Spiritual Bites : Introspection - Ft. Rishi S, Jaya Vidyasagar

Santh Kabīr (1440—1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.

Kabir composed in a pithy and earthy style, replete with surprise and inventive imagery. He expressed his poems orally in Hindi. His Hindi was of a vernacular, straightforward kind, very much like his philosophies.

His verses often began with some strongly worded insult to get the attention of passers-by. Kabir has enjoyed a revival of popularity over the past half century as arguably the most accessible and understandable of the Indian saints, with a special influence over spiritual traditions.

Kabir and his followers named his poetic output as ‘bāņīs’ - utterances. These include songs and couplets, called variously dohe, śalokā (Sanskrit ślokā), or sākhī (Sanskrit sākşī). The latter term, meaning ‘witness,’ best indicates the use that Kabir and his followers envisioned for these poems: “As direct evidence of the Truth, a sākhī is… meant to be memorized… A sākhī is… meant to evoke the highest Truth.” As such, memorizing, reciting, and thus pondering over these utterances constitutes, for Kabir and his followers, a path to spiritual awakening.

In this doha he says :-

बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा ना मिल्या कोई

जो मन खोजा अपना, तो मुझसे बुरा ना कोई

Translation
I went on the search for the Bad Person/Evil, A bad person/ Evil I couldn't find
When I searched deep within my mind- my innerself , No one is Nastier then Me

Meaning

This Doha is about observing ones own mind. Kabir says that he searched the world for the bad , the real evil person but he couldn't find an evil person no matter where he looked. Then he looked within at his own thinking process, his own mind. Thats when he found the real evil person , lived in his mind, unchecked. When we accuse, condemn another, it is our mind that is doing the finger pointing. Resultantly, we find ourselves being busy in criticizing and condemning others and conveniently term them as crooked or evil. In this simple two-line insightful doha, he says that instead of finding fault and maligning others, dive deep into your own self. Amazingly, an honest introspection will reveal that all fault lies with "us" and "our" perceptions and attitudes. If there is any evil or crookedness, it is in "us". Correcting this and opting for a loving and compassionate attitude will change one's perceptions and the world will appear wonderful again.

This was my first attempt at recording an orginal composition. Rishi S, A wonderful composer from Hyderabad has composed this soulful melody. It was a beautiful enriching experience.

Im glad my journey into singing original compositions began with this insightful Kabir couplet ,composed so melodiously By Rishi :)

Vocals - Jaya Vidyasagar

Composed and Mixed by - Rishi S

Label - Sonore Unison