The Created Gods
While talking about God, all Saints have the same thing to say: God is one, He is the origin of all, the source of all creation. Himself beyond the limitations of the created world, He pervades each particle of his creation; and yet He is indivisible — aloof from everything. Instead of worshipping Him, men worship idols, images and paintings made with their own hands out of matter. They pray to such handcrafted gods, bring offerings to them and beg for worldly boons from them. They 'divide' the Indivisible One into various gods, goddesses and deities. But God, the Supreme Being, cannot be made to live in an idol, nor can He be confined within the precincts of man-made temples,mosques or churches.
Talking of the ten incarnations, Kabir says that a look at their life stories shows that even they, like ordinary human beings, bore the burden of their own karmas and were made to account for them. In the last stanza Kabir says that the practice of Shabd is the true worship of the Lord; it is the path that enables a soul to get release from the bondage of mind and matter and reach the Supreme Being.
Who worships Thee,
My uncreated Lord?
All rush to worship gods
From stone and matter carved;
To them men bow in supplication,
To them are offerings brought.
But none, oh none adores Thee,
My uncreated Lord.
Men are ignorant of Him —
My perfect, my indivisible Lord;
They worship only created gods.
The ten incarnations are considered
Free from maya, free from bonds;
But not one of them is my Lord —
The object of my adoration.
They taste the fruits
Of their own deeds;
Different from them is my True Lord,
The Creator of all.
But who worships Thee,
My uncreated Lord?
Even deities and incarnations
Bear on their heads
The stigma of karmas.
Depend not on them, O man,
For even they could not gain salvation.
Yet all rush to worship gods
From stone and matter carved;
Who worships Thee,
My uncreated Lord?
The yogi and the recluse,
The ascetic and the hermit
Argue and wrangle,
One with the other.
Says Kabir: Listen brother,
He who realizes Shabd
Crosses the turbulent sea
To the shore of bliss.
But who worships Thee,
My uncreated Lord?
K.S., II:17
Ungadhiā devā
In the following poem, Kabir continues the same theme and asks the devotee to adore the One Formless Lord and try to live in his Naam or Shabd, that is, be absorbed in the divine melody within. The learned talk of Shabd and Naam but have no idea of the source of Shabd and how Shabd leads the devotee's soul back to its original home. The mukti or liberation that the scriptures speak of is only the second stage on the soul's inner journey; and though this region is full of joy and happiness, it is within the limits of mind and maya. Therefore, even after reaching there, the soul has to return to the world of matter after a period of enjoying its stay. The freedom Saints talk of is a higher state, beyond the bounds of mind and maya. It means merging in Shabd, and along with Shabd into the source of Shabd — the Lord.
He who is imperceptible
Yet who can be perceived,
Who is one, yet dwells in all;
Forgetting such a Lord,
Those who worship gods
Are groping in delusion's dark maze.
Even Shiva says he knows not,
Lord, how to contemplate on you.
But such is your grace, beloved Lord,
That Kabir remembers you,
He abides in your Name.
Tell me, tell me, O man,
From where does Shabd arise,
Where does it merge again?
Ignorant of the secret of Shabd —
Shabd that is beyond all matter, all form —
People wander in doubt and delusion.
What worth is freedom
From the bonds of matter
If one fails to attain
The state of true freedom within?
Hermits and sages sing
Of liberation from the world
But know not the supreme state
Of merging in Shabd.
The Truth that is manifest, yet hidden,
The secret that is hidden, yet manifest,
How can it remain hidden for Kabir?
He ever enjoys the bliss
Of union with that Truth,
But he cannot describe
His ineffable state.
K.G., p. 78:36
Achyant chyant e mādhau
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