बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय। जो दिल खोजा आपना, मुझसे बुरा न कोय।।

Kabir says that when he set out to find evil in the world, he found none — but when he searched his own heart, he found no one worse than himself. The verse is a call to self-examination before judging others.

गुरु गोविंद दोउ खड़े, काके लागूं पांय। बलिहारी गुरु आपने, गोविन्द दियो बताय।।

If both the guru and the divine stood before you, whose feet would you touch first? Kabir says the guru deserves that gratitude first, since it was the guru who revealed the divine at all.

माटी कहे कुम्हार से, तू क्या रौंदे मोय। एक दिन ऐसा आएगा, मैं रौंदूंगी तोय।।

The clay says to the potter: today you shape and tread on me, but a day will come when you too return to the earth, and I will cover you. A reminder of mortality and the futility of pride.

चाह मिटी, चिंता मिटी, मनवा बेपरवाह। जिसको कुछ नहीं चाहिए, वह शहंशाह।।

When desire ends, worry ends with it, and the mind becomes free. Kabir says the one who wants nothing is the true emperor — contentment itself is the greatest wealth.

जब मैं था तब हरि नहीं, अब हरि है मैं नाही। सब अँधियारा मिट गया, दीपक देखा माही।।

As long as my ego ('I') remained, the divine was absent; once the ego dissolved, the divine was found. Just as lighting a lamp instantly dispels darkness, self-realisation dissolves the darkness of ego.

पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय। ढाई आखर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय।।

Reading endless scriptures, the world has not truly become wise. Kabir says the one who reads and lives the two-and-a-half letters of 'love' becomes the real scholar — direct love outweighs bookish learning.

साधु ऐसा चाहिए, जैसा सूप सुभाय। सार-सार को गहि रहै, थोथा देई उड़ाय।।

A true seeker should be like a grain-sieve — keeping what is essential and blowing away the husk. A person of discernment holds on to truth and lets go of what is worthless.

जाति न पूछो साधु की, पूछ लीजिये ज्ञान। मोल करो तरवार का, पड़ा रहन दो म्यान।।

Do not ask a holy person's caste — ask about their knowledge and character instead. Just as a sword is valued for its blade, not its sheath, a person's worth lies in their virtue, not their birth.

निंदक नियरे राखिए, आँगन कुटी छवाय। बिन पानी, साबुन बिना, निर्मल करे सुभाय।।

Keep your critic close, even build them a hut in your courtyard — for without water or soap, they purify your character simply by pointing out your faults. Criticism, taken well, becomes a chance for self-improvement.

धीरे-धीरे रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होय। माली सींचे सौ घड़ा, ॠतु आए फल होय।।

Be patient, O mind — everything happens in its own time. However many pots of water a gardener pours, fruit ripens only in its season. A lesson in patience over haste.

माला फेरत जुग भया, फिरा न मन का फेर। कर का मनका डार दे, मन का मनका फेर।।

Ages have passed turning prayer beads in the hand, yet the mind's restlessness never turned. Kabir says: drop the beads in your hand and turn the beads of your mind instead — inner transformation matters more than outer ritual.

जिन खोजा तिन पाइयां, गहरे पानी पैठ। मैं बपुरा बूडन डरा, रहा किनारे बैठ।।

Only those who dove into deep water and searched actually found what they sought. Kabir admits that fear of drowning kept him sitting at the shore. Real truth demands committed, courageous seeking — not a shallow effort.

तिनका कबहुँ ना निंदिये, जो पाँवन तर होय। कबहुँ उड़ी आँखिन पड़े, तो पीर घनेरी होय।।

Never belittle even a straw lying underfoot — should it blow into your eye, it causes great pain. No person or thing, however small it may seem, deserves to be looked down upon.

कबीरा खड़ा बाज़ार में, माँगे सबकी खैर। ना काहू से दोस्ती, न काहू से बैर।।

Kabir stands in the marketplace wishing everyone well — with special friendship for none, and enmity toward none. A statement of even-handed goodwill toward all, central to Kabir's humanist outlook.

माया मुई न मन मुआ, मरि-मरि गया सरीर। आसा त्रिसना न मुई, कह गए दास कबीर।।

The body dies again and again, yet worldly attachment and craving never die with it. Kabir says true achievement lies in conquering desire and craving from within — the body's death alone changes nothing.

मन के हारे हार है, मन के जीते जीत। कहे कबीर हरि पाइए, मन ही की परतीत।।

Defeat and victory both begin in the mind — a defeated mind loses, a resolute mind wins. Kabir says even the divine is found through firm inner conviction. Strength of mind underlies every success.

पानी केरा बुदबुदा, अस मानुस की जात। एक दिना छिप जायेगा, ज्यों तारा परभात।।

Human life is as fragile as a bubble on water. Just as a star disappears from the sky at dawn, this life too will one day end. A reminder of life's impermanence.

कस्तूरी कुंडल बसै, मृग ढूँढ़े वन माहिं। ऐसे घट-घट राम हैं, दुनिया देखे नाहिं।।

The musk lies within the deer's own navel, yet it wanders the forest searching for its source. In the same way, the divine dwells in every heart, though the world keeps searching outside. Truth lies within, not without.

काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब। पल में परलय होयगी, बहुरि करेगा कब।।

Do tomorrow's work today, and today's work right now — because everything can change in an instant, and then when will you ever do it? A call not to delay doing what is right.

दुख में सुमिरन सब करे, सुख में करे न कोय। जो सुख में सुमिरन करे, तो दुख काहे को होय।।

Everyone remembers the divine in times of suffering, but almost no one does in times of joy. Kabir says if one remembered the divine in joy too, why would sorrow ever come? True devotion should not be conditional on hardship.