हमारे रे देस मांई ना बाणी नहीं खाणी
नहीं कोई वेद नहीं गीता

In this song Kabir imagines a country beyond all constructs - physical, social or religious. He dismisses even his own saakhi and shabad (couplets and songs) as irrelevant in this country. Such is the country that the guru has revealed in signs for Kabir.

This song could be seen as an echo of several poetic and philosophical expressions where the ultimate truth is indescribable in words and can only be arrived at by a series of negations. In Nirvana Shatakam, Shankara speaks of the vedantic idea of reaching ultimate reality through a series of 'neti-neti' or “not this, not that”. Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna also describes supreme reality similarly in his verse Paramarthastava. Mystic poet Lal Ded says that Shiva is that which cannot be described. Perhaps all these poets and philosophers are reminding us that the truth we seek always exceeds the grasp of language - 'mukh par kahyo nahin jaaye'.

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Find lyrics/translation of this song at:
Discover a universe of Bhakti, Sufi, Baul poetry and music at http://www.ajabshahar.org.
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Meditative and mesmeric – these are the qualities of Mahesha Ramji’s music. Unhurried and not in an eager rush to please the public, Mahesha Ramji slows you down, and compels you to step into his rhythm. He belongs to Chhatangadh village near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, and represents the folk style of the Meghval community, who are the traditional carriers of the poetry of many bhakti poets including Kabir, keeping it alive through a powerful oral tradition. Contact Mahesha Ram at +91 99298-76095

Mahesha Ramji sang this song along with Bhage Khan and the rest of his troupe, on the 2nd night of the Festival of Kabir in Bangalore, 2009. This gathering was organized by the Kabir Project, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology along with several other partner organizations in Bangalore. It brought together singers from India and Pakistan in an immersive week-long event that included film screenings, live music concerts and talks.

This is one of a series of uploads for Ajab Shahar, a webspace dedicated to mystic poem and song, created by the Kabir Project team (http://www.ajabshahar.org ; http://www.kabirproject.org).

Song Credits:
Vocals & Tambura: Mahesha Ram
Second Vocals & Tambura: Bhage Khan
Dholak: Anwar Khan
Manjiras: Rewanta Ram
Kamaicha: Hakam Khan

Translation: Vidya Rao

Video Credits:
Cameras: Tahireh Lal & Vinay Ghodgeri
Sound: Dipanshu Mitra
Editing: Piyush Kashyap
Sub-Titling: Prashant Parvataneni
Collection: The Kabir Project

Date of Recording:
28 February, 2009