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Saint Kabir this simple and uneducated man, an ecstatic
poet...
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Saint Kabir (15th century: 1440-1518 A.D.)
Kabir had little patience for narrow mindedness of spirit, whether
Hindu or Muslim. Rather, he sought to dance in pure rapture with the
infinite, the fathomless. This heart-filled mystic spoke to the
common folk of his day: the priests and the warriors, tradesmen and
barbers, washwomen and carpenters, sadhus (wandering spiritual
seekers) and beggars. This simple and uneducated man, an ecstatic
poet, weaver, musician, husband, and father, rejected austerities
and found little virtue in asceticism.
Kabir is the most known disciple of Ramananda. Tradition says that
he was a adopted son of a poor Muslim weaver couple who were earlier
Hindus. They belonged to a lower strata in the eyes of both Hindus
and Muslims, and hence not bound by strict rituals and religious
discipline. This made Kabir an unconventional poet and mystic. He
had no regular schooling and took to weaving, his family vocation
and went on singing poems as he plied the shuttle to and fro.
Saint Kabir
He could not serve or claim anybody as guru because of his humble
birth but was drawn to Ramanand's teachings. He thought of winning
Guru's blessings in its own way. Ramananda went to the river Ganga,
everyday for bath very early in the morning. One day when he was
returning from Ghat, his foot touched a human body in the darkness.
Startled he exclaimed, "Ram, Ram!" Immediately Kavir got up and with
folded hands and appealed to the saint. "Master, you have given me
the Ram mantra and made me your Sishya, even though I am only a poor
Muslim weaver" and told about his yearnings to reach God. Ramananda
was touched deeply by Kabir's devotion and humility and accepted him
as a disciple. he became a worthy sishya in no time by imbibing many
secrets of spiritual mysticism from Ramananda.
He started preaching in the most unconventional way. He continued
with his vocation of weaving and composed songs as he worked. Though
leading a God-intoxicated life, he stressed on manual labor,
equality of man and condemned religious bigotry. He stressed on
simple life and meditation. People liked the moral message in his
songs which poured out from his heart and , who was the very
embodiment of things he uttered. He condemned image-worship in
temples and mechanical prayers in mosques. he had a large following
of Hindus and Muslims. But the orthodoxy of both the religions
(Purohits and Mullas) hated him and he was persecuted by both.
Ultimately he was forced to leave Banaras and it seems he spent his
last days wandering. He was married and had a son and daughter but
his family life was not a happy one. According to the legend he died
a very old man. On his death, Hindus and Muslims quarreled to claim
his body. But when they lifted the shroud, there was only a big heap
of roses. It is told that Hindus and Muslims shared equally the
flowers and had the last rites per formed of their beloved guru
according to their own custom. One community built a temple and
another dargah. So goes the story.
God to Kabir was all pervading supreme spirit. Ram and Rahim
personified the same supreme spirit who could be won over only by
pure devotion. Rituals or blind worship had no place in his way of
serving God. "Seek him in the depth of your heart!" Kabir advised.
"If God dwells only in the mosque, to whom belongs the rest of the
country? Those who are called Hindus say that God dwells in an idol;
I see not truth in either sect. Oh God, whether Allah or Ram I live
by thy name... Hari dwells in the south. Allah in west. Search in
thy heart, search in the heart of hearts, there is His abode," he
exclaimed.
Kabir turned out a saint of the masses. His simple and
god-intoxicated life became an ideal. His simple compositions
--"dohe"--two liners or "chowtai"--four liners were easy to remember
and became popular immensely and enabled to grasp essentials of
simple spiritual life. A common guru for Hindus and Muslims was the
dire requirement of the age, and arrival of Kabir on the National
Scene provided the spiritual bond. His songs profoundly influenced
the religious belief of the simple rural folk. As is common in
India. Each saint acquires the status of a founder of sect.
Innumerable followers in North India came to be known as
kabirpanthis and followers of his guru came to be known as
Ramanandis.
Through his peculiar use of Hindustani language he achieved
linguistic unity. Originally he sang in Bhojpuri a dialect of Hindi
in East India. He stayed for long in Banaras and we can detect
Awadhi and "Brij" influence. But collected songs of Kabir like (a)
Sakhi (songs--dohe), (b) Sabad (sayings, utterances), (c) Ramaini ,
mainly spiritual guidelines; all have Punjabi influence. His songs
find place in Granth Sahib--sacred text of Sikhs. Rabindranath
Tagore has translated one hundred of his songs into English. Kabir's
compositions originally existed in hundreds and his disciples of
different regions, collected them and popularized throughout the
country through wandering ascetics (Gosais).
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