The five passions are a dominant factor in the world. They cannot be coerced into submission nor driven away by force, nor can the noble qualities be deliberately acquired through discipline and external observances. Suppressed passions, like embers, easily flame up in the strong winds of desires. Outer show of humility, detachment and chastity are meaningless if they have not made the devotee's heart their home; physical renunciation is futile if the mind clings to worldly attachments; vows of continence are of little help if the mind hovers over objects of lust; verbal forgiveness has no value if the heart harbours feelings of anger and hatred. The remedy for darkness is to light a lamp.

Kabir, like all Saints, says that the practice of Shabd and the taste of inner bliss generate noble qualities, which are the antidote to the five passions. When the devotee drinks the nectar of spiritual joy, all worldly pleasures and attractions become tasteless for him. Inner contact with Naam generates detachment, and the devotee, though living in the world, automatically becomes detached from it. Shabd and the Master's grace are the light that dispels the dark shadows of the passions.

In the last couplet, Kabir suggests that the devotee can rise above the passions through the blessing, grace and, in fact, instrumentality of the Satguru. The perfect Master has burned the 'house' of his own desires, passions and cravings, and with the flame of Shabd and divine love is also ready to burn the 'house' of those who will follow him on the path of God-realization.

Lures and passions
Are a burning lamp,
Men the heedless moths —
They come circling
And plunge into the flame;
Those rare ones escape, O Kabir,
Who receive from the Master
The precious boon of Naam.

K.G., p. 2:20

K.G., p. 3:25

Through laughter and revelry
If one could meet the Lord,
Who would submit
To the scouring
On love's whetstone?
He who forsakes
Lust, anger and cravings
Will find the way to God.

K.G., p. 8:30

I had come to the world
To see its beauty and charm,
But, says Kabir,
I forgot all
When I saw
My Master's peerless form.

K.G., p. 11:24

What can attachment do to me?
To me love has opened its gates,
My merciful Beloved I have met,
The world's sharp thorns
Have turned into a quilt of bliss.

K.G., p. 12:48

K.G., p. 12:43

I have burned my house;
Now I stand
With a flaming torch
In my hand:
His house, too, I'll burn,
Who joins me
On my homeward march.

K.G., p. 53:13