Nirguna

Sant Kabir's dohas, including 541 compositions preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, insist that God is found in compassion and truth, not in temple or mosque.

Guru Ravidass taught that a pure heart outweighs pilgrimage and ritual, a humility his own verses within the Guru Granth Sahib still carry.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir in which the self speaks as an ageless yogi who neither comes nor goes, is present everywhere, and plays freely in its own dwelling.

A short pad attributed to Kabir that urges the singer to sing the names Ram, Govind and Hari, because it needs no chant, austerity or expense, and a mouth without Ram is filled with dust.

Kabir's bhajan on the body as a fine cloth, dyed in Ram's name and returned unstained, with a reminder that life is brief.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that calls the soul, the swan (hansa), to a country where the Beloved dwells, where it is always full moon and crores of suns shine.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir in which the singer says he is intoxicated with love of the Beloved, who is within, and so has no use for cleverness, waiting or friendship with the world.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir, sung in the Malwa and wider North Indian tradition. A bridal-and-funeral scene asks who has plundered the town, and answers that the bond with the world is broken.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that praises the renunciant's simple life: the joy of praising Rama is not found in wealth, and the Lord is met in contentment.

This poem by the 15th-century mystic Kabir reminds us that the divine is not found in holy buildings or rituals, but right here, within every breath we take.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir, addressed to the formless Lord, that describes a world turned upside down: honour for the hypocrite, trust for the liar, and hardship for the saint and the truthful.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that calls this world a foreign country where one is not meant to stay, likens it to paper, thorns and scrub, and names the Satguru's Name as the refuge.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that says what a true Guru is: one who pours the cup of true love, lifts the veil from the eyes, and leads to the fearless state.

A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that lists everyone and everything that dies, from kings and prophets to the sun, moon and gods, and ends by pointing to what alone remains.