Religion
Song LVII: Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill (1915) · From Songs of Kabir (1915)
Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!
That word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.
How many are there who know the meaning of that word?
O Sadhu! practise that Word!
The Vedas and the Puranas proclaim it,
The world is established in it,
The Rishis and devotees speak of it:
But none knows the mystery of the Word.
The householder leaves his house when he hears it,
The ascetic comes back to love when he hears it,
The Six Philosophies expound it,
The Spirit of Renunciation points to that Word,
From that Word the world-form has sprung,
That Word reveals all.
Kabîr says: "But who knows whence the Word cometh?
Cite this poem
MLA
Kabir. “Song LVII: Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/56/.
Chicago
Kabir. “Song LVII: Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/56/.
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More by Kabir
- Song XIX: O my heart! the Supreme Spirit, the great Master, is near you: wake
- Song XXXIX: O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings
- Song LXI: When at last you are come to the ocean of happiness
- Song LXXXI: In the beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself: the formless
- Song C: Hang up the swing of love to-day