Talk:Nirguṇī Sant Kabīr

By Vishal Agarwal

Kabīr was born to a Hindu widow, who abandoned the newly born child at the bank of a tank close to the city of Vārāṇasī. A Muslim weaver couple found the baby and adopted him as their own child. Back in their home, they called the Muslim priest to search for a name for their adopted child from the Qurān, the holy book of Islam. But whenever the priest picked a word (as the child’s name) from the Qurān, it turned out to be a name that stood for the greatness of God, like Akbar or Kabīr. The Muslim priest did not want to give such a name to the adopted son of a poor weaver couple, and therefore he left without naming the child. However, they decided to name the child ‘Kabīr’, which is an Arabic word meaning “great” and is used as an adjective of Allāh (the Islamic name for God).

Since his childhood, Kabīr was very religious. He liked to listen to religious teachers who came to his neighbourhood. But now, he wanted to find a guru who could teach him more about Bhagavān.

Story: How Sant Kabīr met his Guru

Kabīr, who lived in the holy city of Vārāṇasī, was a very spiritually oriented person and he was searching for a true guru. He heard that a great saint named Rāmānanda had arrived with his disciples. He wanted to become a disciple of Rāmānanda but was worried that he might not be accepted because Rāmānanda was a Hindu saint, whereas Kabīr himself had been raised by Muslim parents.

Rāmānanda used to go every morning to take a bath in the Gaṅgā river. On the banks of Gaṅgā in Vārāṇasī are famous stepped “ghāṭas.” Pilgrims descend into the river by walking down the steps of these ghāṭas. One day, when it was early morning and still somewhat dark, Kabīr lay flat on one of these steps. Rāmānanda walked towards the river and accidentally stepped on a leg of Kabīr. He immediately uttered, “Rāma, Rāma,” in devotion towards Bhagavān and also to apologise to Kabīr. Kabīr was elated and he immediately jumped up, “I have met my guru, and he has given me the mantra of ‘Rāma Rāma.’”

Rāmānanda was greatly elated with the faith and sincerity of Kabīr and accepted him as his disciple. In his later years, Kabīr wrote numerous verses in praise of the true guru. Some of these are translated below –

“The guru as well as Govinda are both standing in front of me and I am in a fix as to whose feet I should bow to first. I decided to touch the feet of the guru, because he was the one who showed me the path to Govinda.

There are many in this world that wear the garb of a sādhu and beg from home to home. But they are not true gurus, and in the absence of a true guru, one’s education remains incomplete. Therefore, says Kabīr, even if you have to get your head cut to obtain a true guru, consider it to be a good bargain!”

Many Hindus were annoyed that although Kabīr was a Muslim (or at least, raised by Muslim parents), he should not chant the name ‘Rāma’ that was used by the Hindus. On the other hand, Muslims were upset that Kabīr behaved like a Hindu, prayed like a Hindu, wore a tilaka on his forehead like a Hindu, and taught Hindu teachings like reincarnation. Kabīr too criticised both Hindu and Muslim priests for their hypocrisy and wrote verses to make fun of them. A translation of some of these verses is given below. Can you explain what Kabīr is trying to teach through these verses (called ‘dohā’)?

mālā pherata juga bhayā, phirā na mana kā pher | kara kā maṅkā dār de, mana kā maṅkā pher || “You have spent a long time turning the beads of your japamālā, but you have still not turned your crooked mind. You should leave the beads that you turn in your hands, and instead turn the thoughts of your mind.”

kaṅkara pāthara jori ke, masjida lai banāya | tā chaḍhī mullā baṅga de, kyā baharā bhayā khudāya || “Collecting pebbles and stones, they have constructed a mosque. Climbing on that, the Muslim priest crows like a cock. Is the Lord deaf?”

Story: The Pig inside the ‘Saint’

Sant Kabīr was a very strong critic of hypocrisy. He saw that many priests and ascetics pretended to be very pious and holy men, but were in fact evil-minded.

One day, he heard that a fake faqīr (Muslim ascetic) was coming to visit him. To expose this fake saint, Kabīr tied a pig at the entrance of his home. When the faqīr came to Sant Kabīr’s home, he was horrified to see the pig and shouted out loud in anger, “Don’t you know that the pig is an unclean animal? Then why have you tied one to the entrance of your home?” Kabīr replied, “My pig is outside my house, whereas your pig is inside your heart.”

The faqīr felt so ashamed to hear these words that he went away stealthily.

Irritated by his criticisms, groups of both Hindus and Muslims complained to the local Muslim ruler. He was a very intolerant Muslim ruler and declared that Kabīr must be punished for criticising Islam. He ordered that Kabīr must be trampled to death by an elephant. But miraculously, the elephant bowed down in front of Kabīr and refused to harm the saint. Then, he was tied in chains and thrown into a river. But he walked ashore, free of chains. He was locked into a house that was set on fire. But the saint walked through the fire and emerged totally unharmed. The Sultān was terrified upon hearing of these miracles and he freed Kabīr.

When Kabīr died, Hindus and Muslims started fighting over who could claim his body. The Hindus said, “He taught teachings of our scriptures. His guru was a Hindu. Therefore, Kabīr should be cremated.” But the Muslims said, “His parents were Muslim, and he had a Muslim name. Therefore, he should be buried.”

As they fought, a voice from the skies said, “Lift the white sheet covering Kabīr’s body.” When the sheet of white cloth was removed, people were shocked to see a heap of flowers instead of Kabīr’s dead body. The Hindus and Muslims divided the heap into two halves. The Hindus took their share to Vārāṇasī and cremated the flowers, whereas the Muslims buried their half right where Kabīr’s body lay.

By performing this last miracle, Kabīr wanted to teach that we all belong to Bhagavān, whether we are Hindus or Muslims, and therefore we must not fight over religious differences. The miracle also showed that saints like Kabīr do not belong to people of just one religion; rather, they belong to the entire humanity.