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

आशा तजि माया तजै, मोह तजै अरु मान ।
हरष, शोक, निंदा तजै,कहैं कबीर, संत जान।।

Aasha taji maayaa tajai, moh tajai aru maan
Harash, shok, nindaa tajai, kahain Kabeer sant jaan

A person cannot be called godly or saintly only on the basis of renouncing this world and performing religious rituals. Kabeerdaas ji points out that saintliness requires certain inherent qualities of character and behaviour. Such a person should be free of all desires and expectations; should not feel attachment (to any person or object); maintain equanimity in both joy and sorrow; should shun ego; should never criticize others. Without these qualities, no one deserves to be called saintly despite his renouncement and religious practices.

कागा काको धन हरै, कोयल काको देत ।
मीठे शब्द सुनाइ कै, जग अपनो करि लेत ।।

Kaagaa kaako dhan harai,koyal kaako det
Meethe shabd sunaai kai, jag apano kari let

In this couplet related to social behaviour, Kabeerdaas ji speaks about the role of verbal communication in social relations. He explains it through the example of crow and cuckoo. A crow does not snatch money away from anybody nor does a cuckoo give money to anyone. Still people love a cuckoo rather than a crow. The reason for this lies in the sweet voice of the cuckoo which makes it the darling of the people. A sweet and soft spoken person is bound to be liked in society.ed only to people who value it and are keen to learn.