Lyrics (with English translation):

जाग रे बंजारा रे

तु किनकी देखे बाट रे

(Wake up, Oh wanderer,

Whose path are you watching?)

सोना-चाँदी काय पहरे बंजारा रे

हीरा को व्यापार रे

(Wearing gold and silver, Oh wanderer,

When you are trading with diamonds.)

जाग रे बंजारा रे

तु किनकी देखे बाट रे

(Wake up, Oh wanderer,

Whose path are you watching?)

होए उजालो ज्ञान को बंजारा रे

मारे चोट आसमान में

(The light of knowledge shines, Oh wanderer,

It strikes high in the sky.)

जाग रे बंजारा रे

तु किनकी देखे बाट रे

(Wake up, Oh wanderer,

Whose path are you watching?)

सोना-चाँदी काय पहरे बंजारा रे

हीरा को व्यापार रे

(Wearing gold and silver, Oh wanderer,

When you are trading with diamonds.)

Meaning Behind the Song:

Lyrics to "Banjara" comes from poetry written by 15th-Century Indian mystic poet, Kabir Das. This poem encapsulates Kabir’s characteristic spiritual wisdom through the metaphor of a wandering merchant (banjara). 

*The Central Metaphor: The Sleeping Merchant* 

Kabir addresses humanity as a “banjara” - a wanderer or traveling trader - who has fallen asleep on their journey. This sleep represents spiritual unconsciousness, where we’ve forgotten our true purpose. The repeated refrain “whose path are you watching?” suggests we’ve become distracted, waiting for or following the wrong guides, looking in wrong directions for meaning.

*Material Wealth vs. Spiritual Treasure* 

The image of “wearing gold and silver” while “trading in diamonds” is powerfully ironic. The wanderer adorns themselves with lesser metals while possessing something infinitely more valuable - diamonds representing the soul, divine knowledge, or spiritual truth. This speaks to Kabir’s core teaching: we obsess over worldly possessions and status (gold and silver) while neglecting the priceless treasure we already carry within us. 

It’s a critique of misplaced priorities - we’re so busy accumulating and displaying material wealth that we fail to recognize we’re custodians of something far more precious: our divine nature, our capacity for enlightenment.

*The Light of Knowledge* 

When Kabir speaks of “the light of knowledge” that “strikes high in the sky,” he’s pointing to awakened consciousness - a transformative realization that breaks through ignorance like lightning piercing darkness. This knowledge isn’t intellectual but experiential, a direct understanding of truth that elevates consciousness to celestial heights. 

*The Urgent Call to Awaken* 
The repeated “jaag re” (wake up!) carries urgency. Kabir suggests we’re wasting our precious human life in spiritual slumber, distracted by trivialities while life passes. The question “whose path are you watching?” implies we’re following external authorities, social conventions, or others’ expectations rather than discovering our own authentic spiritual path. 

In essence, Kabir is saying: You’re already carrying divinity within you - stop chasing shadows, stop sleeping through your life, wake up to your true nature before this precious opportunity is lost.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​