Sant Kabir | His story, writings, philosophies and some lesser known facts

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Kabir Das is one of my favorite philosopher.
He may not be well known in South India.

Nearly six centuries have passed since he was born, but Sant Kabir, the 15th-century mystic poet, has remained contemporary. The poet whose life influenced people of all religions he came close to is one of the most interesting personalities in the history of Indian mysticism.

To mark his 500th death anniversary year, the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the state where the poet spent most of his life, is dedicating an institution to Sant Kabir to further his teachings. On 27 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Sant Kabir Akademi at Maghar where the mystic saint is said to have taken his samadhi five centuries ago.

The Akademi will be undertaking research, survey, publication and exhibition of the life and works of the social reformer. There will also be a state-of-the-art library relating to Kabir’s writings.


Sant Kabir was a unique combination of humanism who could not be confined to the realms of one religion. Kabir’s verses that influenced the Bhakti movement of Hinduism are found in Sikhism’s Guru Granth Sahib too. His spent his early life in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by Ramananda, the Hindu Bhakti leader widely known as Kabir’s teacher.

Born near Benaras, or Varanasi, Kabir had his own definition of God. According to him, “true God” is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, considers all creatures as his own, and one who is passively detached from the worldly affairs.

His greatest work is the Bijak (the ‘Seedling’). This collection of poems explains how Kabir viewed spirituality. His vocabulary may be replete with words such as Brahman, karma and reincarnation, which are Hindu spiritual concepts, Kabir is known for his vehement opposition to dogmas, both in Hinduism and Islam. He would often ask his followers to leave aside the Quran and the Vedas, and simply following the Sahaja path, which he described as the simple or natural way to God. He believed in the Vedantic concept of atman, but rejected the Hindu custom of idol worship, showing clear belief in both Bhakti and Sufi philosophies.

Sant Kabir | His story, writings, philosophies and some lesser known facts - The Statesman

It's 500th death anniversary year of Sant Kabir, who died in Maghar of Uttar Pradesh in 1518

www.thestatesman.com

 

[prasad1]

Kabir Philosophy​

Kabir's poetry is a reflection of his philosophy about life. His writings were mainly based on the concept of reincarnation and karma. Kabir's philosophy about life was very clear-cut. He believed in living life in a very simplistic manner. He had a strong faith in the concept of oneness of God. He advocated the notion of Koi bole Ram Ram Koi Khudai.... The basic idea was to spread the message that whether you chant the name of Hindu God or Muslim God, the fact is that there is only one God who is the creator of this beautiful world.

Talking about the philosophies & principles of Kabirdas, he was against the caste system imposed by the Hindu community and also opposed the idea of worshipping the idols. On the contrary, he advocated the Vedantic concepts of atman. He supported the idea of minimalist living that was advocated by the Sufis. To have a clear idea about the philosophy of sant Kabir, check out his poems and two line verses known as dohas that speak his mind and soul.

Kabir was strictly against the practice of hypocrisy and didn't like people maintaining double standards. He always preached people to be compassionate towards other living beings and practice true love. He urged the need to have company of good people that adhere to values and principles. Well, Kabir has very beautifully expressed his values and beliefs in his writings that include dohas, poems, Ramainis, Kaharvaas and Shabads.

Kabir Philosophy - Philosophies & Principles of Kabirdas - Philosophy of Sant Kabir

Given here is information on the philosophies & principles of Kabirdas. Read about the philosophy of sant Kabir.

www.thecolorsofindia.com

 

[prasad1]

Kabir Das was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib. His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda. Kabir was born in the Indian city of Varanasi.

Kabir is known for being critical of both Hinduism and Islam, stating followers of both were misguided by the Vedas and Quran, and questioning their rites of initiation such as the sacred thread and circumcision. both Hindus and Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs.

Kabir suggested that Truth is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, considered all creatures on earth as his own self, and who is passively detached from the affairs of the world. To know the Truth, suggested Kabir, drop the "I" or the ego.:4 Kabir's legacy survives and continues through the Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members are known as Kabir panthis.

According to Linda Hess, "Some modern commentators have tried to present Kabir as a synthesizer of Hinduism and Islam; but the picture is a false one. While drawing on various traditions as he saw fit, Kabir emphatically declared his independence from both the major religions of his countrymen, vigorously attacked the follies of both, and tried to kindle the fire of a similar autonomy and courage in those who claimed to be his disciples. He adopted their terminology and concepts, but vigorously criticized them both. He questioned the need for any holy book, as stated in Kabir Granthavali as follows:

Reading book after book the whole world died,
and none ever became learned!
But understanding the root matter is what made them gain the knowledge!
— Kabir Granthavali, XXXIII.3, Translated by Charlotte Vaudeville

Many scholars interpret Kabir's philosophy to be questioning the need for religion, rather than attempting to propose either Hindu-Muslim unity or an independent synthesis of a new religious tradition. Kabir rejected the hypocrisy and misguided rituals evident in various religious practices of his day, including those in Islam and Hinduism.

Saints I've seen both ways.
Hindus and Muslims don't want discipline, they want tasty food.
The Hindu keeps the eleventh-day fast, eating chestnuts and milk.
He curbs his grain but not his brain, and breaks his fast with meat.
The Turk [Muslim] prays daily, fasts once a year, and crows "God!, God!" like a cock.
What heaven is reserved for people who kill chickens in the dark?
Instead of kindness and compassion, they've cast out all desire.
One kills with a chop, one lets the blood drop, in both houses burns the same fire.
Turks and Hindus have one way, the guru's made it clear.
Don't say Ram, don't say Khuda [Allah], so says Kabir.
— Kabir, Śabda 10, Translated by Linda Hess and Shukdeo Singh

In Bijak, Kabir mocks the practice of praying to avatars such as Buddha of Buddhism, by asserting "don't call the master Buddha, he didn't put down devils". Kabir urged people to look within and consider all human beings as the manifestation of God's living forms:

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagor

Kabir - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[prasad1]

His ideas/ and philosophy.

Kabir’s poetry is a reflection of his philosophy about life. His writings were mainly based on the concept of reincarnation and karma. Kabir’s philosophy about life was very clear-cut. He believed in living life in a very simplistic manner. He had a strong faith in the concept of oneness of God. He advocated the notion of Koi bole Ram Ram Koi Khudai…. The basic idea was to spread the message that whether you chant the name of Hindu God or Muslim God, the fact is that there is only one God who is the creator of this beautiful world.

Talking about the philosophies & principles of Kabirdas, he was against the caste system imposed by the Hindu community and also opposed the idea of worshipping the idols. On the contrary, he advocated the Vedantic concepts of atman. He supported the idea of minimalist living that was advocated by the Sufis. To have a clear idea about the philosophy of sant Kabir, check out his poems and two line verses known as dohas that speak his mind and soul.

Kabir

Manifest Pedagogy This Year commemorates 500 years of Kabir. The recent trend in UPSC is to emphasize more on the

journalsofindia.com

 

[prasad1]

The following doha of Kabir reflects these ideas:

O Seeker, where dost thou seek me

Lo, I am beside there


I am neither in temple nor in mosque

I am neither at Kaaba nor at Kailash

Neither am I in rites and ceremonies

Nor Yoga nor in renunciation

Lamp burns in every house, O blind me,

And you cannot see them…..

Your Lord is near, you are climbing

The palm tree to see him

Yoga and the telling of beads

… These are naught to me.


image source: saiuvacha.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/kabir-doha.jpg


Kabir did not believe in idol worship nor did he believe in caste system. Reacting to the authority of the Vedas and the Quran he put emphasis on the inner virtues of man. For him the love for human race, irrespective of caste, colour or creed, was the true religion. He appealed to the Hindus to give up rituals, sacrifices, lip-worship and caste differences and openly denounced the concept of incarnations. He appealed to the Muslims to give up their exclusiveness, their blind faith in one prophet, their performance of rites like pilgrimage to Mecca, their regulated prayers and mode of fasting etc.

Thus Kabir’s mission was to preach the religion of love that could unite all. For him, religion without devotion was no religion at all which should be accompanied with the singing of hymns in praise of God Almighty. In the words of Underhill,

“Kabir is an intrepid path-finder, the great pioneer of the unity of Hindu and Muslim communities of India and the apostle of faith of Humanity who taught that the Divine disclosed itself in the human race as a whole.”

Thus Kabir did not establish any separate religious sect. Both Hindus and Muslims were his followers and came to be known as Kabirpanthis. His views and teachings, challenged and rejected by the upper castes, were largely accepted by the lower strata of the society and later on some of his hymns were incorporated in the Adi-granth of the Sikhs.

Kabir was the first saint to reconcile Hinduism with Islam. In the words of Yugalanand, “The Hindu resorts to the temple and the Muslim to the mosque, but Kabir goes to the place where both are known. These two religions are like two branches in the middle of which there is a sprout surpassing them. Kabir has taken the higher path abandoning the customs of the two.”

His immediate disciple Dharamdas rightly remarked,

“Kabir is an incarnation of the Absolute who revealed himself to the world.”

Kabir died at Maghar in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh in 1518 A.D.

Life and Teaching Kabir

Kabir was one of the chief exponents of the Bhakti movement in the medieval period. His early life is shrouded in mystery. According to a prevailing legend he was the son of a Brahmin widow who had left him by the side of a tank in Benares. A Muslim weaver Niru and his wife Nima picked up the...

www.historydiscussion.net

 

[prasad1]

Kabir is considered as the torch bearer of a new awakening. After Gautama Buddha, with the exception of Adi Shankara, it was Kabir who moved the masses of his age in social and religious spheres. He was at first the founder of the chain of saint reformers of proven guiding force to the helpless generation. No wonder all these saints belonged to lower order of society. Kabir was a weaver, julaha by birth; Ravidas, a cobbler, Shudra in social order; So were Sunderdas and Malukdas; Dadu was a dhunia; Nabhadas, a doma; Sahajobai, a cowherd, - all of them belonged to lower order of society. Dr Rangeya Raghava says that the Nirguna saints came from that section of society which had been exploited, ignored and made unprivileged since centuries. They were deprived of any education and kept subdued, subordinated. Blind faith and ignorance ruled the society but negative thoughts running since centuries gave way and self confidence was exhibited when Kabir appeared on the scene.

Common among these preachers were their love and devotion for God, the absolute Pure Conscious and their simple family life and high thinking. They set the example of work is worship and while eking out a living they kept dedicated to the thought of the Absolute. They preached that the worth of a person is measured not by his birth in a particular caste or by power and pelf in his possession but in the nature of spiritual and mental devotion to the human welfare and dignity and in inculcating the sense of oneness, sympathy and understanding for all mankind as the path shown in Sarve Sukhinah Santu — Kabir’s appeal was wide and all comprehensive. He was inclusive and never left any section of society untouched. He asked us to rise above consideration of caste, creed and religion and rise against all divisive tendencies afflicting the society and creating differences between man and man on the basis of money, power and religion. He asked people to be reasonably sound and introspective, analytical in the comprehension of ego, and superiority and corruption, deep rooted violence and self-interest rampant in the society. He pleaded for the inclusion of the deprived people on equal footing and for the chanting of Ram-Nam for all to beget the Bliss.

Dr Hazari Prasad Dwevedi, an authority on Kabir says, 'By nature, Kabir was head to foot soft hearted, polite and courteous before holy people but hard and kicking to the wicked and the selfish. Pure of heart, sound of mind, soft in heart, but uncompromising in external behavior, untouchable by birth, adorable by duty and action, Kabir was born a revolutionary powerful enough to affect a change in bringing out an era of transition.'

Kabirdas: Guide and Philosopher

 

[sharemarkettips]

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[prasad1]

Great post. I love the informative style you adopted. Clear and easy to understand.portfolio advisory services

thanks