970

1In my past life, I was Your servant; now, I cannot leave You.

2The celestial sound current resounds at Your Door. Your insignia is stamped upon my forehead. ||2||

3Those who are branded with Your brand fight bravely in battle; those without Your brand run away.

4One who becomes a Holy person, appreciates the value of devotional worship to the Lord. The Lord places him in His treasury. ||3||

5In the fortress is the chamber; by contemplative meditation it becomes the supreme chamber.

6The Guru has blessed Kabeer with the commodity, saying, ""Take this commodity; cherish it and keep it secure.""||4||

7Kabeer gives it to the world, but he alone receives it, upon whose forehead such destiny is recorded.

8Permanent is the marriage, of one who receives this ambrosial essence. ||5||4||

9O Brahmin, how can you forget the One, from whose mouth the Vedas and the Gayitri prayer issured forth?

10The whole world falls at His feet; why don't you chant the Name of that Lord, O Pandit? ||1||

11Why, O my Brahmin, do you not chant the Lord's Name?

12If you don't chant the Lord's Name, O Pandit, you will only suffer in hell. ||1||Pause||

13You think that you are high, but you take food from the houses of the lowly; you fill up your belly by forcibly practicing your rituals.

14On the fourteenth day, and the night of the new moon, you go out begging; even though you hold the lamp in your hands, still, you fall into the pit. ||2||

15You are a Brahmin, and I am only a weaver from Benares. How can I compare to you?

16Chanting the Lord's Name, I have been saved; relying on the Vedas, O Brahmin, you shall drown and die. ||3||5||

17There is a single tree, with countless branches and twigs; its flowers and leaves are filled with its juice.

18This world is a garden of Ambrosial Nectar. The Perfect Lord created it. ||1||

19I have come to know the story of my Sovereign Lord.

20How rare is that Gurmukh who knows, and whose inner being is illumined by the Lord's Light. ||1||Pause||

21The bumble bee, addicted to the nectar of the twelve-petalled flowers, enshrines it in the heart.

22He holds his breath suspended in the sixteen-petalled sky of the Akaashic Ethers, and beats his wings in esctasy. ||2||

23In the profound void of intuitive Samaadhi, the one tree rises up; it soaks up the water of desire from the ground.

24Says Kabeer, I am the servant of those who have seen this celestial tree. ||3||6||

25Make silence your ear-rings, and compassion your wallet; let meditation be your begging bowl.

26Sew this body as your patched coat, and take the Lord's Name as your support. ||1||

27Practice such Yoga, O Yogi.

28As Gurmukh, enjoy meditation, austerities and self-discipline. ||1||Pause||

29Apply the ashes of wisdom to your body; let your horn be your focused consciousness.

30Become detached, and wander through the city of your body; play the harp of your mind. ||2||

31Enshrine the five tatvas - the five elements, within your heart; let your deep meditative trance be undisturbed.

32Says Kabeer, listen, O Saints: make righteousness and compassion your garden. ||3||7||

33For what purpose were you created and brought into the world? What rewards have you received in this life?

34God is the boat to carry you across the terrifying world-ocean; He is the Fulfiller of the mind's desires. You have not centered your mind on Him, even for an instant. ||1||