Ang-1301 — Chapter 73
But she is not equal to the water-carrier of the Lord's humble servant. ||159||
Kabeer, why do you slander the wife of the king? Why do you honor the slave of the Lord?
Because one combs her hair for corruption, while the other remembers the Name of the Lord. ||160||
Kabeer, with the Support of the Lord's Pillar, I have become steady and stable.
The True Guru has given me courage. Kabeer, I have purchased the diamond, on the banks of the Mansarovar Lake. ||161||
Kabeer, the Lord is the Diamond, and the Lord's humble servant is the jeweller who has set up his shop.
As soon as an appraiser is found, the price of the jewel is set. ||162||
Kabeer, you remember the Lord in meditation, only when the need arises. You should remember Him all the time.
You shall dwell in the city of immortality, and the Lord shall restore the wealth you lost. ||163||
Kabeer, it is good to perform selfless service for two - the Saints and the Lord.
The Lord is the Giver of liberation, and the Saint inspires us to chant the Naam. ||164||
Kabeer, the crowds follow the path which the Pandits, the religious scholars, have taken.
There is a difficult and treacherous cliff on that path to the Lord; Kabeer is climbing that cliff. ||165||
Kabeer, the mortal dies of his worldly troubles and pain, after worrying about his family.
Whose family is dishonored, when he is placed on the funeral pyre? ||166||
Kabeer, you shall drown, you wretched being, from worrying about what other people think.
You know that whatever happens to your neighbors, will also happen to you. ||167||
Kabeer, even dry bread, made of various grains, is good.
No one brags about it, throughout the vast country and great empire. ||168||
Kabeer, those who brag, shall burn. Those who do not brag remain carefree.
That humble being who does not brag, looks upon the gods and the poor alike. ||169||
Kabeer, the pool is filled to overflowing, but no one can drink the water from it.
By great good fortune, you have found it; drink it in handfuls, O Kabeer. ||170||
Kabeer, just as the stars disappear at dawn, so shall this body disappear.
Only the letters of God's Name do not disappear; Kabeer holds these tight. ||171||
Kabeer, the wooden house is burning on all sides.
The Pandits, the religious scholars, have been burnt to death, while the illiterate ones run to safety. ||172||
Kabeer, give up your skepticism; let your papers float away.
Find the essence of the letters of the alphabet, and focus your consciousness on the Lord. ||173||
Kabeer, the Saint does not forsake his Saintly nature, even though he meets with millions of evil-doers.
Even when sandalwood is surrounded by snakes, it does not give up its cooling fragrance. ||174||
Kabeer, my mind is cooled and soothed; I have become God-conscious.
The fire which has burnt the world is like water to the Lord's humble servant. ||175||
Kabeer, no one knows the Play of the Creator Lord.
Only the Lord Himself and the slaves at His Court understand it. ||176||
Kabeer, it is good that I feel the Fear of God; I have forgotten everything else.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
The Path to Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita 18:66
“Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22
“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help through patience and prayer. It is indeed exacting, but not for those who are humble.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”