Kabir's Poems -7-

Jaat na pucho sadh ki, pucho sadh ka gyan, 
Moal karo talwar ki, pari rahan do mayan.

Ask not caste of a good soul; ask for wisdom prudence, 
Value ever the essence, disregard outer appearance.

(Do not ask the caste of a holy man, ask about his knowledge, bargain the price of sword, leave the scabbard alone.)

The gender, race, caste, parentage, nationality and clan etc. are only superficial appearances and are irrelevant. Kabir says that one should look deeper than the skin or the packaging. It is the contents rather than the packaging that matters. 

A good man should be measured by his goodness, by his virtues and by his knowledge. One buys a sword for its value in fighting and not for how it looks. The scabbard, the pouch for keeping a sword should neither be a deciding factor nor an influencing factor in buying a sword. The utility of sword is realized only when it is out of the scabbard and that is how it should be appraised.

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Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so aab, 
Paal mein pralaya hoyegi, bahuri karega kaab.

Start tomorrows charge today, achieve today’s onus now, 
Doom strikes any time, mission incomplete and you go.

(Do tomorrows today, do today's now, dooms day may come any second, when will you do it then.)

Laziness is our biggest enemy. We all have twenty four hours and still some of us claim that they do not have enough time. Kabir says that we should not procrastinate or postpone things. If we have to do something, let us do it now. If we keep postponing it, we will never find time to do it.

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