Couplets of Kabir: A Vision of Beyond

The genius of Kabir's dohas is legendary. They are presented in his trademark lyrical spontaneity with disarmingly simple analogies from day to day life...and yet they carry in them an immense depth of practical philosophy. In fact the full import of what he says is often understood and absorbed only after a lot of reflection and introspection.
In her translations of 400 dohas of Kabir into English, Dr. Sushila Mahajan has attempted to maintain the original lyrical rhythm and beauty while unraveling the master-poet's message for those not familiar with his mother tongue.
The dohas try and enumerate the journey of life across the world-sea with a view to going beyond it to Eternal Bliss, hence the title "... a Vision of Beyond". It also reflects the paradox that Kabir throws light on-that the Eternal Bliss that we seek beyond actually lies within. "Futile it is to seek God outside, like musk lying in the navel of the musk deer, God too is within".
Kabir assures the reader that anyone can experience the God inside provided they can drop their ego, sweep away the cobwebs in their mind and scour it clean till it shines like a mirror to reflect the God inherent there.

Dr. Sushila Mahajan retired in 2005 as a Reader in the Department of English at Kalindi College of Delhi University. Equally fond of Hindi and English Literature, she enjoys translating from Hindi into English and vice-versa. Apart from translating the first volume of 'Talks', by Swami Parmatmanandaji, from English into Hindi, she has been translating poems and articles for Matruvani', a monthly magazine published by Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Amritapuri, Kollam (Kerala). In 2003, her book, 'Says Kabir...', a collection of over a hundred poems of Kabir, translated from Hindi into English, was published by Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
At present, most of the time, she stays at MAM, Kerala and gives lectures on value-education to the students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.

… and so admits Kabir, that his couplets are the product of Divine will. He, on the Lord's order, merely says what he has seen, and hopes that his words will help the mortals who hear them, go the world sea. Implicit in this hope is a very interesting and important underlying belief that the goal of life is to go beyond the world-sea of sorrows and joys to Eternal Bliss or God. They (couplets) also state that like fire in the flint' or 'like pupil in the God eye, is inside.' Those who seek Him in earnest, succeed. The search implies going deep within, it is a journey from the world outside to the inner space. And it starts from here and from the nucleus of the universe.
Precise and pointed, the couplets pierce the heart and stay put there. Before elaborating what these couplets are about, let us see in brief, how and why they were composed

Kabir means great. His greatness lies in saying subtle truths of life in simple terms. And it is this biblical simplicity that is very difficult to translate. But such a hold he has on his lovers that they just can't resist the temptation to translate him with a hope that others may also enjoy the bliss his poems promise. Attempts to translate him have been going on for more than a century now. This attempt to translate four hundred couplets from Hindi into English, in rhyming couplet form, is really a venture, which could be accomplished only by the sheer grace of Amma, my Guru, Holy Mother Sri Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.
Kabir sang these couplets, six centuries ago in a small village of North India, to an audience comprising of rural folks. So the words and images have a special flavor of that part of the country, and that is alien to the target language. To translate that from Hindi into English is almost like marrying a village belle to a city boy.