I Laugh When I Hear That The Fish In The Water Is Thirsty

Kabir 1440 (Banaras) – 1518 (Maghar)



I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty

You don't grasp the fact that what is most alive of all
      is inside your own house.
and so you walk from one holy city to the next with
      a confused look!

Kabir will tell you the truth: go wherever you like,
      to Calcutta or Tibet;
if you can't find where your soul is hidden,
for you the world will never be real!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
88

Quick analysis:

Scheme X XXXX XXXX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 386
Words 78
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4

Kabir

Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth, a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census. His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar. more…

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