Kabir’s Wisdom: Truth Over Illusion

 All magics and spells are lies, do not fool the world, the crow has no idea which word can help it turn into a swan. ”

This line is derived from  ‘Dohas of Kabir’ which is a 30-verse composition that has been composed by Kabir, a 15th-century Indian Holy man.

It is a rejection of witchcraft and fake or Westernized medicine and an encouragement of the truth and knowledge, hence the Enlightenment. 

Working with its distinct tone and its words’ connotations, this verse is a clear proclamation of the value of truth and enlightenment for a human being. It is a call to shun the various beliefs that are considered to have been acquired through the spirit medium and instead turn within in search of genuine knowledge.

‘‘Jantar Tantar sab Jhuth hai’’ This eliminates the possibility of anybody using magic or chants to achieve his or her intended goals. 

This thread runs through the whole of Kabir’s work as he did not believe in the power of rulers or lords.

”mat bharmo jag koy” In fact this phrase literally translates into English to “don’t deceive the world. ” 

This is a tell that people should not propagate bad things, particularly superstitious beliefs. Kabir always looked at the possibility of wrong teachings being propagated and he encouraged people to think critically of what was being told and what was being seen. 

He indicated that knowledge existed somewhere deep within. One could only be sought and people should always be forthright in their dealings with other people.

“satt sabad jaane binā” This phrase literally translates to “without knowing the true word. ” The “true word” can be taken in many ways, but in the most basic of terms, it is considered the spiritual and philosophical or even mystical, knowledge a person has or knows of himself.

In this verse, the author is mocking the people who believed in superstitious and paranormal aspects. It claims that inner knowledge and understanding are the way to go out in a quest for knowledge and not through magic and spells.

The Power of Truthful Knowledge: Therefore, according to Kabir, the change has to be internal, which can only be brought about by accepting the nature of existence.

Thus, he stated that without this knowledge people are as hopeless as crows.

The crow symbolises ignorance and the swan represents knowledge and enlightenment. The crow is the black bird that depicted the negative omen of death and the swan is the white bird that has been shown to depict beauty and cleanness.

 This specific line infers that without insight, people remain no better than crows. With the right knowledge, we can rise above like the swans above the mire of samsara.

The verse is also a provocation towards reason as a potential source of liberation from the alleged tyrannous rule of magic or chants to achieve his or her intended goals believed in superstitious and paranormal rituals.  People should never act and believe in rituals that do so, it is without taking time and analyzing the information. 

This is the only way we are likely to develop real appreciation and understanding. As far as critical thinking is concerned we should not take everything that is said or written at face value.

In fact, the verse can be interpreted as a message that people should rely on themselves. It means that we should not depend on what people tell us regarding knowledge and happiness. However, we must not rely on external sources for answers that are said to be seeking within us.

The verse can be interpreted as a symbol or as a reminder of the language’s potential as well. This one is, indeed, a true word that is simply symbolic of the power of words that following the verse form something in existence. 

To sum up, there is nothing outside of following rituals of magic spells and superstitions, we should learn how to manage our lives properly to achieve the best result for making our lives more meaningful with true mystical, knowledge a person has or knows of himself.

It is a verse of encouragement. It provides hope to people that even though at the moment they live in a world full of ignorance and superstition one can rise above that and become enlightened.

It is not surprising that there is a heavy moral code expressed in the verse. It motivates people to tell the truth and to be productive as well as strive towards the acquisition of genuine knowledge.

The Doha is a message that teaches people to be independent and find their way to enlightenment. Unlike most fairy tales, it does not focus on getting information or solving problems using magic or spells but using our inner selves.