Some dohe
C. S. Sudarshana Bhat
textbooks. The translations are by Shashi Kant Joshi (sjo...@ub.d.umn.edu).
Some food for thought, I hope.
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| vidyaa dhan udyam binaa, kaho ju paave kaun|
| binaa Dulaa-A naa mile, jyon pankhaa kee paun||1||
Without work (udyam) tell (me) who gets Knowledge and wealth
Just like w/o moving the (hand)fan you don't get its breeze(paun)
| karat-karat abhyaas ke, jaRmati hot sujaan|
| rasree aavat jaat ten, sil par parat nisaan||2||
By practising over and over again, even a fool(jaRmati - whose IQ is stagnant)
becomes wise. The rope(less tough) which goes over the stone
(at the well, that stone over which the rope goes, then over the
pulley and then in the well: for taking out water)
makes its imprint on the tough stone. [ So even a weak/low at IQ can do
a tough job by practise, you get the meaning, right?]
| yon raheem sukh hot hai, upkaaree ke sang|
| baanTanvaare ko lage, jyon mehndee ko rang||3||
Rahim says : It is good to be with an altruist. Like the one who distributes
(applies) the mehndee also gets its color (Mehndee for the bride, beautiful
ladies etc.) without deserving(?) or working for it. in the sense that it
was not meant for the baatanewaalaa(distributor, applicator).
| je gareeb par hit karen, te raheem baR log|
| kahaa sudaama baapuro, kriShN mitaaee jog||4||
Rahim says: Those who do good to poor, they are great people.
Poor Sudaamaa and the friendship of Krishna!! (Just the reference to the names
is enough for the reader to make out the rest!)
| aisee baanee boliye, man kaa aapaa khoy|
| auran ko seetal kare, aapahun seetal hoy||5||
Speak such words that makes one forget the temper.
Cools down others, and cools oneself!
| kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab|
| pal men parlay hoy(a)gee, bahuri karega kab||6||
What you want to do tomorrow, do it today, what you want to do today, do it
now. Catastrophe can happen any second, when will you do all that you want
to?
| aab gaee aadar gayaa, nainan gayaa saneh|
| ye teenon tabahee ga-A, jabahin kahaa kachhu deh||7||
(Your)Diginity is lost, respect (for you) is lost, and the affection (for you)
in the (their) eyes is gone.
All three are gone when you say (to somebody) "give me something".
| baRaa huwaa to kyaa huwa, jaise peR khajoor|
| panthee ko chhaaya naheen, phal laagai ati door||8||
So what if you are big, like the palm tree.
No shade for the traveller and fruits are so far away!
| NEETI KE DOHE (No exact word for Neeti, policy, way of life etc)
| ----- -- ----
| kahi raheem sampati sage, banat bahut bahu reet|
| bipat kasauTee je kase, so hee saanche meet||9||
Rahim says: With wealth lot of people develop affection(reet) for you.
One who passes the test on the Kasauti(touchstone?? one used to test gold) of
trouble/need (i.e. trouble/need is the test of friendship) only that is
a true friend. (Friend in need is a friend indeed)
| bigree baat banai naheen, laakh karo kin koy|
| rahiman phaaTe doodh ko, mathe na maakhan hoy||10||
Screwed up thing never straightens out, whatever you do.
Rahim says: split milk never gives butter, however much you churn it.
| jo raheem uttam prakriti, kaa kari sakat kusang|
| chandan viSh vyaapat naheen, lipaTe rahat bhujang||11||
Rahim says: Those who are of great mettle(, personality, substance, soul) what
can bad company do to them? Sandalwood never gets the poison even though
serpents are entwined on it.
| jo raheem gati deep kee, sut sapoot kee soy|
| baRhe ujairo tehi rahe, ga-A andhero hoy||12||
Rahim says: What is the fate/character of a lamp, so is of a good son.
When it is lighted/flame is high, there is light, when it is gone it is dark.
| jo raheem gati deep kee, kul kapoot kee soy|
| baare ujairo rahe, baRHe andhero hoy||13||
Rahim says: What is the fate/character of a lamp, so is of a bad son.
When it is young(lighted) it lights up(the hopes of the parents?) when
baRHe((Shlesha Alankaar -- one word used once, has different meanings with
different contexts) :: grows up- for the son; extinguishes- for the lamp)
it is all dark(hopeless!)
| TooTe sujan manaaiye, jo TooTe sau baar|
| rahiman phiri-phiri pohiye, TooTe muktaahaar||14||
Rahim says: You should mend a broken friendship with good people, even if it
breaks a hundred times. One goes around (on knees on the floor) to pick up the
pearls of a broken pearl-necklace. (How true and beautiful analogy!!)
| taruvar phal nahin khaat hai, sarvar piyat na paan|
| kahi raheem par kaaj hit, sampati sanchahi sujaan||15||
Trees don't eat the fruits, lakes don't drink the water.
Rahim says: that good people save for the cause of others.
| rahiman tab lagi Theheriye, daan, maan, sanmaan|
| GhaTat maan dekhiye jabahin, turatahi kariy payaan||16||
Rahim says: Be there only till daan(altruism?) respect and dignity (are there)
When you see respect (for you) declining, you should immediately
depart(payaan). [ No point staying in a place where you are not respected]
| rahiman teen prakaar te, hit anhit pehchaani|
| parbas pare, paros bas, pare maamilaa jaani||17||
Rahim says: There are three ways you can distinguish good and bad (for you,
i.e beneficial, harmful)
ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO HAS REACHED THIS DOHA? COULD YOU EXPLAIN THE
SECOND LINE?? ;-) ;-)
| rahiman deki baRen ko, laGhu na keejiye Daari|
| jahaan kaam aavai suee, kahaa kare talvaari||18||
Rahim says: when you see big/large don't discard the small.
Where you need the needle, what can the sword do??
| rahiman par upkaar ke, karat na bhaaree beech|
| maans diyo shivi bhoop ne, deenhon haaR dadheech||19||
Rahim says: For the cause of others, there is nothing too much(no good deed is
too great). King Shivi gave his flesh(to the hawk to save the pigeon) and
Dadheechi gave his bones(to the gods to make a mace to kill a demon).
| rahiman nij man kee bithaa, man hee raakho goy|
| suni aThilaihain log sab, baanTi na laihai koy||20||
Rahim says: Your hearts troubles, keep them with you.
On hearing them, people will chuckle, no one will share.
| rahiman paanee raakhiye, bin paanee sab soon|
| paanee ga-A na oobare, motee maanuSh, choon||21||
Rahim says: Keep water, without it everything is worthless.
[ Get ready for another (Shlesha Alankaar) ]
Without water these are useless : pearl(the shine), person(character),
flour/calcium (water). I.e pearl without shine, person w/o character
| rahiman vipdaa hoo bhalee, jo thore din hoy|
| hit anhit yaa jagat men, jaani parat sab koy||22||
Rahim says: If trouble comes, it is good, if it is for a short duration.
One comes to know good and bad in this world, and also knows who the friends
are!
| GURU MAHIMA - kabeerdaas ke dohe (Praise of the guru)
| ---- ------ ---------- -- ----
Guru in the following means a teacher, mentor, the knowledgeable.
| guru gobind do-oo khaRe, kaake laagaun paayn|
| balihaaree guru aapne, govind diyo milaay||23||
Guru and God both are standing in front of me, whose feet should I touch?
Hail the guru!! for you showed me the God!!
(After all, god is a concept, a state, to which only a true
teacher/guide/mentor can take you)
| yeh tan viSh kee belree, guru amrit kee khaan|
| sees diye jo guru milen, to bhee sastaa jaan||24||
This body is a vine of poison(all immoral things are done by this body),
guru is a mine of nectar.
If I get a guru even at the price of my head, it is still a good deal.
| guru kumhaar sis kumbh ai, gaRhi gaRhi kaaRhai khoT|
| antar haath sahaar de, baahar baahai choT||25||
Guru is a potter, disciple is a pot and the guru prods and prods to remove the
defects. Supports inside with the hand and beats on the outside.
[ Like the potter supports the pot from inside and beats on outside to give it
shape, so does a guru wants good of the disciple, but appears to be harsh.
A disciple is like a clay, unformed, worthless; but a guru is a like a potter,
who forms shapes out of the clay, gives it some worth]
| kabiraa hari ke rooThte, guru ke sarne jaay|
| keh kabeer guru rooThte, hari nahin hot sahaay||26||
Kabir says: If god is angry with me, I will go to my guru.
If my guru is angry, even god can't be of any help.
| sab dhartee kaagad karoon, lekhni sab banraay|
| saat samund kee masi karoon, guru-gun likhaa na jaay||27||
If I make all the earth as paper(writing surface), and the forest trees as
pen/stylus, and make ink out of the seven seas, I still can't complete the
task of writing the good points of a guru.
| AATMNIVEDAN (Confession to the God inside oneself)
| -----------
augun = bad character, wrong doing, immoral etc.
ava = bad; gun = a characteristic
so augun = bad characteristic
| kyaa mukh lai bintee karoon, lajjaa aavat mohin|
| tum dekhat augun karon, kaise bhaavaun tohin||28||
With what face do I ask (for forgiveness?), I feel ashamed.
I do bad while You (god) are seeing, how can You like it?(i.e.You don't like it)
| augun kiye to bahu kiye, karat na maanee haar|
| bhaavai bandaa baksiye, bhaavai gardan maar||29||
I have done many wrong things and never got tired of it.
If You like forgive me, if You like chop my head off(kill me)
| saeen keraa bahut gun, augun koee naahin|
| jo dil khojaun aapnaa, tab augun mujh maahin||30||
God did everything good, nothing bad. When I searched my heart, I found all
the wrongs there. (i.e find faults in oneself, not in others)
| saahab tumhin dayaal ho, tum lagi meree daur|
| jaise kaak jahaaj ko, soojhe aur na Thaur||31||
Sire! You are the boss! And I can only reach (call for help?) You!
Like a crow on a wrecked ship doesn't find any other place to be.
| tum to samarath saaiyaan, driRh kari pakro baahin|
| dhurhi lai pahunchaaiyo, jani chhaanRo mag maahin||32||
You are capable, God, hold my arm tightly.
So that I reach across the strong undercurrents of the river (basically that
is what it means)
| SUMIRAN (Remembering the goodness, God, truth, reality)
| -------
In the following God means doing good, goodness,
and sumiran means thoughts of/action about God (with above interpretation)
prayer etc.
| dukh men sumiran sab karain, sukh men karai na koy|
| jo sukh men sumiran karai, to dukh kaahe (ko) hoy||33||
In troubles everyone remembers you (talk of doing good etc.) noone in
prosperity. If they remembered You(goodness) in prosperity, then there would
be no troubles.
| sukh men sumiran naa kiyaa, dukh men keeyaa yaad|
| keh kabeer taa daas kaa, kaun sunai fariyaad||34||
Didn't remember in prosperity and remembered in troubles.
Kabir says: who will listen to such a person(daas :puny mortal compared to god)
's call for help.
| sumiran son man laaiye, jaise naad kurang|
| keh kabeer bisrai naheen, praan tajai tehi sang||35||
One should seat/protect the thoughts of God in one's heart just like
the musk deer seats/protects the musk (in its navel - 'belly button').
Kabir says: it doesn't let go of the perfume, and would give up its life
along with the perfume.
| maalaa pherat jug bhayaa, phiraa na man kaa pher|
| kar kaa mankaa Daari de, man kaa mankaa pher||36||
It has been ages since you have been turning those rosary beads, but never
changed the dillema of heart (of these worldly affairs)
Abandon the beads of the hands, turn the beads of the heart.
[ There is a Yamak Alankaar here:
kar kaa mankaa Daari de, man kaa mankaa pher||36||
hand's bead abandon heart's bead turn
there is man kaa and mankaa with differnet meanings.
in short, turn over a new leaf, instead of turning the rosary beads]
| maala to kar men phirai, jeebh phirai mukh maahin|
| manuvaa to chahun disi phirai, yeh to sumiran naahin||37||
The rosary moves in the hand, and the tongue in the mouth(talk evil)
And heart moves around (wanders) in all directions, this is NOT meditation,
remebering god, praying.
| SAADHU-MAHIMA Praise of the good people)
| ------ ------
Sadhu means good, its derived meanings are saintly, sagely, altruist etc
| aaj kahai kalh bhajoongaa, kaalh kahai phir kaalh|
| aaj kaalh ke karat hee, ausar jaasee chaal||38||
Today (one) said I will pray tomorrow, tomorrow said, "no, tomorrow!"
While (one) keeps saying today-tomorrow, the opportunity will be gone.
| saadhoo gaanTh na baandhaee, udar samaata ley|
| aage peechhe hari khaRe, jab maangen tab dey||39||
Good people don't hoard, just whatever the stomach can hold(i.e. just one meal
at a time) God is there ahead of me and behind me, whenever I aill ask he will
give me.
| kabiraa sangat saadh kee, begi kareejai jaai|
| durmati door ganvaaisee, desee sumati bataai||40||
Kabir says: The company of a good person, you should grab quickly.
it will repel all evil thoughts and will give good advice.
| sinhon ke lehnRe naheen, hanson kee nahin paant|
| laalon kee nahin boriyaan, saadh na chale jamaat||41||
Lions don't go in herds, swans not in long lines.
Rubies don't come in sackfuls, and good people don't come as a crowd.
i.e. you don't find MANY of these.
Also, jamaat is the line of people sitting at a public eating (given by a rich
or the king or a pious person ) for the foodless(?) Later at the religious
places in general.
| jaati na poochhau saadh kee, poochhi leejiye gyaan|
| mol karau talvaar kaa, paRaa rahan do myaan||42||
Don't ask the caste of a good person, ask the knowledge.
Evaluate the sword for its worth, not the cover.
| CHETAAVANI (Warning)
| ----------
| tinkaa kabahun na nindiye, jo paanyan tar hoy|
| kabahunk uRi aankhin parai, peer Ghaneree hoy||43||
Never think low of the straw, one who gets it crosse over(The only straw to
the drowning!). you never know when it will will fly and fall in your eye,
then it really pains!
| kabiraa garv na keejiye, kaal gahe kar kes|
| naa jaanau kit maarihai, kyaa Ghar kyaa pardes||44||
Kabir says: Never be proud, death has grabbed everyone by the hair.
Never know when it will come on you, be it home(safe) or strange land(unsafe).
| jhoonThe sukh ko sukh kahain, maanat hai man mod|
| jagat chabena kaal kaa, kuchh mukh men kuchh god||45||
The heart calls the fake happiness(of the mortal world) as happiness and
thinks it is happy.
This world is the breakfast of Death, some in the mouth, some in the lap(the
cereal bowl?!)
| paanee kera budbudaa, as maanus kee jaat|
| dekhat hee chhip jaaegaa, jyon taara parbhaat||46||
Human's fate is like the bubble on water(not even soap!)(momentary)
It will set(go out of sight) like the morning star (very soon)
| raat ganvaaee soy kar, divas ganvaaya khaay|
| heeraa janm amol thaa, kauRee badle jaay||47||
Night you lost sleeping, and the day you lost eating.
This life was like a priceless diamond, and is turning into a
seashell(worthless)
:-)
| oonche kul kaa janmiyaa, karnee ooch na hoy|
| subran kalas suraa bharaa, saadhoo nindai soy||48||
Just born in a high caste doesn't make one great.
Even a golden goblet full of alcohol, is condemned by the sadhu(pure,
righteous, controlled, pious etc )
| saadhoo aisaa chaahiye, jaisaa soop subhaay|
| saar-saar ko gahi rahe, thothaa dey uRaay||49||
Saadhu should be like the winnow.
Keeps the gist (important matter) and discards the waste.
[ Webster's
1a1: to remove (as chaff) by a current of air
1a2: to get rid of (something undesirable or unwanted)
2a: to treat (as grain) by exposure to a current of air so that waste
matter is eliminated
2: to separate desirable and undesirable elements-
2 winnow n (1580)
1: a device for winnowing
]
| uttam vidyaa leejiye, jadpi neech pai hoy|
| paryau apaavan Thaur men, kanchan tajat na koy||50||
Take good learning/advise/thing/lesson/knowledge even if it is below.
i.e. you have to bend (figuratively) to take it.
No one leaves gold that they find on the sandy paths.
| madhur vachan hai auShdhee, kaTuk vachan hai teer|
| sravan dvaar hvai sancharai, saalai sakal sareer||51||
Sweet words are the medicine, harsh are the arrows
Ears are the entry point, and they(words) effect the whole being(body)
like a medicine or an arrow.
| kachhu kahi neech na chheRiye, bhalo na vaako sang|
| paathar Daarai keech men, uchri bigaarai ang||52||
Never disturb a bad person, their company is not good.
If you throw a stone in the mud, it jumps/splashes and spoils your body.
| baRe baRaaee nahin karain, baRe na bolain bol|
| rahiman heeraa kab kahai, laakh Takaa mera mol||53||
Great people don't praise themselves, neither do they talk about themselves
Rahim says: When does a diamond say that is priceless?
--the_soothsayer@Timbaktoo (alias Shashi Kant Joshi )
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The more I know them, the less I trust (these d*mn computers! :-)
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