Kabir describes the Master as a warrior who shoots the disciple with the arrow of Shabd or Word, with unfailing aim. When the disciple's soul is connected to the Shabd, he develops a longing for the Lord or, in Kabir's words, his heart is wounded by the arrow of Shabd. He falls to the earth, his ego is destroyed; his deep-rooted dogmas and beliefs in outward practices, his cravings, desires and attachment to the world and its objects are all 'killed' by the shaft of Shabd. Now the Word or Naam alone lives in the devotee's mind and soul. This Shabd is a gift of love and grace from the Master and, though accompanied by the pain of longing, it is sweet and enraptures the disciple.

The process of withdrawing the soul current from the nine portals of the body and vacating it, called by the Saints, dying while living, begins only after the disciple is connected with the Shabd. The devotee who thus dies while living begins his journey to higher spiritual realms, merges into the Shabd and reaches the Lord. He becomes free from the chain of birth and death. In the last stanza Kabir says that one who is blessed by the Master with Shabd or who is 'shot' with the arrow of Shabd, will not 'live' again; that is, a person once connected to Shabd will be pulled up by Shabd to the inner, higher regions and will be free from the cycle of birth and death forever.

My Master, the true warrior,
Shot only one arrow of Shabd;
Pierced to the core,
I fell flat on the earth.

K.G., p. 1:7

My Master, the adept warrior,
Shot and wounded me
From my feet to my head.
From outside I appear whole;
Within, I am torn to shreds.

K.S.S., p. 7:76

My Master pulled the bow
Loaded with arrows sharp;
One he shot with such love
And grace
That it entered my heart —
And there it is still.

K.G., p. 1:6

My Master shot an arrow
At the center of my heart
With his ruthless aim;
Only Naam lives in me,
I am dead to all else.

K.S.S., p. 7:80

Deftly he balanced the arrow,
He pulled the string with skill,
It hit the mark in my heart:
All who lived in me are dead
And I, though living,
Am alive no more.

K.S.S., p. 7:81

The shaft pierced my heart,
I am enthralled with joy —
I am not dead, nor alive;
Kabir, they become immortal
Who thus while living die.

K.S.S., p. 8:87

The restless one is killed,
It neither laughs nor talks —
Within itself it is absorbed;
For to its depths, O Kabir,
It has been wounded
By the Master's shot.

K.G., p. 1:9

K.G., p. 2:10

My Master shot me
With a savage aim,
It destroyed all
That I held dear:
My ego, my practices,
My rosary, my books.

K.S.S., p. 8:90

The Master shot me
With a perfect aim,
An arrow dipped
In Shabd's radiant flame;
He declared: Let all know,
If one shot by me lives anew
I'll not again pick up the bow!

K.S.S., p. 7:84