मन लाग्यो मेरो यार फकीरी में Man Lagyo mero yaar fakiri mein
जो सुख पाऊँ राम भजन में Jo sukh paoon Ram bhajan mein
वो सुख नहीं अमीरी में woh sukh nahin ameeri mein
भला बुरा सबको सुन लीजो Bhala Bhura sabko sun leejo
कर गुजरान गरीबी में kar gujraan gareebi mein
हाथ में तुम्बा, बगल में सोटा Haath mein toomba, bagal mein sota
चारों दिशाएं जागीरी में chaaron dishayen jagiri mein
प्रेम नगर में रहनी हमारी Prem nagar mein rehani hamari
भली बन आयो सबूरी में Bhali bani aayee saboori mein
आखिर यह तन खाख मिलेगा Aakhir yeh tan khaak milega
क्या फिरे मग़रूरी में kya fire magroori mein
कहे कबीर सुनो बही साधो Kahe kabir suno bhai sadho
साहिब मिलेगा सबूरी में sahib milega saboori mein
I enjoy being a Fakir
The joy that I get in singing Ram Bhajans
I don’t get that in enjoying the riches of life
For being a Fakir, I would listen all good & bad things
and I would live in poverty
If I have my one stringed instrument in one hand, and my stick in another
All four directions are my wealth
I live in the land of love
and the good comes from being content
This body will finally merge with the earth
What is there to be proud of it
Kabir says – you will find HIM
right here in your patience
Fakir is a word that we need to understand here. This poem through various metaphors tries to explain what a Fakir is and what he enjoys and how once you start enjoying being Fakir – there is nothing else that matters from that point onwards.
Fakir is someone who can have or has everything but chooses not to have. He is detached from the material world in a way that it can not bind him. He can not be bound to one house, one person – as he believes that the whole world and everyone in this world belong to him. He is equanimous as his sense of being does not come from what he owns, where he lives and who he is related to.
Read More – Who is Kabir?
In this poem ‘ Man Lagyo Mero Yaar Fakiri Mein ‘, he says that I am blissfully lost in the world of a Fakir. I enjoy my bhajans more than any riches. For this I can listen to anything good or bad that I have to, I am willing to spend my life in poverty for I enjoy the absolute freedom that Fakiri gives me.
He says as long as I have my one-stringed instrument called Tumba in my one hand and my stick in another, all four directions are my kingdom. This reflects his inclination towards music or the need for music in life even when there is nothing else that’s required. Come to think of it when we try and possess small pieces of real estate or other materialistic things – in a way are we not giving up our claim to everything else, are we not saying – this is mine and implicitly imply that everything else is not mine. When you give up anything you have, suddenly everything becomes yours.
Read More – Bhakti Dravid Upaji – Kabir Saakhi
He then reflects on the fact that this life is momentary – a theme that recurs in many of his poems. Since this body is momentary, what’s the point in being proud of it nurturing vanity for it. He is urging us to immerse in the eternal pleasures that come when you love and when you are content with what you have.
Read More – Kabir by Hazari Prasad Dwivedi
Kabir says you will find HIM or GOD in this very contentment. Do not go looking out for him elsewhere, he resides right inside you – again a theme that repeats many times in his works.
