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bijak
November 2009 
Satsang Discourse from the Bijak of Kabir With Commentary
Posted on Oct 25th, 2009
by 
SantMat_Mystic_(James)
SantMat_Mystic_(James)
Satsang Discourse from the Bijak of Kabir With Commentary
Satsang Discourse: Shabd 16 of Kabir's Bijak, Volume Two: Shabdas
Hindi (English Translation Below)
ramura jhijhi jantar bajai, kar charan bihuna nachai;
kar bihuna bajai sunai shravan binu, shravan shrota soi;
patan subas sabha binu awsar, bujhahu muni jan loi;
indra binu bhog svad jibhya binu, akshai pind bihuna;
jagat chor mandir tahan musai, khasam achhat ghar suna;
bij binu ankur ped binu tariwar, binu phule phal phariya;
banjh ki kokh putra avtariya, binu pag tariwar chadhiya;
masi binu davat kalam binu kagad, binu akshar sudhi hoi;
sudhi binu sahaj gyan binu gyata, kahahi kabir jan soi.
Meaning
O Soul! The musical instrument plays softly, and (the mind) dances without hands and feet; The music is played without hands, and is heard without ears; The listener and the listening merge into one; The mind is controlled, and listens to the divine melody always playing in the master's court; O intelligent people! Try to understand this; In that state there is enjoyment without senses, and tasting without tongue; There is immortality without the body; The thieves (maya) plunder the temple (body) and though the master is immortal, the house is empty; In that state there is shoot without seed, and tree without stem; And fruit bears without flowers; In the barren womb (empty mind) a son (meditation) is born; And without feet it climbs the tree (God realization) The ink pot is full without ink, and paper written without pen; Without any writing all is known; Without recollection there is intuitive knowledge in the soul, and it knows all without pursuing knowledge; Kabir says He is the real devotee who understands this.
Commentary
This shabd is full of incompatibilities when seen superficially. How can there be dancing without hands and feet, and enjoyment without any sense organ. What does it mean when the listener and the listening merge into one? What is the thief that plunders the house when the master is right there, and the house is empty? How can the shoot grow without seed, or a tree without stem; and fruit bearing when there are no flowers. In order to try to understand this shabd, it is important to realize that when the knowledge of God is obtained, all incompatibilities disappear; all dualities disappear.
The soft music is the divine melody which is heard when one is in meditation. There is no need for hands and feet that make the mind dance in ecstasy. There is no need for hands to play such music for the divine melody resounds eternally. In that exhalted state of unity, there is no listener or listening. In that state there is no need for any of the sense organs in order to enjoy the bliss that is obtained in God realization. The soul is immortal, and that immortality is realized knowing that the body itself is mortal.
Ordinarily, there is a thief which is called maya or illusion which plunders the temple of this body. It creates various desires and attachments, and robs the mind of its tranquility which is needed for meditation. The immortal soul resides there, but because of the illusive power of maya, the house or the body appears to be abandoned.
In that state of God realization, there is only a state of consciousness in which there is no direction such as up and down, front or back, good or bad, etc. In such an 'empty mind' occupied in God realization, the state is called meditation. In meditation divine knowledge dawns into the consciousness, and divine knowledge encompasses every other type of knowledge available to man. Guru Kabir thus states the ink pot has ink and the paper is written, though no ink or pen are used. There is no language, yet all is known. Without learning and remembering anything, intuitive knowledge appears. This knowledge is supreme, and supersedes all other knowledge. Guru Kabir is stating that the person who understands this is a true devotee of God.
Satsang Discourse: Ramaini 47 -- Bijak of Guru Kabir, with Commentary
Hindi (English Translation Below)
jarasindhu sishupal sanghara, sahasrarjun chhal so mara;
bad chhal ravan so gow bita, lanka rahal kanchan ki bhita;
duryodhan abhimane gayau, pandav ker marm nahi payau;
maya ke bimb gayal sab raja, utam madhyam bajan baja;
chhow chakave biti dharani samana, ekow jiv pratit na ana
kahan low kahown achetahi gayau, chet achet jhagara ek bhayau;
Sakhi: i maya jag mohini, mohini sab jag jhari,
harichand sat ke karane, ghar ghar sog bikai.
Meaning
Jarasandh and Sishupal were slain; Sahasrarjun was killed deceitfully;
The great deceiver Ravan, who lived in walls of gold in Lanka, was also finished;
Duryodhan got killed because of his pride; no one knows even the whereabouts of the Pandavas;
All the kings, sons of maya, playing the best or mediocre music, also died;
The six emperors died and mingled with the earth; none of them believed in his own mortality;
How much more can I say? Everyone went without attaining realization; yet the wise and the ignorant are busy with their arguments.
Sakhi: This maya is fascinating to the world; the whole world is allured by her;
For the sake of truth Harischandra, in sorrow, sold himself from house to house.
Commentary
The theme of this ramaini is the power of maya and the perishability of the world. Guru Kabir refers to several ancient kings and emperors, who met their death because of their own ego, greed and deceitfulness. They felt invincible. Maya, with its great power of delusion, defeated them all. These rulers were prominent characters in the two great epics of India - the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. (It is beyond the scope of this commentary to go into details about them.) Modern equivalents can be found in some of the dictators of today, (such as President Marcos of Philippines, Chairman Mao Tsetung of China, Baby Doc Duvalier of Haiti, Khomeini the religious dictator of Iran, and several others), who in spite of their assumed power and invincibility have been, or will be, defeated by revolts against them and by death. They are all perishable.
Guru Kabir is teaching here that we should uphold truth at all costs and obtain liberation from this world. We should not become victims of maya and be fooled by her allurements. She arouses the passions, cravings and desires, and these keep us in bondage. We become slaves to them. We should see the Reality of the Divine Being manifesting everywhere and live in thought, word and deed in truth and in purity. He refers to Harischandra who was a king, but in order to uphold the truth, he lost his kingdom and even sold his family and himself to fulfill his word. But what do we see in this world? People are engaged in quarrels, whether they belong to high castes or low castes. They quarrel whether they are intellectual or ignorant. People quarrel on the basis of religious beliefs, races and artificial classes. They are all motivated by their own ego and vanity. They do not think that all of their wrangling is entirely useless, as it will not help them to obtain Self-realization and liberation from this world. They will all die and leave everything behind. Our daily activities should be motivated by the Eternal issues which eventually govern our lives.
jarasindhu sishupal sanghara, sahasrarjun chhal so mara;
bad chhal ravan so gow bita, lanka rahal kanchan ki bhita;
duryodhan abhimane gayau, pandav ker marm nahi payau;
maya ke bimb gayal sab raja, utam madhyam bajan baja;
chhow chakave biti dharani samana, ekow jiv pratit na ana
kahan low kahown achetahi gayau, chet achet jhagara ek bhayau;
Sakhi: i maya jag mohini, mohini sab jag jhari,
harichand sat ke karane, ghar ghar sog bikai.
Meaning
Jarasandh and Sishupal were slain; Sahasrarjun was killed deceitfully;
The great deceiver Ravan, who lived in walls of gold in Lanka, was also finished;
Duryodhan got killed because of his pride; no one knows even the whereabouts of the Pandavas;
All the kings, sons of maya, playing the best or mediocre music, also died;
The six emperors died and mingled with the earth; none of them believed in his own mortality;
How much more can I say? Everyone went without attaining realization; yet the wise and the ignorant are busy with their arguments.
Sakhi: This maya is fascinating to the world; the whole world is allured by her;
For the sake of truth Harischandra, in sorrow, sold himself from house to house.
Commentary
The theme of this ramaini is the power of maya and the perishability of the world. Guru Kabir refers to several ancient kings and emperors, who met their death because of their own ego, greed and deceitfulness. They felt invincible. Maya, with its great power of delusion, defeated them all. These rulers were prominent characters in the two great epics of India - the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. (It is beyond the scope of this commentary to go into details about them.) Modern equivalents can be found in some of the dictators of today, (such as President Marcos of Philippines, Chairman Mao Tsetung of China, Baby Doc Duvalier of Haiti, Khomeini the religious dictator of Iran, and several others), who in spite of their assumed power and invincibility have been, or will be, defeated by revolts against them and by death. They are all perishable.
Guru Kabir is teaching here that we should uphold truth at all costs and obtain liberation from this world. We should not become victims of maya and be fooled by her allurements. She arouses the passions, cravings and desires, and these keep us in bondage. We become slaves to them. We should see the Reality of the Divine Being manifesting everywhere and live in thought, word and deed in truth and in purity. He refers to Harischandra who was a king, but in order to uphold the truth, he lost his kingdom and even sold his family and himself to fulfill his word. But what do we see in this world? People are engaged in quarrels, whether they belong to high castes or low castes. They quarrel whether they are intellectual or ignorant. People quarrel on the basis of religious beliefs, races and artificial classes. They are all motivated by their own ego and vanity. They do not think that all of their wrangling is entirely useless, as it will not help them to obtain Self-realization and liberation from this world. They will all die and leave everything behind. Our daily activities should be motivated by the Eternal issues which eventually govern our lives.
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