Listing of Kabir Quotes

Below is an alphabetical list of all the Kabir quotes in the Kabir Quote Widget (last updated September 17):

A human birth is hard to get, and it comes but once: the ripe fruit fallen on the ground will never return to the branch.
[source: CV 3.15.5]

A sore pain troubles me day and night, and I cannot sleep; I long for the meeting with my Beloved, and my father's house gives me pleasure no more. The gates of the sky are opened, the temple is revealed: I meet my husband, and leave at His feet the offering of my body and my mind.
[source: RT 31; 2.100. nis` din sâlai ghâw]

All pain is torment says Kabir. But love's dart that strikes the heart is both painful and sweet.
[source: KB:S 2.3]

All the gardens and groves and bowers are abounding with blossom, and the air breaks forth into ripples of joy. There the swan plays a wonderful game, there the Unstruck Music eddies around the Infinite One.
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night at the moon, so Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant. From the beginning until the ending of time, there is love between Thee and me, and how shall such love be extinguished?
[source: RT 34 (partial); 2.110. mohi tohi lâgî kaise chute]

As the seed is in the plant, as the shade is in the tree, as the void is in the sky, as infinite forms are in the void — so from beyond the Infinite, the Infinite comes, and from the Infinite the finite extends.
[source: RT 7 (partial); 1.85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ]

As the seed is within the banyan tree, and within the seed are the flowers, the fruits, and the shade: so the germ is within the body, and within that germ is the body again. The fire, the air, the water, the earth, and the aether; you cannot have these outside of Him.
[source: RT 46 (partial); 1.98. sâdho, sahajai kâyâ s'odho]

Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true Name! Kabîr says: "It is the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest."
[source: RT 3 (partial); 1.57. sâdho bhâî, jîval hî karo âs'â]

Be strong, and enter into your own body: for there your foothold is firm. Consider it well, O my heart! Go not elsewhere. Kabîr says: "Put all imaginations away, and stand fast in that which you are."
[source: RT 20 (partial); 2.22. man tu pâr utar kânh jaiho]

Beautifully built is that city, everywhere full of delights — yet if it harbors no lover of Ram, to me it's a desert!
[source: CV 3.4.6]

Before the Unconditioned, the Conditioned dances: "Thou and I are one!" this trumpet proclaims. The Guru comes, and bows down before the disciple: this is the greatest of wonders.
[source: RT 28; 2.85. nirgun âge sargun nâcai]

Beneath the great umbrella of my King millions of suns and moons and stars are shining! He is the Mind within my mind: He is the Eye within mine eye. Could but the fiery heat of my heart be cooled! Kabîr says: "When you unite love with the Lover, then you have love's perfection."
[source: RT 93 (partial); 3.111. kotîn bhânu candra târâgan]

Between the poles of the conscious and the unconscious, there has the mind made a swing: thereon hang all beings and all worlds, and that swing never ceases its sway. All swing! The sky and the earth and the air and the water, and the Lord Himself taking form: and the sight of this has made Kabîr a servant.
[source: RT 16 (partial); 2.59. jânh, cet acet khambh dôû]

Between the poles of the conscious and the unconscious, there has the mind made a swing: thereon hang all beings and all worlds, and that swing never ceases its sway. Millions of beings are there: the sun and the moon in their courses are there; millions of ages pass, and the swing goes on.
[source: RT 16 (partial); 2.59. jânh, cet acet khambh dôû]

Brother, the entrance to salvation is miniscule: one-tenth the size of a mustard seed. The mind remains a lumbering elephant: how will it ever make it through that door?
[source: VD:SAG 4; shalok 58: kabīra mukati duārā sankurā]

Burning with the fire of parting, I went to the lake to assuage it, but the lake caught fire too! Tell me then, O sages, where can it be cooled?
[source: KB:S 2.7]

Climbing the pyre, the Sati calls and cries: "Listen, O my Friend Masan! All the people, passers-by, have gone; only you and I remain in the end."
[source: CV 3.14.3]

Clouds thicken in the sky! O, listen to the deep voice of their roaring; the rain comes from the east with its monotonous murmur. Take care of the fences and boundaries of your fields, lest the rains overflow them; prepare the soil of deliverance, and let the creepers of love and renunciation be soaked in this shower.
[source: RT 87 (partial); 1.71. gagan ghatâ ghaharânî, sâdho]

Dance, my heart! Dance today with joy. The strains of love fill the days and the nights with music, and the world is listening to its melodies: mad with joy, life and death dance to the rhythm of this music.
[source: RT 32 (partial); 2.103. nâco re mero man, matta hoy]

Do not follow the mirage on foot, but thirst for the nectar; Dhruva, Prahlad, and Shuka have drunk of it, and also Raidas has tasted it: The saints are drunk with love, their thirst is for love.
[source: RT 61 (partial); 1.48. sukh sâgar men âîke]

Do not go to the garden of flowers, O Friend! Go not there; in your body is the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus, and there gaze on the Infinite Beauty.
[source: RT 4; 1.58. bâgo nâ jâ re nâ jâ]

Don't be vain, Kabir: you're just a wrapping of skin on bone. Even those who ride on horses, under parasols, are buried quickly in the mud.
[source: VD:SAG 3; shalok 37: kabīra garabu na kījīai]

Drawn by the love of music, the deer moves forward: she dies as she listens to the music, yet she shrinks not in fear. The widowed wife sits by the body of her dead husband: she is not afraid of the fire. Put away all fear for this poor body.
[source: RT 64 (partial); 1.117. sâîn se lagan kathin hai, bhâî]

Empty the Cup! O be drunken! Drink the divine nectar of His Name! Kabîr says: "Listen to me, dear Sadhu! From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head this mind is filled with poison."
[source: RT 58; 1.63. pîle pyâlâ, ho matwâlâ]

Even a flickering instant you cannot hold, and you make plans for tomorrow! Kal will pounce on you suddenly, as the hawk upon the partridge.
[source: CV 3.15.2]

Even this morning, O Swan, awake, arise, follow me! There is a land where no doubt nor sorrow have rule, where the terror of Death is no more.
[source: RT 12 (partial); 2.24. hamsâ, kaho purâtan vât]

Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of union in the midst of all enjoyments. The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky, and air.
[source: RT 56 (partial); 1.68. bhâi kôî satguru sant kahâwaî]

Everybody, O Kabir, makes my caste a laughing stock: but it devotes itself to the Creator, and I martyr myself to its cause.
[source: VD:SAG 1; shalok 2: kabīra merī jāti kau]

First the forest is consumed by fire — and then it grows green again; I render homage to that Tree which bears fruit when cut down.
[source: CV 3.13.1]

For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge: when that comes, then work is put away. The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.
[source: RT 6 (partial); 1.83. candâ jhalkai yahi ghat mâhîn]

From that time forth I knew no more how to roll in the dust in obeisance: I do not ring the temple bell; I do not set the idol on its throne; I do not worship the image with flowers.
[source: RT 65 (partial); 1.22. jab main bhûlâ, re bhâî]

Get supplies right here; the road ahead is bumpy. They rush to buy heaven where there's no salesman and no shop.
[source: LH:S 9]

Hari commanded Kabir to compose Sakhis, so that the Souls trapped in the sea of births and deaths may find the shore.
[source: KB:S]

Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West. Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram; all the men and women of the world are His living forms. Kabîr is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
[source: RT 69 (partial); 3.2. jo khodâ masjid vasat hai]

Hark to the unstruck bells and drums! Take your delight in love! Rains pour down without water, and the rivers are streams of light.
[source: RT 97 (partial); 2.90. sâhab ham men, sâhab tum men]

Have you not heard the tune which the Unstruck Music is playing? In the midst of the chamber the harp of joy is gently and sweetly played, and where is the need of going without to hear it?
[source: RT 54 (partial); 1.112. s'untâ nahî dhun kî khabar]

Having obtained a human birth, if you miss your chance, you'll fall back into the whirlpool of Existence to receive blow after blow.
[source: CV 3.15.6]

He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space; He is the breath, the word, and the meaning. He Himself is the limit and the limitless: and beyond both the limited and the limitless is He, the Pure Being. He is the Immanent Mind in Brahma and in the creature.
[source: RT 7 (partial); 1.85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ]

He is dear to me indeed who has power to dive deep into Brahma, whose mind loses itself with ease in His contemplation. He is dear to me who knows Brahma and can dwell on His supreme truth in meditation, and who can play the melody of the Infinite by uniting love and renunciation in life.
[source: RT 40 (partial); 1.65. avadhû bhûle ko ghar lâwe]

He is the real Sadhu who can reveal the form of the Formless to the vision of these eyes; who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, that is other than rites or ceremonies; who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and renounce the world; who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind attaches itself; who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.
[source: RT 56 (partial); 1.68. bhâi kôî satguru sant kahâwaî]

He who has not tasted the nectar of Rama's name, nor enjoyed its sweetness, is like a guest in an empty house who stays and goes away unattended.
[source: KB:S 1.4]

Held by the cords of love, the swing of the Ocean of Joy sways to and fro, and a mighty sound breaks forth in song.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

Him whom I went out to seek, I found just where I was: he now has become myself whom before I called 'Another'!
[source: CV 3.9.4]

How blessed is Kabîr, that amidst this great joy he sings within his own vessel. It is the music of the meeting of soul with soul; it is the music of the forgetting of sorrows; it is the music that transcends all coming in and all going forth.
[source: RT 97 (partial); 2.90. sâhab ham men, sâhab tum men]

I am far from none; I am near to none. I shall go neither to hell nor to heaven. I do all works, yet I am apart from all works. Kabîr seeks neither to establish nor to destroy.
[source: RT 79 (partial); 3.66. nâ main dharmî nahîn adharmî]

I am neither pious nor ungodly, I live neither by law nor by sense, I am neither a speaker nor hearer, I am neither a servant nor master, I am neither bond nor free, I am neither detached nor attached.
[source: RT 79 (partial); 3.66. nâ main dharmî nahîn adharmî]

I do not know what manner of God is mine. The Mullah cries aloud to Him: and why? Is your Lord deaf? The subtle anklets that ring on the feet of an insect when it moves are heard by Him.
[source: RT 67 (partial); 1.9. nâ jâne sâhab kaisâ hai]

I found a raft made of a snake in this Ocean of Existence: If I let go, I'll drown; if I hang on, it'll bite my arm!
[source: CV 3.2.10]

I have burnt my own house, torch in hand; now I'll burn the house of him who follows my Path.
[source: CV 3.5.3]

I have done nothing and nothing can I do; this body of mine is good for nothing. Whatever is done is Hari's work: it is He who made Kabir 'great'!
[source: CV 3.6.1]

I have learned the Sanskrit language, so let all men call me wise. But where is the use of this, when I am floating adrift, and parched with thirst, and burning with the heat of desire? To no purpose do you bear on your head this load of pride and vanity.
[source: RT 91 (partial); 3.12. samskirit bhâshâ padhi lînhâ]

I have stilled my restless mind, and my heart is radiant: for in Thatness I have seen beyond Thatness. Living in bondage, I have set myself free: I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness.
[source: RT 48 (partial); 1.107. calat mansâ acal kînhî]

I hear the melody of His flute, and I cannot contain myself: The flower blooms, though it is not spring, and already the bee has received its invitation.
[source: RT 68 (partial); 3.102. ham se rahâ na jây]

I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty: you do not see that the Real is in your home, and you wander from forest to forest listlessly! Here is the truth! Go where you will, to Benares or to Mathura; if you do not find your soul, the world is unreal to you.
[source: RT 43; 1.82. pânî vic mîn piyâsî]

I shut not my eyes, I close not my ears, I do not mortify my body; I see with eyes open and smile, and behold His beauty everywhere: I utter His Name, and whatever I see, it reminds me of Him; whatever I do, it becomes His worship.
[source: RT 41 (partial); 1.76. santo, sahaj samâdh bhalî]

I speak truth, for I have accepted truth in life; I am now attached to truth, I have swept all tinsel away.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

I went on a hajj to the Ka'aba, but on the way I ran into God. Picking a fight with me, He said: Who told you to go there?
[source: VD:SAG 7; shalok 197: kabīra haja kābe hau jāi thā]

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong? If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without?
[source: RT 69 (partial); 3.2. jo khodâ masjid vasat hai]

If I made the seven seas my ink, and all the trees of the forest my pen, and the whole expanse of the earth my paper, still I could not write the greatness of Ram!
[source: CV 3.6.2]

If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time. Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
[source: RT 1 (partial); 1.13. mo ko kahân dhûnro bande]

If you know you're alive, find the essence of life. Life is the sort of guest you don't meet twice.
[source: LH:S 10]

In myself, there is nothing of mine; all there is is Thine: whatever I offer Thee is Thine already; how can the gift be mine?
[source: CV 3.6.2]

In that Forest where no lion roars, where no bird takes to flight, where there is neither day nor night, there dwells Kabir, entranced.
[source: CV 3.10.4]

It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him because it has passed from the body: if He is found now, He is found then; if not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death. If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.
[source: RT 3 (partial); 1.57. sâdho bhâî, jîval hî karo âs'â]

It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be; the barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter — even Raidas was a seeker after God. The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste.
[source: RT 2 (partial); 1.16. Santan jât na pûcho nirguniyân]

It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs; for the priest, the warrior, the tradesman, and all the thirty-six castes, alike are seeking for God.
[source: RT 2 (partial); 1.16. Santan jât na pûcho nirguniyân]

It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh which are pleasing to the Lord; when you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not please the Lord: The man who is kind and who practices righteousness, who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all creatures on earth as his own self, He attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.
[source: RT 65 (partial); 1.22. jab main bhûlâ, re bhâî]

It was a good thing, hail fell on the ground, for it lost its selfhood: Melting, it turned into water and rolled down to the pond.
[source: CV 3.9.3]

Kabîr ponders and says: "He who has neither caste nor country, who is formless and without quality, fills all space." The earth is His joy; His joy is the sky; His joy is the flashing of the sun and the moon; His joy is the beginning, the middle, and the end; His joy is eyes, darkness, and light.
[source: RT 82 (partial); 3.76. kahain Kabîr vicâr ke]

Kabîr says: "As the river enters into the ocean, so my heart touches Thee."
[source: RT 34 (partial); 2.110. mohi tohi lâgî kaise chute]

Kabîr says: "Dive thou into that Ocean of sweetness: thus let all errors of life and of death flee away." Behold how the thirst of the five senses is quenched there! And the three forms of misery are no more!
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

Kabîr says: "I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is coloured with the colour of love."
[source: RT 48 (partial); 1.107. calat mansâ acal kînhî]

Kabîr says: "I may never express how sweet my Lord is. Yoga and the telling of beads, virtue and vice — these are naught to Him."
[source: RT 21 (partial); 2.33. ghar ghar dîpak barai]

Kabîr says: "It cannot be told by the words of the mouth, it cannot be written on paper: It is like a dumb person who tastes a sweet thing — how shall it be explained?"
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

Kabîr says: "It is a hard fight and a weary one, this fight of the truth-seeker: for the vow of the truth-seeker is more hard than that of the warrior, or of the widowed wife who would follow her husband. For the warrior fights for a few hours, and the widow's struggle with death is soon ended: but the truth-seeker's battle goes on day and night; as long as life lasts it never ceases."
[source: RT 37 (partial); 1.36. sûr parkâs', tanh rain kahân pâïye]

Kabîr says: "It is the sport of the Unattainable One: look within, and behold how the moon-beams of that Hidden One shine in you." There falls the rhythmic beat of life and death: rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant with light.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

Kabîr says: "Listen to me, friend: he understands who loves. If you feel not love's longing for your Beloved One, it is vain to adorn your body, vain to put unguent on your eyelids."
[source: RT 11 (partial); 1.131. nis' din khelat rahî sakhiyân sang]

Kabîr says: "The home is the abiding place; in the home is reality; the home helps to attain Him Who is real. So stay where you are, and all things shall come to you in time."
[source: RT 40 (partial); 1.65. avadhû bhûle ko ghar lâwe]

Kabîr says: "Thus is the worshipper set free from fear; thus have all errors of life and of death left him."
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

Kabîr says: "Touch His feet, who is one and indivisible, immutable and peaceful; who fills all vessels to the brim with joy, and whose form is love."
[source: RT 70 (partial); 3.9. s'îl santosh sadâ samadrishti]

Kabîr says: Travelling by no track, I have come to the Sorrowless Land: very easily has the mercy of the great Lord come upon me. They have sung of Him as infinite and unattainable, but I in my meditations have seen Him without sight.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

Kabir, dawn is long passed, evening has come; setting her mind on man after man, the harlot remains barren.
[source: CV 3.11.4]

Kabir, sow such a seed that its tree will flourish perennially: cool shade, abundant fruit, foliage full of birds at play.
[source: VD:SAG 9; shalok 229: kabīra aisā bīju boi]

Kabir, that Path is difficult; no one can follow it: those who went never came back, none ever came back to tell about it!
[source: CV 3.10.1]

Kabir, what are you doing, sleeping? Get up and lament your fate! He whose dwelling is in the tomb, how can he sleep happily?
[source: CV 3.3.1]

Kabir's house is on the top, where the path is slippery; an ant cannot hold its footing, and they go with loaded bullocks.
[source: CV 3.10.2]

Kal stands at the head of your bed: Wake up, O my dear Friend! Away from kindly Ram, how can you sleep in peace?
[source: CV 3.15.1]

Know yourself then, O Kabîr; for He is in you from head to foot. Sing with gladness, and keep your seat unmoved within your heart.
[source: RT 78 (partial); 3.63. kahain Kabîr, s'uno ho sâdho]

Lamps burn in every house, O blind one! and you cannot see them. One day your eyes shall suddenly be opened, and you shall see, and the fetters of death will fall from you. There is nothing to say or to hear, there is nothing to do: it is he who is living, yet dead, who shall never die again.
[source: RT 21 (partial); 2.33. ghar ghar dîpak barai]

Let the Guru be the Burnisher, let Wisdom be his tool: scraping with the scraper of shabda let Him polish your soul as a mirror.
[source: CV 3.1.4]

Look upon life and death; there is no separation between them: the right hand and the left hand are one and the same.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to live a limitless life in this world. It is like a wife who enters the fire at the bidding of love. She burns and lets others grieve, yet never dishonours love.
[source: RT 24 (partial); 2.48. jis se rahani apâr jagat men]

More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to live a limitless life in this world. It is like the lotus, which lives in the water and blooms in the water: yet the water cannot touch its petals, they open beyond its reach.
[source: RT 24 (partial); 2.48. jis se rahani apâr jagat men]

My heart must cleave to my Lover; I must withdraw my veil, and meet Him with all my body: mine eyes must perform the ceremony of the lamps of love.
[source: RT 11 (partial); 1.131. nis' din khelat rahî sakhiyân sang]

None seek Him, the Perfect: Brahma, the Indivisible Lord. They believe in ten Avatars, but no Avatar can be the Infinite Spirit, for he suffers the results of his deeds: the Supreme One must be other than this.
[source: RT 13 (partial); 2.37. angadhiyâ devâ]

Now the time has come, when she obtained her heart's desire: how could the Sati fear death, when she has taken the sindur box in hand?
[source: CV 3.14.1]

O brother! When I was forgetful, my true Guru showed me the Way. Then I left off all rites and ceremonies, I bathed no more in the holy water: then I learned that it was I alone who was mad, and the whole world beside me was sane, and I had disturbed these wise people.
[source: RT 65 (partial); 1.22. jab main bhûlâ, re bhâî]

O friend, awake, and sleep no more! The night is over and gone, would you lose your day also?
[source: RT 35 (partial); 2.126. jâg piyârî, ab kân sowai]

O friend! Hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live, understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides. If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of deliverance in death?
[source: RT 3 (partial); 1.57. sâdho bhâî, jîval hî karo âs'â]

O friend! This body is His lyre; He tightens its strings, and draws from it the melody of Brahma. Kabîr says: "None but Brahma can evoke its melodies."
[source: RT 39 (partial); 1.59. sâdho, yah tan thâth tanvure ka]

O man, if thou dost not know thine own Lord, whereof art thou so proud? Put thy cleverness away: mere words shall never unite thee to Him. Do not deceive thyself with the witness of the Scriptures: love is something other than this, and he who has sought it truly has found it.
[source: RT 59; 1.52. khasm na cînhai bâwari]

O my heart! Let us go to that country where dwells the Beloved, the ravisher of my heart! There Love is filling her pitcher from the well, yet she has no rope wherewith to draw water; there the clouds do not cover the sky, yet the rain falls down in gentle showers.
[source: RT 77 (partial); 3.60. cal hamsâ wâ des' jahân]

O my heart! The Supreme Spirit, the great Master, is near you: wake, oh wake! Run to the feet of your Beloved, for your Lord stands near to your head. You have slept for unnumbered ages; this morning will you not wake?
[source: RT 19; 2.20. paramâtam guru nikat virâjatn]

O my heart! You have not known all the secrets of this city of love: in ignorance you came, and in ignorance you return. O my friend, what have you done with this life? You have taken on your head the burden heavy with stones, and who is to lighten it for you?
[source: RT 74 (partial); 3.30. are dil, prem nagar kä ant na pâyâ]

O servant, where dost thou seek Me? Lo! I am beside thee. I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash: Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
[source: RT 1 (partial); 1.13. mo ko kahân dhûnro bande]

O, Kazi, O Pundit, consider it well: what is there that is not in the soul? The water-filled pitcher is placed upon water, it has water within and without.
[source: RT 46 (partial); 1.98. sâdho, sahajai kâyâ s'odho]

Oh my heart, how could you turn from the smile of your Lord and wander so far from Him? You have left Your Beloved and are thinking of others, and this is why all your work is in vain.
[source: RT 63 (partial); 1.39. are man, dhîraj kâhe na dharai]

On this tree is a bird: it dances in the joy of life. None knows where it is, and who knows what the burden of its music may be? Where the branches throw a deep shade, there does it have its nest: and it comes in the evening and flies away in the morning, and says not a word of that which it means.
[source: RT 30 (partial); 2.95. yâ tarvar men ek pakherû]

Once the snake of Virah has entered the body, no mantra can control it — He who is separated from Rama won't survive, or, if he does, he will go mad.
[source: CV 3.2.1]

Only he knows it who has reached that region: it is other than all that is heard and said. No form, no body, no length, no breadth is seen there: how can I tell you that which it is?
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

Others, who have wakened, have received jewels: O foolish woman! You have lost all whilst you slept. Kabîr says: "Only she wakes, whose heart is pierced with the arrow of His music."
[source: RT 35 (partial); 2.126. jâg piyârî, ab kân sowai]

Receive the waves in your body: what splendour is in the region of the sea! Hark! The sounds of conches and bells are rising. Kabîr says: "O brother, behold! The Lord is in this vessel of my body."
[source: RT 23 (partial); 2.40. tinwir sâñjh kâ gahirâ âwai]

Rubies do not fill store-rooms, hamsa-birds to not fly in lines, lions are not found in flocks, and saints do not walk in troops.
[source: CV 3.4.10]

See thou everything as thine own dwelling place: the mist of pleasure and pain can never spread there. There Brahma is revealed day and night: there light is His garment, light is His seat, light rests on thy head. Kabîr says: "The Master who is true, He is all light."
[source: RT 75 (partial); 3.55. ved kahe sargun ke âge]

See what a lotus blooms there without water! And Kabîr says, "My heart's bee drinks its nectar." What a wonderful lotus it is that blooms at the heart of the spinning wheel of the universe!
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

So high is my Lord's palace, my heart trembles to mount its stairs: yet I must not be shy, if I would enjoy His love.
[source: RT 11 (partial); 1.131. nis' din khelat rahî sakhiyân sang]

So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine, his works are as naught: when all love of the I and the Mine is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.
[source: RT 6 (partial); 1.83. candâ jhalkai yahi ghat mâhîn]

Some contemplate the Formless, and others meditate on form: but the wise man knows that Brahma is beyond both. That beauty of His is not seen of the eye; that meter of His is not heard of the ear.
[source: RT 49 (partial); 1.105. jo dîsai, so to hai nâhîn]

Stricken to death, he won't escape; listen, O foolish Mind! Kabir died on the open field, fighting his five senses.
[source: CV 3.14.6]

Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale. From what land do you come, O Swan? To what shore will you fly? Where would you take your rest, O Swan, and what do you seek?
[source: RT 12 (partial); 2.24. hamsâ, kaho purâtan vât]

Tell your beads, paint your forehead with the mark of your God, and wear matted locks long and showy: but a deadly weapon is in your heart, and how shall you have God?
[source: RT 67 (partial); 1.9. nâ jâne sâhab kaisâ hai]

That formless God takes a thousand forms in the eyes of His creatures: He is pure and indestructible, His form is infinite and fathomless, He dances in rapture, and waves of form arise from His dance.
[source: RT 26 (partial); 2.75. ônkâr siwae kôî sirjai]

That is indeed the sorrowless land, and none know the path that leads there: only he who is on that path has surely transcended all sorrow. Wonderful is that land of rest to which no merit can win; it is the wise who has seen it, it is the wise who has sung of it.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

That which you see is not, and for that which is, you have no words. Unless you see, you believe not: what is told you, you cannot accept. He who is discerning knows by the word, and the ignorant stands gaping.
[source: RT 49 (partial); 1.105. jo dîsai, so to hai nâhîn]

The Chakvi bird is separated throughout the night, yet at daybreak, she meets her mate — but those who are separated from Ram find Him neither by day nor by night.
[source: CV 3.2.4]

The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its sound is love: when love renounces all limits, it reaches truth. How widely the fragrance spreads! It has no end, nothing stands in its way. The form of this melody is bright like a million suns: incomparably sounds the vina, the vina of the notes of truth.
[source: RT 50; 1.126. muralî bajat akhand sadâye]

The Kunjha crane cries plaintively in the sky; thunder roars and the ponds are filled — but she whom her Lord has deserved endures untold torment.
[source: CV 3.2.3]

The swan has taken its flight to the lake beyond the mountains; why should it search for the pools and ditches any more? Your Lord dwells within you: why need your outward eyes be opened?
[source: RT 33 (partial); 2.105. man mast huâ tab kyon bole]

The Purana and the Koran are mere words; lifting up the curtain, I have seen. Kabîr gives utterance to the words of experience, and he knows very well that all other things are untrue.
[source: RT 42 (partial); 1.79. tîrath men to sab pânî hai]

The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing others: but if his heart be not steeped in that love, what does it avail, though he be a teacher of men?
[source: RT 54 (partial); 1.112. s'untâ nahî dhun kî khabar]

The Vedas and the Puranas proclaim it, the world is established in it, the Rishis and devotees speak of it: but none knows the mystery of the Word. The householder leaves his house when he hears it, the ascetic comes back to love when he hears it. Kabîr says: "But who knows whence the Word cometh?
[source: RT 57 (partial); 1.66. sâdho, s'abd sâdhnâ kîjai]

The Yogi dyes his garments with red: but if he knows naught of that colour of love, what does it avail though his garments be tinted?
[source: RT 54 (partial); 1.112. s'untâ nahî dhun kî khabar]

The Yogi dyes his garments, instead of dyeing his mind in the colours of love: he sits within the temple of the Lord, leaving Brahma to worship a stone. He shaves his head and dyes his garments; he reads the Gîtâ and becomes a mighty talker. Kabîr says: "You are going to the doors of death, bound hand and foot!"
[source: RT 66 (partial); 1.20. man na rangâye]

The Yogi, the Sanyasi, the Ascetics, are disputing one with another: Kabîr says, "O brother! He who has seen that radiance of love, he is saved."
[source: RT 13 (partial); 2.37. angadhiyâ devâ]

The Beggar goes a-begging, but I could not even catch sight of Him: and what shall I beg of the Beggar, He gives without my asking. Kabîr says: "I am His own: now let that befall which may befall!"
[source: RT 84; 3.89. mor phakîrwâ mângi jây]

The bones burn like dry wood, the hair burns like straw — seeing the whole world aflame, Kabir loathed it.
[source: CV 3.15.7]

The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: they are ever distinct, yet ever united. He Himself is the tree, the seed, and the germ. He Himself is the flower, the fruit, and the shade. He Himself is the sun, the light, and the lighted. He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya.
[source: RT 7 (partial); 1.85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ]

The fire is in the wood; but who awakens it suddenly? Then it turns to ashes, and where goes the force of the fire? The true guru teaches that He has neither limit nor infinitude. Kabîr says: "Brahma suits His language to the understanding of His hearer."
[source: RT 45 (partial); 1.97. sâdho, ko hai kânh se âyo]

The gate is locked, but within there is fragrance: and there the meeting is seen of none. The wise shall understand it.
[source: RT 83 (partial); 3.84. jhî jhî jantar bâjai]

The Guru is One: and life and death, union and separation, are all His plays of joy! His play the land and water, the whole universe! His play the earth and the sky! In play is the Creation spread out, in play it is established. The whole world, says Kabîr, rests in His play, yet still the Player remains unknown.
[source: RT 82 (partial); 3.76. kahain Kabîr vicâr ke]

The harp gives forth murmurous music, and the dance goes on without hands and feet. It is played without fingers, it is heard without ears: for He is the ear, and He is the listener.
[source: RT 83 (partial); 3.84. jhî jhî jantar bâjai]

The hills and the sea and the earth dance. The world of man dances in laughter and tears. Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in lonely pride?
[source: RT 32 (partial); 2.103. nâco re mero man, matta hoy]

The jewel is lost in the mud, and all are seeking for it; some look for it in the east, and some in the west; some in the water and some amongst stones. But the servant Kabîr has appraised it at its true value, and has wrapped it with care in the end of the mantle of his heart.
[source: RT 72; 3.26. tor hîrâ hirâilwâ kîcad men]

The lock of error shuts the gate; open it with the key of love: thus, by opening the door, thou shalt wake the Beloved. Kabîr says: "O brother! Do not pass by such good fortune as this."
[source: RT 38; 1.50. bhram kâ tâlâ lagâ mahal re]

The Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every seed. O servant! Put false pride away, and seek for Him within you.
[source: RT 97 (partial); 2.90. sâhab ham men, sâhab tum men]

The mind knows what is good or bad, yet it goes the evil way. If a man has a lamp yet falls in a well, of such a man what can one say?
[source: KB:S 5.3]

The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it: the moon is within me, and so is the sun. The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me, but my deaf ears cannot hear it. The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest of grass.
[source: RT 6 (partial); 1.83. candâ jhalkai yahi ghat mâhîn]

The palanquin came to take me away to my husband's home, and it sent through my heart a thrill of joy; but the bearers have brought me into the lonely forest, where I have no one of my own.
[source: RT 73 (partial); 3.26. âyau din gaune kâ ho]

The river and its waves are one surf: where is the difference between the river and its waves? When the wave rises, it is the water; and when it falls, it is the same water again. Tell me, Sir, where is the distinction?
[source: RT 14 (partial); 2.56. dariyâ kî lahar dariyâo hai jî]

The road the pandits took, crowds took. Ram's pass is a high one. Kabir keeps climbing.
[source: LH:S 31]

The savour of wandering in the ocean of deathless life has rid me of all my asking: as the tree is in the seed, so all diseases are in this asking.
[source: RT 60; 1.56. sukh sindh kî sair kâ]

The servant Kabîr asks you to consider; who is there that shall befriend you at the last? You are alone, you have no companion: you will suffer the consequences of your own deeds.
[source: RT 74 (partial); 3.30. are dil, prem nagar kä ant na pâyâ]

The servant Kabîr sings: "O Sadhu! Finish your buying and selling, have done with your good and your bad: for there are no markets and no shops in the land to which you go."
[source: RT 73 (partial); 3.26. âyau din gaune kâ ho]

The shadows of evening fall thick and deep, and the darkness of love envelops the body and the mind. Open the window to the west, and be lost in the sky of love; drink the sweet honey that steeps the petals of the lotus of the heart.
[source: RT 23 (partial); 2.40. tinwir sâñjh kâ gahirâ âwai]

The sky roars and the lightning flashes, the waves arise in my heart, the rain falls; and my heart longs for my Lord.
[source: RT 68 (partial); 3.102. ham se rahâ na jây]

The Supreme Soul is seen within the soul, the Point is seen within the Supreme Soul, and within the Point, the reflection is seen again. Kabîr is blest because he has this supreme vision!
[source: RT 7 (partial); 1.85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ]

The three worlds are a cage; virtue and vice, a net. Every creature is the prey, and one hunter: Death.
[source: LH:S 19]

The woman who is parted from her lover spins at the spinning wheel. The city of the body arises in its beauty, and within it the palace of the mind has been built. The wheel of love revolves in the sky, and the seat is made of the jewels of knowledge: what subtle threads the woman weaves, and makes them fine with love and reverence!
[source: RT 92 (partial); 3.110. carkhâ calai surat virahin kâ]

The world's a pit of soot: the blind fall right into it. I sacrifice myself for those who're stuck in there, yet succeed in climbing out.
[source: VD:SAG 2; shalok 26: kabīra jagu kājala kī kotharī]

There is a strange tree which stands without roots and bears fruits without blossoming; it has no branches and no leaves, it is lotus all over. Two birds sing there; one is the Guru, and the other the disciple: The disciple chooses the manifold fruits of life and tastes them, and the Guru beholds him in joy.
[source: RT 47 (partial); 1.102. tarvar ek mûl vin thâdâ]

There is no water; no boat, no boatman, is there; there is not so much as a rope to tow the boat, nor a man to draw it. No earth, no sky, no time, no thing, is there: no shore, no ford!
[source: RT 20 (partial); 2.22. man tu pâr utar kânh jaiho]

There is nothing but water at the holy bathing places, and I know that they are useless, for I have bathed in them. The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak; I know, for I have cried aloud to them.
[source: RT 42 (partial); 1.79. tîrath men to sab pânî hai]

There it is ever moonlight and never dark, and who speaks of one sun only? That land is illuminate with the rays of a million suns.
[source: RT 77 (partial); 3.60. cal hamsâ wâ des' jahân]

There the Eternal Fountain is playing its endless life-streams of birth and death. They call Him Emptiness who is the Truth of truths, in Whom all truths are stored!
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

There the Unstruck Music is sounded; it is the music of the love of the three worlds. There millions of lamps of sun and of moon are burning; there the drum beats, and the lover swings in play. There love-songs resound, and light rains in showers, and the worshipper is entranced in the taste of the heavenly nectar.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

There the whole sky is filled with sound, and there that music is made without fingers and without strings; there the game of pleasure and pain does not cease. Kabîr says: "If you merge your life in the Ocean of Life, you will find your life in the Supreme Land of Bliss."
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

There within Him creation goes forward which is beyond all philosophy, for philosophy cannot attain to Him: There is an endless world, O my Brother! And there is the Nameless Being, of whom naught can be said.
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded, where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas, where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky, where the demigods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis play on the vina — there is my Lord self-revealed: and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
[source: RT 15 (partial); 2.57. jânh khelat vasant riturâj]

This ocean of the world is hard to cross: its waters are very deep. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, O Sadhu! Few there are who have reached its end."
[source: RT 24 (partial); 2.48. jis se rahani apâr jagat men]

This world is the City of Truth, its maze of paths enchants the heart.
[source: RT 76 (partial); 3.48. tû surat nain nihâr]

To what shore would you cross, O my heart? There is no traveller before you, there is no road.
[source: RT 20 (partial); 2.22. man tu pâr utar kânh jaiho]

To whom shall I go to learn about my Beloved? Kabîr says: "As you never may find the forest if you ignore the tree, so He may never be found in abstractions."
[source: RT 90; 1.108. main kâ se bûjhaun]

Waving its row of lamps, the universe sings in worship day and night; there are the hidden banner and the secret canopy: there the sound of the unseen bells is heard.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

We don't know the name of that Village; without knowing, how can we go? A whole age has passed, walking, walking to that Village nearby!
[source: CV 3.10.6]

What a frenzy of ecstasy there is in every hour! And the worshipper is pressing out and drinking the essence of the hours: he lives in the life of Brahma.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

What a secret splendour is there, in the mansion of the sky! There no mention is made of the rising and the setting of the sun; in the ocean of manifestation, which is the light of love, day and night are felt to be one.
[source: RT 17 (partial); 2.61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai]

What is that flute whose music thrills me with joy? The flame burns without a lamp; the lotus blossoms without a root; flowers bloom in clusters; the moon-bird is devoted to the moon; with all its heart the rain-bird longs for the shower of rain — but upon whose love does the Lover concentrate His entire life?
[source: RT 53; 1.122. kaum muralî s'abd s'un ânand bhayo]

When at last you are come to the ocean of happiness, do not go back thirsty. Wake, foolish man! For Death stalks you. Here is pure water before you; drink it at every breath.
[source: RT 61 (partial); 1.48. sukh sâgar men âîke]

When I was, Hari was not; now Hari is, and I am no more. All darkness vanishes when I found the Lamp within my heart.
[source: CV 3.9.1]

Where is the night, when the sun is shining? If it is night, then the sun withdraws its light. Where knowledge is, can ignorance endure? If there be ignorance, then knowledge must die.
[source: RT 37 (partial); 1.36. sûr parkâs', tanh rain kahân pâïye]

Where the rhythm of the world rises and falls, thither my heart has reached: there the hidden banners are fluttering in the air.
[source: RT 68 (partial); 3.102. ham se rahâ na jây]

Who has ever taught the widowed wife to burn herself on the pyre of her dead husband? And who has ever taught love to find bliss in renunciation?
[source: RT 62; 1.35. satî ko kaun s'ikhâwtâ hai]

Why is the doe thin by the green pool? One deer, a hundred thousand hunters. How to escape the spear?
[source: LH:S 18]

Why so impatient, my heart? He who watches over birds, beasts, and insects, He who cared for you whilst you were yet in your mother's womb, shall He not care for you now that you are come forth?
[source: RT 63 (partial); 1.39. are man, dhîraj kâhe na dharai]

With the load of desires which you hold on your head, how can you be light? Kabîr says: "Keep within you truth, detachment, and love."
[source: RT 61 (partial); 1.48. sukh sâgar men âîke]

Within the Supreme Brahma, the worlds are being told like beads: look upon that rosary with the eyes of wisdom.
[source: RT 14 (partial); 2.56. dariyâ kî lahar dariyâo hai jî]

Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator: within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.
[source: RT 8 (partial); 1.101. is ghat antar bâg bagîce]

Your Friend stands on the other shore, but you never think in your mind how you may meet with Him: the boat is broken, and yet you sit ever upon the bank, and thus you are beaten to no purpose by the waves.
[source: RT 74 (partial); 3.30. are dil, prem nagar kä ant na pâyâ]

Your Lord is near: yet you are climbing the palm-tree to seek Him. The Brâhman priest goes from house to house and initiates people into faith: alas! The true fountain of life is beside you., and you have set up a stone to worship.
[source: RT 21 (partial); 2.33. ghar ghar dîpak barai ]