Kabir
Slander
Slander! Slander!
People deride me –
folks truly love
to smear and tarnish.
Slander’s my father,
slander’s my mother.
If your name has been blackened, you’ll go to Vaikuntha –
the true Name’s meaning
will set itself in your mind.
There’s so much calumny,
my heart’s purified –
my vilifier
scrubs my clothes clean.
Whoever maligns me
is my friend –
my heart goes out
to every detractor.
The one who stops decrying me
is my real critic –
such a denouncer
vexes my life.
Defamation’s
my dearly beloved –
revilement puts me
in its debt.
Everybody
slings mud at Kabir –
my denigrator drowns,
I land on the other shore.
– Kabir (1398-1448)
From Kabir – The Weaver’s Songs, translated by Vinay Dharwadker (Penguin Books India, 2003)
Kabir in his finest satirical mood. The response to slander given here is reminiscent of Jesus’ turning of the other cheek.
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