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July 21, 2002
REVIEWS: The mystery mystic
The book under review is a collection of poems by the mystic poet Kabeer, compiled by Sardar Jafri who has also provided the translations in Urdu, along with explanatory notes. Kabeer ranks among, perhaps, the most quoted poet in the subcontinent. He wrote around 700 dohas (two line poems), love songs and mystic poems. The hallmark of Kabir’s poetry is that he picks up situations that surround our daily lives, which makes his poetry relevant even today in both the social and spiritual context.
Kabeer was born into a Brahmin family, but was adopted by a childless Muslim couple. The date of his birth and death cannot be verified with any proof. A doha by Dharam Das points to his birth being in 1440. The year of his death is 1518. This period is also said to be the beginning of the Bhakti movement in the subcontinent. Kabeer was raised among a Muslim community of weavers. He was never formally educated and was almost completely illiterate. Legends say that the only word that he ever learned how to write was “Rama”.
The basic religious principles he espoused are simple. According to Kabeer, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul and the other is God . In Kabeer’s view salvation is the process of unification of these two divine principles. The social and practical manifestation of Kabeer’s philosophy has run through the ages. It represented a synthesis of Hindu, and Muslim concepts. From Hinduism he accepts the concept of reincarnation and the law of karma. From Islam he takes the affirmation of the single God and the rejection of the caste system and idolatry.
Not only has Kabeer influenced Muslims and Hindus but he is one of the major inspirations behind Sikhism as well. Kabeer’s hymns, some 541 in all, are entered in the holy Guru Granth Sahib.
Oh, unseen God who cannot be given a form, who will serve you/ Everyone worships the god they have made with their own hands/ But one who is complete, master and indivisible, no one takes His name/ These people worship tens of images which they have created but no one worships the true image/ They are deluding themselves for one who is the doer is someone else/ The yogis, sadhus and mendicants fight among themselves./ Listen brothers, they say that one who has seen love (God) is the one redeemed.
[Poem 13]
Kabeer spent his life in Benaras and when it was time to die he went to Mugher in Gorakhpur. The importance of this move is that even at the time of death Kabeer did not give up his revolutionary beliefs. In the same way as he did not believe in inequality of men he did not subscribe to the notion of cities having lesser or greater status. The common Hindu belief is that those who die in Kashi are redeemed and on the other hand those who die in Mugher are reincarnated as donkeys.
But Kabeer, who had full faith in his bhagti, could not accept this. When he reached that part of life when he was nearing death he left Benaras and moved to Mugher.
Kabeer’s lyrics are characterized by a free use of the vernacular, and are unfettered by the grammatical bonds of his day. It is this quality which has made his philosophy accessible to generations of the subcontinent. He was a bhakta who doggedly pursued the Absolute. He was a sant who practised what he preached. He was a pir whose uttering were bold and pure. He was a das, a servant of humanity and therefore a servant of the divine.
He came on the scene when practitioners of various sects and disciplines were merely going through the rituals and not integrating the divine into their day to day behaviour and worldly relations. Kabeer was a yogi, a teacher, a poet, a singer, and a social reformer. He was well grounded in Vedanta, Vaishnavism, Sufism as well as mainstream Hinduism and Islam. Not bound by any of these yet deriving benefit from all.
Kabeer’s songs carry that rare clarity of thinking. He teaches renunciation of the world but does not advocate that one immerse into the self and for escape lose himself in meditation. He was a married man and had children. He would weave cloth at the wheel and sell it from door to door to earn a living for his family. The physical and worldly labour did not detract from his spiritual creativity. In fact, it gave it an added dimension. He insisted that God could be found in this world and the path of redemption passed through the pages of life. Do not wander here and there in the gardens, it blossoms in your own existence/ Sitting on the thousand petaled lotus (heart), you can look at the beauty of creation
[Poem No. 040] One cannot separate Kabeer from the bhagti movement which played a vital role and helped to reform the society in India. Superstition was common among the masses. The ruling Muslim class and the high-placed Hindus feared the very shadow of the poor. Kabeer’s fearless spirit spoke out in defence of the poor and lowly. He revealed to them their undue exploitation by the rich. His poetry created mass awakening. Sung in the common language, the poems left a deep impact on all who read or heard him. His theology was meant to unite Hindus and Muslims in the worship of one God.
The selection of verses in Kabeer bani covers the vast gamut of poetical expression found in Kabeer. The introduction and explanatory notes by Sardar Jafri are very sound and deeply studied. The comparisons to Iqbal and Rumi are thought provoking. The volume is very well presented and like the book Prem Wani is worth reading.
Writer’s email: mosoodm@emirates.net.ae
Kabeer Bani
Compiled by Sardar Jafri
Aaj ki Kitabein, City Press, 316, Madina City Mall Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi
Tel: 5213916,5650623.
Email: Website: www.citypress.cc
ISBN 969-8379-33-9
298pp. Rs200
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