Shabda
(शब्द)Literal Meaning
The Word, sacred sound
Etymology & Sanskrit Root
From Sanskrit 'shabda' (sound, word) — in Kabir's usage, the primordial divine Word or vibration underlying all creation, realized inwardly rather than read externally.
Spiritual Insight & Context
Kabir taught that the true Guru is the Shabda itself — inward, formless guidance — famously declaring in one doha that he burned his own books once the living Word was realized within.