Kabir Dohas - 5                                                                            

Dheere Dheere Re Mana, Dheere Sub Kutch Hoye
Mali Seenche So Ghara, Ritu Aaye Phal Hoye

QaIro QaIro ro manaa, QaIro saba kuC haoe 
maalaI saIMcao saaO GaZ,a, ?tu Aae fla haoe   

Translation
Slowly slowly O mind, everything in own pace happens
Gardner may water a hundred buckets, fruit arrives only in its season

My understanding
Nature never works in haste. Picking up from this eternal law of Mother  Nature, Kabir brings forward the state of our daily hurried lives.  We are always in a rush to achieve, acquire and be victorious.  It is like a mad race.  This brings us under pressure causing ill-health, fatigue and frustration.  More than that it breeds ill-discipline.  We get forced into a habit pattern whereby we find ourselves either negligent or indulgent.

This all can be corrected if one understands the Doha. Kabir, addressing the doha to the mind which is chanchal or monkeying around, brings about the importance of a relaxed mind, a quiet mind. By relaxed mind, one should not imply lethargy. A very active mind can also be very relaxed.  Relaxation comes through awareness and acceptance.

It is a known fact that a seed sprouts into a sapling only after some time and the sapling grows into a tree gradually.  And the fruit arrives only in its own season.  By the gardener pouring "a hundred buckets of water" (extensive irrigation) will not hasten the arrival of the fruit, rather will ruin the process.

Kabir thus makes us realize that one must do one's best and yet should have the patience for the results to manifest in their own appropriate time. For Nature does not work in haste.

– Rajender Krishan

Visual Art: Simi Nallaseth

Top