- By Aditi Priya Singh
- Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:09 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
50+ Inspiring Quotes And Teachings By Kabir Das: Kabir Jayanti 2025 is an occasion to revisit the timeless wisdom of the legendary poet and mystic, Kabir Das. Born in the 15th century, Kabir Das continues to inspire millions with his profound teachings on love, compassion, truth, and spirituality. His quotes and dohas (couplets) are a treasure trove of wisdom, offering insights into the human condition and the path to inner peace. Kabir Das's teachings transcend time and geography, speaking to people of all ages and backgrounds. His emphasis on the importance of love, humility, and self-realisation is particularly relevant in today's fast-paced world, where people are seeking meaning and purpose.
As we celebrate Kabir Jayanti 2025, let us reflect on the enduring wisdom of Kabir Das and strive to incorporate his teachings into our daily lives. By embracing his message of love, compassion, and truth, we can create a more harmonious and enlightened world. Kabir Das's legacy reminds us that true wisdom lies within, and that by looking inward, we can discover our true potential and live a life of purpose and fulfilment.
Famous Kabir Das Quotes on Love & Compassion
1. Love does not grow in a field, nor is it sold in the market. Whoever desires it, be they king or commoner, can have it by offering their head (ego).
2. Where there is compassion, there is dharma (righteousness). Where there is greed, there is sin. Where there is anger, there is destruction. Where there is forgiveness, there is God.
3. Reading books, the world died, and no one became a scholar. He who reads the two-and-a-half letters of "love" becomes the true scholar.
4. “The true meaning of love is that we love. We should love our enemies, but we should also love ourselves.”
5. If there is no feeling of compassion in the heart, then even immense knowledge is useless. Such people are headed for suffering, even if they listen to all the holy words.
6. For the one who plants thorns for you, you should plant flowers. For you, there will be flowers, but for them, a trident of pain.
7. Pure love naturally draws attention.
8. “I talk to my inner lover… Why such a rush?”
9. True connection grows when we slow down.
10. “It is time to put up a love‑swing! … talk only about what you want deeply to happen.”
Kabir Das quotes on truth and honesty
11. “When the mirror makes you sad, it does not know you.”
12. Truth connects the individual to the universal.
13. “If you want the truth… Listen to the secret sound… inside you.”
14. There is no austerity equal to truth, and no sin equal to falsehood. The one whose heart is filled with truth, in their heart resides God.
15. Keep your critic close by; build a hut for them in your courtyard. Without soap or water, they will wash your character clean.
16. “If you don't break your ropes… do you think ghosts will do it after?”
Free yourself now, not later.
17. I found many who could speak (the truth), but none who could grasp and live it. Let go of the speaker who does not live what they preach.
18. Anyone can dress their body as an ascetic, but rare is the one who can make their mind one. If the mind is mastered, everything is mastered.
19. “All know that the drop merges into the ocean… few know that the ocean merges into the drop.”
20. “Wherever you are, that's the entry point.”
ALSO READ: 11 Kabir Ke Dohe With English Meanings To Learn About Life
Kabir Das quotes on religion and spirituality
21. Spirituality is not confined to religious buildings or pilgrimages. It is a state of being, accessible right here, right now, in your daily life and in your heart.
22. If by worshipping a stone, one can find God, then I would worship a mountain. Better than that is the grinding stone, which at least feeds the world.
23. The Hindu says Ram is beloved, the Muslim says Rahim. Both fight and die against each other, but neither knows the secret (truth).
24. Seek wisdom from living sources—mentors, teachers, and wise people—rather than just from ancient texts or holy places. True guidance is a dynamic, living exchange.
25. Judge people by their character, skills, and wisdom, not by their background, status, or identity. Look for substance over superficial labels.
26. The holiest sites are not external. Your own body, mind, and heart are the sacred places where truth and divinity can be directly experienced.
27. Whatever is, is right here. There is nothing anywhere else. Beyond the courtyard of your own being, your running around is useless.
28. God created one light, and all beings are of that same light. From one light the entire world was made, so who is good and who is bad?
29. "All darkness vanished when I saw the Lamp within my heart."
30. Do not go to the garden of flowers! O friend! Go not there; In your body is the garden of flowers."
Kabir Das Quotes to Achieve Inner Peace
31. "Be quiet in your mind, quiet in your senses, and also quiet in your body. Then, when all these are quiet, don’t do anything. In that state, truth will reveal itself to you."
32. Worry is a witch that cuts out your heart and eats it. What can the poor doctor do? How much medicine can he apply?
33. Defeat is in the mind, and victory is in the mind. Kabir says you can find God through the faith of your own mind.
34. Neither Maya (illusion) died nor the mind, though our bodies die again and again. Hope and craving never died, so said Das Kabir.
35. What you plan to do tomorrow, do it today. What you plan to do today, do it now. In a moment, destruction can come. When will you do it then?
36. Whoever has come will also go—be they king, pauper, or saint. One will depart on a throne, another bound in chains (of their karma).
37. The ultimate inner peace comes from radical contentment. The less you desire from the world, the more powerful and free you become.
38. The clay says to the potter, "Why do you knead me? A day will come when I will knead you."
39. When the mind is stilled by love, the self finds its place in the vast universe, connected to everything else in simple, profound unity.
40. “Just as nature takes its time to bear fruit, our efforts and hard work will yield results in due time."
ALSO READ: 50+ One-line Positive Quotes On Life
Kabir’s most famous Dohas with their meaning
41. "Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na milya koi;
Jo mann khoja aapna, mujhse bura na koi."
If I go searching for evil, I find none; when I search within, I realise I am the worst one.
42. "Kabira khada bazar mein, mange sabki khair;
Na kahu se dosti, na kahu se bair."
Kabir stands in the marketplace, blessing all; no enemy, no special friend — just peace for all.
43. "Jab main tha tab Hari nahi, ab Hari hai main nahi;
Sab andhiyara mit gaya, jab deepak dekhya mahi."
When I was full of ego, there was no God; now there's only God, and ego is gone.
44. "Dheere dheere re mana, dheere sab kuch hoye;
Maali seenche sau ghara, ritu aaye phal hoye."
Everything happens slowly in its time; no matter how much you water, the fruit comes only in season.
45."Sadhu aisa chahiye, jaisa soop subhay;
Saar-saar ko gahi rahe, thotha dehi uday."
Be like a wise person who keeps the good and discards the worthless.
46. "Jin khoja tin paaiyan, gahre paani paith;
Main bauri dhoondan gayi, rahi kinaare baith."
Those who dive deep find the pearls; I, afraid of drowning, sat at the shore.
47. "Dukh mein sumiran sab kare, sukh mein kare na koi;
Jo sukh mein sumiran kare, to dukh kahe ko hoye?"
In pain, everyone remembers God; in joy, none do. If you remember Him in joy, why would sorrow come?
48. "Moko kahan dhoonde re bande, main to tere paas mein."
Where are you searching for me, O seeker? I am within you.
49. "Pothi padhi padhi jag mua, pandit bhaya na koye;
Dhai aakhar prem ka, padhe so pandit hoye."
Millions read books and died without wisdom; one who understands love truly is the wise one.
50. "Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab;
Pal mein pralay hoyegi, bahuri karega kab?"
What you plan to do tomorrow, do today; what you plan today, do now—who knows if there will be a next moment?
51. "Jab tu aaya jagat mein, log hanse tu roye;
Aisi karni na kari, pachhe hanse sab koye."
Live such a life that when you die, people smile and remember you, not cry.