— Songs of Kabir, II.61 (tr. Rabindranath Tagore, 1915)
About this quote
हिन्दी में
मैं सच कहता हूँ, क्योंकि जीवन में सच को अपना लिया है; अब सच से ही नाता है, सारा झूठा चमक-दमक बुहार दिया।
What it means
Look at the order: truthful speech comes last, as a result. He accepted truth in his life first; the speaking follows. Then comes an odd admission — I am now attached to truth. Attachment is usually the thing a mystic renounces, and here it is claimed openly: one attachment has taken the place of many.
The last clause is the sharpest. What was swept away is tinsel — not sin, not desire, but glitter: the decorative, the impressive, the added shine. And swept is a householder’s word, a broom in a room, not a renunciant’s fire. The line is a plain self-report, and it is worth keeping for being unembarrassed about it.
What it teaches you
If you find yourself trying to be more honest in what you say, this line says you have started at the wrong end — the speech follows from something conceded earlier, in private. And check what you would have to sweep: tinsel is not wrongdoing, it is ornament, so the audit is of the flourishes in how you present yourself, the small upgrades to a story that cost nothing and change everything.
अर्थ और सीख
क्रम पर ध्यान दें — सच बोलना यहाँ नतीजा है, अभ्यास नहीं; पहले जीवन में सच को अपनाया गया, बोलना उसके बाद आया। और कबीर खुलकर कहते हैं कि अब सच से ‘लगाव’ है — यानी एक आसक्ति ने बाकी सारी आसक्तियों की जगह ले ली। जो बुहारा गया वह पाप नहीं, बल्कि चमक-दमक है — अपनी बात में जोड़ी गई सजावट, जिसे हटाने से ही सच बोलना सहज होता है।
Where it comes from
From song II.61 of the Songs of Kabir.
Kabir (15th century) was a weaver of Benares whose songs mock every search for God outside one’s own heart; Hindus and Muslims both claimed him, and he refused both. This rendering is from Songs of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore (1915); the song number is cited with this quote.
