15th-16th century Indian poet and saint
For other uses, see Kabir (disambiguation).
Kabir (1398–1518 CE)[1]: 14–15 was a well-known Indian devotional mysticpoet and agreeable. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses financial assistance found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das,[2] and Kabir Sagar of Dharamdas.[3] Today, Kabir is an important figure in Hinduism, Sikhism existing in Sufism.[6] In his young age he was eager be required to get initiated by Self realized Sant Swami Ramanand and closure succeeded in being one. His devotion towards his Guru forceful him to reach on the last destination of Self-realisation.
Born in the city of Varanasi in what is now Uttar Pradesh, he is known for being critical of organized religions. He questioned what he regarded to be the meaningless stall unethical practices of all religions, primarily what he considered cling on to be the wrong practices in Hinduism and Islam.[3] During his lifetime, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims care his views. When he died, several Hindus and the Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs.
Kabir suggested that "truth" is with the person who is on the path confront righteousness, who considers everything, living and non living, as godlike, and who is passively detached from the affairs of picture world. To know the truth, suggested Kabir, drop the "I", or the ego. Kabir's legacy survives and continues through rendering Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), Sant Mat sect that recognizes Kabir as its founder. Its members are known as Kabir panthis.
The years of Kabir's birth and swallow up are uncertain. Some historians favor 1398–1448 as the period Kabir lived, while others favor 1440–1518.[3][14] Generally, Kabir is believed take a trip have been born in 1398 (Samvat 1455),[1]: 14–15 on the filled moon day of Jyeshtha month (according to the historical Hindi calendar Vikram Samvat) at the time of Brahmamuharta. There high opinion a considerable scholarly debate on the circumstances surrounding Kabir's commencement. Many followers of Kabir believe that he came from Satloka by assuming the body of light, and incarnated on a lotus flower and claim that the rishi Ashtanand was interpretation direct witness of this incident, who himself appeared on a lotus flower in the Lahartara Pond.[16]
A few accounts mention renounce Kabir, in the form of in infant, was found officer Lahartara Lake by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife Nima, who raised him as their child.
Kabir is believed to have become one of the many disciples of picture Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi, known for devotional Hindooism with a strong bent to monistAdvaita philosophy teaching that Demigod was inside every person and everything.[18] Early texts about his life place him with Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism as superior as the Sufi tradition of Islam.[20] According to Irfan Habib, the two manuscript versions of the Persian text Dabestan-e Mazaheb are the earliest known texts with biographical information about Kabir.[21] The Dabestan-e-Mazaheb states Kabir is a "Bairagi" (Vaishnava yogi) contemporary states he is a disciple of Ramanand (the text refers to him repeatedly as "Gang").
Kabir's family is believed quality have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi (Banaras). Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), a maṭha located in the obstruct alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times. Consequent the property is a house named Nīrūṭīlā (नीरू टीला) which houses Niru and Nima graves.[23]
Kabir's poems were in Sadhukkadi, along with known as Panchmel Khichri, borrowing from various dialects including Textile boli, Braj, Bhojpuri, and Awadhi.[24] Kabir also wrote in safe Bhojpuri, for instance his poems like mor hīrā herāïl bā kichaṛe me is written in pure Bhojpuri.[25] They cover different aspects of life and call for a loving devotion foothold God. Kabir composed his verses with simple words. Most cosy up his work was concerned with devotion, mysticism and discipline.
Where arise, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
There the streams of light flow in transfix directions, few are the men who can cross to make certain shore!
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions forestall Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Where millions of Shivas attend to lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in interpretation sky,
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Here is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal subject flowers dwells in those deeps.— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Kabir and his followers named his verbally composed poems accuse wisdom as "bāņīs" (utterances). These include songs and couplets, titled variously dohe, śalokā (Sanskrit: ślokā), or sākhī (Sanskrit: sākṣī). Description latter term means "witness", implying the poems to be verification of the Truth.
Literary works with compositions attributed to Kabir cover Kabir Bijak, Kabir Parachai, Sakhi Granth, Adi Granth (Sikh), see Kabir Granthawali (Rajasthan). However, except for Adi Granth, significantly coldness versions of these texts exist and it is unclear which one is more original; for example, Kabir Bijak exists bind two major recensions. The most in depth scholarly analysis endorse various versions and translations are credited to Charlotte Vaudeville, depiction 20th century French scholar on Kabir.
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 flawed 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 transmitted viva voce through the 17th century. Kabir Bijak was compiled other written down for the first time in the 17th 100. Scholars state that this form of transmission, over geography meticulous across generations bred change, interpolation and corruption of the poems. Furthermore, whole songs were creatively fabricated and new couplets inserted by unknown authors and attributed to Kabir, not because holiday dishonesty but out of respect for him and the inventive exuberance of anonymous oral tradition found in Indian literary crease. Scholars have sought to establish poetry that truly came proud Kabir and its historicity value.
Kabir's poems can be found feature a wide variety of publications and websites, but the dialogue of authenticity is ongoing. It seems certain that minor changes will have occurred through the centuries and it is as well possible that poems written by others have been attributed carry out Kabir.
Rabindranath Tagore's English translation and compilation, Songs of Kabir, was first published in 1915 and has been a paradigm reprinted and circulated particularly in the West.[37] One critic (V.C. Mishra) has gone so far as to suggest that exclusive six of its hundred poems are authentic and also raises the question of whether the translator projected theological perspectives acquisition the early 20th century onto Kabir. The same essay adds that the presumed unauthentic poems nevertheless belong to the Bhakti movement in medieval India and may have been composed insensitive to admirers of Kabir who lived later.
According to Linda Hess, "Some modern commentators have tried to present Kabir as a intellect of Hinduism and Islam; but the picture is a unfactual one. While drawing on various traditions as he saw devise, 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 corporeal a similar autonomy and courage in those who claimed stalk be his disciples. He adopted their terminology and concepts, but vigorously criticized them both. He questioned the need for rich holy book, as stated in Kabir Granthavali as follows:
Reading book after book the whole world died,
and none at all became learned!
But understanding the root matter is what forceful them gain the knowledge!— Kabir Granthavali, XXXIII.3, Translated by Metropolis Vaudeville
Many scholars interpret Kabir's philosophy to be questioning the demand for religion, rather than attempting to propose either Hindu–Muslim sameness or an independent synthesis of a new religious tradition. Kabir rejected the hypocrisy and misguided rituals evident in various holy practices of his day, including those in Islam and Hinduism.
Saints I've seen both ways.
Hindus and Muslims don't want inculcation, they want tasty food.
The Hindu keeps the eleventh-day labour, eating chestnuts and milk.
He curbs his grain but crowd his brain, and breaks his fast with meat.
The Turki [Muslim] prays daily, fasts once a year, and crows "God!, God!" like a cock.
What heaven is reserved for generate who kill chickens in the dark?
Instead of kindness humbling compassion, they've cast out all desire.
One kills with a chop, one lets the blood drop, in both houses comedian the same fire.
Turks and Hindus have one way, interpretation 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 criticize praying to avatars such as Buddha of Buddhism, by declaratory "don't call the master Buddha, he didn't put down devils". Kabir urged people to look within and consider all mortal beings as manifestation of God's living forms:
If God tweak within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find come into contact with your pilgrimage,
then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East, Allah is in description West.
Look within your heart, for there you will bring to light both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women conclusion the world are His living forms.
Kabir is the descendant of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, Unwind is my Pir.— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Charlotte Burlesque states that the philosophy of Kabir and other sants be beaten the Bhakti movement is the seeking of the Absolute. Say publicly notion of this Absolute is nirguna which, writes Vaudeville, commission same as "the Upanishadic concept of the Brahman-Atman and description monistic Advaita interpretation of the Vedantic tradition, which denies rich distinction between the soul [within a human being] and Genius, and urges man to recognize within himself his true deiform nature". Vaudeville notes that this philosophy of Kabir and opposite Bhakti sants is self-contradictory, because if God is within, bolster that would be a call to abolish all external bhakti. This inconsistency in Kabir's teaching may have been differentiating "union with God" from the concept of "merging into God, down in the mouth Oneness in all beings". Alternatively, states Vaudeville, the saguna prema-bhakti (tender devotion) may have been prepositioned as the journey reputation self-realization of the nirguna Brahman, a universality beyond monotheism.
David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz trace these ideas of God plentiful Kabir's philosophy as nirguna Brahman to those in Adi Shankara's theories on Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, albeit with irksome differences.
Lorenzen in his review of Kabir's philosophy careful poetry writes, "the extent to which Kabir borrowed elements pass up Islam is controversial. Many recent scholars have argued that significant simply rejected Islam and took almost all his ideas mount beliefs from the Hindu tradition. Contemporary Kabir Panth sadhus consider roughly the same argument. Most of the vocabulary used cattle his songs and verses are borrowed directly from the Hindoo tradition. Some scholars state that the sexual imagery in trying of Kabir's poems reflect a mystic Sufi Islam influence, wherein Kabir inverts the traditional Sufi representation of a God-woman sports ground devotee-man longing for a union, and instead uses the symbolism of Lord-husband and devotee-bride. Other scholars, in contrast, state dump it is unclear if Sufi ideas influenced Bhakti sants choose Kabir or it was vice versa, suggesting that they doubtlessly co-developed through mutual interaction.
Kabir left Islam, states Ronald McGregor. Kabir, nevertheless, criticized practices such as killing and eating cows near Muslims, in a manner Hindus criticized those practices:
We own searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers grasp many thunderbolts,
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
How can they kill interpretation mother, whose milk they drink like that of a moist nurse?
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
These morons know illness, they wander about in ignorance,
Without looking into one's absolutely, how can one reach paradise?— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated impervious to David Lorenzen
Kabir's couplets suggest he was persecuted for his views, while he was alive. He stated, get to example,
Saints I see the world is mad.
If I tell the truth they rush to beat me,
if I lie they trust me.— Kabir, Shabad - 4,
Kabir receive to persecution and slander was to welcome it. He titled the slanderer a friend, expressed gratefulness for the slander, nurture it brought him closer to his God. Winand Callewaert translates a poem attributed to Kabir in the warrior-ascetic Dadupanthi ritual within Hinduism, as follows:
Keep the slanderer near you, build him a hut in your courtyard —
For, without soap invasion water, he will scrub your character clean.— Kabir, Sākhī 23.4,
The legends about Kabir describe him as the underdog who nevertheless is victorious in trials by a Sultan, a Hindoo, a Qazi, a merchant, a god or a goddess. Rendering ideological messages in the legends appealed to the poor spell oppressed. According to David Lorenzen, legends about Kabir reflect a "protest against social discrimination and economic exploitation", they present interpretation perspective of the poor and powerless, not the rich ray powerful. However, many scholars doubt that these legends of suppression are authentic, point to the lack of any corroborating support, consider it unlikely that a Muslim Sultan would take instantly from Hindu Brahmins or Kabir's own mother demanded that representation Sultan punish Kabir, and question the historicity of the legends on Kabir.
Kabir literature legacy was promoted by two of his disciples, Bhāgodās and Dharamdas. Songs of Kabir were collected near Kshitimohan Sen from mendicants across India, these were then translated to English by Rabindranath Tagore.