With the open-hearted, speak and listen; with the closed, keep a peaceful silence — for the empty pot rattles and the full one is still.
The Arc
This is the first Kabir shabad of the Gond Bhagat block. It is a meditation on speech. P0 (verse 1) sets the rule: draw close to the awake, stay quietly at rest with the quarrelsome. P1 (the rahau) gives the standard for all speech: say what keeps you near the Name. P2 notes that good company makes the heart generous while pointless argument goes nowhere. P3 warns that endless talk tangles things, while silence leaves room to reflect. P4 lands on Kabir's famous image — the empty pitcher rattles; the full one is silent.
Key Vocabulary
sant / asant — the settled, awake person / the closed, unsettled one
masat kar rahee-ai — keep a peaceful stillness
rav rahee-ai — stay absorbed, saturated (in the Name)
upkaaree — generous, doing good
chhoochhaa ghat / bhari-aa — the empty pot / the full one
Themes and Cross-Connections
The shabad ties speech to inner fullness — a thread that runs through Gurbani's love of sach (real, genuine living) over show. The empty-pot image rhymes with the project's lens on humility: depth is quiet, and the loudest is rarely the fullest. It also connects to Suniai, deep listening: good speech begins in receptive stillness.
For Raag Gond
Gond is a warm, calling raag; Kabir opens the Bhagat set not with fireworks but with a teaching about quiet. The keynote of stillness fits the raag's inward warmth.
Translation Notes
The header raag gond banee bhagtaa kee / kabeer jee ghar 1 is preserved in P0's source; this opens the Devotees' section of the raag.
Rahau placement: standalone in P1; P0 carries the header and verse ||1||.
Wellbeing:moorakh (fool) and bapuraa/beechaaraa (poor wretch) are rendered without contempt — 'someone closed off,' and the beechaar (reflection) wordplay is foregrounded so silence reads as thoughtful, not defeated.
With the open-hearted, speak and listen; with the closed, keep a peaceful silence — for the empty pot rattles and the full one is still.
The Arc
This is the first Kabir shabad of the Gond Bhagat block. It is a meditation on speech. P0 (verse 1) sets the rule: draw close to the awake, stay quietly at rest with the quarrelsome. P1 (the rahau) gives the standard for all speech: say what keeps you near the Name. P2 notes that good company makes the heart generous while pointless argument goes nowhere. P3 warns that endless talk tangles things, while silence leaves room to reflect. P4 lands on Kabir's famous image — the empty pitcher rattles; the full one is silent.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The shabad ties speech to inner fullness — a thread that runs through Gurbani's love of sach (real, genuine living) over show. The empty-pot image rhymes with the project's lens on humility: depth is quiet, and the loudest is rarely the fullest. It also connects to Suniai, deep listening: good speech begins in receptive stillness.
For Raag Gond
Gond is a warm, calling raag; Kabir opens the Bhagat set not with fireworks but with a teaching about quiet. The keynote of stillness fits the raag's inward warmth.
Translation Notes
Last updated: 2026-07-09