Sant Kabir Das

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

President of India inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana and paid tribute to the Bhakti saint, Kabir at Maghar (Uttar Pradesh)

• According to legends, Kabir is said to have departed from the mortal world in Maghar.

Sant Kabir Das

• Sant Kabir Das was born in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was a 15th century mystic poet, saint and social reformer and a proponent of the Bhakti Movement.
• Teacher: His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu Bhakti leader Ramananda.
• He belonged to Nirguni tradition, in this tradition, God was understood to be a universal and formless being.
• Kabir’s compositions can be classified into three literary forms – Dohas (short two liners), Ramanas (rhymed 4 liners), sung compositions of varying length, known as Padas (verses) and Sabdas (words).
• Kabir Das’ writings had a great influence on the Bhakti movement and includes titles like Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Bijak, and Sakhi Granth.
• His verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
• The major part of his work was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev.
• He was best known for his two-line couplets, known as ‘Kabir Ke Dohe’.
• Language: Kabir’s works were written in the Hindi language which was easy to comprehend. He used to write in couplets to enlighten people.

Kabir’s critique of religion and caste:

• Kabir synthesized Islam and Hinduism
• While he did borrow elements from different traditions, he proclaimed his independence from them
• He did not only target the rituals and practices of both Hinduism and Islam, but also dismissed the sacred authority of their religious books
• Instead of God being an external entity that resided in temples or mosques, Kabir argued that God existed inside everyone.
• Kabir’s revolt against the caste system also sought to do away with the complex rituals and ceremonies performed by the Brahmins.
• He argued that it was only through bhakti, intense love or devotion to God could one attain salvation.
• He sought to eradicate caste distinctions and attempted to create an egalitarian society, by stressing the notion that a Bhakt (devotee) was neither a Brahmin nor an ‘untouchable’ but just a Bhakt.

Kabir’s legacy

• Kabir’s legacy is still going on through a sect known as Panth of Kabir, a religious community that considers him as the founder.
• A sect in northern and central India, many of their members are from the Dalit community
• Today, the sect exists as a large and distinct community, with various sects under different spiritual leaders.
• However, all regard Kabir as their guru and treat the Bijak as their holy scripture. The Bijak contains works attributed to Kabir