Kabir: Songs of the Divine

Satguru Kabir (1398-1518 CE) was born in the city of Kashi, in northern India. At the time, India
was passing through a period of transition. There was confusion and chaos everywhere. Kabir appeared on the scene and realized the problem that was staring India in the face – the disunity of Hindus and Muslims. He was pained to see how children of God raised barriers that kept their hearts apart. He sought to break those barriers with the key of mysticism and inspire people to rise above the differences of birth and be rid of the hollow ritualism that made mimicry of religion. He saw the enormous waste of time and energy involved in religious bigotry. He wanted to bring unity and peace through love and compasion. He criticized both Hindus and Muslims for their ignorance and illusion. His teachings of religious tolerance and love had a great impact on people. Love and devotion is the central theme of Kabir’s phoilosophy. Although devotion to God was not uncommon in the religious history of India, Kabir gave a new turn to the philosophy. He embraced simplicity, self-sacrifice, truthfulness in thought, word, and deed as preconditions for Bhakti. Kabir’s God is without name or form and resides in the hearts of all living beings. One has to search for him in the depths of one’s own heart through meditation. Simply turn your mind inwards. Listen to the divine music in your heart.

Satguru Kabir was hailed as the Father of Hindi poetry, and as the greatest exponent of Nirgun Bhakti (devotion to God who is formless and without attributes). He was the first to introduce Sant Mat (company of saintly people) and the first to teach the concept of Sahaj Yog to attain Sahaj Samadhi (easy realization of unity with God). His life and teachings give ample testimony to them, and research has validated them. He was always attuned to God, and gave his mystical teachings from that vantagepoint. Many people are familiar with the refrain: “kahat kabir suno bhai sadho” (Kabir is speaking: O brother sadhus! Please listen). This was his poetic stamp of instruction to the people. And he did not make use of any existent scripture, but taught from his inner knowledge. He did not isolate himself from humanity, but taught publicly for the benefit of all people: kabir khada bazar men, sab ko chahe khair; na kahu se dosti, na kahu se bair (Kabir is standing in the marketplace and wishes the welfare of all impartially. He is neither a friend nor an enemy to anyone).

The scholar Charlotte Vaudeville stated: “Kabir is one of the best-known and most revered names in Indian tradition. From the Panjab to Bengal and from the Himalayan frontiers to South India, he has long been hailed by Hindus and Muslims alike as a great mystic and bold religious reformer….In Indian religious history, Kabir is unique: to the Hindus, he is a Vaishnava bhakta, to the Muslims a pir, to the Sikhs a bhagat, to the sectarian Kabir-panthis an avatar of the Supreme Being; to modern patriots, Kabir is the champion of Hindu-Muslim unity, to neo-vedantins a promoter of the Universal Religion or the Religion of Man…”