The five passions keep the devotee from going to higher planes,
lust pulls the mind down, anger spreads it outwards,
attachment keeps it chained to the world,
ego prevents it from turning towards the Lord.

It is a natural urge for the soul to seek God and people not knowing how to go about it seek Him,
in temples, idols, Jungles. Kabir rejected all external ways of worship even though he was
persecuted for it.Mind has three basic traits that stand in the way of the soul’s inward journey.

The first trait "Its habit of constantly remembering and thinking about the world and it’s objects. It is not at rest even during sleep and thinks of objects and faces". The second trait "Its habit of creating images, mind’s thinking habit is so intense that it visualizes the images of what it thinks of. Every thought is with a mental picture and all mental pictures are accompanied by thoughts".
The third "It craves pleasure, this innate objective of the keeps it brooding
on pleasure and ways of gratifying them".

Kabir says "To control the mind, those who are realized have given three techniques, one is repetitions, Contemplation and listening to the sound . Simran or repetition, has to be done by
the mind, not by the tongue or even prayer beads, that this has to be done with full attention
and concentration so much so that it goes on even when the devotee is engaged in regular
activity. Such repetition brings the soul to the eye canter and opens the tenth door. The
practice of repetition is said to be perfect when the practice becomes involuntary
and come automatically. The mind then gives up
wandering, its attention now inwards.

The power of Nam is such that it drives away all evil forces. The masters’ personal spiritual power imbues the words of repetition with a dynamic force and pulls the soul upwards, protects against pitfalls and endows him with great powers of will and concentration. Kabir says “ only that name is true, your own, which the master bestows upon you. All other names are false- why run after them?” Wherever the mind dwells there is attachment, and wherever there is attachment the soul will go, be it temples, idols, people. Even constant thinking of reptiles and birds will take the man to the lower plane. Contemplation of a temple or a symbolic representation of the Divine will not help or liberate the seeker for these are still in the physical form.