1 akath kahani prem ki, kahat kahi na jai;
gunge keri sarkara, khaya aur muskai.
Meaning
The story of God's love is indescribable. No description is befitting.
Its experience is just like that of a dumb person tasting candy. He smiles but cannot describe it.
Commentary
To describe the experience of God's love is impossible. One can understand it only when he experiences it. No amount of description (as in scriptures) can make one experience something.
2 pothi parhi parhi jag muva, pandit bhaya na koi;
ekai akhar prem ka, parhe so pandit hoi.
Meaning
Having read many scriptures, people died without realization.
One who reads only the one word "Love" becomes realized.
Commentary
Knowledge of various scriptures cannot give a person realization. His pride of learning becomes an obstacle on the path of realization. Only a devotee who is humble, has a loving heart, and is dedicated, can achieve realization. God realization transcends the mind and intellect; scriptures don't.
3 prem na badi nipje, prem na hat bikai;
raja parja jis ruche, sees deyi le jai.
Meaning
Love is not grown in the field, and it is not sold in the market.
But a king or a pauper who likes it, offers his head to obtain it.
Commentary
In the region of love there is no difference between a king and a pauper. Who wants to get love has to give up his ego first. All other wealth has no value in that region. Love is a spiritual and not a material thing.
4 prem gali ati sankari, tame dou na samai;
jab mai tha tab hari nahi, ab hari hai mai nahi.
Meaning
The street of love is very narrow; two cannot pass through it at the same time.
When I was, there was no God; now there is God, but I am not.
Commentary
To attain perfect love, one has to give up his ego, which is the biggest obstacle on the path of God's love. When the ego disappears, God appears. As long as the ego is there, God will not show His presence. The devotee must give up his ego to realize God.
5 tu tu karata tu bhaya, mujhme rahi na hu;
bari pheri bali gaie, jit dekhu tit tu.
Meaning
Oh God! By reciting your name all the time I merged in you, and my ego disappeared.
My troubles of transmigration disappeared. Now, wherever I look, I see you.
Commentary
The recitation of God's name leads the devotee to God. He reaches the state of union with God, and his cycle of rebirths disappears. It just as a drop of water that mixes with the ocean, and its separateness disappears.
6 premi dhundat mai phiru, premi na miliya koi;
premi ko premi mile, tab sab bish amrit hoi.
Meaning
I wandered in search of a true lover but did not find any.
When a lover meets another lover, then all poison turns into nectar.
Commentary
True lovers of God are rarely found, but when they come together they rejoice, and the nectar of love over-flows. This also helps other seekers to receive it, and then nothing remains as poison but only as nectar of love.
7 ram rasain prem ras, pivat adhik rasal;
kabir pivan durlabh hai, mange sis kalal.
Meaning
The very powerful drug of God is nectar of love, which is very sweet.
But it is difficult to obtain, because the seller asks for your head as its price.
Commentary
No one can enter the region of God with his head on his shoulder i.e. with his ego. Only the humble devotee can drink the nectar of God's love. One has to surrender completely to God to become a perfect devotee and to meet Him.
8 piya chahe prem as, rakha chahe man;
dou khadga ek miyan me, dekha suna na kan.
Meaning
One wants to drink the nectar of God's love and also likes to keep his own pride.
I have never seen or heard that two swords are kept in one sheath.
Commentary
It is not possible to drink the nectar of God's love and still keep your pride, because pride will not allow you to merge into God's love and "lose" your identity. Only when you surrender your ego, can you enjoy the nectar of God's love.
9 kabir prem na chakhiya, chakhi na liya saw;
sune ghar ka pahuna, jyon awe tyon jaw.
Meaning
Kabir says: "He who has not experienced the love of God, and has not tasted the nectar of love,
has lost his visit, just as a guest who comes to an empty house and departs."
Commentary
Kabir says that the purpose of life is to do devotion and to experience God's love. If one does not perform devotion, he wastes his life. For that person the whole world is just like an empty house where his visit has no meaning, and from where he departs with regret and disappointment.
10 surati dhekuli lej lau, man nil dholan har;
kamal kuwa me premras, piwai barambar.
Meaning
Meditation is the lever, love is the rope and the mind is the peron for drawing the water.
The thousand petalled lotus is the well, and Divine Love is the water. The devotee drinks that water again and again.
Commentary
The place of the thousand petalled lotus, in meditation, is full of God's love. The devotee thus meditates there ardently, and drinks the nectar of God's love again and again.
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