Thus Spoke Kabir
कहे कबीर सुनो भाई साधो
Kabir composed no epic; only dohe, sakhi, and pada. To feed the family, his
body toiled at a loom in the dingy quarters of a narrow by lane of Kashi’s
poorest area; but his spirit soared high above; he drank from the waters of
Assi Ghat, and took in the soul-nourishing fragrance of the choicest flowers of
diverse religions and faiths that invigorated the air of the ancient religious city.
Kashi was teeming with wise men, mendicants, sants and sufis; and a lesser man
would not have dared to share his wisdom, but Kabir had a voice that boomed
with the conviction of truth, could not be stifled, and still rings loud
centuries after he is gone.
If you are a Kabir fan like this blogger, you may have enjoyed Kabir’s dohe
and vani by many excellent singers, and may have noted that some of these songs
on You Tube have clocked millions of ‘views.’ Why are these songs so popular –
the excellence of the singer, the beauty of the poetry, or the deep
philosophical musings of Kabir, the Sant-Kavi? Kabir’s thoughts resonate even
today because of his poetic genius of presenting the essence of religion and
life with utter simplicity and brevity.
Kabir:
An Enigma
Kabir is a much-loved devotional poet, but his life is shrouded in mystery.
Was he a Hindu or a Muslim? Did he preach a different faith or initiate a new
sect? He is eloquent about his religiosity, but silent about his religion.
His compositions – dohe, sakhis, and songs – tell much about his thoughts
and beliefs. The first compilation of Kabir’s songs was made by his disciple Dharam
Das in 1463, during Kabir’s lifetime. Kabir’s hymns – 240 dohe and 227 padas - were
included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Kabir:
A Heretic?
Was Kabir a heretic? Well, his dohe and songs, have a lot that greatly
annoyed both Hindus and Muslims of his time, and Kabir suffered persecution
including calumny and physical violence from both.
He laughed at the Hindus for their idol-worship:
लोगा ऐसे बावरे , पाहन पूजन जायँ ।
घर की चकिया काहे न पूजै जेहि का पीसा खायँ ।
People (Hindus) are so stupid that they worship
stone idols. Why not worship the grinding stone at home which feeds them, he
asked?
He was equally critical of the rituals of Muslims:
मुल्ला होकर बांग जो देवे
क्या तेरा साहब
बहरा है ।
*किडी के पग नेवर बाजे
सो भी साहब सुनता है ।
O Mulla, why do you scream like an over-zealous
cock in the morning, is your god deaf? Don’t you know that God listens even to
the faintest, subtle jingle from an insect’s anklets?
Someone later changed kidi (insect or worm)
to chinti (ant)!
Kabir’s Ram is not Ramayana’s hero, the son of
Dasharath; but nirgun, nirakar in sync with the Upanishadic concept of the
Supreme Being. Kabir is neither a jogi (a follower of Gorakhnath), nor a Hindu,
nor a Muslim; his God is in everyone.
जोगी गोरख गोरख करई ,
हिन्दू राम-नाम उच्चरई ।
मुसलमान कहे एक खुदाई ,
कबीरा को स्वामी घट -घट रह्यो समाई ।
सोई पीर है जो जाने पर पीर
As per a legend, Muslim clerics complained to Badshah Sikandar Lodi about
Kabir’s heretical claim to miraculous powers, and recommended the death penalty
for him. When Kabir was presented in chains before the Badshah, Kabir stood in
silence. The Kazi shouted at him, ‘Kaafir, why haven’t you bowed to the
Badshah?’ Kabir, cool and composed, replied with the following doha:
कबिरा सोई पीर है जो जाने पर पीर ।
जो पर पीर न जानई सो काफ़िर बेपीर ।
One who feels the pain and sorrow of others is a
true Pir (saint), one who doesn’t is no Pir but a kaafir (heretic).
Gandhi’s favourite hymn Vaishnava jana toh tene
kahiye je pir parai jane re borrows the phrase from Kabir’s doha.
Kabir was hated even more because he was an unlettered, low-caste, poor
weaver. How dare he make fun of the time-honoured religious practices of Hindus
and Muslims and preach new truths? Only after his death, and owing to his
immense popularity with the masses, both religions staked claim to appropriate
his legacy with Hindus regarding him as a Vaishnava Sant Kavi, and the Muslims
hailing him as a Sufi Pir.
Dispute
after Death
Death at Kashi ensures moksha (liberation), and
that at Maghar takes you to hell, believed the Hindus. Being the iconoclast
that he was, Kabir travelled from Kashi to die at Maghar. That was his last
laugh at the silliness of such superstitions.
As per a legend, when Kabir died, both Hindus and
Musims fought for his body which miraculously vanished and under the shroud was
found only flowers which the disputants divided equally, with the Hindus
cremating it at Kashi and making a samadhi, and the Muslims burying it at
Maghar where Kabir’s mausoleum is still present.
Famous
Dohe and Padas
A selection from his most popular dohe and padas is
given below:
On
Guru’s Importance
गुरु गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, काके लागूं पांय ।
बलिहारी गुरु आपने गोविन्द दियो बताय ।।
A graphic image – both Govind (not Krishna, but
Kabir’s nirgun, nirakar God), and Guru are before the devotee, whose feet
should he touch first? A difficult choice. Kabir suggests, it’s better to first
bow before one’s Guru, for he is the one who has led the disciple to find God.
Essential
Oneness of Hinduism and Islam
काबा फिर कासी भया, राम भया रे रहीम ।
मोट चून मैदा भया, बैठि कबीरा जीम ।।
Once you realise, O Kabir, that there is no
distinction between Kaaba and Kashi, or Ram and Rahim; the coarse atta of
gross reality transforms to delectable fine maida of divinity.
On Total Surrender to God
‘कबीर’ कूता राम
का, मुतिया मेरा नाउँ ।
गले राम की जेवड़ी, जित खैंवे तित जाउँ ।।
Kabir is Ram’s dog. My name is Mutiya, on my neck
is Ram’s belt, and I go wherever he pulls me.
Divine
Spark: Fire in the Wood
साहिब तेरी साहिबी, सब घट रही समाय ।
ज्यों मेंहदी के पात में, लाली लखी न जाय ।।
Just as red colour is contained within mehendi
leaves but is not visible; God is inside of everyone, but invisible.
On
Impermanence/Transitoriness of Life
पानी केरा बुदबुदा, अस मानस की जात ।
देखत ही छिप जायेगा, ज्यों सारा परभात ।।
Human life is short-lived like water bubbles, and
disappears like stars upon the arrival of morning.
On Introspection
बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय ।
जो दिल खोज्यो आपना, मुझसा बुरा न कोय ।।
Why waste time and energy if finding fault with
others? Look inside yourself, you’d realise the need to reform yourself before
counselling others.
On
Humility
दास कहावन कठिन है, मैं दासन का दास ।
अब तो ऐसा होय रहूं, पांव तले की घास ।।
On
Fleeting Youth
कबीर गर्व न कीजिए, इस जोबन की आस ।
टेसू फूला दिवस दस, खंखर भया पलस ।।
A striking metaphor, common-place but spectacular,
a Flame-of-forest tree in blossom, and thereafter.
Bhakti
Movement
Kabir is a continuum in the line of Sants and Pirs
who shared their distilled wisdom with the masses. He is one of the
leading lights of Bhakti movement in north India; and the predecessor of the famous
16th century Bhakti poets – Guru Nanak, Tulsidas, Surdas, Dadu
Dayal, Rahim Khankhana, and others. In Kabir’s poems, echoes can be heard of
the Vedas, Upanishads, Buddha, Mahavir Jain, Adi Shankar, Ramanuja, Gorakhnath,
Jaydev, Baba Farid, Namdev, and others.
Kabir was unlettered, but he shared his faith in simple devotion to realise
the nirgun, nirakar god in crisp dohe and padas in the language and idiom of
the common people. He was the saint who like a winnowing implement removed the
chaff and presented the grains.
Hindi
Poetry
Of the medieval Hindi poets, Kabir is the Adi Kavi. In the 15th
century, it was not fashionable to write in Hindi or khari boli since Sanskrit,
Persian, and Arabic were the preferred language of the Courts and the elites.
But Kabir composed in the language of the people – khari boli, purbia, and
unhesitatingly picked up words from Sanskrit, Urdu, Punjabi, and Marwadi.
Before Tulsidas, considered by many as the greatest Hindi poet ever, Kabir
wrote in Hindi, the language of choice for the bhakti poets of the 16th
century and later.
Kabir
Songs and Famous Singers
Several singers have soulful renditions of Kabir’s songs – Kumar Gandharv,
Prahlad Tipania, Anup Jalota, Jagjit Singh, Sabnam Virmani, Abida Parveen, and
many others. The very large viewership of these You Tube songs is an indication
of the enduring popularity of Kabir’s timeless songs.
Kabir’s similes and
metaphors
Simple, yet
striking metaphors, picked up from everyday life which the common people can
instantly relate to. No erudition or study of vyakarana or scriptures is
required to get Kabir’s message. Kabir could be abstruse at times, possibly by
choice, when handling deepest philosophical issues; but he consciously avoids
poetic artifice. He speaks from his heart and effortlessly reaches the heart of
his audience.
Some of his
most memorable metaphors are:
जाति न पूछो साधु की, पूछि लीजिए ज्ञान ।
मोल करो तलवार की, पड़ा रहन दो म्यान ।।
न्हाये धोये क्या हुआ, जो मन का मैल न जाय ।
मीन सदा जल में रहे, धोये बास न जाय ।
चलती चक्की देख के, दिया कबीरा रोय ।
दुइ पट भीतर आइके, साबुत गया न कोय ।।
जब मैं था तब गुरु नहीं, अब गुरु हैं मैं नाहिं।
प्रेम गली अति सांकरी, तामें दो न समाहिं।।
Kabirpanthis
Kabir did not set up any sect, but his disciples established Kabirpanth:
the Path of Kabir. His disciple Surat Gopal set up the panth at Kashi, and the
other disciple Dharam Das took it to Bilaspur, now in Chhattisgarh. Kabirpanthis
admit both Hindus and Muslims and have no caste bar, but they have developed
elaborate rituals including diksha, wearing janeu and kanthi – something Kabir
is unlikely to have approved. That is how great saints are powerless against
the affection and bhakti of their chelas and bhagats. Kabirpathis are teetotalers,
vegetarians, and have an elaborate manual for right living and conduct.
Kabir
means ‘Great’
Kabir in Arabic means great, and is a synonym for
Allah. There is a story about his naming ceremony. Kazi, to name the child,
opened the Quran, and the page that opened had Kabir. Maybe, since the boy was
from a poor, low-caste julaha family, the Kazi did not think of Kabir as a fit
name. He closed the holy book, and opened it a second time, and then a third
time, and every time, the book opened at the same page. He had no choice but to
name the boy Kabir. In a way, the Kazi’s hesitation was borne out and Kabir was
infamous for his heretical dohe, shabads, and vanis during his lifetime. Only
long after his demise was he reckoned as a voice that spoke the truth unafraid
of the consequences.
Kabir’s philosophy, bhakti, and poetry continue to appeal to the hearts not
only of Kabirpanthis but of people from other faiths and persuasions. That is how
Kabir has fulfilled the import of his name: Kabir is Great.
A commemorative postage stamp on Kabir issued by India Post on 1st October 1952.
***
Resources:
1. Makers of Indian Literature: Kabir, Prabhakar Machwe,
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, Fourth Reprint: 2014
2. Kabir Granthavali, Ed. By Dr. Shyamsundar Das, Vani
Prakashan, New Delhi, Fourth Edition: 2022.
3.
