This poem expresses the devotee's joy at attaining union with the Lord. Scriptures and holy books sing the praises of the Lord, but He is not to be found there. He cannot be met through fasts, pilgrimages and austerities. Acts of merit are just as much the cause of bondage as sinful ones, for one has to return to the world of matter to enjoy their reward. Kabir says that only through devotion, longing and love for the Lord can one experience the truth and merge in God — the ocean of love.

Now I have met my Beloved,
My Lord, the Emperor of all,
Without whom my heart ached
With pangs of longing,
Songs of whose praise and glory
The Vedas and scriptures sing —
Him I have met, my beloved King!

Pilgrimage and austerities
Can never cut Yama's deadly noose.
Sins and acts of merit
That cradled my births and rebirths,
Both seem illusive and empty to me —
Through the Lord's devotion.
Without whom ached my heart,
Him I have met, my King,
My beloved Lord.

Says Kabir: I have kindled
The flame of knowledge,
I have plunged and become one
With love's infinite ocean.
Without whom ached my heart,
Him I have met, my King,
My beloved Lord.

K.G., p. 137:283
Ab main pāyā rājā rām sanehi