20 Timeless Sant Kabir Dohas: Life-Changing Lessons for Spiritual Awakening and Inner Peace

Here are 20 of the best Dohas (couplets) of Sant Kabir, a mystic poet and saint, whose verses emphasize spiritual awakening, simplicity, and the essence of human existence:

1.

बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय। जो मन देखा आपना, मुझसे बुरा न कोय॥
(I set out to find the bad in others, but I found none. When I looked inside my own heart, I realized that none is worse than me.)

2.

धीरे-धीरे रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होय। माली सींचे सौ घड़ा, ऋतु आये फल होय॥
(Slowly, slowly, O mind, everything happens at its own pace. The gardener waters the plant a hundred times, but fruit only comes when it is in season.)

3.

साईं इतना दीजिये, जा में कुटुम समाय। मैं भी भूखा न रहूं, साधु न भूखा जाय॥
(O Lord, give me just enough that my family and I can live happily, and that no saint leaves my door hungry.)

4.

पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय। ढाई आखर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय॥
(The world died reading books, but none became wise. One who understands the meaning of love is the true scholar.)

5.

माला फेरत जुग गया, गया न मन का फेर। कर का मनका डार दे, मन का मनका फेर॥
(One may keep rotating the beads of a rosary for ages, but that won’t change one’s heart. Drop the beads of the hand and turn the beads of the mind.)

6.

मन के हारे हार है, मन के जीते जीत। कहे कबीर हरि पाइये, मन ही के परतीत॥
(Victory and defeat are a matter of the mind. If you believe in yourself, you find God.)

7.

चलती चक्की देख के, दिया कबीरा रोय। दो पाटन के बीच में, साबुत बचा न कोय॥
(Seeing the grinding stones at the mill, Kabir wept. No one who is caught between them remains intact.)

8.

जब मैं था तब हरि नहीं, अब हरि है मैं नाहिं। प्रेम गली अति सांकरी, तामें दो न समाहिं॥
(When I existed, there was no God. Now that God is there, I am no more. The path of love is narrow; it cannot contain two.)

9.

जो उग्या सो अन्तबै, फूलै सो कुमलाय। जो चिनिया सो ढहि पड़े, जो आया सो जाय॥
(Whatever is born must die, whatever blooms must wither. Whatever is built will fall apart, and whatever comes must go.)

10.

कबीरा खड़ा बाजार में, लिए लुकाठी हाथ। जो घर जारे आपना, चले हमारे साथ॥
(Kabir stands in the marketplace, torch in hand. Whoever burns down his own house can come with me.)

11.

हमन है इश्क मस्ताना, हमन को होशियारी क्या। रहें आजाद या जग से, हमन को राजकारी क्या॥
(I am intoxicated with divine love; what do I need awareness for? Whether I live freely or am bound, what do I care for worldly power?)

12.

कबीरा सोई पीर है, जो जाने पर पीर। जो पर पीर न जानही, सो का पीर अधीर॥
(Kabir is a true saint who understands the pain of others. One who does not feel others’ pain cannot be called a saint.)

13.

पानी बिच मीन पियासी, मोहे सुन-सुन आवत हाँसी। जिन घुन लागा कपास में, सो मरी-मरी कर फाँसी॥
(The fish remains thirsty in the water, and I laugh at its irony. Like a worm in cotton, it slowly dies, suffocating from within.)

14.

कबीरा सो धन संचिये, जो आगे को होय। सीस चढ़ाए पोटली, ले जात न देख्यो कोय॥
(Kabir says, collect only that wealth which will benefit you in the future. No one has ever carried the bundle of worldly wealth beyond life.)

15.

जिन खोजा तिन पाइया, गहरे पानी पैठ। मैं बपुरा बूढ़न डरा, रहा किनारे बैठ॥
(Those who searched deeply found pearls, diving into the depths. I, the fearful one, stood by the shore and watched.)

16.

मति का मुलक मोल नहीं, सज्जन का मुलक मोल। सच्चा सन्देश कबीरा दे, ले वेतन की टोल॥
(Wisdom is priceless, and the company of good people is invaluable. Kabir offers true teachings, expecting no reward.)

17.

माया मुई न मन मुआ, मरी मरी गया शरीर। आसा तृष्णा न मुई, यों कह गए कबीर॥
(Neither attachment nor the mind dies, even when the body passes away. Desires and cravings persist, says Kabir.)

18.

कस्तूरी कुंडल बसे, मृग ढूंढे बन माहि। ऐसे घट-घट राम हैं, दुनिया देखे नाहि॥
(The musk deer searches the forest for musk, unaware that it resides within its own body. Similarly, God resides within every heart, but the world searches outside.)

19.

माँगन मरण समान है, मत कोई माँगो भीख। माँगन से मरना भला, यह सतगुरु की सीख॥
(Begging is akin to death; do not ask for alms. It is better to die than to beg; this is the teaching of the true Guru.)

20.

**मन मस्त हुआ तब क्यों बोले।
शब्द देख मुँह मेटे॥

(When the mind becomes absorbed in divinity, it no longer speaks. The wordless experience erases all worldly desires.)