I felt in need of a great pilgrimage. So I sat still for three days, and God came to me.
Only in the heart can one experience the divine presence of truth. When the flower opens, the bees will come. Be strong then, and enter into your own body. There, you have a solid place for your feet. Think about it carefully. Don’t go off somewhere else. Just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things, and stand firm in that which you are.
Lift the veil that obscures the heart. And there, you will find what you are looking for.
Look at you, you madman. Screaming you are thirsty, and dying in a desert. When all around you there is nothing but water.
Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in the Stupas; not in Indian Shrine-rooms; nor in Synagogues; nor in Cathedrals; not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, or in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly. You will find me in the tiniest house of Time.
Student, tell me, ‘What is God?’
God is the breath inside the breath. Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you. The One no-one talks of, speaks the secret sound to themself, and they are The One, who has made it all.
The flute of the infinite is played without ceasing. And its sound is love. Within the body, there is played music unending, though without stringed instruments. That music of the Word pervades the entire creation. Who listens to it, is freed from all illusion.
I talked to my inner lover, and I say, why such rush? We sense that there is some sort of spirit that loves birds, and animals, and the ants. Perhaps the same one that gave a radiance to you, in your mother’s womb. Is it logical that you would be walking around entirely orphaned, now? The truth is that you have turned away from yourself, and have decided to go into the dark alone. Now you are tangled up in others and have forgotten what you once knew. And that’s why everything you do has some weird sense of failure in it.
I went in search of a bad person, I found none, as I, seeing myself, found me the worst.
Listen to your own Self. If you listen to that Self within, then you find the truth. The truth of love is the truth of the universe. It is the lamp of the soul that reveals the secrets of darkness.
All darkness vanished when I saw the lamp within my heart. Wherever you are, that’s the entry point. When you feel most alive, find out why. This is the one guest you won’t greet twice.
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation. Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound.
Do not go to the garden of flowers. Oh friend, go not there. In your body is the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus. And there, gaze on the infinite beauty.
Seeking, why run around sprinkling holy water? There’s an ocean inside you, and when you’re ready, you will drink. When you really look for me, you will see me, instantly.
Be quiet in your mind. Quiet in your senses. And also quiet in your body. Then, when all these are quiet, don’t do anything. In that state, truth will reveal itself to you.
I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God. The river that flows in you also flows in me. All know that the drop merges into the ocean, but few know that the ocean merges into the drop.
The Beloved is inside you, and also inside me. You know the tree is hidden inside the seed. Let your arrogance go. None of us has gone far. Inside Love there is more power than we realize.
As the river surrenders itself to the ocean, what is inside me moves inside you. If you want the truth, I’ll tell you the truth. Listen to the secret sound, the real sound. Which is inside you.
As long as I talked unceasingly about The Lord, The Lord stayed away, kept at a distance. But when I silenced my mouth, sat very still, and fixed my mind at the doorway of The Lord, I was linked to the music of The Word, and all my talking came to an end.
My heart is so intoxicated with Love, that I have no wish to speak.
Reading books, everyone died. None became any wise. One who reads the word of Love only becomes wise. The instruction of the foolish is a waste of knowledge. Soap cannot wash charcoal white.
They are the real guru who can reveal the form of the formless before your eyes. Who teaches the simple path without rights or ceremonies. Who does not make you close your doors and hold your breath and renounce the world. Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit, whenever the mind detaches itself. Who teaches you to be still in the midst of your activities. Fearless, always immersed in bliss, they keep the spirit of yoga in the midst of enjoyments.
Do not praise yourself nor slander others. There are still many days to go, and anything could happen.
Take a pitcher full of water and set it down in the water. Now it has water inside and water outside. We musn’t give it a name, lest silly people start talking again about the body and the soul.
I do not quote from the scriptures. I simply see what I see. Many have died. You also will die. The drum of death is being beaten. The world has fallen in love with a dream. Only sayings of the wise will remain.
I don’t think there is such a thing as an intelligent megarich person. For whom with a fine mind, can look out upon this world and hoard, what can nourish a thousand souls?
One love it is that pervades the whole world. Few there are who know it fully. They are blind who hope to see it by the light of reason. That reason which is the cause of separation. The house of reason is very far away.
It is time to put up a love swing. Tie the body, and then tie the mind. So that they swing between the arms of the secret one you love. Bring the water that falls from the clouds to your eyes. And cover yourself inside entirely with the shadow of night. Bring your face up close to his ear. And then talk only about what you want deeply to happen.
Oh my soul, you come and you go, through the paths of time and space, in useless play, you will not find the way. So set your course and go. Sing such a song with all your life, you will never have to sing again. Love such a one with all your heart, you’ll never need to love again. Walk such a path with all your faith, you’ll never have to wander again. Give yourself to the guru, you’ll never have to seek again. Pray such a prayer with all your soul, you’ll never have to pray again. Die such a death at the feet of God, you’ll never have to die again. Breathe, my love. Breathe, my love. Breathe in the quiet center.
There is nothing but water in the holy pools. I know. I have been swimming there. All the gods sculpted of wood or ivory can’t say a word. I know. I have been crying out to them.
The sacred books of the east are nothing but words. I look through their covers one day sideways.
What Kabir talks of is only what he has lived through. If you have not lived through something, it is not true.
The external forces conceal from the eyes, the deep meaning of existence. True faith resides in the heart.
There is no river at all. And no boat. And no boatman. There is not even a rope to tow the boat, and no one to pull it. There is no earth, no sky, no time — no thing, no shore, no ford.
I’ve burned my own house down. The torch is in my hand. Now I’ll burn down the house of anyone who wants to follow me.