11/10/2015 Kabir ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kabir

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Kabir(IAST: Kabīr) was a 15th­century Kabir Indianmysticpoet andsaint, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikh's scripture Adi Granth.[1][2][3]His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda.[1]

Kabir is known for being critical of both Hinduism andIslam, stating that the former were misguided by theVedas and the latter by the Quran, and questioning their meaningless rites of initiation such as the sacred thread and circumcision respectively.[1][4] During his lifetime, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims for his views.[5]:4 When he died, both Hindus and Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs.[2]

Kabir suggested that True God is with the person who is on An 1825 CE painting depicts Kabir with a the path of righteousness, considered all creatures on earth disciple as his own self, and who is passively detached from the Born uncertain (either 1398 or 1440 [2] affairs of the world. To know God, suggested Kabir, CE) meditate with the mantraRāma, Rāma.[5]:4 Lahartara near Kashi (present­ day Varanasi) Kabir's legacy survives and continued through theKabir Died uncertain (either 1448 or 1518 panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises CE) him as its founder and is one of theSant Mat sects. Its Maghar [6] members, known as Kabir panthis. Occupation Weaver, poet Known for influencing the Bhakti Contents [hide] movement,Sant Mat and Kabir 1Early life and background Panthmovements. Having hymns 2Poetry included in the Guru Granth 2.1Authenticity Sahib 2.2Philosophy 2.3Influence of Islam 2.4Persecution and social impact 3Legacy 3.1Kabir, Nanak and the Guru Granth Sahib 4Kabir's poetry today 5Criticism 6See also 7References data:text/html;charset=utf­8,%3Ch1%20id%3D%22firstHeading%22%20class%3D%22firstHeading%22%20lang%3D%22en%22%20style%3D%22color%3A… 1/3 11/10/2015 Kabir ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8Further reading 9External links

Early life and background [ edit ]

The years of year of Kabir's birth and death are unclear.[7][8]:14 Some historians favor 1398–1448 as the period Kabir lived,[5][8]:5 while others favor 1440–1518.[1][8]:106[9]

Many legends, inconsistent in their details, exist about his birth family and early life. According to one version, Kabir was born to a Brahmin unwed mother inVaranasi, by immaculate conception and delivered through the palm of her hand,[5]:5 who then abandoned him in a basket floating in a pond, and baby Kabir was picked up then raised by a Muslim family.[1][5]:4–5 However, modern scholarship has abandoned these legends for lack of historical evidence, and Kabir is widely accepted to have been born and brought up in a family of Muslimweavers.[5]:3–5 According to the Indologist Wendy Doniger, Kabir was born into a Muslim family and various birth legends attempt to "drag Kabir back over the line from Muslim to Hindu".[10]

Some scholars state that Kabir's parents may have been recent converts to Islam, they and Kabir were likely unaware of Islamic orthodox tradition, and are likely to have been following the Nath (Shaiva Yogi) school of Hinduism. This view, while contested by other scholars, has been summarized by Charlotte Vaudeville as follows,[11]

Circumcised or not, Kabir was officially amusalman, though it appears likely that some form of Nathism was his ancestral tradition. This alone would explain his relative ignorance of Islamic tenets, his remarkable acquaintance with Tantric­yoga practices and his lavish use of its esoteric jargon [in his poems]. He appears far more conversant with Nath­panthi basic attitudes and philosophy than with the Islamic orthodox tradition. — Charlotte Vaudeville on Kabir (1974), [11]

Kabir is widely believed to have become one of the many disciples of the Bhakti poet­sant SwamiRamananda in Varanasi, known for devotionalVaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person, everything.[2][12][13]

Some legends assert that Kabir never married and led a celibate's life. Most scholars conclude from historical literature that this legend is also untrue, that Kabir was likely married, his wife probably was named Dhania, they had at least one son named Kamal and a daughter named Kamali.[14]

Kabir's family is believed to have lived in the locality ofKabir Chaura in Varanasi. Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), amaṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times.[15] Accompanying the [16] property is a house named Nīrūṭīlā (नी⸵ ट븠ला) which houses Niru and Nima's graves. The house also accommodates students and scholars who live there and study Kabir's work.

Poetry [ edit ]

Kabir composed poems in a pithy and earthy style, fused with imagery. His poems were in vernacular Hindi, borrowing from various dialects including Avadhi,Braj, data:text/html;charset=utf­8,%3Ch1%20id%3D%22firstHeading%22%20class%3D%22firstHeading%22%20lang%3D%22en%22%20style%3D%22color%3A… 2/3 11/10/2015 Kabir ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Bhojpuri.[17] They cover various aspects of life and call for a loving devotion for God.[5]:4–6

Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself, There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore! There, where millions ofKrishnas stand with hands folded, Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas, Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions Indian postage of Indras dwell in the sky, stamp portraying Kabir, Where the demi­gods and the munis are unnumbered, where 1952 millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina, There is my Lord self­revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore[18]

Kabir and his followers named his verbally composed poems of wisdom as "bāņīs" (utterances). These include songs and couplets, called variously dohe,śalokā (Sanskrit: ślokā), or sākhī (Sanskrit: sākşī). The latter term means "witness", implying the poems to be evidence of the Truth.[19]

Literary works with compositions attributed to Kabir include Kabir Bijak, Kabir Parachai, Sakhi Granth, Adi Granth (Sikh), and Kabir Granthawali (Rajasthan).[20]However, except for Adi Granth, significantly different versions of these texts exist and it is unclear which one is more original; for example, Kabir Bijak exists in two major recensions.[21] The most in depth scholarly analysis of various versions and translations are credited to Charlotte Vaudeville, the 20th century French scholar on Kabir.[21]

Kabir's poems were verbally composed in the 15th century and transmitted viva voce through the 17th century. Kabir Bijak was compiled and written down for the first time in the 17th century.[22] Scholars state that this form of transmission, over geography and across generations bred change, interpolation and corruption of the poems.[22] Furthermore, whole songs were creatively fabricated and new couplets inserted by unknown authors and attributed to Kabir, not because of dishonesty but out of respect for him and the creative exuberance of anonymous oral tradition found in Indian literary works.[2

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