Kabir
- Al-Kabir ("the Great") is also one of the 99 names of God in Islam. For a complete disambiguation page, see Kabir (disambiguation)
Satguru Kabir | |
|---|---|
| A painting of Kabir A painting of Kabir | |
| Occupation | weaver |
Kabīr (also Kabīra) (Hindi: कबीर, Punjabi: ਕਬੀਰ, Urdu: کبير) (1398—1518)[1] was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.[2]. The name Kabir comes from Arabic Al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' - the 37th Name of God in the Qur'an.
Apart from having an important influence on Sikhism (he is considered one of the 15 Sikh Bhagats and his work included in the Guru Granth Sahib), Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world[3], up from 843,171 in the 1901 census[4].
Early life and background
The story is told that on one particular day of the year, anyone can become a disciple by having a master speak the name of God over him. It is common for those who live near the Ganges to take their morning bath there in the sacred waters. The bhakti saint Ramananda was in the habit of arising before dawn to take his bath. On this special day too, he awoke before dawn and found his way down to the steps of the Ganges. As he was walking down the steps to the waters, a little hand reached out and grabbed the saint's big toe. Ramananda was taken by surprise, and he involuntarily called out the name of God. Looking down, he saw in the early morning light the hand of the young Kabir. After his bath, he noticed that on the back of the little one's hand was written in Arabic the name Kabir. He adopted him as son and disciple and brought him back to his ashrama, much to the consternation of his Hindu students, some of whom left in protest.
It is said that what really made this meeting special is that it was only after Kabir's enlightenment that Ramananda, his teacher, became enlightened.
Not much is known about what sort of spiritual training Kabir may have received. He did not become a sadhu, nor did he ever abandon worldly life. Kabir chose instead to live the balanced life of a householder and mystic, a tradesman and contemplative.
Philosophies
Kabir was influenced by the prevailing religious mood of his times, such as old Brahmanic Hinduism, Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism, the teachings of Nath yogis and the personal devotionalism of South India mixed with the imageless God of Islam.[5] The influence of these various doctrines is clearly evident in Kabir's verses. Eminent historians like R.C. Majumdar, P.N. Chopra, B.N. Puri and M.N. Das have held that Kabir is the first Indian saint to have harmonised Hinduism and Islam by preaching a universal path which both Hindus and Muslims could tread together.[6] But there are a few critics who contest such claims.[5]
The basic religious principles he espoused are simple. According to Kabir, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma). It is Kabir's view that salvation is the process of bringing into union these two divine principles. The incorporation of much of his verse in Sikh scripture, and the fact that Kabir was a predecessor of Guru Nanak, have led some western scholars to mistakenly describe him as a forerunner of Sikhism.[7]
His greatest work is the Bijak (the "Seedling"), an idea of the fundamental one. This collection of poems demonstrates Kabir's own universal view of spirituality. His vocabulary is replete with ideas regarding Brahman and Hindu ideas of karma and reincarnation. His Hindi was a vernacular, straightforward kind, much like his philosophies. He often advocated leaving aside the Qur'an and Vedas and simply following Sahaja path, or the Simple/Natural Way to oneness in God. He believed in the Vedantic concept of atman, but unlike earlier orthodox Vedantins, he followed this philosophy to its logical end by spurning the Hindu societal caste system and worship of murti, showing clear belief in both bhakti and Sufi ideas. The major part of Kabir's work as a bhagat was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev, and forms a part of the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
While many ideas reign as to who his living influences were, the only Guru of whom he ever spoke was Satguru. Hence one does not find any mention of human gurus in his verses.
Poetry career
His poems resonate with praise for the true guru who reveals the divine through direct experience, and denounce more usual ways of attempting god-union such as chanting, austerities, etc. His verses, which being illiterate he never expressed in writing and were spoken in vernacular Hindi, often began with some strongly worded insult to get the attention of passers-by. Kabir has enjoyed a revival of popularity over the past half century as arguably the most accessible and understandable of the Indian saints, with a special influence over spiritual traditions such as those of Sant Mat, Garib Das and Radha Soami.
References
- ^ "http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kabir.html, http://literaryindia.com/Biographies/Biographic-Note/kabir.html, http://www.sikhlionz.com/bhagatkabir.htm, http://www.wisdomportal.com/Peace/Kabir-Peace.html
- ^ "Rare Literary Gems - CRL FOCUS Newsletter". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ Kabir - Chhatisgarh - Parishisht, (2003) ©IGNCA
- ^ Westcott, G. H. (2006). Kabir and the Kabir Panth. READ BOOKS. p. 2. ISBN 140671271X.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b The Bijak of Kabir (2002), Linda Beth Hess and Śukadeva Siṃha, Oxford University Press. pp.5 ISBN 0195148762
- ^ A Social, Cultural and Economic History of India, Volume II, (1974) Macmillan, pp. 90
- ^ Harbans Singh. "Encyclopedia Of Sikhism".
See also
- http://www.kabirsahib.jagatgururampalji.org Kabir Sahib - कबीर साहिब - The Real & Complete biography of kabir Sahib]
- Hindi Literature
- Sahaja
- Vedanta
Further reading
- Kabir Sahib - कबीर साहिब - The Real & Complete biography of kabir Sahib
- An Introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib by Sarup Singh Alag.Distributed Free.
- Songs of Kabir, tr. by Rabindranath Tagore, 1985 ed., Forgotten Books. ISBN 1605066435.
- Songs of Kabir from the Adi Granth, tr. by Nirmal Dass. SUNY Press, 1991. ISBN 0791405605.
- A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses with a Detailed Biographical and Historical Introduction, new ed., by Charlotte Vaudeville, New York, 1998, Oxford U. Press. ISBN 0195639332.
- Kabir: Ecstatic Poems, tr. by Robert Bly. Beacon Press, 2004. ISBN 0807063843.
.* Kabir ke dohey all of Kabir's dohas - document created by Anant Upadhyayula
External links
