Kabir doha · Speak Kindly · Level 1
बोली एक अनमोल है, जो कोई बोलै जानि।
हिये तराजू तौलि के, तब मुख बाहर आनि।
Boli ek anmol hai, jo koi bolai jaani
Hiye tarazu tauli ke, tab mukh bahar aani
Boli ek anmol hai means: speech is priceless, and a wise person knows how to use it. Kabir says to weigh your words on the scales of your heart before letting them leave your mouth. For children, it is a simple picture for pausing before speaking, especially when feelings are big.
Updated
A Little Kabir Song from Kabir for Kids, made for ages 5–9. Watch it together first, then read the meaning below.
Meaning in English
Words are precious.
Weigh them in your heart
before they leave your lips.
Speak only what is kind and true.
अर्थ (हिंदी में)
बोली बहुत कीमती होती है — बस वही बोलो जो सोच-समझकर हो। पहले दिल में तौलो, फिर मुँह से निकालो।
Ishaan's friend knocks over his block tower, the tallest one he has ever built. "You always ruin everything!" is ready on his tongue.
He stops. His hands are fists, and then they are not.
"That took me a long time," he says instead. His friend is already picking up the first block.
Keep it light. Let the child answer in their own words, draw it, or hum the line again.
Try this: Play a weighing game: hold out both hands like a scale and "weigh" a sentence before saying it. If it might hurt, look for kinder words that still say what you mean.
Boli Ek Anmol Hai is a short, gentle choice for a morning assembly. Children can mime a weighing scale on "hiye tarazu tauli ke" and bring a hand to their lips on "tab mukh bahar aani".
It means speech is priceless. Someone who understands this weighs their words in the heart, like goods on a scale, before they speak.
Hiye means the heart, tarazu is a weighing scale and tauli ke means "after weighing". Kabir asks us to weigh our words in the heart first.
It is traditionally credited to Kabir, the 15th-century poet-saint and weaver from Varanasi. His dohas were sung and passed on by word of mouth for centuries before they were written down, so small differences in wording are common.