ego. Kabeerdaas ji says, cottonwool wrapped in fire will be burnt out to extinction by it. Similarly, egoism tends to annihilate the qualities of wisdom and discretion which are capable of guiding us to the path of Supreme Knowledge and liberation. If we want to attain liberation, we should shun egoism.