Kabir's Poems -4-

Jaaki jaisi vastu hai, vohi dait dikhlaye, 
Banka bura na maniye, vo lain kahan se jaaye.

One exhibits only, one's privy qualities ever, 
Never mind Kabir, one knows nothing better.

(What one has, one show that only, does not feel bad about it, where else can he get anything.)

One show what one has, do not feel bad towards him for he has no way of knowing and behaving any better. Do not get mad on people if they do not come up to your expectations or if they show or do badly towards you. We all can give to others only what we have. A bad man will show only badness for that is all he has got. It is no fault of his for he cannot go and get anything else from anywhere. Instead of getting mad on him, we should impart some of our goodness to him so that he can start giving his goodness to others. Kabir implores us not to condemn people because they are not as we would like them to be. Be good towards everyone including bad, misguided and incompetent people. We should not lose our equipoise when we come in contact with them and return their badness with our badness. We should give what we have i.e. our goodness to everyone.

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Kahe Kabir pukar ke, do baaten likh dey, 

Paisa huv ke bandagi, bhukhon ko kachu dey

Kabir pleaded loudly, to scribble two dictates, 

money is greed's slavery, given away it emancipates.

(Kabir calls out, scribe two things, money is greed life, give some to hungry.)

Kabir pleads with his scribe not to forget two most important things he had ever to say about money. First that money is the sole reason for the existence of greed. Greedy men acquire money and they talk about money and they value others by their money alone. Greed driven men endeavor to gather money from all over and imprison it in their vaults. The second important thing Kabir has to say is about freeing up the money from its imprisonment.

Money can be emancipated by giving it away to hungry and poor people only. As men are salvaged through meditation, money can only be salvaged by giving it away to poor people who actually need it. He implores rich not to lock away their money but to use it for the benefit of those who are less fortunate than them.

Money enslaves its collector, circulator it emancipates, Spender it provides with luxury, hoarders freedom it decimates.

Some fools mistake currency or money to be the Goddess of wealth. They worship, conserve and protect their acquired wealth. Such people out of their mistaken notion or as a covering for their naked greed keep acquiring more and more. They collect money all their life. All their efforts, their energy and their time is wasted in gathering more and more. Such men are foolish. They are wasting their precious freedom by handing it over to pursuit of money and become its slaves. Like a slave, they serve it by collecting it from all over and then guarding it with all their strength and might.

Money or currency should not become our master but must serve us as our slave. Like a servant hired by us we should use it to alleviate our sufferings and to convenience our lives. It should be used to help us provide comforts and aid us in our goals. We should become the master of our wealth and direct its flow to our benefit rather than it controlling and directing our lives and our actions.

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