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The Drop and the Sea by Kabir (15th Century) Timeline English version by Andrew Harvey Original Language Hindi Muslim / Sufi Yoga / Hindu 15th Century I went looking for Him And lost myself; The drop merged with the Sea -- Who can find it now? Looking and looking for Him I lost myself; The Sea merged with the drop -- Who can find it now?     -- from Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut Amazon.com	Themes   Water         Recommended Books The Bijak of Kabir, Translated by Linda Hess / Translated by Shukdeo Singh The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal The Kabir Book: Forty-Four fo the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir, Translated by Robert Bly Kabir: The Weaver's Songs, by Kabir / Translated by Vinay Dharwadker More >>
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

In this poem the Sea is, of course, a metaphor for God, the vast reality which includes each of us as individual drops.

Kabir says, "I went looking for Him..." The drop went looking for the Sea. There is an absurdity in that. How can a drop go looking for the Sea? The drop is already IN the Sea, part of it. In discovering the Sea, the drop recognizes that the Sea is water, just as the drop itself is water. Water within water. Finally recognizing this, how can the drop maintain the illusion of separation? There is no dividing line between water and water -- no skin, no barrier, no separation. The drop loses its false sense of being a drop. It loses itself, it loses its 'dropness,' and merges with the immense continuity of the Sea.

At that point there is no separate self, no one to go seeking. "Who can find it now?" There is only the Sea and no one to go looking for it.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.