Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande – Kabir: Lyrics, Meaning & Significance

Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande Lyrics (हिंदी में)

मोको कहाँ ढूंढे रे बंदे, मैं तो तेरे पास में ।

ना तीरथ में ना मूरत में, ना एकांत निवास में ।
ना मंदिर में, ना मस्जिद में, ना काबे कैलाश में ॥

ना मैं जप में, ना मैं तप में, ना मैं व्रत उपास में ।
ना मैं क्रिया क्रम में रहता, ना ही योग संन्यास में ॥

नहीं प्राण में नहीं पिंड में, ना ब्रह्माण्ड आकाश में ।
ना मैं त्रिकुटी भँवर गुफा में, सब स्वांसों के स्वास में ॥

खोजी होय तुरत मिल जाऊँ, एक पल की ही तलाश में ।
कहे कबीर सुनो भाई साधो, मैं तो हूँ विश्वास में ॥

Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande – Transliteration (English)

Moko kahan dhundhe re bande, main to tere paas mein.

Na tirath mein na moorat mein, na ekant niwas mein |
Na mandir mein, na masjid mein, na kaabe kailaash mein ||

Na main jap mein, na main tap mein, na main vrat upaas mein |
Na main kriya karam mein rehta, na hi yog sannyaas mein ||

Nahin praan mein nahin pind mein, na brahmaand aakash mein |
Na main trikuti bhanvar gupha mein, sab swaanso ke swaas mein ||

Khoji hoye turat mil jaaoon, ek pal ki hi talaash mein |
Kahe Kabir suno bhai saadho, main to hoon vishwaas mein ||

Meaning & Significance

This extraordinary bhajan is structured as God speaking directly to the searching soul - a radical reversal of the typical devotional poem. The opening line sets the philosophical punch: Where are you searching for me, O seeker? I am right here beside you. Kabir then lists all the conventional places and practices where people seek God - pilgrimages, idols, solitary retreats, mosques, temples, the Kaaba in Mecca, Mount Kailash, ritual chanting, austerities, fasts, rites, yoga, renunciation - and categorically declares that God is not to be found in any of them. Moving inward, Kabir says God is not even in the breath (prana), the body (pinda), or the vast sky of the cosmos. God is not in the mystical centre (Trikuti), yet is present in every single breath. The final verse delivers the resolution: if you become a true seeker, you will find me in an instant, for I dwell in faith itself. This bhajan encapsulates the essence of the Sant-nirguni tradition: the divine is not a distant object to be reached through external effort but the ever-present reality of pure awareness, accessible in a moment of sincere inward turning.

About the Composer

Kabir (circa 1440–1518 CE) was a 15th-century mystic poet of Varanasi who stands among the most celebrated figures of the Bhakti movement. Born into a family of Muslim weavers (though his origins are debated), Kabir absorbed influences from both Hindu Vaishnavism - particularly through association with the saint Ramananda - and Sufi Islam. His poetry, preserved in the Bijak and the Guru Granth Sahib (among other collections), is composed in vernacular Hindi (Awadhi and Braj Bhasha), making it accessible to common people beyond scholarly circles. Kabir's verses are characterised by sharp, paradoxical wit (called ulata-bhansi or upside-down speech), direct attacks on religious hypocrisy, and an uncompromising insistence on inner realisation over outer ritual. He had followers from both Hindu and Muslim communities, and the legend of his death describes Hindus and Muslims contesting for his body - only to find, when the shroud was lifted, a heap of flowers.

About the Nirguna Divine

Nirguna bhakti is the strand of Indian devotion directed toward the formless (nirguna = without attributes) Absolute - the divine as pure, nameless, imageless consciousness, beyond all sectarian description. While Saguna bhakti (devotion to a deity with form and attributes, such as Krishna or Durga) dominated much of popular religion, the Sant poets - Kabir, Ravidas, Mirabai, Namdev, Tukaram - held that the ultimate reality transcends all forms. Kabir in particular refused to privilege either Hindu or Islamic names for the divine, addressing it variously as Ram, Hari, Allah, Sahib, and simply the One. The nirguni path emphasises direct experience over inherited doctrine, the inner guru over external scripture, and the heart's recognition over the mind's categorisation.

Spiritual Significance & Benefits

• This bhajan dismantles the habit of seeking the divine in external places and turns awareness inward, supporting genuine self-inquiry.
• Its inclusion of both Hindu and Islamic sacred sites (temple and mosque, Kailash and Kaaba) makes it a hymn of profound religious harmony.
• Contemplating each verse deepens the understanding that spiritual seeking must eventually become spiritual being - a shift from effort to recognition.
• Regular singing or listening cultivates the quality of inner stillness from which the divine presence is recognised.
• The bhajan's final verse; I dwell in faith - points toward the role of shraddha (faith, trust) as the ground of spiritual realisation.

When & How It Is Sung

Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande is sung across North Indian classical and semi-classical settings in ragas such as Bhairavi, Yaman, and Bageshri, though it equally appears in simple folk-style renditions. It is performed at Kabir satsangs, inter-faith gatherings, and classical vocal concerts. Because the language is relatively simple and the imagery universal, it resonates with audiences far beyond the traditional bhajan-singing community. It is often sung slowly, with meditative pauses, allowing each line to settle deeply in the listener's awareness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this bhajan by Kabir or Guru Nanak?

This particular composition - Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande - is widely and consistently attributed to Kabir in traditional sources and scholarly collections of Kabir's poetry, including the Bijak. A separate, different composition with a similar theme (Sumiran Kar Le Mere Mana) is sometimes attributed to Guru Nanak. The two are distinct compositions by different Sant poets, though they share the nirguni philosophical framework.

What does nirguni bhajan mean?

Nirguni (from nirguna, meaning without qualities) refers to a genre of devotional poetry that addresses the formless, attribute-free divine rather than any specific deity with form and name. The Sant poets of the 15th–17th centuries - Kabir, Ravidas, Dadu Dayal - composed extensively in this vein, teaching that the ultimate reality transcends all religious labels and is accessible directly through inner awareness.

What is the meaning of Sab swaanso ke swaas mein?

Sab swaanso ke swaas mein translates as in the breath of all breaths - meaning that the divine is the living, animating presence within every act of breathing, within the deepest and most intimate layer of every living being's existence. It is Kabir's most intimate image of the divine: not distant, not hidden in high philosophy, but as close and constant as the next breath.