Striking at the roots of the age-old belief in the sanctity of baths in holy waters and pilgrimages to holy places, Kabir says that people may be impressed by such outward practices of piety, but God, the all-knowing One, cannot be deceived by them. The worship of the One Supreme Being is the highest form of worship, and service of the Master is the true 'bath' that purifies the mind. Kabir says if a dip in a holy river entitles one to salvation, the frogs that live there should also be emancipated; but despite all holy baths, men continue to take birth in the world again and again.

It is a common belief among the orthodox Hindus that if one dies in the holy city of Banaras he will go straight to heaven, while the one who dies in the town of Magahar will either go to hell or be born as a donkey. Kabir points out that a cruel and hard-hearted man devoid of devotion may die in Banaras, yet he will not escape the fires of hell; on the other hand, a devotee of the Lord, a Saint, even if he dies in the 'unholy' town of Magahar, emancipates himself as well as the entire fold of his disciples.

When his end approached, Kabir deliberately left Banaras and went to Magahar. The following poems are Kabir's reply to some well-wishers who tried to dissuade him from his decision to leave Banaras.

If a man is unclean within,
By bathing at pilgrim places
He will not become pure and reach heaven.
Nothing will be gained by impressing people,
For the Lord is not ignorant or naive.
Adore the Lord, the only God,
And know: Service to the Master
Is the true holy bath.

If bathing and dipping in water
Could lead one to salvation,
What about the frogs
That bathe day after day?
Like frogs men bathe,
Like them they'll be cast
Into the womb again and again.

A hardened sinner
Will not escape the fires of hell
Even if he dies in Banaras;
But a Saint of God,
Even if he dies in Hadamba,
Emancipates the entire fold
Of his disciples.

Where there is neither day nor night,
Neither Vedas nor scriptures,
There dwells the Formless Lord.
Says Kabir: O man,
Adore only that One,
Do not run after
This crazy world.

A.G., Asa, p. 484
Antar mail je tirath nāvai

Brothers, you are simple and credulous:
If in Kasi, Kabir leaves the body,
Then what credit to his Lord's grace?

What I was once,
I am not now.
I have reaped the benefit
Of my precious human birth;
As water once mixed in water
Can never be taken apart,
So has this weaver flowed
And merged into the Lord.

One who is always absorbed
In God's love and devotion,
What is there to wonder at
When he attains this high state?
Through the blessings of his Master,
Through the company of the Saints,
This weaver marches onwards,
He has conquered Kal's domains.

Says Kabir: Listen, friends,
Let no doubts remain —
He who has true faith in the Lord,
For him holy Kasi
And barren Magahar
Are the same.

K.G., p. 167:402
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