Kabir and the Witness

There was a quarrel in Varanasi some four hundred years ago. It was
very interesting.

Two people were taking revenge upon each other in the very early
hours of the morning. One man attacked the other and they began
fighting.

The police arrested them and brought them to the magistrate in court.
Since both men accused the other of starting the fight, a witness was
needed. So the judge asked the police to produce someone who had
witnessed the quarrel.

There was only one man, Kabir, who had done so. The police knew
him and they also knew that he was a saint. Being a saint, they didn’t
want to trouble him but since he was the only witness to the fight,
they were obliged to produce him in court.

Now, a witness is one who has seen something without partaking in
it.

When Kabir was asked to state what had happened, he said: “He
who has seen, speaks not. He who speaks, sees not.”

So knowing that it was Kabir and that he may be speaking from some
different angle, the judge let him go.

Do you understand what Kabir meant, “He who sees, speaks not,”
and “He who speaks, sees not”?

He was saying that the eyes have seen some people fighting. The
eyes are the witness. But eyes do not speak. It is the mouth that
speaks. But the mouth sees not.

Therefore, what could be said?