Sant Kabir-A born spiritual luminary

Brij Mohan Sharma

From time immemorial, our mother country, Bharat, enjoys the unique distinction of having an unbroken line of brilliant philosophers and thinkers, sages and saints, who kindled the flame of spirituality in this country and kept it alight to this day in spite of frequent invasions, subjections and devastations. Their main mission has all along been to call humanity back to an awareness of its inborn divine nature. The periodical touch of these master minds gave India renewed strength and hope every time, and it is because of them that India is still alive and bustling with unprecedented activity in every sphere of life.

Sant Kabir, a 15th century mystic -poet was one such spiritual luminary in the history of India. He was one of the most revered key figures of Bhakti movement and a great social reformer, who virtually brought about a tremendous transformation in the thinking and behaviour of haughty orthodox class of our society. He also outrightly rejected the observance of superfluous religious customs, rites and practices. He believed in and preached devotion as a formless Supreme Being (Nirguna), and vehemently condemned casteism and religious sectarianism.

Nirguna means without attribution. It refers to the formless absolute and transcendental nature of the ultimate reality or divine consciousness (Brahman). It signifies that the Divine is not limited by material attribution, form or gender. Nirguna suggests an existence that is boundless and beyond limitations of form unlike 'Saguna' Brahman, which is worshipped as a deity with attribution.

It may be stated here that these two practices represent the age-old controversy between the two schools of jnana (the path of the impersonal God) and bhakti (the path of personal God). However, the difference in approach between these cannot and should not annul the unity of their common goal of seeking their inborn divinity. Luckily, both Nirguna and Saguna believe that God is universal and resides in every human being. Therefore, it should never be made a bone of contention or controversy.

Says Lord Krishna : "By whatever path men come to Me, I receive them through those very paths. All paths ultimately lead to Me''. ( B.G IV-11.) In nutshell, God is the rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. Though the beliefs and practices may be many and varied, spiritual realization to which these are the means is one. Every system of Indian philosophic thought gives us a practical way of reaching the Supreme ideal.

Kabir's birth is shrouded in mystery. Some believe that he took birth in a Muslim family while others suggest that he was born to a Brahmin mother and adopted by a Muslim couple. The common belief, however, is that Kabir, as a new born baby, was found at the bank of a large and deep pond at Lahartara near Kashi (Varanasi) most probably about the year 1399 A.D by a Mohammadan couple Neeru and Neema who were childless. For them, the child was a gift of God. So, they brought him up 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.' Since his foster parents were weavers, Kabir also learnt the art of weaving and throughout his life earned his living from this vocation.

In his early life, Kabir became the disciple of the celebrated Hindu ascetic Ramananda, who had brought to Northern India the religious revival which Ramanuja, the great twelfth century reformer had initiated in the South. The revival, in fact, was in part a reaction against the formalism of the orthodox cult. Being his disciple, Kabir partook in the theological and philosophical arguments which his master held with great Mullahs and Brahmins of his day. This helped Kabir to acquaint himself with the terms of Hindu and Sufi philosophy.

To Kabir, the God and the Guru are one. He believes that as and when the devotee abandons his ego and sees God and Guru as one entity, then only the union with the Brahman (Absolute Reality) is possible. In one of his couplets he says: "Guru Govind to ek hain, duja sab akar' Ape mittai Hari Bhaje, tab pave deedar''. (The master and the God are one, the difference lies in the shapes. If one worships Hari after becoming egoless, only then he is able to see Him).

In another couplet he says, "Guru Govind dowoo khare, kako lagun paon; Balihari guru aapne Govind diyo bataye.'' (When both the master and the God are standing together side by side, to whom should I salute and welcome first? Definitely to the Guru for he introduced God to me.)

Kabir never adopted the life of a professional ascetic, or retired from the world in order to devote himself to bodily mortifications and exclusive pursuit of the contemplative life. He was a simple unlettered man, a married person, a skilled musician as well as a poet. It was out of the heart of a common life that he sang rapturous lyrics of the divine love. Throughout his life, he earned his living at the loom and usually prayed to Almighty: "Sain itna dijiye, Jame Kutum samaye; Mein bhi bhuka naa rahun, sadhu naa bhukha jaye''. (For the maintenance of life on earth, Kabir requested his Lord to give him only enough to feed him along with his family and the saints or guests who usually visited his place).

Kabir was a bold and fearless mystic, never afraid of expressing his spiritual beliefs or experiences. He hated religious exclusivism and always pleaded for religious unity and brotherhood. Kabir's literary legacy, particularly his simple yet meaningful couplets known as 'Kabir ke Dohe' continue to resonate across generations. These dohas convey timeless messages of unity, love and the importance of a simple honest life.

As already mentioned, Kabir's teachings do not approve of ritualistic and, in his view, often superfluous practices observed by both Hindus and Muslims. He always advocated that direct connection with the Divine should be the sine quo non of every soul which is independent of both rituals and of bodily austerities.

One of his poems "Moko kahan dhundo Bande'' amply illustrates his spiritual belief. The English version of this poem is ''O man, where do you search Me? I am just beside you; I am neither in temples, nor in mosques; Neither in Kaba, nor in Kailash; neither in rites, nor in ceremonies; neither in yoga nor in renunciation; If you are a true seeker, you can see Me at once; you will meet me in a moment; Listen to me O, sadhu, God resides in the breath of each breath.''

This poem of Kabir is indeed his magnum opus in as much as he has very brilliantly and fearlessly portrayed the sum total of his ideology in a most impactful and comprehensive poetic composition.

Our highly placed saints and sages and Gurus also endorse the universal truth that fathomless depths of love for God lie hidden, like a subterranean ocean within our soul.

Guru Nanak ji has expressed this truth in the following heart warming smile:-

“Pushap madhya jyon bas basat hai, mukur mahin jus chhahi;

Taisi hi Hari basat nirantar, ghat hi khojo bhai.”

(As the fragrance is in the flower; and shadows in the mirror; In the same way the Lord resides in us, Don't search elsewhere).

Swami Vivekananda Ji has corroborated this philosophy in a more exhaustive and comprehensible manner. He says: "Why does man look for God? Why does man in every nation, in every society, want a perfect ideal somewhere either in man, in God, or elsewhere? Because the ideal is within you. It is your own heart beating and you did not know; you were mistaking it for something external. It is God within your own self that is propelling you to Him, to realize Him. After long search here and there , in temples and churches, in earths and heavens, at least you come back, completing the circle from where you started, to your own soul and find that He, for whom you have been weeping and praying in churches and temples, on whom you were looking as mystery of all mysteries shrouded in clouds, is nearest of the near, in your own self, the reality of your life, body and soul....''

So, it is only by steady patient practice of meditation, the divine love of the heart bursts forth in an unending joyous flow to meet our Beloved. True meditation reawakens the consciousness of our divine nature, and ends in complete union with God which, in other words, means self-realization means to attain knowledge of one's own soul and of its oneness with God.

Kabir also believed that we cannot lead our lives according to the dictates of the books because books only cannot make us wise unless we develop the most important characteristic of Love in ourselves. His famous couplet in this regard says:"Pothi parhi parhi jag muya, pandit bhaya naa koi, Dhai akhar prem key padhe so pandit hoi''. Apart from this he advises us to have control on our tongues and says: "Aisi wani boliye, manka aapa Khoi; Auron ko sheetal kare, aphun sheetal hoi''. (Always speak sweetly without rage and jealousy so that the self cools down and others are also pacified). Don't you think if we follow only these two sermons of Kabir in letter and spirit, this world would be a far better place than it is?

Kabir was also a staunch votary of religious brotherhood, and 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 norms of the same God. His focus on love, compassion and unity unded scores his belief in the oneness of all humanity.

As a tribute to Kabir, Nobel Laureate Shri Rabindranath Tagore has translated about the hundred of his poems into English. It is also heart-warming that 541 of his hymns form an integral part of the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

Sant Kabir breathed his last in the year 1518 A.D. A beautiful legend tells us that after his death his Mohammedan and Hindu disciples disputed the possession of his body, which the Mohammedans wished to bury, the Hindus to cremate. 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 the place of the corpse a heap of flowers, half of which were buried by Mohammadens and half carried by the Hindus to the holy city of Banaras- A fitting conclusion to a life whose absolute Lord was Love.

(The author is former Addl. Secy to Govt- a 1991 retiree)