Kabir Das
Early days of Kabir
The details about the life of Kabir are shrouded in uncertainty. Some historians favor 1398–1448 as the period Kabir lived, while others favor 1440–1518. Generally, Kabir is believed to have been born in 1398 (Samvat 1455), on the full moon day of Jyeshtha month (according to the historical Hindu calendar Vikram Samvat) at the time of Brahmamuharta. Earliest sources include the Bijak and Adi Granth. Others are Nabhaji by Bhakta Mal, Dabistan-i-Tawarikh by Mohsin Fani and Khajinat al-Asafiya.
There is a considerable scholarly debate on the circumstances surrounding Kabir’s birth. Many followers of Kabir believe that he came from Satloka by assuming the body of light, and incarnated on a lotus flower and claim that the rishi Ashtanand was the direct witness of this incident, who himself appeared on a lotus flower in the Lahartara Pond.
It is said that Kabir was conceived miraculously. His mother was a devout Brahmin widow who had accompanied her father on a pilgrimage to a famous ascetic. Impressed by their dedication, the ascetic blessed her and told her she would soon bear a son. After the son was born, to escape dishonor (as she was not married), Kabir’s mother abandoned him. Later little Kabir in the form of a child was found at Lahartara Lake by a Muslim weaver called Niru and his wife Nima who raised him as his parents. In another version of the legend, the ascetic assured the mother that the birth would be in an unusual manner and so it was, Kabir was born out of the palm of his mother! In this version of the story too, he was later adopted by the same Nima.
When people started doubting and questioning Nima about the child, the newly born miraculously proclaimed in a firm voice, “I was not born of a woman but manifested as a boy…I have neither bones, nor blood, nor skin. I reveal to men the Shabda (Word). I am the highest being…”
By the standard of the times he was living in, ‘Kabir’ was an unusual name. It is said he was named by a Qazi who opened the Qur’an several times to find a suitable name for the child and each time ended up on Kabir, meaning ‘Great,’ used for none other than the God, Allah Himself.
Kabira tu hi kabiru tu tore naam Kabir
Ram ratan tab paiye jad pahile tajahi sarir
Thou art great, you are the same, your name is Kabir
The jewel Ram is found only when bodily attachment is renounced.
Kabir’s family is believed to have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi (Banaras). Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), a maṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times. Accompanying the property is a house named Nīrūṭīlā (नीरू टीला) which houses Niru and Nima graves.
Kabir eventually married a woman named Loi and had two children, a son, Kamal and a daughter Kamali. Some sources suggest that he married twice or he did not marry at all. While we do not have the luxury of establishing these facts about his life, we do have insights into the philosophy propagated by him through his poems.
Education
Kabir is believed to have become one of the many disciples of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi, known for devotional Vaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person and everything.[4][17][18] Early texts about his life place him with Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism as well as the Sufi tradition of Islam. To satiate his spiritual quest, he wanted to become the chela (disciple) of Ramananda, a famed saint in Varanasi. Kabir felt that if he could somehow know the secret mantra of his teacher, his initiation would follow. Saint Ramananda used to visit a certain ghat regularly in Varanasi. When Kabir saw him approaching, he lay down on the stairs of the ghat and was struck by Ramananda who out of shock gasped the word ‘Ram.’ Kabir found the mantra and he was later accepted as a disciple by the saint.
From Khajinat al-Asafiya, it was found that a Sufi pir, Shaikh Taqqi was also the teacher of Kabir. Sufi influence is also quite apparent in Kabir’s teaching and philosophy.
In his poems, Kabir calls himself a julaha and kori. Both mean weaver, belonging to a lower caste. He did not associate himself completely with either Hindus or Muslims.
Jogi gorakh gorakh karai, Hind ram na uccharai
Musalman kahe ek khudai, kabira ko swami ghat ghat rahiyo samai.
Kabir did not undertake any formal education. He was not even trained as a weaver. While his poems abound with weaving metaphors, his heart was not fully into this profession. He was on a spiritual journey to seek the Truth which is clearly manifested in his poetry.
Tanana bunana Sabhu tajyo hai Kabir
Hari ka naam likhi liyo sarir
Kabir has renounced all spinning and weaving
The name of Hari is imprinted all over his body.
Work of Kabir (writings/poetry)
One cannot separate his spiritual experience and his poems. In fact, he was not a conscious poet. It is his spiritual quest, his ecstasy and agony which he conveyed in his poems. Kabir is an unusual poet by all means. In the 15th century, when Persian and Sanskrit were predominant North Indian languages, he chose to write in colloquial, regional language. Not just one, his poetry is a mixture of Hindi, Khari boli, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Urdu, Persian and Marwari.
Kabir’s poems were in Sadhukkadi, borrowing from various dialects including Khadi boli, Braj, Bhojpuri, and Awadhi. Kabir also wrote in pure Bhojpuri. They cover various aspects of life and call for a loving devotion for God.[25] Kabir composed his verses with simple words. Most of his work was concerned with devotion, mysticism and discipline.
Kabir and his followers named his verbally composed poems of wisdom as “bāņīs” (utterances). These include songs and couplets, called variously dohe, śalokā (Sanskrit: ślokā), or sākhī (Sanskrit: sākṣī). The latter term means “witness”, implying the poems to be evidence of the Truth.
Literary works with compositions attributed to Kabir include Kabir Bijak, Kabir Parachai, Sakhi Granth, Adi Granth (Sikh), and Kabir Granthawali (Rajasthan). However, except for Adi Granth, significantly different versions of these texts exist and it is unclear which one is more original; for example, Kabir Bijak exists in two major recensions. The most in depth scholarly analysis of various versions and translations are credited to Charlotte Vaudeville, the 20th century French scholar on Kabir.
There are 82 works attributed to Kabir as mentioned in Kabir and the Kabir panth by Westcott. Shyamsundar Das himself brought to light two marked manuscripts which he published in 1928. One of these manuscripts carried the date 1504 and the other 1824.
Kabir’s poems were verbally composed in the 15th century and transmitted viva voce through the 17th century. Kabir Bijak was compiled and written down for the first time in the 17th century.
Philosophy/ Teachings
Kabir’s teachings influenced many individuals and groups spiritually. Guru Nanak ji, Dadu of Ahmedabad who founded the Dadu Panth, Jiwan Das of Awadh who started the Satnami sect are some of those who quote Kabir Das in their spiritual guidance. The largest group of followers are the people of Kabir Panth (‘the Path of Kabir’) who consider him a guru guiding them towards salvation. Kabir Panth is not a separate religion but a spiritual philosophy
Kabir’s ultimate goal was one absolute God who is formless, without attributes, who is beyond time and space, beyond causation. Kabir’s God is knowledge, bliss. His God is the Shabda or the Word.
Jake munh matha nahin
Nahin rupak rap
Phup vas te patla
Aisa tat anup.
Who is without face or head or symbolic form, subtler than the flower’s fragrance, such an essence is He.
Kabir seems to be deeply influenced by Upanishadic non-dualism and Islamic monism. He was also guided by the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition which stressed on complete surrender towards God.
He did not acknowledge distinctions based on caste. A story goes that one day while some Brahmin men were taking a dip in the holy water of Ganga to expiate their sins, Kabir filled his wooden cup with its water and offered it to the men to drink. The men were quite offended at being offered water from a lower caste man to which he replied, “If the Ganges water cannot purify my cup, how can I believe that it can wash away my sins.”
Not just caste, Kabir spoke against idol worship and criticised both Hindus and Muslims for their rites, rituals and customs which he thought were futile. God can be achieved only through complete devotion, he preached.
Log aise bavare, pahan pujan jai
Ghar ki chakiya kahe na puje jehi ka peesa khai
People are such fools that they go to worship the stones
Why don’t they worship the stone which grinds for them the flour to eat.
All these ideas emerge in his poetry.
Even though details about Kabir’s life are scanty, his verses have survived. He is a man known for, and by his poems. An ordinary man whose poems have survived over centuries is a testimony to the greatness of his poetry. Even though orally transmitted, Kabir’s poetry is known till today because of its simple language and the depth of spiritual thought and experience it is imbibed with. Many years later after his death, his poems were committed to writing. He wrote two lined doha (couplet) and longer pads (songs) which were set to music. Kabir’s poems are written in a simple language yet they are difficult to interpret as they are interspersed with complicated symbolism.
Maati kahe kumhar se tu kyun raunde mohe
Ek din aisa aayega main raundungi tohe
Clay says to the potter, why do you stamp on me
One day will come when I will trample you (after death)
Last days of Kabir
Kabir had travelled widely in his life. He lived a long life. Sources reveal that his body had become so infirm that he could no longer play music in praise of Ram. During the last moments of his life, he had gone to the city of Maghar (Uttar Pradesh). As per a legend, after his death, there arose a conflict between Hindus who wanted to cremate his body and Muslims who wanted to bury it. In a moment of miracle, flowers appeared beneath his shroud, half of which were cremated at Kashi and half buried at Maghar. Certainly, Kabir Das died in Maghar where his grave is located.
Benares has been left by me and my intellect has become little
My whole life lost in Shivpuri, at the time of death I have arisen and come to Maghar.
O my King, I am a Bairagi and Yogi.
when dying, I am not grieved, nor separated from Thee.
The mind and breath are made the drinking gourd, the fiddle is constantly prepared
The string has become firm, it does not break, unbeaten the fiddle sounds.
Sing, sing, O bride, a beautiful song of blessing
King Ram, my husband, has come to my house.
Legacy
Kabir literature legacy was promoted by two of his disciples, Bhāgodās and Dharamdas. Songs of Kabir were collected by Kshitimohan Sen from mendicants across India, these were then translated to English by Rabindranath Tagore.
New English translations of Songs of Kabir is done by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. August Kleinzahler writes about this: “It is Mehrotra who has succeeded in capturing the ferocity and improvisational energy of Kabir’s poetry”.
Kabir’s legacy continues to be carried forward by the Kabir panth (“Path of Kabir”), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. This community was founded centuries after Kabir died, in various parts of India, over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9.6 million. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census.
There are two temples dedicated to Kabir located in Benares. One of them is maintained by Hindus, while the other by Muslims. Both the temples practise similar forms of worship where his songs are sung daily. Other rituals of aarti and distributing prasad are similar to other Hindu temples. The followers of Kabir are vegetarians and abstain from alcohol.