I sing the song of equality,
in which all obstacles and distances are dissolved,
in which the Hindus, the Buddhists, the Muslims
and the Christians have got united.
I sing the song of equality!
Who are you? A Persian? A Jain? A Jew?
A Santhal, a Bhil, a Garo?
A Confucian? A follower of Charbak?
Continue. Tell more.
O friend, whoever you are,
whatever books and scriptures you carry
into stomach, on back, on shoulder and into brain,
the Quran, the Puranas, the Vedas, the Bible,
the Tripitaka—
the Zend-Avestha, the Granth Sahib—
read as much as you desire.
But why do you waste your labour?
Why are you throwing spears into your brain?
Why do you haggle in a shop
when fresh flowers bloom at your roadside?
The wisdom of all scriptures and ages
lies within you.
O friend, open your heart,
you will find all scriptures there.
Within you, lie all religions,
lie all the prophets ofall ages
and your heart is the world-temple
of everyone’s gods.
Why do you look for Godin the skeletons
of dead books?
He smiles into the secret concealment
of your immortal heart!
O friend, I have not told a lie—
It is the place where all crowns tumble and toss.
This very heart is the Nilachal, Kashi, Mathura, Brindaban;
It is Bodh-Gaya, Jerusalem, Medina and Kaaba.
It is the mosque, it is the temple, it is the church;
Sitting here, Jesus and Moses
found the identity of truth.
In this battlefield, the young flute player
sang the Bhagavad Gita;
In this pasture, the sheep-grazing prophets
became friends to God.
Sitting in the meditation-cave of this heart,
Shakyamuni abandoned his kingdom
hearing the call of men’s great sufferings.
In this cave, the Prince of Arabia
used to hear the divine call;
sitting here, he sang the Quran’s equality-song.
O brother, what I have heard is not a lie—
there is no temple,
no Kaaba
greater than this heart.
01.03.2016 Sirajganj
