| Kabir Das is one the greatest figures in the
religious and literary history of India. As a symbol of
secularism and religious tolerance, he is considered to be the medieval
counterpart of Mahatma Gandhi.
There are two different beliefs about the birth of Kabir Das. A few people believe that he was born as a lower-caste Muslim weaver, while others
believe that he
was the son of a Brahmin widow who was
adapted
by a childless couple. After his death, his
Hindu
and Muslim followers started fighting about
his
last rites. It's told that when they lifted
the cloth covering his corpse, they found
that his body was transformed into flowers. The Muslim followers buried their
half
and the Hindus cremated thier half. In Maghar, in Uttar Pradesh his
tomb and samadhi still stand side by side.
He wrote in plain and simple old Hindi, and
this caught the attention of the masses so powerfully
that his voice gained a remarkable hold within a vast stretch of
north India.
Kabir was an opponent of
superstition and empty ritualism.
kabir stands for "great" in Arabic and, dasa mens "slave" or "servant" in Sanskrit. Kabir das was born in 1398 A.D. Kabirpanthis (followers of Kabir)
believe that he lived till 1518. According to this belief he lived for 120 years. But according to a
research of Charlotte Vaudenville, a British Historian 1448 is probably the correct date of
Saint Kabir's demise.
Perhaps the most quoted author in India, Kabir ranks among the world's greatest poets and still is
mentioned with respect by even orthodox
authors.
Kabir has
enormously influenced Islamic and Hindu philosophy and Hindi poetry.
some of his verses from his "Bijak", from the
section called "sakhi".
Bijak/Sakhi 168:
hIrA soi srAhiye
sahai ghanan kI choT
kapaT kurangI mAnavA
parakhat nikrA khot
Translated As:
Admire the hira (diamond) that can bear the hits of
a
hammer. Many deceptive preachers, when
critically
examined, turn out to be false.
(Here diamond is siddhanta (the basic
principles
or doctrine).An experienced diamond cutter can
hit
the diamond using a chisel so that the chips
will
break off as expected. A diamond because if
its
crystalline structure tends to break off
at
specific angles. Similarly the true doctrine
would
come out shining when it is critically examined.)
Bijak/Sakhi 170:
hIrA tahaN na kholiye
jahaN kunjroN kI hAT
sahajai gaNthI bANdhike
lagiye apni bAT
Translated As:
Don't open your diamonds in a vegetable
market.
Tie them in bundle and keep them in your
heart,
and go your own way.
(Don't share the wisdom with those who
can
not understand it).
Bijak/Sakhi 171:
hIrA parA bajAr maiN
rahA chhAr lapaTAy
ketihe murakh pachi mUye
koi pArakhi liyA uThAy
Translated As:
A diamond was laying in the street covered
with
dirt. Many fools passed by. Someone who
knew
diamonds picked it up.
(Those who understand gyan-siddhanta
(true
knowledge/principles), pause to acquire it).
The Verses, translations and their explanations are
adapted from
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kabir.html
and
http://www.bhajanasampradaya.com
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