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biography
September 2009 
Sant Kabir
Posted on Feb 25th, 2009
by 
Eli
Eli
A weaver by profession, Kabir ranks among the world's greatest poets. He is one of the most quoted author in India. The Holy Guru Granth Sahib contains many verses by Kabir. The Sikh community in particular and others who follow the Holy Granth, hold Kabir in very high reverence.
Kabir openly criticized all sects and gave a new direction to the Indian philosophy. This is due to his straight forward approach that has a universal appeal. It is for this reason that Kabir is held in high esteem all over the world.
Kabir's basic religious principles are simple. According to him, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma). In Kabir's view salvation is the process of bringing into union these two divine principles. The social and practical manifestation of Kabir's philosophy represented a synthesis of Hindu, and Muslim concepts. Kabir accepts the concept of reincarnation and the law of Karma from Hinduism. From Islam he takes the outer practices of Indian Sufi ascetics and Sufi mysticism. Not only has Kabir influenced Muslims and Hindus but he is one of the major inspirations behind Sikhism as well.
His greatest work is the Bijak (that is, the Seedling), an idea of the fundamental one. His collection of poems demonstrates an universal view of spirituality. He often advocated leaving aside the Qur'an and Vedas and to simply follow the Simple/Natural Way to oneness in God.
Some poems:
What a music of the flute!
It fills me with bliss.
No wick yet
a lamp lights up,
no roots yet
a lotus blossoms,
and myriad flowers
nod their heads.
As moon-bird
cries for the moon,
and rain-bird
pines for the rain-drop,
so longing for God,
I live forever with saints.
The restless mind
is put at rest, and
the heart is illumined.
In the forms I beheld
the Formless,
along with the Friend.
Breaking the shackles,
You set me free
from all the bondage.
Now Inaccessible
is accessible,
and soaked in love is Kabir.
It fills me with bliss.
No wick yet
a lamp lights up,
no roots yet
a lotus blossoms,
and myriad flowers
nod their heads.
As moon-bird
cries for the moon,
and rain-bird
pines for the rain-drop,
so longing for God,
I live forever with saints.
The restless mind
is put at rest, and
the heart is illumined.
In the forms I beheld
the Formless,
along with the Friend.
Breaking the shackles,
You set me free
from all the bondage.
Now Inaccessible
is accessible,
and soaked in love is Kabir.
***
Like seed contains the oil,
Fire in flint stone
Your inner temple seats the Divine,
Realize if you can
***
Slowly slowly O mind,
Everything in own pace happens
Gardner may water a hundred times,
Fruit arrives only in its season
***
I searched for the crooked,
But did not find a single one
When searched my own self,
I found the crooked one
***
When you were born in this world,
Others smiled as you cried,
Do such deeds in your life
That people cry when you die.
***
Desire remains even if one dies.
A person who expects pleasures
Through his wealth is tied in a bondage.
Whoever spends his wealth
For the well being of others
Is liberated from the bondage.
***
If you want to establish
A place in the minds of others
Be egoless, full of love
And without malice.
Like seed contains the oil,
Fire in flint stone
Your inner temple seats the Divine,
Realize if you can
***
Slowly slowly O mind,
Everything in own pace happens
Gardner may water a hundred times,
Fruit arrives only in its season
***
I searched for the crooked,
But did not find a single one
When searched my own self,
I found the crooked one
***
When you were born in this world,
Others smiled as you cried,
Do such deeds in your life
That people cry when you die.
***
Desire remains even if one dies.
A person who expects pleasures
Through his wealth is tied in a bondage.
Whoever spends his wealth
For the well being of others
Is liberated from the bondage.
***
If you want to establish
A place in the minds of others
Be egoless, full of love
And without malice.
Access: PublicTagged with: Biography
Thank you Eli for posting this…educational and uplifting!
Thank you for your warm footprints Helen
This is entirely new to me. Is there another Kabir das, who was a cobbler. He was born in Islam and started worshipping Krishna. Then this must be the Founder Guru of the Sikh religion. Kindly confirm.
There is only one Kabir Das/ Sant Kabir Das.
There are different legends associated with him. Your information is partially correct. Kabir had composed various types of poems, some are songs called “nirgun” , some are couplets - called “”doha”.
From Wiki:
“Kabir was born in a weaver’s family and later adopted by childless Muslim weavers named Niru and Nimma, who found him near Lahara Tara lake, adjacent to the holy city of Varanasi. But his birth is surrounded by legends. Some say he was really the son of a Brahmin widow, adopted by the Muslim couple.”
Here is some more input from another source:
”He was born in Varanasi (Benares), India, probably around the year 1440 (though other accounts place his birth as early as 1398), to Muslim parents. But early in his life Kabir became a disciple of the Hindu bhakti saint Ramananda. It was unusual for a Hindu teacher to accept a Muslim student, but tradition says the young Kabir found a creative way to overcome all objections……
He subsequently lived a life of exile, traveling through northern India with a group of disciples. In 1518, he died at Maghar near Gorakhpur.
One of the most loved legends associated with Kabir is told of his funeral. Kabir’s disciples disputed over his body, the Muslims wanting to claim the body for burial, the Hindus wanting to cremate the body. Kabir appeared to the arguing disciples and told them to lift the burial shroud. When they did so, they found fragrant flowers where the body had rested. The flowers were divided, and the Muslims buried the flowers while the Hindus reverently committed them to fire. “ ( Source)
You may watch “KABIR: The Poet Saint and Weaver/ a Documentary” YouTube Documentary too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxsvejXYj2s
Thanks a lot for the info. I will start a research on him. I saw the Video and post it to my profile in face book. While viewing that I remembered a film I recently saw. I suggest to view the film ‘Naan Kadvul’ meaning “I am God ” for this they add “Aham Brahma Asmi ” too. You can view the songs and other scenes partly on You tube. Main theme is to show the Business of begging by invalids run by certain people.