“Your work is to discover your world — and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it… not to its paycheck.”
— The Buddha (attributed)
Sant Kabir’s couplet –
साधु भूखा भाव का, धन का भूखा नाहीं।
धन का भूखा जो फिरे, सो तो साधु नहीं॥
Transliteration –
Sādhu bhūkhā bhāv kā, dhan kā bhūkhā nāhīn;
Dhan kā bhūkhā jo phire, so to sādhu nahīn.
Translation –
A true saint hungers only for love and sincerity, never for wealth.
The one who craves money cannot call himself a sadhu.
My Understanding
This piercing doha from Kabir slices through one of the oldest confusions in the spiritual world — the conflation of sanctity with status, piety with prosperity. He is not railing against wealth itself, but against the hunger for it in those who claim to walk the path of renunciation, service, and spiritual truth.
A sadhu, in Kabir's time and even today, was understood to be a person of detachment — one who sought not possessions, but presence; not coins, but consciousness. Kabir here defines a simple litmus test for spiritual authenticity:
What do you hunger for — the soul of others, or their wallets?
In Today’s Context: The Commerce of God-Talk
In our modern age of spiritual entrepreneurship — with megachurches, viral “healers,” designer monks, and branded mindfulness — this doha hits with uncomfortable accuracy. We see sages who once walked barefoot now fly business class; who once renounced the world now accumulate vast empires of followers, funds, and fame.
This is not cynicism. It is clarity.
Kabir does not deny that saints need sustenance — what he challenges is motive. Is your calling fueled by compassion and inner fire, or is it quietly redirected by the pull of donations, applause, and influence?
A Reflection for All of Us — Not Just Monks
And yet, this isn’t just a message for monks or gurus. It is a question for all of us:
What drives our choices — sincerity or reward?
Do we hunger for meaning, or for material validation dressed up as meaning?
Even outside of formal religion or spiritual life, this doha applies to teachers, artists, leaders, and anyone who offers service to others. If the primary motive is recognition, accumulation, or financial gain — then, Kabir says, don’t call it seva. Don’t mask commerce as compassion.
The Heart of a True Sadhu
A true sadhu, says Kabir, is hungry for bhāv — that deep feeling, that current of sincerity, connection, and truth. When someone speaks to them with love, or cries out in pain, or offers even a leaf with full-hearted devotion — that is nourishment.
The rest — wealth, praise, power — is noise, and the true sadhu walks past it.
A Final Thought
In an age when almost everything can be monetized — even peace, even prayer — Kabir’s voice calls us back to a simpler, sharper truth:
If your soul is not for sale, then your words will nourish the world.
But if you sell your hunger to gold — you may gain the world, but lose your fire.
So ask yourself — in your daily work, in your quiet moments of giving:
Are you feeding the heart, or just filling the purse?