Kabir has woken up to the suffering. He has awakened and he is crying. Only the awakened ones cry.
~ Kabir
Questioner (Q): What does Kabir mean by crying here?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Crying means crying. Crying means not feeling good, not feeling agreeable to the state of affairs. It is just that when Kabir cries, it’s not a personal tear that he sheds; he cries for you. Personally, he has arrived. Personally, he is home. Personally, there remains nothing for him to achieve. But having come home and having seen how obviously easy it is, he cries for you. This is not a self-centered sadness.
When you laugh, when you enjoy, it is because of self-centered pleasure. And when you cry, it is again because of self-centered hurt or loss. The actions that you see taking place in the world of every common man might take place in the world of Kabir as well, but they are rooted very differently, they come from some other origin. A shopkeeper would be crying for his personal loss, and Kabir would be crying at the shopkeeper’s stupidity. That is the difference. You would be crying thinking that you have not been able to achieve, and Kabir would be crying at your thought.
If you are not careful, you will take the two actions as one. They are seemingly one, not actually one. Do not expect the saint to behave differently. He behaves the same, but from a different origin. That is why the Zen story says that there might as well be zero change on the outside. Have you heard that one?
