“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Kabir – The couplet
मैं लागा उस एक से, एक भया सब माहिं।
सब मेरा, मैं सबन का, तिहाँ दूसरा नाहिं॥
Transliterated:
Main laaga uss ek se, ek bhaya sab maahin |
Sab mera, main saban ka, tihan doosara naahin ||
Translation:
“I attached myself to the One, and became One with all.
All are mine, I belong to all — in that space, no ‘other’ remains.”
My understanding:
Across centuries and civilizations, two great mystics — Kabir from the heart of India and Lao Tzu from the soul of China — offer us the same quiet revelation:
To truly become, we must first let go.
To become everything, we must let go of being “someone.”
Kabir’s doha sings of a spiritual awakening: a moment when he becomes one with the Divine, and in doing so, becomes one with all of existence. Lao Tzu, in his typically paradoxical simplicity, tells us that the potential of who we might be is only unlocked by releasing the fixed idea of who we think we are.
Both invite us to dissolve the walls of selfhood — not to vanish, but to merge with the infinite.
Dissolving the Illusion of Separation
Kabir says: “I was bound to the One. In that binding, I became one with everything.”
He isn’t just describing a moment of devotion — he is revealing a metaphysical transformation. When the seeker surrenders fully to the One (the Ek), all boundaries vanish. The division between “me” and “you,” “mine” and “not mine,” simply collapses.
Lao Tzu complements this with piercing clarity: the identity we cling to — roles, labels, accomplishments, wounds — is precisely what holds us back from true becoming. When we let go of it, we make space for what is deeper, purer, more fluid.
This is not self-negation. It is self-expansion. It is not about losing identity — but realizing that identity was never the full story.
The Psychology of Surrender
From a psychological lens, both Kabir and Lao Tzu challenge the modern obsession with rigid selfhood. We are taught to brand ourselves, define ourselves, defend ourselves. But both mystics knew this:
The ego that defines is the ego that divides.
When we let go — of being right, being important, being in control — we step into a vast field of connection. Kabir describes it:
“All are mine. I am of all. In that space, there is no other.”
That’s the moment when love becomes natural, not effortful. Compassion is no longer a virtue to strive for — it’s a state of being, because there is no ‘other’ left to judge or fear.
The Metaphysics of Unity
Kabir’s vision is rooted in Advaita (non-duality). In his realization, the Divine is not outside — it permeates all. The One is not in the sky or in scriptures alone, but in every being, every breath.
This leads him to say, “Sab mera, main saban ka” — All belong to me, and I belong to all.
Lao Tzu’s Tao is similarly formless yet present everywhere. It flows, moves, becomes. It cannot be grasped, only aligned with. And that alignment begins with emptying the cup — of identity, expectation, control.
To flow with the Tao is to stop resisting what already is.
What It Means for Us Today
In a world fractured by identities, ego conflicts, and endless self-definition, Kabir and Lao Tzu offer a radical simplicity:
• You are not your name.
• You are not your job.
• You are not your past.
When you let go of these constructs — not abandon them, but hold them lightly — you return to the truth beneath the form.
You become part of the Whole again.
In Conclusion: Becoming the Vastness
Kabir found this unity through love.
Lao Tzu found it through letting go.
But they both arrived at the same realization:
“When I lose myself, I find everything.
When I dissolve, I become whole.”
In the quiet space where ego falls away,
There is no “I” and “you.”
There is only One.
And from that One, compassion flows.
From that One, peace arises.
From that One, we are reborn — not as someone — but as everything.
**** An idea for each of us – a reflection to work through: ****
What identity are you clinging to that may be standing in the way of your expansion?
What might you become… if you let go?