“God is too big to fit into one religion.”
— The Bahá’í Faith
Kabir – The couplet
साहिब मेरा एक है, दूजा कहा न जाय।
दूजा साहिब जो कहूँ, साहिब खड़ा रुसाय॥
transliterated:
Sāhib merā ek hai, dūjā kahā na jāya |
Dūjā sāhib jo kahū̃, sāhib khaḍā rusāya ||
Translation:
My Master (Lord) is One, there is no second to seek |
If I call someone else my master, the One stands displeased ||
My understanding:
Most of the world’s conflicts begin with the belief that I am right—and that all who disagree must be wrong. But what if we paused, even briefly, and stepped outside the boundaries of the self? If we looked at the world not through the lens of our ego, but as it truly is—complex, vast, shared—we might see something else entirely.
In his doha, Kabir is saying that the Divine is One, and division arises from ego, not truth.
To my mind, he is highlighting how clinging to individual perception as absolute truth leads to conflict, while humility and mutual respect can bring peace.
Like the blind men and the elephant, each of us touches only a part of the truth. My experience of God may have one name; yours may have another. But if we honor each other’s truths instead of insisting on our own, much of the tension will melt away.
And perhaps then, everyone can go home safely each night—with peace in their hearts and a little more light in the world.