Brij Mohan Sharma
Sant Kabir is one of the most revered saints of Bharatvarsha, the holy abode of Rishis and Munis who awakened man to the realities of his life, and showed him the path leading to his Supreme and Ultimate Goal.
Kabir was a great spiritual personality, who expressed his beliefs and ethereal experiences without fear or favour. He was a mystic of the highest order capable of introducing and initiating his devotees into the spiritual world. His simple and easily comprehensible teachings carved a respectable niche in the hearts of both Hindus and Muslims.
Kabir’s birth is shrouded in mystery. Some believe that he took birth from Muslim parents while others insist that he himself appeared on a lotus flower in Lake Lahartara. However, the common belief is that Kabir, the new born baby, was found at the bank of a large and deep pond at Lahartara near Kashi (Varanasi) probably about the year 1440 by a Mohammaden couple Neeru and Neema who were childless. Naturally, for them the child was a gift of God. So, they brought him up as their own son with all the care and love they could shower on him. The child was named Kabir. The meaning of ‘Kabir’ in Arabic is ‘The Great’. Kabir learnt the art of weaving from his foster parents, and throughout his life earned his livelihood from this profession.
He became in early life a disciple of the celebrated Hindu Guru Ramananda. Ramananda had brought to Northern India the religious revival which Ramanuja the great twelfth century reformer of Brahmanism had initiated in the South. This revival was, in actuality, a reaction against the increasing formalism of the orthodox cult, the intense intellectualism of the Vedanta philosophy deplorable social taboos and many unnecessary and self-controlled so-called religious rituals and customs.
He maintained a remarkable balance between personal and universal, mundane and Divine. He lived a very simple and stoic life. His usual prayer to Almighty was :
Sain itna dijiya, Jame kutum samaye;
Mein bhi bhukha naa rahun, Sadhu naa bhukha jaye.
This very golden code of conduct was preached by him to his followers and other common folk impressing upon them the importance of living a simple and pure life dedicated to Rama the Brahman. (Please note this is not Brahma but Brahman).
Kabir did not teach anything new. All his teachings are based on Vedas and Upanishads. Nevertheless, the most important component responsible for his huge following was his simple, natural and straight forward language he employed to deliver his sermons which were easily comprehensible to all and sundry driving home, without any ifs and buts, Kabir’s intense conviction of the reality of soul’s intercourse with the Transcendent.
It may be pertinent to mention here that Kabir was an unlettered person. It is, therefore, a mystery asto wherefrom he got the knowledge of Vedas, Upanishads and other scriptures of Hindus and Muslims. So, there can hardly be two opinions about the fact that Kabir was unquestionably a messenger of God who was born to lead men from darkness to light.
Throughout his discourses and sermons, Kabir explained and emphasized the fact that Rama the Brahman is the only Truth in the world. His Brahman or Rama, however, has no form or shape or quality, which clearly leads one to believe that Kabir was opposed to idol worship. This is why he once said :
Pathar puje Hari mile to main pujun pahar;
Isse to chakki bhali jako pees khaye sansar.
The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak;
I know for I have cried aloud to them.
To oppose or refute this type of worship is not in the fitness of things, nor is it in the interest of God-loving devotees or the teachings of our holy scriptures. In whatever way, one sincerely worships God, he is bound to attain his union. What is required is purity of character, pious deeds, pure devotion and, above all, surrender to God. While doing so, one has to put his whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.
God in holy Gita says “By whatever path men come to Me, I receive them through those very paths; all paths ultimately lead unto Me. (B.G IV-11).
Worship with the aid of an image, for example, may be of help to one while a hindrance to another. An act held as adoration of the Almighty by one path should not be abhorred as blasphemy by another. The same Lord recognised the need for all these divergent paths, understands the urge in the hearts of the various types of devotees and graciously helps them to attain perfection. The Lord resides equally in all men, whether superior or inferior, whether masters of scriptures or lacking zest in scriptures.
As rightly said by Sri Aurobindo; “Spirituality is not high intellectuality or idealism, nor moral purity nor austerity. It is an inner inspiration to know, to feel and to enter into contact with the greater Reality beyond and pervading the universe…. Spirituality is to feel divine, think divine and see divine”.
So, Rama to Kabir was the Absolute Brahman with no form or attributes. Throughout his life, Kabir lived with Rama the formless Brahman. Rama for him was not the Rama whom others worship in temples. Kabir’s Rama is the ultimate entity (one Supreme God) that underlines all physical things Cosmic power.
Kabir has expressed himself so comfortably in his poetry that it has been recognised as one of the great works of literary merit. As a tribute to Kabir, India’s Noble Laureate Shri Rabindernath Tagore has translated one hundred of his poems into English. It is also heart-warming and commendable that 541 of his hymns have found place in the holy Guru Granth Sahib.
Kabir always insisted that we cannot lead our lives according to the dictates of the books. To be bookish cannot make us wise. If we learn ‘love’ (prem) a word of only two and a half letters, we can be wise and live happily. A very famous couplet in this connection is cited below :
Pothi parhi parhi jag muya pandit bhaya naa koi;
Dhai akhar prem kay padhe so pandit hoi.
Kabir was quite emphatic in his assertion that a country, a society or a family can only survive if love and compassion are there.
Kabir was a staunch votary of religious brotherhood. He endeavoured all his life to integrate Hindus and Muslims by declaring that they are not different and separate entities. In fact, they are the living forms of the same God.Ishwar and Allah are different names of one God. Kabir was deadly against caste distinctions because he firmly believed that salvation could be attained only through good deeds. He worshipped the Nirguna form of God whom he called by several names such as Rama, Allah, Hari, Sain Sahib, etc. Says Kabir-
If Hari is in the East and Allah in the West,
Then who is in you?
Look within
You will find both Karim and Ram there.
Jaise Til main tel hai jyon chakmak mein aag;
Tera Sain tujh mein hai, tu jaag sake to jaag.
As for his own person, Kabir vehementally declared that he was neither a Hindu nor a Musalman. He was a man of the world made up of five elements:
Hindu to main hun nahi, Muslaman bhi nahi;
paanch tatwa ka putala, Jaibi khelat Maahin.
All external rituals and observances had no meaning for him. He simply believed that ”union with the Divine Reality should be the sine quo non of every soul, which is independent of both rituals and of bodily austerities. Says Kabir :
O man, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo, I am beside thee.
I am neither in the temple nor in mosque;
I am neither in Kaba nor in Kailash;
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in yoga and recitation;
If thou are a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me
Thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time;
Kabir says “O, Sadhu, God is in the breath of all breath.
These utterances of Kabir, as justly expected, were neither palatable nor palpable to the die-hard elements of both Hindu and Muslims. As a result, he was subjected to considerable persecution and was brought before the then Sultan of Delhi Sikander Lodi. Some say Lodi tortured Kabir brutally, and he was made to flee to Maghar to save his life. The other version, however, is that Sikander Lodi was a ruler of considerable culture and was tolerant of the eccentricities of such saints. So, in the interest of peace, he simply banished Kabir from Banaras. Thereforth Kabir appears to have moved about amongst various cities of northern India, and finally settled at Maghar, near Gorakhpur. This seems to have happened in 1495. In 1518, the old man, broken in health left this world at Maghar.
After his death, his Hindu and Muslims disciples disputed the possession of his body. While Mohammadens wished to bury him, Hindus desired to cremate his dead body. As they argued together, Kabir appeared before them, and told them to lift the shroud and look at that which lay beneath. They did so, and found in place of corpse, a heap of flowers, half of which were buried by Muslims at Maghar and half carried by Hindus to the city of Banaras.
While concluding, it may be pertinent to mention that the life and work of great medieval saints of India, both Hindus and Muslims, have added a brilliant chapter to the history of India. Some of the most famous among them are Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Lal Ded, Ravi Das, Surdas and Sufi saints like Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Sheikh Salim Chishti. Their teachings contain a moral and an inspiration for us all of this age.
If these medieval saints could produce such glorious results in unpropitious times, how much greater results in the direction of spiritual stability and social solidarity could be achieved, if the present forces of both the faiths, Hindus and Muslims, could be canalised into constructive and creative channels ?
(The author is a former Addl. Secy. to Govt)
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