Born in the city ofVaranasi in what is nowUttar Pradesh, he is known for being critical of organised religions. He questioned what he regarded to be the meaningless and unethical practices of all religions, primarily what he considered to be the wrong practices in Hinduism and Islam.[3][7] During his lifetime, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims for his views.[8] When he died, several Hindus and the Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs.[4]
Kabir suggested that "truth" is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, who considers everything, living and non living, as divine, and who is passively detached from the affairs of the world.[4] To know the truth, suggested Kabir, drop the "I", or the ego.[8] Kabir's legacy survives and continues through theKabir panth ("Path of Kabir"),Sant Mat sect that recognises Kabir as its founder. Its members are known asKabir panthis.[9]
The years of Kabir's birth and death are uncertain.[10][11] Somehistorians favour 1398–1448 as the period Kabir lived,[12][13] while others favour 1440–1518.[3][14][15] Generally, Kabir is believed to have been born in1398 (Samvat 1455),[1]: 14–15 on thefull moon day ofJyeshtha month (according to the historical Hindu calendarVikram Samvat) at the time ofBrahmamuharta. There is a considerable scholarly debate on the circumstances surrounding Kabir's birth. Many followers of Kabir believe that he came fromSatloka by assuming the body of light, and incarnated on a lotus flower and claim that the rishi Ashtanand was the direct witness of this incident, who himself appeared on a lotus flower in theLahartara Pond.[16]
A few accounts mention that Kabir, in the form of in infant, was found at Lahartara Lake by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife Nima, who raised him as their child.[17]
Kabir is believed to have become one of the many disciples of the Bhakti poet-saint SwamiRamananda in Varanasi, known for devotionalVaishnavism with a strong bent tomonistAdvaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person and everything.[4][18][19] Early texts about his life place him with Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism as well as the Sufi tradition of Islam.[20] According to Irfan Habib, the two manuscript versions of the Persian textDabestan-e Mazaheb are the earliest known texts with biographical information about Kabir.[21] TheDabestan-e-Mazaheb states Kabir is a "Bairagi" (Vaishnava yogi) and states he is a disciple of Ramanand (the text refers to him repeatedly as "Gang").
Kabir's family is believed to have lived in the locality ofKabir Chaura inVaranasi (Banaras).Kabīrmaṭha (कबीरमठ), amaṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life.[22] Accompanying the property is a house namedNīrūṭīlā (नीरू टीला) which houses Niru and Nima graves.[23]
Kabir's poems were inSadhukkadi, also known as Panchmel Khichri, borrowing from variousdialects includingKhadi boli,Braj,Bhojpuri,Marwari andAwadhi.[24] Kabir also wrote in pure Bhojpuri, for instance his poems likemor hīrā herāïl bā kichaṛe me is written in pure Bhojpuri.[25] They cover various aspects of life and call for a loving devotion for God.[26] Kabir composed his verses with simple words. Most of his work was concerned with devotion, mysticism and discipline.[27]
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself, There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore! There, where millions ofKrishnas stand with hands folded, Where millions ofVishnus bow their heads, where millions ofBrahmas are reading the Vedas, Where millions ofShivas are lost in contemplation, where millions ofIndras dwell in the sky, Where the demi-gods and themunis are unnumbered, where millions ofSaraswatis, goddess of music play the vina, There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Kabir and his followers named his verbally composed poems of wisdom as "bāņīs" (utterances). These include songs and couplets, called variouslydohe,śalokā (Sanskrit: ślokā), orsākhī (Sanskrit: sākṣī). The latter term means "witness", implying the poems to be evidence of the Truth.[29]
Literary works with compositions attributed to Kabir includeKabir Bijak,Kabir Parachai,Sakhi Granth,Adi Granth (Sikh), andKabir Granthawali (Rajasthan).[30] However, except for Adi Granth, significantly different versions of these texts exist and it is unclear which one is more original; for example,Kabir Bijak exists in two major recensions.[31] The most in depth scholarly analysis of various versions and translations are credited to Charlotte Vaudeville, the 20th century French scholar on Kabir.[31]
There are 82 works attributed to Kabir as mentioned in Kabir and the Kabir panth by Westcott.[32] Shyamsundar Das himself brought to light two marked manuscripts which he published in 1928. One of these manuscripts carried the date 1504 and the other 1824.[citation needed]
Kabir's poems were verbally composed in the 15th century and transmittedviva voce through the 17th century.Kabir Bijak was compiled and written down for the first time in the 17th century.[33] Scholars state that this form of transmission, over geography and across generations bred change, interpolation and corruption of the poems.[33] Furthermore, whole songs were creatively fabricated and new couplets inserted by unknown authors and attributed to Kabir, not because of dishonesty but out of respect for him and the creative exuberance of anonymous oral tradition found in Indian literary works.[33] Scholars have sought to establish poetry that truly came from Kabir and itshistoricity value.[34]
John Stratton Hawley notes that collections of poetry that have survived tend to display quite distinct personalities of Kabir.[35] In Western collections (Rajasthaan) Kabir is far more devotional than the Eastern (Punjab) Kabir who seems more like a down to earth householder swayed by love's intensity.[36]
More recently, Kabir's poems can be found in a wide variety of publications and websites, but the discussion of authenticity is ongoing.[37] It seems certain that minor changes will have occurred through the centuries and it is also possible that poems written by others have been attributed to Kabir.
Rabindranath Tagore's English translation and compilation,Songs of Kabir, was first published in 1915 and has been a classic reprinted and circulated particularly in the West.[38][39] One critic (V.C. Mishra) has gone so far as to suggest that only six[40] of its hundred poems are authentic[41] and also raises the question of whether the translator projected theological perspectives of the early 20th century onto Kabir.[42] The same essay adds that the presumed unauthentic poems nevertheless belong to the Bhakti movement in medieval India and may have been composed by admirers of Kabir who lived later.[38]
Kabir with Namadeva, Raidas and Pipaji. Jaipur, early 19th century
According to Linda Hess, "Some modern commentators have tried to present Kabir as a synthesizer ofHinduism andIslam; 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 what he considered the follies of these religions, and tried to kindle the fire of a similar autonomy and courage in those who claimed to be his disciples.[43] He adopted their terminology and concepts, but vigorously criticised them both.[44][45] 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[46]
Many scholars interpret Kabir's philosophy to be questioning the need for religion, rather than attempting to propose eitherHindu–Muslim unity or an independent synthesis of a new religious tradition.[47] Kabir rejected the hypocrisy and misguided rituals evident in various religious practices of his day, including those in Islam and Hinduism.[47]
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[48]
InBijak, 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".[49][50] Kabir urged people to look within and consider all human beings as 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.
Charlotte Vaudeville states that the philosophy of Kabir and othersants of the Bhakti movement is the seeking of the Absolute. The notion of this Absolute isnirguna which, writes Vaudeville, is same as "theUpanishadic concept of theBrahman-Atman and the monistic Advaita interpretation of the Vedantic tradition, which denies any distinction between the soul [within a human being] and God, and urges man to recognize within himself his true divine nature".[52] Vaudeville notes that this philosophy of Kabir and other Bhakti sants is self-contradictory, because if God is within, then that would be a call to abolish all externalbhakti. This inconsistency in Kabir's teaching may have been differentiating "union with God" from the concept of "merging into God, or Oneness in all beings". Alternatively, states Vaudeville, thesaguna prema-bhakti (tender devotion) may have been prepositioned as the journey towards self-realization of thenirguna Brahman, a universality beyond monotheism.[53]
David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz trace these ideas of God in Kabir's philosophy asnirguna Brahman to those inAdi Shankara's theories onAdvaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, albeit with some differences.[54]
Lorenzen in his review of Kabir's philosophy and poetry writes, "the extent to which Kabir borrowed elements from Islam is controversial. Many recent scholars have argued that he simply rejected Islam and took almost all his ideas and beliefs from the Hindu tradition. Contemporary Kabir Panth sadhus make roughly the same argument. Most of the vocabulary used in his songs and verses are borrowed directly from the Hindu tradition. Some scholars state that the sexual imagery in some of Kabir's poems reflect a mystic Sufi Islam influence, wherein Kabir inverts the traditional Sufi representation of a God-woman and devotee-man longing for a union, and instead uses the imagery of Lord-husband and devotee-bride.[55] Other scholars, in contrast, state that it is unclear if Sufi ideas influenced Bhakti sants like Kabir or it was vice versa, suggesting that they probably co-developed through mutual interaction.[56]
Kabir left Islam, states Ronald McGregor.[5] Kabir, nevertheless, criticised practices such as killing and eating cows by Muslims, in a manner Hindus criticised those practices:
We have searched theturaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts, Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows. How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse? The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body. These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance, Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Kabir response to persecution and slander was to welcome it. He called the slanderer a friend, expressed gratefulness for the slander, for it brought him closer to his God.[58] Winand Callewaert translates a poem attributed to Kabir in the warrior-asceticDadupanthi tradition within Hinduism, as follows:[59]
Keep the slanderer near you, build him a hut in your courtyard — For, without soap or water, he will scrub your character clean.
The legends about Kabir describe him as the underdog who nevertheless is victorious in trials by aSultan, aBrahmin, aQazi, amerchant, a god or a goddess. The ideological messages in the legends appealed to the poor and oppressed. According to David Lorenzen, legends about Kabir reflect a "protest against social discrimination and economic exploitation", they present the perspective of the poor and powerless, not the rich and powerful.[60] However, many scholars doubt that these legends of persecution are authentic, point to the lack of any corroborating evidence, consider it unlikely that a Muslim Sultan would take orders from Hindu Brahmins or Kabir's own mother demanded that the Sultan punish Kabir, and question the historicity of the legends on Kabir.[61]
New English translations of Songs of Kabir is done byArvind Krishna Mehrotra. August Kleinzahler writes about this: "It is Mehrotra who has succeeded in capturing the ferocity and improvisational energy of Kabir’s poetry".[63]
Kabir's legacy continues to be carried forward by theKabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of theSant Mat sects. This community was founded centuries after Kabir died, in various parts of India, over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.[64] Its members, known asKabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9.6 million.[65] They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with theIndian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census.[66]
There are two temples dedicated to Kabir located inBenares. One of them is maintained byHindus, while the other by Muslims. Both the temples practise similar forms of worship where his songs are sung daily. Other rituals ofaarti and distributing prasad are similar to otherHindu temples. The followers of Kabir are vegetarians and abstain from alcohol.[67]
Guru Nanak (right) and Bhai Mardana (foreground) with Bhagat Kabir (left). This painting is found in the B-40Janamsakhi, written and painted in 1733. The painting was made by Alam Chand Raj
Kabir's verses were incorporated intoAdi Granth, the scripture ofSikhism, with verses attributed to Kabir constituting the largest non-Sikh contribution.[5]
Some scholars state Kabir's ideas were one of the many influences[68][69] onGuru Nanak, who went on to found Sikhism in the fifteenth century. Other Sikh scholars disagree, stating there are differences between the views and practices of Kabir and Nanak.[64][70][71]
Harpreet Singh, quoting Hew McLeod, states, "In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to theSant tradition of northern India, a movement associated with the noted poet and mystic Kabir."[72] Surjit Singh Gandhi disagrees, and writes, "Guru Nanak in his thought pattern as well as in action model was fundamentally different from Kabir and for that matter other radical Bhaktas or saints (saint has been erroneously used for such Bhaktas by McLeod). Hence to consider Kabir as an influence on Guru Nanak is wrong, both historically and theologically".[70]
McLeod places Guru Nanak in the Sant tradition that included Kabir and states that their fundamental doctrines were reproduced by Guru Nanak. JS Grewal contests this view and states that McLeod's approach is limiting in its scope because, "McLeod takes into account only concepts, ignores practices altogether, he concentrates on similarities and ignores all differences".[64]
Bust of sant Kabir in Independence day flower show,Lal Bagh, Bangalore (2024)
Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe marries Kabir's couplets with contemporary music adding elements of rock, Karnatic, and folk. Popular renderings include 'Halke Gaadi Haanko', Chadariya Jhini and Chor Awega. Kabir Cafe claims that living their lives just as Kabir suggests has led to them experiencing some of these truths and it reflects in their performances.[73]
Noted classical singer, lateKumar Gandharva, is well recognised for his renderings of Kabir's poetry.[74]
Documentary filmmakerShabnam Virmani, from theKabir Project, has produced a series of documentaries and books tracing Kabir's philosophy, music and poetry in present-day India and Pakistan. The documentaries feature Indian folk singers such as Prahlad Tipanya,Mukhtiyar Ali and the PakistaniQawwalFareed Ayaz. Kabir festival was organised inMumbai, India in 2017.[75][76]
A music album titled Kabeera - The Thinker, by Indo-CanadianVandana Vishwas features some of the selected Kundaliyaan and rare poems penned by Kabeer Das in a contemporary musical arrangement.
Kabir has been criticised for his depiction of women.Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh states, "Kabir's opinion of women is contemptuous and derogatory".[71]Wendy Doniger concludes Kabir had amisogynist bias.[71] Schomer states that for Kabir, woman is "kali nagini (a black cobra),kunda naraka ka (the pit of hell),juthani jagata ki (the refuse of the world)". According to Kabir, a woman prevents man's spiritual progress.[71]
Woman ruins everything when she comes near man; Devotion, liberation, and divine knowledge no longer enter his soul.
— Kabir, Translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh[71]
In contrast to Singh's interpretation of Kabir's gender views, Dass interpretsRag Asa section of Adi Granth as Kabir asking a young married woman to stop veiling her face, and not to adopt such social habits.[77] Dass adds that Kabir's poetry can be interpreted in two ways, one literally where the woman refers to human female, another allegorically where woman is symbolism for his own soul andRama is the Lord-husband.[78]
^Rizvi (1983), p. 412, "The author of theDabistan-i Mazahib placed Kabir against the background of the legends of the Vaishnavitevairagis (mendicants) with whom he was identified, but a contemporary of his, Shaikh 'Abdu'r-Rahman Chisti, combined both theBairagi and themuwwahid traditions about Kabir in hisMir'atu'l-asrar and also made him a Firdaussiya Sufi.".
^Irfan Habib (2001). "A Fragmentary Exploration of an Indian Text on Religions and Sects: Notes on the Earlier Version of the Dabistan-i-Mazahib".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.61:479–480.JSTOR44148125.
Friedlander, Peter (5 July 2010)."Ritual and reform in the Kabir Panth".Crises and Opportunities: Past, Present and Future. Proceedings of the 18th Biennial Conference of the ASAA. Asian Studies Association of Australia.ISBN9780725811365.
Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2008).History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E. English: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Pvt Ltd. pp. 174 to 176.ISBN978-8126908578.
Grewal, J. S. (2010). Mann, Gurinder S. (ed.)."WH McLeod and Sikh Studies"(PDF).Journal of Punjab Studies.17: 119.
Kabir (15 April 2007).Kabir: Ecstatic Poems. Translated byBly, Robert (2nd ed.). Beacon Press.ISBN978-0-8070-6380-4.Bly writes on page xix, "My version is Rabindranath Tagore's translation rephrased into more contemporary language."
Vaudeville, Charlotte (1993),A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses with a Biographical and Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0195630787
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