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

माला फेरत जुग गया, फिरा न मन का फेर ।
कर का मनका छाँड़ि दे, मन का मनका फेर ।।

Maalaa pherat jug gayaaa, phiraa na man kaa pher
Kar kaa manakaa chhandi de, man kaa manakaa pher

Literally, Kabeerdaas ji is addressing a person praying on a rosary — You have in vain been turning the beads of rosary for ages. Your mind is still wandering (around mundane matters). Put these (earthly) beads aside and make your mind the bead — the instrument — of your prayer.

Kabeerdaas ji believed that essence of religion lies in the purity of soul and this purity is attained through deep meditation, not through religious rites and rituals. One such ritual across religions is, chanting God’s name with counting rosary beads. In this couplet Kabeerdass ji speaks against this practice since it often turns out to be merely physical exercise while the mind of the devotee keeps wandering around worldly matters — far from God. One should abandon these outer practices, control one’s mind and devote it completely to meditation on God — the Ultimate Truth.

कबिरा सोई पीर है, जो जाने पर पीर ।
जो पर पीर न जानई, सो काफ़िर बेपीर ।।

Kabiraa soi peer hai, jo jaane par peer
Jo par peer na jaanai, so kaafir bepeer

For Kabeerdaas ji, true religion does not lie in rites and rituals but in humane behaviour, love and compassion. In his opinion the only persons deserving to be known as saints or godmen are the ones who are empathetic enough to understand pain and problems of other people (and strive to address them). The ‘godman’ who does not care to understand the problems of common people and stand by them in their misery; who shuns them and is always engrossed in performing religious rituals; who is absolutely devoid of compassion, should be declared a ‘quafir’ — a godless person.