Kabir At His Loom (1398-1448)

What's visible isn't real--
what's real is ineffable.

What can't be seen can't be known--
what hasn't been said can't be believed.

The man who knows uses words and signs--
an ignoramus gapes in astonishment.

Some concentrate on a god without a form--
some on a god who has an outward shape.

The man of knowledge understands--
the Creator's different from both of these.

The Creator's love remains invisible--
His syllables don't fall on human ears.

Kabir says, the man who comprehends
both love and renunciation--

he doesn't read the text of death,
the text of the world's extermination.

[Tr. Vinay Dharwadker].