Who has inner vision,
he’s authentic man.

Kabir says that a man is only authentic when he possesses inner sight. Before this happens you are a man in name only. You are a man only because you have the form of a man. That is the only qualifying factor. Otherwise, there is no difference between you and the animals.

The Sanskrit word for animal, pashu, is very interesting. It comes from the word pash, meaning one who is tied to something, one who is in bondage. The word is very significant. Pashu does not just mean animal; it also means one who is tied up, one who is in bondage, one who is entangled. The person who achieves inner sight becomes a real man for the first time. Before that he was an animal. Now he is an authentic human being; now his animality, his bondage, is gone. Now such a man is under the open sky. Now he is no longer a prisoner; now he is liberated.

One who walks alone.
He alone finds truth.

This is a very revolutionary sentence. Kabir is saying that the crowd has never been able to attain to truth. Neither the Hindus as a community nor the Moslems as a community have ever attained to truth. Whenever a man attains to truth it is done individually. The crowd has never attained. So do not be part of a crowd. Don’t say, “I am a Hindu,” because that means you are part of the Hindu community. Has any crowd, any community, any society ever attained? Whenever anyone attains – Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna, Christ, Kabir – he does it on his own. So, walk alone. You are still bereft of truth because you have remained part of a community.

It is difficult for a man to remain alone; the crowd seems to be a great help. But because of the crowd you become involved in thousands of stupid things. You do them just because it is convenient; you think because so many people are doing them they must be right. Millions of people gather in a Kumbh Mela, and so you think you should take part because millions of others are doing so. In actual fact there is no relation whatsoever between truth and the crowd. An action is not necessarily right just because it is being done by the crowd, by the community. The reality is quite the opposite – a single man can be right; a crowd can never be right. And the foolish thing is that both you and the rest of the crowd at a Kumbh Mela think there must be some great significance, some tremendous importance in taking a dip in the Ganges.