Kabir — "The bird sings, but it does not know why. The human speaks, but he does not know…"
The bird sings, but it does not know why. The human speaks, but he does not know why.
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More from Kabir
"The drum beats, but the dancer sleeps. The world dances, but the truth sleeps."
"The true devotion is to live in harmony with all creatures, and to see the divine in every form."
"Clouds do not ask where they travel; neither should your thoughts."
"A potter makes pots of many shapes and sizes, but all are made of the same clay."
"The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it."
About Kabir (c. 1440-1518)
Indian mystic poet whose verses (preserved in the Sikh Guru Granth Sahib and the Hindu Bhakti tradition) attacked both Hindu and Islamic orthodoxy. Closely associated with Guru Nanak (founder of Sikhism, who incorporated Kabir's verses). For an intellectual contrast, see Brahmanical priesthood, the ritualistic Hindu establishment of his era — Kabir's poetry is the founding text of bhakti devotional rebellion against ritualistic Hinduism — his verses ridicule caste, ritual purity, and priestly mediation as religious theatre.