III. 74. pratham ek jo apai ap IN THE beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself: the formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being. Then was there neither beginning, middle, nor end; Then were no eyes, no darkness, no light; Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no fire, water, nor earth; no rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna, no seas, oceans, and waves. Then was neither vice nor virtue; scriptures there were not, as the Vedas and Puranas, nor as the Koran. Kabir ponders in his mind and says, 'Then was there no activity: the Supreme Being remained merged in the unknown depths of His own self.' The Guru neither eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies: Neither has He form, line, colour, nor vesture. He who has neither caste nor clan nor anything elsehow may I describe His glory? He has neither form nor formlessness, He has no name, He has neither colour nor colourlessness, He has no dwelling-place.
YOU HAD YOUR rudder broken many a time, my boat, and your sails torn to tatters. Often had you drifted towards the sea, dragging anchor and heeded not. But now there has spread a crack in your hull and your hold is heavy. Now is the time for you to end your voyage, to be rocked into sleep by the lapping of the water by the beach. Alas, I know all warning is vain. The veiled face of dark doom lures you. The madness of the storm and the waves is upon you. The music of the tide is rising high. You are shaken by the fever of that dance. Then break your chain, my boat, and be free, and fearlessly rush to your wreck.
III. 96. jiv mahal men Siv pahunwa SERVE YOUR God, who has come into this temple of life! Do not act the part of a madman, for the night is thickening fast. He has awaited me for countless ages, for love of me He has lost His heart: Yet I did not know the bliss that was so near to me, for my love was not yet awake. But now, my Lover has made known to me the meaning of the note that struck my ear: Now, my good fortune is come. Kabir says: 'Behold! how great is my good fortune! I have received the unending caress of my beloved!'
