the spiritual athlete

be quiet

 

The spiritual athlete often changes the color of his clothes,
and his mind remains gray and loveless.

He sits inside a shrine room all day,
so that the Guest has to go outdoors and praise the rocks.

Or he drills holes in his ears, his hair grows
enormous and matted,
people mistake him for a goat…
He goes out into wilderness areas, strangles his impulses,
and makes himself neither male nor female…

He shaves his skull, puts his robe in an orange vat,
reads the Bhagavad-Gita, and becomes a terrific talker.

Kabir says: Actually you are going in a hearse
to the country of death,
bound hand and foot!

Kabir

translated by robert bly

 

there are few that find the path

ernst haas

 

Friend,

please tell me what

I can do about this world I hold to,

and keep spinning out! I gave up sewn clothes,

and wore a robe, but I noticed one day the cloth was

well woven. So I bought some burlap, but I still throw it

elegantly over my shoulder. I pulled back my sexual longings,

and now I discover that I’m angry a lot. I gave up rage, and

now I notice that I am greedy all day. I worked hard at

dissolving my greed, and now I am proud of myself.

When the mind wants to break its link with

the world it still holds on to one thing.

Kabir says: Listen, my friend,

there are very few that

find the path!

 

Kabir