WIST Quotations

Kabir -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Do not praise yourself
Nor slander others:
There are still many days to go
And anything could happen.

Kabir Jayanti (1440-1518) Indian Sufi mystic and poet
(Attributed)

Kabir -- Bijak, Sakhi, 168 [tr. Malaiya]

Dave — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:52:32 +0000

Admire the diamond that can bear the hits of a hammer. Many deceptive preachers, when critically examined, turn out to be false.

Kabir Jayanti (1440-1518) Indian Sufi mystic and poet
Bijak, Sakhi, 168 [tr. Malaiya]

Kabir -- Songs of Kabîr, Song 1 (1915) [tr. Tagore]

Dave — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:07:10 +0000

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.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.

Kabir Jayanti (1440-1518) Indian Sufi mystic and poet
Songs of Kabîr, Song 1 (1915) [tr. Tagore]

Alt. trans. by Robert Bly (1977):

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours. You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals: not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly -- you will find me in the tiniest house of time.