Amongst the vast array of saints that have blessed the land of Bharat, Kabir, the weaver has a unique position. He was a bhakta who doggedly pursued the Absolute. He was a sant who practiced what he preached. He was a pir whose utterings were bold and pure. He was a das, a servant of humanity and therefore a servant of the divine. He came on the scene when practitioners of various sects and disciplines were merely going through the routines and not integrating the divine into their day to day behaviour and relations with the world. Kabir was a yogi, a teacher, a poet, a singer, and a social reformer. He was well grounded in Vedanta, Vaishnavism, Nath sampradaya, Sufism as well as mainstream Hinduism and Islam. Not bound by any of these yet milking benefit from all he put knowledge gained from his ordinary experiences over everything else. Caste, creed, social status nor sampradayas could hold him away from seeking the Truth. He was neither an exclusive saguna upasaka nor a nirguna one.

Saguna ko seva karo, nirguna kaa karo gyaan.
Nirguna saguna ke parey, tahey hamaaraa dhyaan

His focus was beyond both. It seems that even while embodied as Kabir he was in the dhaam mentioned in the Gita.

Na tat bhaasayatey suryaha, na shashaanko na paavakaha
Yat gatva na nivartante tad dhaama paramam mama.

Kabir’s Philosophy

His philosophy is gleaned from his many works composed in Mirzapuri and combined into groups such as Shabads, Ramainis, Kaharvaas and Dohaas. On the surface while his dohas seem very simple his songs are cryptic and not easily understood. He resorts to imagery to drive home subtle truths. The entire process of weaving starting from the charka and the thread all the way to the designing of the finished fabric is used to explain creation and the formation of the human body-complex. The tester stone used in judging diamonds is the viveka buddhi at work. Often weddings and funerals are used to symbolize the marriage of the jiva to the World and to the Purush respectively. The temporal value of life and our preoccupation with relative truth underlies many of his songs.

The process he employs is that of constantly sifting and winnowing all experiences and all knowledge that has been handed down in order to get to the Absolute Truth which he calls SUT or SUTPURUSH. He ruthlessly cut away at all beliefs and allegiances that stood in the way of understanding and experiencing this Truth. In modern computer terminology we might say that he was constantly cutting at texts written by him and others and pasting in its place self -evident truths. This he did even though all around people were spending entire lives in the senseless and blind practice of religious customs.

Murakh shabd na maanayi, dharm na sunayi vichaar.
Satya shabd nahi khojayi, jaave jamu ke dvaar.

It is obvious that Kabir knew who he was for his songs carry that rare clarity of thinking. He was a man of very few doubts. Recovery from sorrows and joys of life was speedy for such a person. The lack of a high handed approach from such a wise man is proof of his unique personality. He never considers himself apart from humanity thus addressing his fellow men as bhai. The legitimacy of the pursuit of the divine is what prompts him to call the listener as sadho. It is no wonder that he continued the humble art of weaving through out his life.

A summary of lessons as revealed through his songs are given below.

1. Learn to move away from hypocrisy and double standards that run deep inside each of us.
2. Evaluate the robot like practice of religious customs and concentrate instead on integrating goodness into our daily lives.
3. Recognize the limitations inspite of the usefulness of many of our allegiances to devatas, pujaris and pujas, to masjids, mullahs and namaz. Reliance on these often lead to the stifling of the individual’s unbiased pursuit of Truth.
4. The role of Maya, Karma and Kaal in the world and in our life is to be accepted and turned towards the pursuit of the Truth that is above these limitations and controls.
5. To stay in touch with the Indweller or Antaryamin in us which he calls Peev or Beloved one has to understand one’s own behaviour.
6. Recognize the same Peev in others and know that it is this Peev that is essentially the Sahib or master of Creation and the Saiyn or Lord of the World.
7. This leads to the practice of True Love or Prem in the form of kindness and compassion to all.
   Premi doondat mai phirun, premi milai na koi.
   Premi so premi milai,vish sey amrit hoi.
8. It is important to keep Satsang or the company of the Good at the same time one should not ignore others.
9. Obstructions to sadhana in the form of Mada ( conceit), Matsarya(rivalry), Krodh( fury), Kama( unbridled desires) and Moha(infatuation) must be handled on an ongoing basis and rooted out. Halaal and jhatka should be done to these and not to living beings
   Kaama krodh aru trishna lobh moh ahankaar.
   Yah sab dekho haraam hai,kahe kabeer pukaar
10. Loyalty to the teachings of a guru who has revealed the Sut must be Maintained.
    Tab ho guru priya bain kahi,sheesh chadi chit preet.
    To rahiye guru sanmukhon, kab hun na deejai peet.
11. Cultivate a thirst for the undiluted Truth.
12. Life being transitory one must remind oneself of this Truth with almost every breath one takes. Meditation on this must not be just something set aside everyday but rather woven into all our thoughts words and deeds.
    Saans saans pur naam ley,vrithaa saans mati kjoy.
    Na jaane is saans ko aavan hoy na hoy.
13. This is achieved by constantly sounding within us the name, the reminder of the Absolute. This could be any word that we select to do so, or any given by our guru. Whether it is Ram or Rahim it does not matter. This then is the SUTNAAM. This is the Shabdabrahman of the Upanishads.

Sahib tumhi dayaalu ho,tum lag meri dour.
Jaisey kaag jahaaz ko, sujhey aur na tor.

All wanderings in life are done in order to know the Absolute. This is our perch. The bird may fly hither and thither but it always returns to the mast of the boat that plies through the waters of life.

Jaise til mey tel hai,jyon chakamaka mey aag
Tera sain tujh mey basey, tu jaag sakey tho jaag.

The Lord of our self is within each of us. It is a truth that is as intrinsic as the oil in the sesame seed. It is glorious and evident even if it seems distant like the fire in the lightening. It is up to each one of us to wake up to this truth.

Kasturi kundal basey,mrig doondey manmaahi.
Aise ghut mey peev hai,duniyaan jaaney naahin.

The average man of the world goes about his daily life not knowing that subconsciously he is seeking the Absolute truth, the Beloved in the jeev. The mind-body equipment of man contains this Beloved yet he seeks for it everywhere else but within. The musk deer attracted by its own scent searches for it in the woods. Little does it know that in its body is the source of this fragrance.

Dheerey dheerey rey manaa, dheerey sab huch hoy.
Maali seench sou ghataa, ritu aaye phal hoy.

Efforts must be consistent with time. Overloading of efforts is no use in order for results to materialize. The gardener can pour hundred pots of water to a tree but it will produce fruit only when the fruiting season arrives, not before.

Buraa dekhan mai chalaa, buraa na miliyaa koi.
Jo dil khojaa aapnaa,mujh saa buraa na koy.

Self- analysis helps one realize that it is tough to accuse others of evil. Kabir on his mission to find evil people, found none. He says, when he examined his own mind he found that no one was more evil than himself.

Dekhiye raamhi saban mey, ek bas bharpur.
Jyo ukh mey ras sam bhayo,cheenee shakkar gur.

It is the essential sweetness found in the sugar cane that is the basis of sugar, jaggery and molasses. So too one must see the Raam that is the essence in all beings.

Kabeer khadaa baajaar mey,maangey sab ke khair.
Na koi sey dosti, na koi sey bair.

An abiding mind must be the framework for all our relationships. This calls for the tugging of fondness and the loosening of adversariness. This does not however mean genuine lack of interest in others either. All relationships in the market of life must be free of friendship and enemity

Kabeer sangat saadhu ki, jo gandhee kee baas.
Jo kachu gandhee dey nahin, tho bhee vaas suvaas

Even when you do not receive any perfume from a visit to the perfumery, you will find that you will walk away carrying the scent on you. Such is the value of company with the good.

Badaa bhayaa tho kyaa bhayaa,jaisey paid khajur.
Panthee ko saayaa nahi, phal lagey ati dur.

Greatness of wealth and resources is of no value if those in need cannot benefit from these that you have. The tall date tree’s height is of no value for it neither provides adequate shade for the birds nor are its fruits readily available.

Sain itnaa deejiye, jaa meykutumbh samai.
Mai bhi bhookhaa naa rahoon, sadhu na bhookaa jaiy.

It is important that we be not a burden to society even while in sadhana. We must neither aggregate more than what we really need. Thus Kabir prays to the Divine to provide him with only as much wealth so that he can provide for himself, his family and have some more for those in need. The remaining dohaas reveal the state of realization of this Sant.

Anjaaney ko svarg narak hai,hari jaaney ko naahi.
Jahi dur sey sab loug darat hai, so dur hamare naahi.

Heaven and hell and the creators of these do not hold any fear for Kabir. That which is fearful for the rest of the world is not of concern to him who is in the search of the Absolute Truth.

Hindu kahen tho mai naheen, musalmaan bhi naahin.
Paanch tatva kaa pootalaa, garvi kheley maahin.

The body mind complex of man fashioned out of the pancha tatvas are classified into names and forms particularly signifying adherence to specific religions. This is a mere play of puppets whose dance will end someday. Kabir cannot therefore be classified either as a Hindu or a Muslim for he identifies with neither.

Laali mere laal ki, jin dekhey tith laal.
Laali dekhan mai gayi, mai bhi go gayi laal.

The process of dyeing that was so familiar to Kabir often reminded him of Divine Love and the Divine Dyer. The colour red stands for Divine Love. Kabir tries to seek the manifestation of his personal dyer lord within, specifically outside of him. He found the Dyer could not be localized. He saw was the Dyer’s work everywhere. Everything was red. In the process he says he too became Red.

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