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

पानी मिलै न आपको, औरन बकसत क्षीर ।
अपना मन निस्चल नहीं, और बँधावत धीर ।।

Panee milai na aapko, auran baksat ksheer
Apanaa man nischal nahin, aur bandhaavat dheer

Kabeerdaas ji lays great emphasis on the importance of Guru, and at the same time he also throws light on the essential qualities of a guru. In this couplet he says, a man can never provide others with clean, clear water unless he himself has water with him. Similarly, a person with fickle and unstable mind has no business to teach patience to others. You can give away only those things which you possess or have with you — be it some material object or something abstract like knowledge or spirituality. You can impart knowledge only when you yourself are knowledgeable. Thus, a guru, if he wants to show the way of knowledge to the disciples, must first imbibe it.

कबीर संगत साधु की ज्यौं गंधी का बास।
जो कछु गंधी दे नहीं, तौ भी बास सुबास ।।

Kabeer sangat sadhu kii, jyon gandhi kaa baas
Jo kachhu Gandhi de nahin, tau bhii baas subaas

In this couplet, Kabeerdaas ji shows the benefit of keeping good company. He says, if you keep close to a perfumer (or perfume seller), you will have fragrance all around you even if he does not give you any of his wares. Similarly, if you keep company of sages or good people, you will benefit from the closeness itself even if they do not teach, advise or actively help you.