साधो ये मुरदों का गांव!
O excellent men, this is the land of the dead
पीर मरे, पैगम्बर मरि हैं,
The mystics die, so do the Prophets
Saith my sweet Kabira elsewhere, classifying the mystics further into three progressive categories:
हद हद टपे सो औलिया,
One who transcends this world is an Auliya
बेहद टपे सो पीर
One who transcends the other world is a Peer
हद अनहद दोउ टपे सो वाको नाम फ़कीर
One who transcends both this world and the other is called a Fakir
मरि हैं ज़िन्दा जोगी,
The living Yogis die
राजा मरि हैं, परजा मरि हैं,
The King dies, so do the subjects
मरि हैं बैद और रोगी।
The Doctor dies and so does the patient
साधो ये मुरदों का गांव!
O excellent men, this is the land of the dead
चंदा मरि है, सूरज मरि है,
The Moon dies and so does the Sun
मरि हैं धरणी आकासा,
The Earth perishes and so does the Sky
चौदह भुवन के चौधरी मरि हैं
The ruler of the 14 worlds too perishes
इन्हूँ की का आसा।
What can one expect from them?
साधो ये मुरदों का गांव!
O excellent men, this is the land of the dead
नौहूँ मरि हैं, दसहुँ मरि हैं,
The Nine die, so do the Ten
(This could be in reference to the Navgrahas or the Nine Nath Gurus of the Nath Sampraday and the Dashavatars of Vishnu; possibly referring to the recurrent cycles of sarjan and visarjan that occur periodically)
मरि हैं सहज अठ्ठासी,
The 88 great Siddhas embrace death seamlessly
(Some ancient texts like the Vajrayana Buddhism mention 84 Siddhas in number).
तैंतीस कोटि देवता मरि हैं,
The 33 crore demigods die
बड़ी काल की बाज़ी।
Tremendous is the game of Death
साधो ये मुरदों का गांव!
O excellent men, this is the land of the dead
नाम अनाम अनंत रहत है,
This is the grand summary in one verse.
The name, nameless, alone is eternal. The Teaching is always more important than the Teacher as the Guru tatva (the primordial essence) cannot be confined to any physical encasement. Says Tulsi Ramayan, "Hari anant, Hari katha ananta" suggesting that while Ram (son of Dasharath was limited in time and form) is the epitome of greatness, Ram's virtues as Maryada Purushuttam and his teachings are timeless and eternal.
दूजा तत्व न होइ,
There's no other Truth
कहे कबीर सुनो भाई साधो
Says Kabir, listen O excellent men
भटक मरो मत कोई।
Don't fall prey to vain Song and Dance!
~ संत कबीर 🪷🙇♂️🪷
Meaningful translation of the Kabir bhajan! 🙏🏻
Kabir, Rahim, Dadu etc. so direct, they strike exactly every time!