'Bina Guru Gyaan' says Kabir

बिना गुरु ज्ञान ना पावोगा मोरे साधू भाया
Sung by Shabnam Virmani

With deep gratitude to Prahlad Tipanya ji from Luniyakhedi village in Madhya Pradesh, from whom I first heard this song.

Words of the song:
बिना गुरु ज्ञान ना पावोगा मोरे साधू भाया
विरथा (फोकट) तो जनम गंवाया हो

जल भर कुंभ, रहे जल भीतर, बाहर भीतर वाके पानी हो
उलट कुंभ जल जल ही समाना,तब क्या करेगा वहां ज्ञानी

बिन करताल पखावज बाजे, बिन रसना से गुण गाया हो
गावण हार को रूप नहीं रेखा, सतगुरु अलख लखाया

है वो अथाह, थाह सब हीन में, दरिया तो लहर समाया हो
जाल डाल कर, क्या करे ढीमर, मीन को होई गयो पानी

पंछी को खोज, मीन को मारग, ढूंढ़े से ना कोई पाया हो
कहें कबीर सतगुरु मिले पूरा, जो भूले को राह बताया हो

Translation:
With no guru no wisdom can dawn
Your life will be squandered away

A pot full of water stays in water
Water outside and in
Pot overturns, water meets water
What do clever ones make of this?

No cymbal or drum, a sound resounds
No voice, no throat, a song
This singer has no face or features
The guru unveils a formless form

The immeasurable immense
Takes shape in the small
The ocean pours into a wave
Casting his net, what can the fisherman do
If the fish becomes water itself?

The path of a fish, the flight of a bird
Can they be frozen or traced?
Kabir says, you’ve wandered too long
A true guru will point the way

Translation by Shabnam Virmani
This song was part of a concert on the theme of education at the Wipro Partners' Forum held in Pune, in December 2022.