Brij Mohan Sharma
The history of India is filled with life and works of numberless brilliant philosophers and thinkers the world has ever seen. The wisdom of these distinguished luminaries has not only enlightened our nation but enamoured other nations of the world with its unmatchable spiritual philosophy, which wrestles with the problems of human life and destiny with dedication, competence and thoroughness rare in the history of philosophic thought.
Sant Kabir, the poet-saint of fifteenth century, whose Jayanti is being celebrated today, is one such priceless gems who takes place of pride in the galaxy of great saints and savants of India. Though said to be unlettered, Kabir excelled most of his contemporary litterateurs and religious scholars in spiritual knowledge and social consciousness. He was a bold and straightforward mystic, who fearlessly revealed his personal spiritual experiences and views concerning Divine realization and social evils.
He hated religious exclusivism and always pleaded and endeavoured for religious amity and brotherhood. His wonderful and souls tirring songs reveal the immeasureable depth of his spiritual, social and moral sagacity, which he brought into play to reform the society, in general, and the oppressed and depressed classes, in particular. His songs are a sweet concoction of homely metaphors and religious symbols from both Hindu and Mohammaden beliefs. About one hundred of his songs have been translated into English by Nobel laureate and icon of India Rabindranath Tagore.
There also seems to be a striking similarity between the life and the noble thoughts of Guru Nanak and Sant Kabir. Both these great saints belong to 15th century, and both of them had made it a mission of their life to uplift the people from the depressing circumstances of an unjust social order. They instilled new life into almost dead bones and muscles of their people and made them conscious of human worth and dignity. This is why a good number of Kabir’s hymns (about 541) have found place in the holy Guru Grant Sahib.
Kabir remained for years the disciple of his chosen Guru Ramananda, who was a man of wide religious culture and full of missionary zeal. It was from him that Kabir received the Guru Mantra ‘Rama, Rama’. This Guru-disciple relationship also provided Kabir the opportunity to accompany his master in various theological and philosophical discourses which the latter had with great Mullahs and Brahmins of the day. It was probably from such dissertations that Kabir gained acquintance with the terms of Hindu and Sufi philosophies.
Kabir never adopted the life of a professional ascetic, nor did he retire from the world in order to devote himself in the pursuit of a contemplative life. He was a married person and had two children. For the maintenance of life on earth, Kabir used to entreat his Lord to give him only enough to feed him along with his family and the saint who usually visited his place. “Sain itna dijiye, jame kutum samaye; main bhi bhukha na rahun sadhun be bhukha na jaye.”
He taught this very principle of simple living and high thinking to his followers – a simple and pure life dedicated to Allah and Rama. What really counted for him was that every individual should be moved by one and only one passion- the passion for Truth, and its corollary, the happiness and welfare of all humanity.
Kabir’s birth is shrouded in mystery. The most common and relied upon belief is that the newly born Kabir was found on a lotus flower in a large pond at Lahartara near Kashi (Banaras) in 1398 AD by a Mohammeden childless couple, Neeru and Neema, who were weavers by profession. They fostered the child as their own son with exuberant love and tender care. Kabir lived with them and learnt the art of making thread and weaving cloth. Throughout his life, he earned his living at the loom. (Interestingly, according to some Kabir Panthis, Kabir lived for 300 years and that he was born in 1205 Samvat and died in 1505 Samvat).
Kabir was accepted in his time both by Hindus and Muslims as one who had realized the Ultimate Reality. His teachings are mostly based on Vedas and Upanishads the knowledge of which, it is said, was acquired by Kabir through ‘Sahaj Yoga’ and above all his unflinching faith in and devotion to Rama the ‘Brahman’.
It may be quite apposite to mention here that our scriptures also reveal that after thorough investigation into the real nature of man, the sages of the Upanishads made a fundamental discovery; Man, in his essential nature is Divine; behind the finite man is the Atman, ever free, ever pure and perfect. The body, the mind and the ego are merely the externals of the real man who is immortal and divine. This discovery led to the further discovery that the same divinity is the ground of the world as well. This they termed ‘Brahman’, the totality of the Self and the not-Self, which they characterized as ‘satyam jnanam anantam- Truth, Awareness and Infinity (the unity of Self in man with the Self in universe, ‘the One without a second.”
Kabir preached this very Reality based on one Brahman, Love and Purity in his sermons. Kabir’s Brahman, however, has no form or shape or attribute. One can worship Him through meditation, devotion and recitation. The union with the Divine Reality, in his view, is independent both of rituals and body austerities. He asserts that the whole apparatus of piety- the temple and the mosque, idol and holy water, scriptures and priests are things which intervene between the soul and its Love. “The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak, I know, for I have cried aloud to them”, said Kabir.
As is generally the fate of such bold and straightforward saints, Kabir’s utterances were not palatable to certain sections of the organized church. As a result, he was put to great hardships and torture, and was made to leave his native place Banaras and take refuge at Maghar, near Gorakhpur, where it is said, the old man broken in health passed away in 1518. AD (His year of death is also not certain).
A beautiful legend tells us that after his death, his Mohammeden and Hindu disciples disputed the possession of his body. As they argued together, Kabir appeared before them and told them to lift the shroud and look at what lay beneath. They found in place of corpse, a heap of flowers, half of which were buried by Muslims at Maghar and the other half was carried by Hindus to the holy city of Banaras.
It will not be wrong to say that Kabir was a born Self-realized Saint. From his very childhood he was quite at home with spiritual knowledge. As a grown up Kabir he became master of almost all forms of yoga and was fully conversant with Ira, Pingla, Sushumna, Heart Lotus and six wheels etc. The essence of Vedas and Upanishads, as explained by him in his songs, is a really masterly. His voluminous poetry is one of the most precious treasures that we Indians have inherited, and needs to be translated into every Indian language.
Kabir was one of the wisest saints and the best reformers of his time who always endeavoured to infuse a new strength and new truth into the religious and social life of India. Unforutnately, he is misunderstood for some of his utterances. As already explained and as he himself concedes ‘whatever he has uttered is his personal experience’. His philosophy and other simple as well as eccentric ideas, symbols, metaphors and similes are born out of his personal experience and self-revelation. Says Kabir : “Karat vichar man hi man upajee; na kahin gaya, na aya.” So, any misunderstanding on this account needs to be overlooked.
What he actually wants to convey is that the strength that comes to a life through the realization of ever present Atma within is something palpable. Mere piousness is not enough. What is needed is man’s inner growth. The path shown by him for attaining this inner growth is unquestionably one of the most practicable paths-the path of love.
But, this does not mean that the other paths followed by devotees are infructous. It is not so! Lord Krishna clearly says : “By whatever paths men come to Me, I receive them through those very paths; all paths, O ‘Arjuna ultimately lead unto Me. (Gita VI-11) Nevertheless, “Love for God” remains the fundamental requisite.
(The author is former Addl. Secy. to Govt)
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