Caste

1. A Vaishnava is he, who knows no other but the Lord. And by the Guru's Grace,
realizes himself. He holds his mind, and brings it (back) to its only Home. His
self dies, and he utters (nothing but) the Name of the Lord. Blessed is such a
Vaishnava, for he Merges in Truth.
(Var of Sri Rag, M. 4 with Shlokas)

2. All abide in Thy Hope: On all hearts rains (Thy Mercy). All are partners (in
Thy Grace); O dear, Thou art alien to none. (Rag Majh M. 5)

3. Thou art here, Thou art Hereafter; All the creatures are Thy own Creation.
(Majh M. 5)

4. He, whose inverse Lotus is upwards turned, gathers Light: And he Sees the All-
pure in all, O dear ! (Majh M. 5)

5. Neither the body nor the caste go along (with one) in the world. Where one is
to answer for one's deeds. Yea, one is Released only by Practising the (Lord's)
Truth. (Majh M. 3)

6. What merits is in caste? Know thou the Truth within; (Of whatever caste one may
be), he, who tastes the Poison will die ! (Var of Majh and the Shlokas of M. 1)

7. What is cold before the fire? What is night before the sun? What is darkness
before the moon? What is caste before the water and the winds? Discriminate ye, O
Saints, and search ye your hearts. For the Light of the Lord Pervades all; how,
near how near is He ! Near, too near, is He to all the world; He, the Yonder Lord,
beyond Measure. (Gauri Poorbi, M. 4)

8. (The Brahmin) spreads out his dhoti and on it he squats; And, like a donkey,
gulps down he all that comes his way. But, without Deeds, he is Emancipated not,
For, emancipation comes from dwelling upon the Lord's Name. He bathes and anoints
himself and worships (the diety), Then threatens he with the knife to receive in
charity. He recites the Vedas, uttering them sweetly with the tongue. (Gauri M. 5)

9. True, True, True, is He. Nay, not one is separate from the True Purusha. (Gauri
Bavan Akhri M. 5)

10. He, who dwells within and without on the Lord's Name with Love And receives
instruction from the Perfect Guru and abides with the Holy, is saved from Hell.
Hell is not for him, Whose body and mind are permeated through with the Lord's
Name.
(Gauri Bavan Akhri M. 5)

11. He understands the essence of the Vedas, Puranas, and the Smritis, And finds
the Apparent in the Subtle, He instructs all the four castes in the Lord's Wisdom,
Nanak: Such a Pundit I salute for ever. The seed of the Lord's Name is in every
heart. Let any of the four castes repeat His Name, And lo, he, who utters it, is
Saved.

(Gauri Sukhmani M. 4, Ashtapadi)

12. He, whom Thou makest to realize (Thy Essence), He the one Receiveth Thy True
Name. He looks upon all alike, he is the Knower of the Quintessence. Nanak: He is
the Victor of the whole world. (Ashtapadi Gauri Sukhmani M. 5)

13. Remember the One Lord only in thy mind, Whose form is one, but manifestations
may. (Gauri Sukhmani M. 5)

14. I am jealous of no one; I have become the Dust of all; And I recite Thy Nectar
Name in the Society of the Holy. (Gauri Sukhmani M. 5)

15. He is Beauteous, Wise, the Knower of the Essence, Looking on all alike, Seeing
the One always in all.

16. The Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, the Shudras, and even the low
wretches are all Emancipated, Contemplating their Lord. (Thitti Gauri M. 5)

17. The True Beneficent Guru is for ever Compassionate: And he is withut envy too,
and looks upon all as the creatures of the One Creator-Lord. (Var of Gauri M. 4)

18. In the womb of the mother, no one knows one's caste, It is from the Lord's
Seed that the whole Creation came into being. Say, O Pundit, how did you become a
Brahmin-born? Do not lose the Merit of thy human birth by calling thyself a high
caste. If thou art a Brahmin born of a Brahmin mother, then why didn't you choose
to be born in somewise different than the others? How are you a Brahmin and I a
low-caste? Is it that I have blood in my veins and you have milk? (3)

Says Kabir: "He alone who contemplates his Lord, Is renowned a Brahmin among the
men of God." (Gauri Kabirji)

19. And have this thy Way that you look upon all, alike, And reflect on the
Quintessence of Reality; nay, reflect not on another thought. (Gauri Kabirji)

20. On the eight day, know thou that the eight tissues make up the body, And,
within it, Abides the Casteless He, thy King, the Great Treasure. (Rag Gauri
Thitti of Kabirji)

21. See thou of each the Light within and ask not his caste: For, Hereafter, the
caste is of no avail. (Asa, M. 1)

22. Hereafter goes not caste nor color with thee, And one becomes as are one' s
deeds. (Asa, M. 3)

23. If superior is your caste, O Bride, And you are honored in the society, and
also you have a beauteous abode to live in, But, if you have Ego in your heart,
you are indeed deformed. Charming, with well-cut figure, wise and clever may you
be, But if you pride on yourself, you are consumed by infatuation. (Asa M. 5,
Panchapadas)

24. Hereafter, caste and power are of no account, for a new man is born into the
World of God. Yea, they whose Honor is of account to the Lord, they alone are men
of Honor. (Asa Sri Kabirji Dupadas)

25. Says Kabir: "Listen, O my mother, See you not tht these shaven heads have made
me lose my (low) caste?" (Asa Sri Kabirji Dupdas)

26. What have I to do with the distinctions of caste, For, I but Cherish ever the
Name of the Lord?
(Asa: Word of Sri Namdevji)

27. To the Lord, the Sustainer of the earth, was Namdeva's Mind attuned. And lo
he, calico-printer of little worth, became worthy of Praise. Giving up his
spinning and weaving, Kabir Cherished the Love of the Lord's Feet, And he, the
weaver of low birth, became the Treasure of Virtue. Ravidas, the cobbler, who
carted the dead animals, abandoned the

love of Maya; and he became renowned through the companionship of the Saints and
saw the vision of the Lord. Saina, the barber, who was engaged in doing odd little
things, became known the world over, When he Enshrined the Transcendent Lord in
the Mind, and was acknowledged among the Devotees of the Lord, Hearing all this,
Dhanna, the Jat, also became dedicated to the God's Way. And he was ushered into
the Lord's Presence: O how Fortunate was he ! (Word of Bhagat Dhannaji)

28. O mind, utter ever the Lord's Praise. For, Singing and Hearing and
Contemplating Him, one is Saved, caste or no caste. I know this Way, fo I'm merged
into my Creator-Lord. (Devghandari M. 5)

29. Those turned Godwards belong to the Caste of the True God. For, within them
Abides their Lord and Master who is their Bosom-friend.
(Vadhans M. 3)

30. Of a high caste or casteless, whoever Dwells on the (Lord's) Name, he attains
to the highest Boon (of Beautitude). So I dwell on the Lord's Name: and my Mind is
pleased with the Lord's Name.

31. Unknowable is my Lord, Infinite. Unfathomable and Imperceptible, Who Dies not,
nor is bound by the Writ of Karma. His Caste is casteless; He is incarnated not
and is Self-existent: He is neither lured away by Doubt nor Attachment. (Sorath M.
1)

32. O Lord, I beg at Thy Door; Bless me Thou with Thy Grace. As saffron, flowers,
musk and gold embellish the bodies of all, (without distinction), And as also does
the scented Chandan, of the Saints too, this, indeed, is the merit that they make
frgrant all who come unto them. Does anyone ever curse or slander butter or silk?
(Tilang M. 1)

33. Contemplating the Lord, men of low caste attained a High Station. Pray, ask
thou Vidura, the son of the slave-girl, with whom Krishna chose to abide. O
brother! Hear thou the Unutterable Gospel of the Lord, which rids thee of thy
Doubt and Woes and Hunger. Ravidas, the tanner, praised his Lord for a brief time.
And he from a low-caste Wretch was Purified, and all the four castes repaired to
his feet. Namdeva loved his Lord, though people called him a calico-printer. Yet,
the Lord turned his back upon the high castes, and Hugged him, His Devotee, to His
Bosom. Even the sixty-eight pilgrim-stations Anoint the Foreheads of the Devotees
of the Lord. Nanak seeks to See their Vision every moment, only if the Lord
Blesses him so. (Suhi, M. 4)

34. Wisdom is that which is imparted to the four castes alike: Nanak: He who
Dwells on the Name of the All-pervading Lord, alone is Emancipated in the Kali-
age. (Rag Suhi M. 5)

35. The Kshatriyas, the Brahmins, the Shudras and the Vaishyas: the Lord's Word is
equally for them all. So worship (the Word), thy Guru, as God, day and night, more
and for
ever more. (Bilawal M. 4)

36. Of the egg-born, the sweat-born, the earth-born, the foetus born, and the
creatures of all colors and kinds, Not one is Saved, save by seeking the Saint's
Refuge, Be he a Brahmin, a Krhatriya, a Vaishya or a Chandala. (6)
Namadeva, Jaideva, Trilochana, Kabir and Ravidasa, the untouchable tanner. And
Dhanna, the Jat, and Saina (the barber), all Met with God, repairing to the
Saints' Feet. (Bilawal M. 4)

37. Yea, he is Highest of the high and Purest of the pure, in whose heart abides
the Lord. Nanak washes the Feet of such a Devotee who Dedicates himself to his
Lord, though he be of a low caste.

38. You are of high caste, but feed yourself upon the lower castes. Yea, by
forcing your will, you fill yorr belly. And investing the Chaudasa and the Amavasa
days with sanctity, you beg for alms: lo, you fall into the well, lamp in hand.
You are a Brahmin whle I am a weaver from Kashi, how can I be your equal? But,
while you are drowned with all your faith in the Vedas, I am Saved, uttering the
Lord's Name. (Kabir)

39. God is like sugar mixed with sand: the elephant in thee can pick it not. Says
Kabir: "Abandon the Ego of thy caste and pick it, becoming (humble) like a little
ant." (Kabir)

40. Yea, He minds not their caste or color, nor family nor lineage, And Blesses
them with His Name, in His Mercy, and Embellishes them all-too-spontaneouslyl (Nat
Narayan M. 5)

41. Be not proud of thy caste: For, he alone is a Brahmn who Knows Brahma, the
only God.
(Rag Bhairo M. 3, Chaupadas)

42. Caste or no caste, whosoever contemplates God, is Emancipated, yea, whosoever

dwells on Him. (Bhairo M. 5)

43. I've abandoned my father and mother, and have sold off myself to the Sainta; I
have lost my caste, and Praise ever my (casteless) God. (Sarang M. 5)

44. Kabir: If turmeric loses its yellow, the wheat-flour its white, Then blessed
is their love, for, it makes them lose their caste. (Shlokas of Bhakta Kabirji)

45. My weaver's caste is no longe s stigma to me, for, within me I cherish my God
And, lo, my Lord has taken me into his Embrace, and all my involvement is past.
(Shlokas of Bhagat Kabirji)