अब कैसे छूटै राम नाम रट लागी।
प्रभु जी तुम चंदन हम पानी। जाकी अँग-अँग बास समानी॥
प्रभु जी तुम घन बन हम मोरा। जैसे चितवत चंद चकोरा॥
प्रभु जी तुम दीपक हम बाती। जाकी जोति बरै दिन राती॥
प्रभु जी तुम मोती हम धागा। जैसे सोनहिं मिलत सुहागा॥
प्रभु जी तुम स्वामी हम दासा। ऐसी भक्ति करै रैदासा॥
Ab kaise chhutai Ram nam rat lagi.
Prabhu ji tum chandan ham pani, jaki ang-ang bas samani.
Prabhu ji tum ghan ban ham mora, jaise chitvat chand chakora.
Prabhu ji tum dipak ham bati, jaki joti barai din rati.
Prabhu ji tum moti ham dhaga, jaise sonahin milat suhaga.
Prabhu ji tum svami ham dasa, aisi bhakti karai Raidasa.
Meaning
Now that I have the habit of repeating Rama’s name, how could I ever let it go?
Lord, you are sandalwood and I am water; your fragrance has entered every part of me. Lord, you are the cloud and I am the peacock in the forest, like the chakora bird gazing at the moon. Lord, you are the lamp and I am the wick, whose flame burns day and night. Lord, you are the pearl and I am the thread, as borax joins with gold. Lord, you are the master and I am the servant: such is the devotion Raidas offers.
About this bhajan
Each couplet pairs the Lord with something precious and the devotee with something plain that is made whole by it: water that takes on sandalwood’s scent, a wick that exists to carry the flame, a thread that holds pearls. Sant Ravidas, a cobbler of Kashi, said all of theology in these ordinary things. The pada is the best-loved of his songs in the Hindi belt and is sung on Ravidas Jayanti at his birthplace, Seer Goverdhanpur in Varanasi.
Raidas ji ki Bani (padavali); text as on Kavita Kosh