7 Quotes by Mystic Poet Kabir That will Inundate You with Insight and Wisdom
sometimes a few words carry profound meaning
Kabir Das was a distinguished mystic poet and saint who lived in India during the 15th-century. His name is intriguing in itself — Kabir, a name of Arabic origin, means ‘great’ and Das is a Sanskrit word which translates as ‘servant’ or ‘devotee.’
Till date, strange mysteries surround Kabir’s life, birth and death and it is yet unclear whether he was born a Hindu or a Muslim. But one thing about him was very clear; he was a non-conformist. He was critical of both Islam and Hinduism and questioned the rites and dogmas of both.
Kabir concurred, instead, with the Advaita philosophy — a classic system of spiritual realization in Indian tradition, the teachings of which are rooted in the belief that pure consciousness or God exists in every individual.
Kabir composed numerous poems centered mainly on devotion, mysticism and discipline. His poems were written in vernacular Hindi and were later translated into English.
Such was his spiritual insight that he ceased to be a mere poet and was conferred the title of ‘Saint.’
Here are some of his popular verses, brimming with insight and wisdom:
On Introspection
“I searched for the crooked man, but failed to find one. But when I searched within myself, I realized there was none more crooked than me!”
How beautifully Kabir has penned these words of wisdom.
All self-improvement begins with introspection.
A wise person is one who is willing to look within; at one’s shortcomings, flaws, negative traits and weaknesses — without judgement and without trying to justify any of them.
Usually, we are always looking around us to find a ‘crooked man’ — someone to judge, blame or declare ‘bad’. At the same time, we like to turn a blind eye towards our own flaws.
That’s human nature.
But it takes strength of character to look inward and see ourselves for what we really are, with all our malicious and negative thoughts. The veil then gets removed. No one looks so bad because we know we have to cleanse our heart and mind first!
In such self-reflection lies true wisdom!
On Being Useful
“Of what use is eminence, to be like a tall date tree? It neither offers shade to travelers, not is its fruit easy to reach!”
Here, Kabir makes an important point with regards to the behavior expected from people once they attain fame and wealth.
Trees are known to be generous towards other beings. They provide shade to weary travelers and rich fruits to all who come to them. However, as an exception, the date tree which is too tall provides none of these comforts.
Kabir is using the analogy of a date tree to warn us not to become aloof like it once we achieve our desired success. We might become ‘big’, ‘famous’ or ‘wealthy’, but all of our acquisitions are a waste if they do not benefit anyone around or help better the society.
Becoming successful should make us humble and magnanimous, willing to bend and extend a helping hand towards those who need it.
On Remembrance of God
“During suffering, everyone prays to the Lord, but when experiencing happiness, we forget to thank God. If one were to pray to God even during the good times, can the bad times ever trouble one?”
In these wise words, Kabir has thrown light on the path to overcoming obstacles and coming out a winner in life.
He observes that when good days visit man, he tends to lose himself in enjoyment and forgets God, in other words, he forgets to thank the source of his happiness and even tends to shun spiritual practices. Soon after, he is faced with bad days and that's when he wakes up to his folly and falls at the feet of God.
Kabir is, however, asking us to maintain equanimity and follow a routine of prayer, meditation and spiritual practice at all times, irrespective of good and bad days!
He asks a pertinent question — would bad days fall upon the one who is always engrossed in remembering and thanking the Divine? And even they do, would not the Divine bless him and alleviate his suffering?
On Perfect Timing
“Slowly, slowly, O mind, everything happens at its own pace, The gardener may water with a hundred pots of water, but the fruit only arrives in its season.”
This is another insightful verse emphasizing on the ‘perfect timing’ for everything.
Kabir has explained this through the beautiful example of a gardener. Even if a gardener supplies extra water to a plant, its fruits will not appear prematurely. Similarly in life, things will move at their pace and impatience would only lead us to anguish.
All things in good time!
Love relationships take time to bloom, career breaks also happen over a span of time, skills take time to master. If we want to rush things, we will either be tempted to take up a wrong path or will be disheartened.
It’s better to allow life to take its course and go with the flow!
On Awakening
“Just as a seed contains oil, fire is present in the flint stone, the Divine is inside you, realize this if you can!”
With clever analogies, Kabir wisely explains the presence of the Divine inside of us.
Just as it is the inherent quality of the seed to contain oil and fire, which may seem hidden, can be ignited by rubbing two flintstones, in a similar way the Divine consciousness is ever-present (even though hidden) inside of us!
Our supreme goal as a human being is to ‘awaken’!
We ought to find and merge with the light inside of us, by following certain spiritual or meditative practices. Unfortunately, many of us do not pay much heed to spiritual awakening while we are in this body.
But as per this verse, that would be an opportunity lost!
On Valuing Time
“Instead of doing tomorrow’s work on the morrow, do it today and do today’s work, right now! If the moment is lost, can you get it back any way?”
I am yet to find a more profound poetic verse explaining the potency of the ‘Now!’
Kabir highlights the pressing need to give up procrastination, which becomes a tendency if we started taking our time here for granted. His words are screaming at us as if to say: “Pay heed! You do not have forever! Life can change in a minute. A moment gone is lost forever!”
What better example than the current pandemic, to prove his point.
We can improve our efficiency to a great degree if we prioritize tasks and start finishing them one by one. This habit will stand us in good stead both professionally as well as in our day-to-day lives.
On Doing Good
“When you came into this world, everyone laughed while you cried. Don’t do such work during this Life, that they laugh when you are gone.”
In this beautiful poetic expression, Kabir elucidates another truth of life.
Just as we bring joy and smiles to those around when we are born, we ought to lead life too in a way that makes people around us happy. Kabir is warning us not to take up the wrong path of misdeeds and sin.
If we hurt or harm people while we are alive; be it physically, verbally, emotionally or psychologically, chances are that the affected people will be relieved at our death and will be happy that we are gone!
Can anything be more unfortunate!
We must strive to be remembered for good deeds.
Final Thoughts
Kabir Das, staying true to his sainthood, worked towards unity between all religions, by inspiring people to give up on their differences and to search for divinity and wisdom within.
Through his teachings, verses and books, he has taught priceless lessons in:
- humanity
- morality
- spirituality & the
- art of living life
The rich legacy of Kabir Das continues to live on and inspires millions who read his invaluable work.
Among many, two popular books on the mystical poems of Kabir are One Hundred Poems Of Kabir and Songs of Kabir.
Thank you for reading!
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