Have been reading a lot of books lately . Fiction, poetry, life histories. A few I just skipped by and a few left an indelible impression on my thought process. One of the books which I found to be really absorbing was about Kabir.
Kabir the poet, came to me when i was a school student and all I gathered that time was that he used to write couplets in Hindi , he was a weaver by profession and he did all that he could to integrate Hinduism and Islam.
As I read through the book i was amazed at how relevant Kabir still is? Nothing much has changed over these years. Caste divisions, religious differences, hatred among people,greed, corruption- everything still exists. It is bewildering that the society Kabir lived in, though separated by centuries, is the same as th one we live in today. Kabir's poems have not lost their relevance also due to the fact that he understood the human psyche so well and that seems to be one thing which hasn't changed over all these years. Sample some of these....
माला तो कर में फिरे,
जीब फिरे मुख माहि ,
मानुहा तो चहू दिशा फिरे,
यह तो सुमिरन नाही .
Translation-rosary rotating by the hand (or) the tongue twisting in the mouth, With the mind wandering everywhere, this isn't meditation (Oh uncouth!)
बोलना का कहिये रे भाई ,
बोलत बोलत तत नमाई
बोलत बोलत बढे बिकारा
बिन बोलिया क्यूँ होई बिचारा।
संत मिले कुछ कहिये कहिये
मिले असंत मुष्टि करी रहिये ।
ज्ञानी सो बोलिया हितकारी,
मुरख सो बोलिया झाख्मारी।
कहते कबीर आधा घट डोले,
भरिया होए तो मूषां न बोले।
Too much talk leads to chaos
Yet without talk how does one discuss
If you must; then talk with saints
With devils it is better to stay mum
Blessing it is to talk with the wise
Talking with stupid is waste of time
Says Kabir, Half full is forever swaying
The fulfilled prefers staying calm
