ONE of the most popular and beloved bhagats of the Bhakti movement is Kabir whose poetry, out-passing all times and ages, still gives courage to the common people to challenge religious bigotry and extremism. Although he rejected all religions, he is owned by the Hindus who call him bhakta, to the Muslims he is a pir, and to the Kabirpanthis he is an avatar. To modern India he is a symbol of the Hindu-Muslim unity. A man who is portrayed as progressive, enlightened and secular. His tomb at Magahr was built by Nawab Bijli Khan in 1450 which is visited by his Muslim followers. Near the tomb is his samadhi where his Hindu disciples visit to get his blessing. Besides Hindus and Muslims, the Sikhs have deep reverence for him as well. His Ashloks are in the Granth sahib, their holy book. He has become a legend, and a symbol of defiance, a man for all seasons.
Kabir belonged to the caste of weavers, a low caste, which was converted to Islam but retained most of their past practices intact. That is why they were not included in the higher ladder of the Islamic society of India that was monopolized by the Sayyids and the Pathans as respectable and high castes. The Julahs were regarded fools and blockheads, as Kabir in one of his couplets says:
*Kabir, that caste of mine Is a joke to every one: Blessed indeed be such a birth, that let me invoke the Creator.
Belonging to the Julaha community he must have faced discrimination, feelings of degradation and contempt for his profession and caste. This transformed him as a bitter critic to all forms of religion. He had contempt for yogis, sadhus, sanyasis and mulvis who eventually became a target for his sarcasm. Such was the reaction that he never donned an ascetic dress; neither put tilak on his forehead. Nor did he pretend to be a religious leader of any sort. His message was, and is:
The jogi cries: Gorakh, Gorakh! The Hindu invokes the Name of Ram, The Mussalman cries: ‘Khuda is one! But the Lord of kabir pervades all.
In Kabir’s view, man can purify himself by rejecting all religions as they create hatred and prejudice in him. That is why he ridicules both Brahman as well as Shykh:
The Brahman is the Guru of the world, but he is not the devotees’ Guru:
He got entangled in his four Vedas
And there he died.
If the Shaykh be devoid of patience,
Of what use is that Kaaba pilgrimage?
How can he whose soul is not firm can hope to reach God.
Like the priests of Christianity, he disliked the life of cities that was full of debauchery, greed, hypocrisy and corruption. Charlotte Vaudeville, the biographer of Kabir writes: “Highyway robbery and house-breaking, petty larceny and pocket-picking, all kinds of knavery, roguery and cheating for which the ancient city of Kashi is particularly known (the famous Banarsi thagi ),dice-playing and gambling, the time honoured business of prostitution carried out in the open bazaar.” Disgusted of it, he preferred life of villages where peasants were busy in tilling and watering the fields, drawing water through the well-known device called arhat or rahat ...warding off birds all day when the crop is ready and keeping watch over it all night- the endless toil of the Indian farmer.” That is why Kabir addressed to the common people. He wandered from one village to another and recited his poetry which became quite popular in North India. He expressed the sentiments of simple folks who were oppressed and exploited not only politically but also religiously by rulers as well as priests and mullas. His scathing attack on the privileged classes and their religious observations and rituals exposed them to the people. His verses reduced them as clowns and buffoons.
O Miyan your order is not just: We are the poor servants of God-and You just seek glory!
Allah is the master of Religion; He did not order to oppress the poor:
Your Murshid and your Pir, tell me, where did they come from?
You observe the Ramzan and you keep spelling prayers-
But the Kalima won’t earn you heaven: He who knows Him through the Experience,
His soul possesses seventy Kaabas.
It is the belief of the Hindus that if somebody dies at Kashi, a holy city, he would get immediate salvation. Kabir, sensing that his time had come, left Kashi to Magahr and died there. He defied all religious rituals in his life time. Even after his death he defied them. In spite of his rejecting all religions, he is claimed by the Hindus as well as the Muslims that he belonged to them. He left a rich heritage in form of poetry that still gives a voice to the voiceless.
*(All translation of his verses are taken from Charlotte Vaudeville’s “ A Weaver named Kabir” 1993.)
ONE of the most popular and beloved bhagats of the Bhakti movement is Kabir whose poetry, out-passing all times and ages, still gives courage to the common people to challenge religious bigotry and extremism. Although he rejected all religions, he is owned by the Hindus who call him bhakta, to the Muslims he is a pir, and to the Kabirpanthis he is an avatar. To modern India he is a symbol of the Hindu-Muslim unity. A man who is portrayed as progressive, enlightened and secular. His tomb at Magahr was built by Nawab Bijli Khan in 1450 which is visited by his Muslim followers. Near the tomb is his samadhi where his Hindu disciples visit to get his blessing. Besides Hindus and Muslims, the Sikhs have deep reverence for him as well. His Ashloks are in the Granth sahib, their holy book. He has become a legend, and a symbol of defiance, a man for all seasons.
