Religion
Song XXIV: More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to…
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill (1915) · From Songs of Kabir (1915)
More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to live a limitless life in this world.
It is like the lotus, which lives in the water and blooms in the water: yet the water cannot touch its petals, they open beyond its reach.
It is like a wife, who enters the fire at the bidding of love. She burns and lets others grieve, yet never dishonours love.
This ocean of the world is hard to cross: its waters are very deep. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, O Sadhu! few there are who have reached its end."
Cite this poem
MLA
Kabir. “Song XXIV: More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to….” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/23/.
Chicago
Kabir. “Song XXIV: More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to….” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/23/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Kabir
- Song X: To Thee Thou hast drawn my love, O Fakir!
- Song XXXIII: Where is the need of words, when love has made drunken the heart?
- Song LII: When I am parted from my Beloved, my heart is full of misery
- Song LXXII: The jewel is lost in the mud, and all are seeking for it;
- Song XCI: I have learned the Sanskrit language, so let all men call me wise: