Kabir: Hey brother, why do you want me to talk?

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Hey brother, why do you want me to talk?

Kabir, Kabir poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry, poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, Yoga / Hindu poetry

by Kabir
(15th Century) Timeline

English version by
John Stratton Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer

Original Language
Hindi

Muslim / Sufi

Yoga / Hindu

15th Century

Hey brother, why do you want me to talk?
Talk and talk and the real things get lost.

Talk and talk and things get out of hand.
Why not stop talking and think?

If you meet someone good, listen a little, speak;
If you meet someone bad, clench up like a fist.

Talking with a wise man is a great reward.
Talking with a fool? A waste.

Kabir says: A pot makes noise if it's half full,
But fill it to the brim -- no sound.

-- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer

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/ Photo by acidcookie /

Themes

Sound

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
	Kabir: The Weaver's Songs, by Kabir / Translated by Vinay Dharwadker
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
	One Hundred Poems of Kabir: Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, by Kabir / Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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Talk and talk and the real things get lost.

I guess I should take my cue from that opening line and, well, not say much. :-)

Kabir says: A pot makes noise if it's half full,
But fill it to the brim -- no sound.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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