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

जहाँ न जाको गुन लहै, तहाँ न ताको ठाँव ।
धोबी बस के क्या करे, दीगंबर के गाँव ।।

Jahaan na jaako gun lahai, tahaan na taako thanv
Dhobi bas ke kyaa kare, deegambar ke gaanv

This couplet of Kabeerdaas ji deals with social behaviour. He advises people to make full use of their knowledge and capabilities and for this, they should make a point to choose only such a place to settle down where this knowledge and capabilities can be used. For example, if a washerman decides to make his home in a nudist village, his skill will remain unused. People should avoid such situations.

हीरा तहाँ न खोलिए, जहँ खोटी है हाट ।
कसि करि बाँधो गाँठरी, उठि करि चालो बाट ।।

Heera tahan na kholiye, janh khotii hai haaat
Kasi kari baandho gantharii, uthi kari chaalo baat

In an almost similar strain Kabeerdaas ji, in this couplet, cautions people against revealing their talent before undeserving people. He says, do not take out your precious diamond in an ignorant and malicious marketplace (here, they will either fail to appreciate the true value of the gem or will try to cheat you). You should carefully wrap up the diamond and walk away. Here he implies that we should not reveal our talent before ignorant people who will not be able to appreciate its excellence and value and it will be denigrated. The same holds good for knowledge also. It should be imparted only to people who value it and are keen to learn.