Kabir; commonly cited couplet, first line

Musk lives in the deer's own navel; the deer searches the forest.

कस्तूरी कुंडल बसै, मृग ढूँढै वन माहि।

kasturi kundala basai, mrga dhundhai vana mahi |

Musk lives in the deer's own navel; the deer searches the forest.

Kabir on looking outside for what is already near. Psychologically: rumination that hunts elsewhere. Sant tradition; use as image, not as a diagnosis.

All 35 chapters · 183 stories from real life · 61 Hindu shloks for the mind · Psychology for Everyone – A Mental Well Being Series