Religion
Song XLIX: That which you see is not: and for that which is, you have no words.
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill (1915) · From Songs of Kabir (1915)
That which you see is not: and for that which is, you have no words.
Unless you see, you believe not: what is told you you cannot accept.
He who is discerning knows by the word; and the ignorant stands gaping.
Some contemplate the Formless, and others meditate on form: but the wise man knows that Brahma is beyond both.
That beauty of His is not seen of the eye: that metre of His is not heard of the ear.
Kabîr says: "He who has found both love and renunciation never descends to death."
Cite this poem
MLA
Kabir. “Song XLIX: That which you see is not: and for that which is, you have no words.” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/48/.
Chicago
Kabir. “Song XLIX: That which you see is not: and for that which is, you have no words.” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/48/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
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