Creating Kabīr

Understanding the use of Kabīr through the lens of Sanskritization

By Felix Rosén

Uppsala University Department of theology History of 30 Credits, Master Thesis, Spring 2021 Supervisor: Billing, Nils Grading Teacher: Borgland, Jens Email: [email protected] Abstract

The so called movement spread, during the Late Medieval period, like wildfire across the South Asian subcontinent and acted like a catalyst for the development of nirguṇī-traditions. These newly emerging nirguṇī-traditions rallyd men and women alike, preaching for the abolation of the varṇa-system, for Muslim-Hindu unity, devotion to the one omipresent godhead, nirguṇa. Among these traditions, a man named Kabīr came and claimed the leading position, a position that history still, to this day, gives credit as being one of the most, if not the most, important figure amongst the of the North Indian bhakti preachers. Kabīr’s teachings came to be, after his passing, the foundation for the establishment of the Kabīr Panth (Path of Kabīr) a by now well known tradition. However, at an early stage of formation, the Kabīr Panth began to separate into many branches, which all started to produce their own literature regarding several contrasting retellings of Kabīr’s life, his poems, and the installation of and praxis. As a consequence of the various legends along with myths created, following the schism between the main branches, Kabīr’s life and legacy came to be displayed and understood rather differently. This study does not only demonstrate how Kabīr is perceived within the various branches, most prominent that of the Kabīr Chaurā and Dharmadasī branch, and what attributes, human and divine, are given him. Throughout the study it is also shown how these perceptions of Kabīr, may be understood as forms of, to various degrees, fostering of Sanskritization in order to gain upward momentum within the Indian socio-religious ladder of hierarchy, more commonly known as the varṇa-system.

Keywords: Kabīr, Nirguṇa, Saguṇa, Sanskritization, Bhakti, Sants, Dharmadas, Varṇa. Introduction 1 Purpose and research questions 2 Material and methodology 4 Theoretical approach 7 Previous research and demarcation 9 1 Kabīr and his times: Bhakti and the emergence of Santism 11 The Sants and the concept of Saguṇa and Nirguṇa bhakti 13 Kabīr in myth and legends 15 Discussion: Life of Kabīr 21 2 Kabīr Panth: Praxis and rituals 23 The Founders and the śākhās 23 “Then they slay and stones” 27 Reflections and critique 33 3 36 The within the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr 3.1 Kabīr in the Anurāg Sāgar 40 Sat - Incarnation of Sat Sukrit 41 Treta Yuga - Incarnation of Maninder 42 Dwapar Yuga - Incarnation of Karunamai 43 Yuga - Incarnation of Kabīr 45 Summary: Anurāg Sāgar 47 3.2 Kabīr in the Bījak of Kabīr 48 Ramainī 49 Śabda 51 Sākhī 53 Summary: Bījak of Kabīr 55 4 Creating Kabīr: Final remarks and conclusion 57 References 61 Attachments 63 Introduction

“Nearly all new religious movements necessarily arise within a context of serious changes in economic and social conditions, that is to say a situation of socio-economic dislocation and conflict. In part they protest against these changes and against the social and economical injustices that accompany them. They also however, embody attempts to come to terms with these changes, to create a new value system in which they can be accommodated and their negative, exploitative impact made bearable.”1

During the beginning of the 15th century, a movement, based on the 8th century teachings of South Indian Bhakti (personal towards the Godhead) started to spread in North . Together with the revolutionary ideas found both within the social and the spiritual sphere of Indian society, a great struggle against the injustice of the varṇa-system, i.e caste-system, and elitism was made ablaze. The many men and women who together went against the Orthodox teachings of not only the Hindu tradition, but also that of the Muslim . They preached for the abolation of the varṇa-system, for Muslim-Hindu unity, devotion to the one omipresent godhead, nirguṇa. They contested the idea of almost all popular practises of the current Hindu traditions found, which many times, boiled down to the abolishment of image worship, saguṇa, anti-, and against the varṇa-based sentiment of religious purity versus impurity. These men and women who lit the fire of defiance in the heart of the poor, sparked the flames for greater change within the religious landscape of the South Asian subcontinent and burned down the ladder of social stratification −they were the Sants. Among these Sants, one man, whose teaching is regarded as the very of Medieval nirguṇa was called Kabīr:

“I've burned my own house down, the torch is in my hand. Now I'll burn down the house of anyone who wants to follow me.”2

Kabīr, accroding to many traditions, was born into the low-caste family of Julāha, Muslim weavers, whom under influence of the Vaiṣṇava Rāmananda,3 started preaching for the

1 Lorenzen, David in Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat (red.) (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India. Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies, p 293. 2 Hess, L. & Singh, S. (2002). The Bijak of . New York: Oxford University Press, p 152. 3 Both the dates of Kabīr’s birth, family belonging and influence of Rāmananda are contested and will be further explained at a later stage of this study.

1 equality of man, unity amongst and the destruction of the worldly illusions of caste, religious rituals and scriptures. The teachings of Kabīr, as well as those of his contemporaries, such as Guru Nānak, , Dudu etc, gave the low-born masses and families a voice and the freedom to find their own way towards both spiritual and social liberation, which would come to break the shackles held by upper-caste rulers and their religious supremacy. Though Kabīr may have been both loved by many after his passing, the more hated him during his lifetime. This was due to his harsh and rough rhetoric against the institutionalized religious traditions of his era. It was also this critical approach towards social injustice and religious monopoly that made followers, both Hindu and Muslims alike, to start a full on dispute as to whom he belonged to after his passing:

“A famous legend about Kabir shows his Hindu and Muslim followers massed for combat after his death, each side demanding to take charge of the body. But before the first blow is struck, someone removes the shroud to discover that a heap of flowers has replaced the cadaver. The two religious groups divide the flowers, and each goes off to bury or burn its half according to prescribed rituals.”4

From the teachings of Kabīr came the establishment of the Kabīr Panth (i.e the path of Kabīr), however, just as the story of and Muslims fighting over Kabīr’s bodie, so to does the members and branches of the Kabīr tradition fight amongst each other as to who Kabīr was and to whom he gave the sole right to spread his teaching. The two main rivaling branches of the Kabīr Panth are those of Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh and the Dharmadasī branch. Both contest each other as to whom Kabīr belonged and, as will further explored in this study, not only who Kabīr was, but also what he was since different forms of attributes are given him in order to either humanify or deify him.

Purpose and research questions The Purpose of this paper is to examine how followers of Kabīr, Kabīr Panthī, construct the image of Kabīr and themselves, in accordance with their literature, myth, rituals and religious practices. This will be done by doing a comparative study between the two main scriptures of the Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh in Banaras and that of the Dharmadasī branch of ,̣ as well

4 Hess, L. & Singh, S. (2002). The Bijak of Kabir. s 4. The two religious groups referred to are those of Muslim and Hindu followers.

2 as their rituals, praxis and their socio-religious milieu. This will in turn, hopefully, shed new light on how followers of these branches may reimagine or recreate their own identity in the image of Kabīr’s, which often mirrors that of high-caste customs, ideology, legends, myth and rituals. In order to investigate how and why low-born masses may mirror the customs of the high-born caste, within the Indian system of social hierarchy, the theory of Sanskritization established by the sociologist Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas will be used.5 The socio-religious movements brought into play by Kabīr and his contemporaries has never been a coherent movement throughout the Late Medieval period up until today. However, even if the tradition of Kabīr and the Sants may differentiate, some aspects are shared between them. These aspects are those of believing in an omnipresent nirguṇ-creator, which upon personal relations and devotion are possible and a shared tradition of dissent and protest against the religious elitism, the social hierarchy of caste found within the varṇa-system and ideological hegemony. Since there is great diversity among both past and present followers of Kabīr and the Sants, and there is no monolithic unity in how one is to understand Kabīr. The question at hand, that may spark interest, is not rather who Kabīr truly was historically, but to whom he belonged and which attributes are found within his poems, writings and socio-religious legacy. Linda Hess in her “Bodies of song” (2015) brought forward the question, “Is Kabir a blazing social revolutionary or a promoter of detached spiritual quietism? Is he both? Or neither?”6 The question can rather be boiled down to ‘whose Kabīr?’, since depending on perspective, social, economical or religious power in the society as a whole, Kabīr may attain different attributes and/or become an instrumental tool by his followers for different struggles both social as well as spiritual. With that in mind, the questions this paper aim to answer are as followed;

● How are the images of Kabīr constructed within the Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh branch and the Dharmadasī branch of Chhattisgarh?̣ ● How may these constructions be understood as forms of Sanskritization following the theory of sociologist Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas

5 For more, see chapter: “Theoretical approach,” p 7. 6 Hess, Linda (2015). Bodies of song: Kabir oral traditions and performative worlds in Northern India. New York: Oxford University Press, p 1.

3 Material and methodology In order to conduct this research, in the light of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the studied material at hand will be limited to mainly two sources of translated texts as well as secondary studies already conducted.7 The two main sources of texts that will be analyzed in this paper are those of Dharmadasī branch of Chhattisgarh’̣ s use of Anurāg Sāgar (The Ocean of ) and that of Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh’s use of Bījak of Kabīr (Seed of Kabīr). Here a short introduction to these texts shall suffice, since further down, a more thorough historical background will be given. The Anurāg Sāgar is one of many works attributed to Kabīr and is also one out of eleven books within the Kabīr Sagār (Ocean of Kabīr). According to legend Dharmadas, one of Kabīrs most known disciples, wrote the Anurāg Sāgar after establishing the Chhattisgarḥ branch of the Kabīr Panth in the late sixteenth century.8 The date on which the Anurāg Sāgar was written is however disputed and might, according to David Lorenzen, be dated somewhere between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.9 The story of Anurāg Sāgar is based on the dialog, which by tradition is set between Kabīr and Dharmadas, wherein Kabīr explains the story of the cosmic universe, its creation and what upholds order in the world, both the metaphysical and the physical. One of the main parts of the book, which will be the major focus of this study, is called The Coming of Kabir where Kabīr tells the legends of his own as divine during the four cycles found within the Hindu tradition. Firstly that of Yuga, secondly the Treta Yuga, thirdly the Dwapara yuga and lastly the Kali yuga. The use of the Anurāg Sāgar is not bound only to the spiritual thought and praxis of the Kabīr Panth, It also makes it possible to claim Dharmadas to be the rightful successor of Kabīr legacy and in turn also legitimize the Chhattisgarḥ branch. For this paper the translated version of Anurāg Sagār (1995), by Raj Kumar Bagga will be analyzed. The Bījak of Kabīr is an anthology of songs, poems and couplets ascribed to Kabīr which is considered by the Kabīr-Panthī to be the most authentic saying of their guru. There is however not just one, but many versions followed by different comenteries that may fit better within different branches of the Kabīr Panth. The Bījak, according to the tradition described in Charlotte Vaudeville’s Kabīr (1974), was compiled either at the Kabīr Chaurā

7 For more, see chapter:”Previous research and demarcation”. 8 Juergensmeyer, Mark in Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat (red.) (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India. Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies, p 352. 9 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das’s Kabir Parachai. Albany: State university of New York Press, p 21.

4 Maṭh in Banaras or in the Chhattisgarḥ branch by either Dharmadas or Bhagodas. When the Bījak was compiled into its written form is heavily contested where scholars claim it to be somewhere between the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century.10 Two of the best know editions of the Bījak still being used today are revised by Puran das (1805-37) which is understood to be more recognized by the Chaurā Maṭh, and the commentary by Maharaja Bishwa of Rewa (1905) which in turn, according to Westcott's understanding, is somewhat based on the Anurāg Sāgar of the Dharmadasī branch.11 Even though there are plenty of revised versions of the Bījak, which also may differ in length, they all share three main angas or chapters (lit, component or body), that of Ramainī (sayings), Śabda (words) and Sākhī (witnesses) which all will be further explained at a later stage. For this paper the translated version of the Bījak by Ahmad Shah (1917) will be used. The method for approaching the above mentioned material shall be done through a comparative content analysis together with the sociologist Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas’ theory of Sanskritization which will be introduced further down. The choice of applying the method of content analysis is based on how this method provides the tools of managing and systemizing a large quantity of texts and data. It also enables the drawing of conclusions between the material at hand and the historical context it was produced in while at the same time enables further expansions to the questions of why and how it was produced.12 This contextualization is a crucial part for this study since the method may grant vision or a means of understanding how the socio-religious implications of Sanskritization within the two branches of the Kabīr Panth may have occurred. The use of content analysis may grant further understanding on the subject of how these two branches portray Kabīr in the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr. After a contextualization of the material has been done, a further understanding of how the process of Sanskritization may have occurred can be acquired through a comparative analysis. The use of comparative analysis in this study will aim to help in the structuralization and thematization of the material at hand. Using comparative analysis is however not a problem free method and one has to trampel with the issues of generalization and reductionism. History has shown that when doing a comparative study one has to ask the question of why is it being done and in what interest?13 This is because of the early stage of

10 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974). Kabīr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p 49, 56-8. 11 Westcott, G.H. (1953). Kabir and the , 2. ed., Susil Gupta, Calcutta, p 48. 12 Nelson & Woods Jr., in Stausberg, Michael & Engler, Steven (ed.) (2011). The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, p 111. 13 Stausberg, Michael, (2011). The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion. p 21-2.

5 comparative scholarship, which in a major part of the western studies, was conducted with the idea of a deeper truth or mythos which was shared across the linguistic families sprung from the Indo-Ariyan language. The discourse of myth during the seventeenth and eighteenth century was embossed on the assertion that each folk, or Volk, was sprung from a shared linguistic, racial and cultural unity within the concept of myth and creation. Thus the discourse of myth became a discussion regarding differentiation of volk and how they started to separate from each other, which Lincoln summarizes with the mythical narrative of the Tower of Babel, where a split regarding cultural, story, language and geography occured.14 Lincoln then shows how the discourse, during this time, divided the scholarly discipline into two groups, those who wanted to read myth as a way to intensify diversity by focusing on character values and share experience of a specific Volk, or on the other hand, those who discussed the issues of unity by using myth of creation and language to trace back a specific volk to a common origin.15 Michael Stausberg stresses in The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion (2011), the notion of the comparative method as a means of testing a hypothesis together with empirical data to form a heuristic tool is one of the main aims of the method.16 The formation of systems/themes in the study of religion always rely on comparison and several subtypes within the method emerges as he explains within the background of Hartmut Kaelble’s distinction of generalizing versus individualizing comparisons,17 where the latter understanding will be used in the study that follows. Individualizing comparisons or variational findings as it is also referred to highlights the importance of similar or differentiating variables of seemingly closely related systems,18 or as in the case of his study, religious traditions. With the method of comparative content analysis, this study will divide, after the material has been contextualised in its historical and socio-religious context, into three units of themes which will be analysed through the theory of sanskritization. The units are as followed; firstly, myth and legends of the life of Kabīr, secondly, the praxis and within the two branches and, thirdly, attributes given to Kabīr in the chosen source material.

14 Lincoln, Bruce, Theorizing myth: narrative, ideology, and scholarship, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill., 1999. p 47, 52-3. 15 Lincoln, Bruce, Theorizing myth: narrative, ideology, and scholarship. p 54. 16 Stausberg, Michael, (2011). p 33-4. 17 Kaelble, H. (1999). Der historische Vergleich. Eine einführung zum 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Campus Verlag , Frankfurt a.M, p 26-36. 18 Stausberg, Michael, (2011). p 32-3.

6 Theoretical approach

“Sanskritization has been a major process of cultural change in Indian history and it has occurred in every part of the Indian subcontinent. It may have been more active at some periods than others, and some parts of India are more Sanskritizied than others; but there is no doubt that the process has been universal.”19

Social change in India is a complex subject which encompasses all spheres of social life, economics, political, religious, demographical, law, history, lingvistic and more. For this study the aim, which has been introduced in a previous segment, is very limited when not being able to take all these factors into consideration. However, some aspects within the socio-religious sphere, together with the theory of Sanskritization developed by the sociologist Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas, will still be able to shed light on the rich complexity that is social change in India and that of the Kabīr Panth. The varṇa-system is based on four varṇas, five wth the consideration of , which is to be understood as a stable system of hierarchy within the Indian context.20 The groups that have been traditionally included within this system of varṇa are, in hierarchical order top-bottom, that of the brāhmana, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śudra. There exist, within these varṇas, hundreds, if not thousand different sub-castes or jātis which all find their place as low or high caste within the system. The varṇa-system evolved steadily during the Vedic period somewhere between the years 1500-500 b.c.e. The started to enjoy, during this period, an overall dominance which was linked to the increasingly religious institution of and rites. During these times, social mobility was still possible since groups associated with the vaiśya and kṣatriya were able to gain upward momentum when converting to the newly emerging traditions of and jainism.21 Srinivas’s theory of Sanskritization divides power within the varṇa-system into three different axes, that of ritual rank, economical resources and political power. The basic premise of this system is that a or a lowborn śudra can have power in the sense of economic resources and political power, however, as the whole varṇa-system is permeated

19 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). Caste in modern India and other essays. Bombay: J. K. Publishers. p 22. 20 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 3. 21 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 29-31.

7 with the idea of purity versus impurity, they are lacking in ritual rank/power in the eyes of the brahmins or in the socio-religious hierarchy as a whole. Following this, Sanskritization is the process of which a ‘low’ caste or any other minority group may change or create its own customs, ritual, pilgrimage, diet, ideology, history, legend, myth and way of life in a direction which is usually regarded with a high socio-religious status or that of a dwija (twice-born) caste.22 However Srinivas stresses that this process can never actually change the structure of the system, instead it can only change the position, generally with the aim of upward mobility, of the individual group within the already established varṇa-system.23 There are several functions of Sanskritization that Srinivas discusses. One of the main functions, he stresses, is bridging the gap between ritual and secular power. Here Srinivas uses the understanding of “secular” as the two out of three axes introduced above, that of economical and political power. He writes: “When a caste or section of a caste achieved secular power it usually also tried to acquire the traditional symbols of high status, namely the customs, ritual, ideas, beliefs and lifestyle of the locally highest castes.”24 Here the kicker follows as such; who may be in the power to legitimize their attempt towards upward mobility? Since the structural system of the varṇas is closed, the group who sought mobility still had to be aware of, and to seek legitimization from local high-caste groups within the varṇa-system. This as explained by Srinivas was, however, not a one way street and the brahmins could also gain economical and political power when legitimizing the claims of the upward moving kings and merchants of the kṣatriya, vaiśya and sometimes śudra groups.25 The high-caste brāhmana way of life and its ideals is something that also has been through changes, a change which Srinivas labels as the ‘emergence of structural puritanism’, where purity versus impurity gained strong footing within the socio-religious landscape. Eating beef and consuming liquor was beginning to be frowned upon which in turn changed the way of life for both kṣatriya and vaiśya groups when lower varṇas were trying to follow a more brahminical model for ritual and dietary. This is something which still encompasses the lives of many Hindus up until today.26 However, some critique, even if shortly, should be mentioned when discussing Srinivas’ understanding of Sanskritization. Some are stressed by Lorenzen in his article, Traditions of Non-Caste (1987), wherein he argues for Sanskritization as a term

22 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 10, 14, 21-2. 23 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 6-9. 24 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 26-7. 25 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 13, 23, 27, 29. 26 Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). p 23-4.

8 which downplays important elements within low-caste culture and the influence Little traditions may have on Greater traditions.27 This top-down gives great emphasis on the importance of high-caste traditions and culture without taking into grander consideration the important cultural value which encompasses the majority of the people's everyday life on the South Asian subcontinent. Furthermore, one might also expand upon Lorenzen’s critique by asking, if it is truly possible to, through interpretation, distinguish between simply that of adapting certain orthodox Hindu rituals, praxis or customs for, on the one hand, convenience, and/or on the other hand, to gain upwards momentum in the Indian social-hierarchy as Srinivas’ theory of Sanskritization suggests? In the case of this study, both views will be taken into consideration, as both Sanskritization as a way of gaining social momentum and Hinduization28 or Brahmanization29 of Kabīr also may occur. Further, the material may also show, when examining the material through the lens of Sanskritization, that the adaptation of Hindu rituals and influences of orthodox traditions may serve as a means of simple accessibility.

Previous research and demarcation Kabīr has come to be a well traversed road and countless studies have, during the last century, been conducted in regards to the historical, mythical, traditional understandings of Kabīr and the impact he has left on the socio-religious landscape and his followers. One of the major problems, which has been of some complication for this paper, is the fact that new empirical data of Kabīr Panthīs and the socio-religious implications derived from the teaching of the Kabīr movement are hard to come by. Even more so, now in the wake of the current covid-19 outbreak, since in order to gather new empirical data, it would mean that traveling and staying in India would have been a must. However, this problem has been solved by relying on secondary material in the form of observations gathered by, mostly, David N. Lorenzen and G. H. Westcott in their respective works, which, together with the primary material of the

27 Lorenzen, D. N. (1987) ‘Traditions of Non-Caste Hinduism: The Kabir Panth’, Contributions to Indian Sociology, 21(2), pp. 263–283. doi: 10.1177/006996687021002001. [2021-06-01]. 28 This term refers to the process of assimilating, rewriting texts or reimagen images and cultural phenomena of non-Hindu elements into that of Hindu elements. 29 Brahmanization works almost as a synonym with that of Hinduization but also Sanskritization. The first aspect may be, as it is shared with Hinduization, to embrace non-hindu traditions, and to assimilate them into that of Hindu elements. Further, it may also indicate that the aim of Sanskritization is to exclusively embrace customs and practises found in that of the -varṇa. In contrast Sanskritization indicated the aim to embrace customs of any castes higher than that of a lower. Nevertheless, the top is strived for, and at that top - the Brahmins are found.

9 Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr should be sufficient in answering this paper's research questions and the analysis of the units introduced; first, myth and legends in the life of Kabīr, secondly, the praxis and rituals within the two branches and, thirdly, attributes given to Kabīr in the chosen source material. (1) The material for contextualizing the unit of myth and legends, together with the source material of the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr, will follow the work of Lorenzen in his Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das’s Kabir Parachai (1991), wherein he explores the legendary life of Kabīr as described by the Late Medieval poet Ananta-Das. An ongoing theme in Lorenzen’s work is the importance of legends and myth as a reflection of the writers, readers and listeners socio-religious struggles, ideology and their understanding of historical identity and unity of communities. To further deepen the discussion on the reflection of the contemporary socio-religious landscape found in the legends and myths, the use of Charlotte Vaudeville’s Kabīr (1974), and Karin Schomer & W. H. McLeod’s The Sants: Studies in a devotional tradition of India (1987), will both be important components in understanding Kabīr and the religious interactions during his times. (2) The second unit, that of the praxis and rituals within the two branches will be analysed with the help of, yet again, Lorenzen in his Praises to a Formless (1996), and Westcott’s Kabir and the Kabir Panth (1953), wherein they both conduct an observational study on rituals within the Kabīr Panth, mainly that of the chaukā ritual, which follows with a very short mention of Sanskritization from both the authors. However these discussions are only aimed towards praxis and rituals with no deeper analysis on the socio-religious factors of Sanskritization as presented by Srinivas. (3) Lastly the third unit of this study, namely that of attributes given to Kabīr within the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr will be conducted by using the two mentioned works. While the Anurāg Sāgar has been given little to none scholarly attention in the west the Bījak, on other hand, has been quoted, analysed, commented on and translated into a multitude of languages. Nevertheless, he Bījak has rarely, as far as I understand, been analysed through the lens of Sanskritization. However, it has been used to foster Sanskritization to some extent, which will be analysed in unit two of praxis and ritual. Two short examples would be the translation of the Bījak, which is clearly aimed towards high-caste readers, and second, the use of the Bījak in conducting rituals and worship within the Kabīr Panth.

1 0 1 Kabīr and his times: Bhakti and the emergence of Santism

“In Indian religious history, Kabīr is unique: to the Hindus, he is a Vaiṣṇava bhakta, to the Muslims a pīr, to the Sīkhs a to the sectarian Kabīr-panthīs an avatār of the supreme Being; to modern patriots, Kabīr is the champion of Hindu-Muslim unity, to neo-vedāntis a promoter of the Universal Religion or the Religion of Man, who steadfastly opposed the superstitious belifes and empty ritualism of orthodox Hinduism as well as the dogmatic pride and bigotry or orthodox Islam.”30

When trying to piece together an understanding regarding who the historical Kabīr was, it soon becomes obvious that fragments are the only source available. Most images of Kabīr are directly connected to legends and myth or based on the writings allegedly ascribed to him; However, it is known for a fact that Kabīr has existed. Too many sources acknowledge him to say otherwise. History and legends may frequently be, in the field of Indian religious history, heavily intertwined, and it can be quite the task, if not an impossible one, separating them. Separating history from legend, or logos from mythos is however, not this paper's intention, for the simple reason that it serves no purpose. The images of Kabīr are plentiful and can often be understood in relation to the writers of legends' own socio-religious background. In order to understand these various images of Kabīr and how or why they were created, an introduction to Kabīr’s times, his contemporaries and their religious traditions shall be outlined. During the Late Medieval period, the Northern part of India found itself in a relation of Hindu-Muslim symbiosis following the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526) by the invading Slave Kings of the Mamluk dynasti (1206-1290). The Muslim conquest of the

30 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 3.

1 1 Indo-Pakistani subcontinent was not, according to Jamal Malik in his Islam in South Asia (2008), fuled by religious sentiment. Instead, the Muslim conquerors sought economical power and the establishment of trade. The Muslim rulers had, for the major part, focused on integration and flexibility, instead of the strategy of divide and conquer, which in turn led to greater development of both the Hindu as well as Muslim culture in various aspects of the inhabitants socio-religious lives.31 Indianization of the Muslim invaders was well on its way at an early stage of the Delhi Sultanat which, according to chronicals mentioned in Vaudeville’s Kabīr, led to the historical referal of local Muslims as ‘Hindustanis’ by the the time of the Khalijī dynasty (1290-1320).32 During the period of Muslim integration, the establishment of Islam and its esoteric tradition of had become somewhat firmly rooted throughout the subcontinent via the teaching of the Chishtī order.33 Sufi missionaries played an important part in spreading Islam and converting the locals, most prominent were the Sufis in converting Hindu and Buddhist groups belonging to the low-born śudras, generally in the northern parts of and Bihar. Through the long process of conversion and integration, three main groups of Indian Muslims have in history been most prominent; Sayyeds, Paṭhāns and Julāhās, the latter being the ascribed caste of Kabīr.34 It is, however, hard to pinpoint from what specific traditions these low-born groups converted from, since local Hindu-cults and the Buddhist tradition often intermingled with one another, at least, according to Vaudeville, on a social level.35 The local Hindu-cults of the North Eastern areas of India are frequently associated with that of the Nāth Yogis, a tradition popularized during the early Medieval Ages, sprung from a mixture of Vajrayāna (i.e Tantric Buddhism) and local esoteric forms of Śaivism. The Nāth Yogis’ (masters of yogic power) primary religious praxis was that of Haṭha- with the purpose of; “realization of liberation during life, in which the self awakens to its innate identity with the absolute [...] a realization made possible through cultivating a body made perfect or divine in the ‘fire’ of yoga.”36 According to tradition, the first guru of the Nāth Yogis was Macchenda, (10th-century c.e), who with great practice in the art of yoga got hold of the secret techniques of the Haṭha-yoga from the God Śiva, the ādi-yog himself.37 His spiritual successor Gorakhnāth, (11th-century c.e), continued the preaching and practicing of

31 Malik, Jamal. (2008). Islam in South Asia: a short history, Brill, Leiden, p 37-38, 55. 32 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 81. 33 Schimmel, Annemarie. (1975). Mystical dimensions of Islam, Univ. of North Carolina P., Chapel Hill, p 358, 360. 34 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 82-85. 35 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 85. 36 Flood, Gavin. (1996). An introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, p 98. 37 Lit. ādi - first, yog-yogi

1 2 his Guru Macchenda, which was based on the tradition of Advaita (non-duality) philosophy.38 The very monotheistic way of philosophy preached by the Nāths, within the concept of an all-pervading Godhead (Paraméshwara) found in the Advaita tradition, soon became a tool of opposition against the puraṇic saguṇa preaching of high-caste Hindus of the Medieval Smārta traditions, i.e text/smṛti based traditions wherein the very source of the varṇa-law is found.39 Gorakhnāth’s teaching based on a omnipresent Godhead, instead of image worship, did not only come to be easily digested by the newly arrived Muslim conquors, it were also able to influence both the common masses found in Northen India, and the newly emerging tradition of nirguṇa bhakti.

The Sants and the concept of Saguṇa and Nirguṇa bhakti South Indian Tamil culture, before being affected by the Sanskritized brahmanical orthodoxy of the north, was deeply embedded in poetry which, according to Gavin Flood (1996), comprised of two central themes, that of war or external affairs (puram) and of love or internal affairs, (akam).40 Love poetry was, however, most significant in religious development since it laid the foundation for the wholehearted surrender and devotion towards a personal God.41 The bhakti tradition of South India was spread with the help of devotional poetry ascribed to two main groups, that of the Vaiṣṇva oriented Ālvārs, and the Śaiva Nāyanārs. The southern school of Vaiṣṇva bhakti devoted their love towards a physical Lord (saguṇa = with qualities) often in forms of image worship and rituals conducted in temples. However, as the various traditions of bhakti started to spread across the continent it altered its form when merging with the already established traditions, and in the North the devotional movements began to aim their own love towards an abstract godhead, the God beyond qualities (nirguṇa).42 Both forms of nirguṇa and saguṇa express deep devotion towards a personal God. What differentiates them, however, can often be pinpointed to praxis, scripture and object of worship. Lorenzen writes in the introduction to Bhakti Religion in North India (1995), that both bhakti traditions, whether nirguṇa or saguṇa, share a common heritage of influence, that of the most important Vaiṣṇva texts, Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Since the latter part of the fifteenth century, the nirguṇa based -tradition, developed and ascribed

38 Flood, Gavin. (1996), p 229-230. See also Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 86. 39 Flood, Gavin. (1996), p 17, 58-61. See also Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 88. 40 Flood, Gavin. (1996), p 129-30. 41 Flood, Gavin. (1996), p 129-30. 42 Flood, Gavin. (1996), p 131-132, 141-142.

1 3 primarily to and by Kabīr and Guru Nānak, rejected the ideas of doctrines preached in the above mentioned texts and the form of saguṇa which is advocated within. These forms of saguṇa has frequently, throughout history, been linked with that of orthodox brahmanism. With the emergence of the Sant-traditions, these saguṇa based traditions began to be questioned as they were, many times, associated with the ruling and oppressive hegemonic ideology of the varṇa-system and varṇāśramadharma.43 With the spread of nirguṇa bhakti throughout northern India the socio-religious lives of the inhabitants, in the wake of the merging with already established religious traditions, came to change the structures and quality of the religious practitisation being done by low-born varṇas. In contrast to the institutionalized ortodox Hinduism, preaching religious monopoly, saguṇa and the closed social hierarchy of power belonging to the high-caste varṇas, these newly emerging traditions, drawing on Vaiṣṇva bhakti, Buddhism, Jainism, Sufism and Nāth yoga, began to be heavily emphasised by low-born castes, belonging to that of the śudras and dalits.44

“Kabir said, Within the Creator is all, and the Creator permeates all. Without the secret all are sunk in error: only the Sant, the wise, can comprehend.”45

These wandering religious poets of Medieval India, preaching social equality, abolition of caste and the absolute personal devotion towards an omnipresent Godhead without form or quality, came to be known as Sants. Often, these Sants belonged to the lower strata of society with the majority being śudras, or in some cases, dalits. Since they all came from a background of low-born varṇas they predominantly were illiterate, uneducated and had no social or even lawful rights accessing brahminical knowledge and language. Instead, they preached their understanding of bhakti to the people, orally, by using the many common languages of northern India, which may be referred to as, sadhukhaḍī (lit. Dialect of ). The tradition of the northern Sants (Sant paramparā) is not unified with any form of shared corpus doctrinae or language. However, they do share many distinguishing traits. They disproved almost all forms of orthodox teaching, rites, praxis, image worship, and the idea of

43 Lorenzen, David N. (red.) (1995). Bhakti religion in North India: community identity and political action. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, p 1-2, 13-14, 19. varṇāśramadharma or the law of social classes and stages of life are concepts deeply embedded in the Indian social hierarchy and is also heavily embedded in the moral story of the Bhagavad-gītā. 44 Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat. (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India, (ed). Berkeley Religious Studies, Berkeley, p 8 45 Shah, Ahmad. (1917). The Bijak of Kabir. Indian Press, Allahabad. Hamirpur, U.P. p 229.

1 4 purity versus impurity. Similarly, they were highly against any form of pilgrimage (tīrthyātrā) since the notion of pollution was considered irrelevant when seeking spiritual liberation (mukti).46 In search of liberation, three main units of or sādhanā can be seen connected to the Sants: Firstly, repeating and invoking the divine name (nāma.) Secondly, to seek to the Perfect Guru () who “speaks within the heart of man to awaken the and lead it on the way to mukti,”47 The third unit of practice is associated with being in the company of Sants (satsaṅg) which according to Vaudeville “is held by all the Sant poets as a powerful means of purification and a way to ”48 The second unit, i.e that of the satguru, is an important aspect not only according to Little or Greater Hindu traditions, but also to the Sufi; “The dervish, [fakīr], who offers the secrets of the universe gives away a kingdom in every moment. He doesn't beg for bread; a dervish bestows life.”49 The meaning, or the concept of satguru, can be divided into two brackets, that of the human Guru or that of a nirguṇa Guru (i.e God). Both can be found within the Sant tradition. However, they are somewhat vaguely defined and may in certain aspects be contradicting as seen in Vaudeville’s translation of Kabīr referring to the human guru;

“I could not find the man who was truly the friend of Rām’s Bhakti, To whom I might entrust my body and my soul, as a deer bewitched by the hunter’s song! Such a one cannot be found who can guide us all the way of salvation, Remaining forever absorbed in the One who dwells in the Cavern of the Void.”50

In this passage Kabīr clearly states that there is no true guru who can guide man towards salvation. However, according to tradition, the Vaiṣṇva guru Rāmānanda is almost exclusively seen as the human guru of Kabīr and the initiator of Kabīr to the worship of Rāma.

46 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1987). : Santism as the universal path to sanctity. In Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat’s The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India, p 21-24, 35. 47 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1987), p 32-33. 48 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1987), p 35. Underlining done by me: It is not expressed by Vaudeville what form of purification she is referring to, however, I assume that it’s not to be associated with that of caste-purity, but instead the purification of the heart. 49 Helminski, Kabir. (2017). The pocket Rumi. Colorado: publication. Rumi, Jalal Ud Din. Rubaiyat: 686, p 9. 50 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 188.

1 5 Kabīr in myth and legends

“History is not a scenic backdrop to the stage on which the legends are performed. History is the play itself, and the legends are important actors in it.”51

The current understanding regarding the life of Kabīr is heavily relied upon legend and myth whereas historical evidence is scarcely found. Therefore, in the following unit, an introduction to some of the legends will follow. The most contested and differentiating aspects within the many legends and myths of Kabīr is usually not that of and deeds, instead it often boils down to that of Kabīr’s birth, family and religious belonging. These discussions, regarding Kabīr’s belonging to certain religious traditions, family and his birth may, at times, reflect the socio-religious struggle of creating communal belonging and identity, or even distinguish themselves from other domestic traditions or groups, within their shared context. There is a somewhat general agreement within the Kabīr Panth that Kabīr lived in Kashi (Banaras), sometime between the years 1398-1518 c.e and that Kabīr, at birth, was abandomed at the Lahar tank where he was found and adopted by a muslim couple named Nima and Niru.52 That Kabīr was raised in a muslim household is not, at least not very often, contested, and his occupation as a weaver is heavliy refered to in several sources, both in the Bījak, Anurāg Sagār, Kabīr Parachai, and in the Ādi Granth where it is stated: “By caste a weaver and patient of mind: utters Kabir with natural ease the excellencies of Ram.”53 However, legends surrounding the birth of Kabīr may express the will of creating him in a fashion best suited to the image of the writer as some may serve to deify, sanskritize, brahmanize, sekularize, and/or modernize him, or in the case of the Dharmadasī branch, legitimize their own creation of a separate branch.54 Many legends acknowledged by the branches of the Kabīr Panth, regarding Kabīr’s birth, are found within the Kabīr-Kasauṭī (Touchstone of Kabīr) (1885), and the Kabīr-Manśur manuscript by Paramānandadas (1887) which both, according to Lorenzen and

51 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das’s Kabir Parachai, p 8. 52 Shah, Ahmad. (1917). The Bijak of Kabir, p 5. See also: Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 14. Also in Anurāg Sagār, p 145. 53 Westcott, G.H., Kabir and the Kabir Panth. 2. ed., Susil Gupta, Calcutta, 1953. p 3. The Ādi Granth is the holy scripture of the compiled by the fifth guru, Dev in 1604. 54 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 138-139

1 6 Vaudeville, follows the deification of Kabīr supported in the texts, most commonly used within the Dharmadasī branch, (i.e Anurāg Sāgar in the Kabīr Sāgar).55

“The appearance of the Chief of Sages, the compassionate, Kabir, the Lord Kabir, in Kashi, and his coming from the Lahar tank to the house of Alo, called Niru, the weaver. From the vault of heaven he descended, the Sat Guru, Purusha, Kabir : Lying in the midst of the waters, the Pir of Pirs. When countless lotus buds bloomed, there the compassionate Creator was found. Midst all the buds the bees wearied themself with humming: peacock, duck, chackor, gathered about the tank. [..] Mid peals of thunder, flashing lightning, torrents of rain : in Lahar tank the lotus blossomed : there Kabir was manifested.”56

Legends that deify Kabīr’s birth are several, all which stresses a Vaiṣṇava based avatar doctrine of the divine being manifested on earth, as found within the Anurāg Sāgar: “Kabir said: Now listen, my beloved Dharam Das: I will tell you what happened afterwards. The Third Age went, and the Kali Yuga came, so again I came to teach the souls.”57 Kabīr continues telling Dharmadas about his four births within the Kali Yuga, the first two times into a Brahmins family, the fourth is not specified, however, the third time he was found and brought into a family of Muslims:

“In the pond I was sitting in a child's form on the leaf of the lotus. I was lying there as a child, and playing childish games. Nima looked at that place, and seeing me, she loved me. As the lotus blooms looking at the sun, and as the pauper dashes to get the wealth, she ran and lifted the child up and brought him to Niru. [...] and I spoke these words to her: "O Nima, listen to the words of mine I am explaining to you: Because of the love of the past, I came here to give you darshan. Take me to your home, and if you recognize me and accept me as your Guru, I will give Naam to you and make you firm in it, and then you will not fall in the noose of ." 58

55 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 22, 44, 47. See also: Vaudeville, Charlotte. Kabīr. p 27-28. 56 Shah, Ahmad. (1917). The Bijak of Kabir. p 2. Quoting from the Kabīr-Kasauṭī. See also example of translation in Westcott (1953), p 4. 57 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995). The Ocean of love: The Anurāg Sāgar of Kabir, (4:e uppl). Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, (ed). Sant Bani Ashram Sanbornton, New Hampshire, p 133. 58 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 144-145. For the full story of the three births in the Kali Yuga, see p 141-146.

1 7 Another legend called Bhaktavijay tells the story of commanding two ṛṣis (sages) to become avatars on earth, Shukdev son of Vyasa was transformd into a child (Kabīr) and was put into a shell which then was thrown by Viṣṇu into the river Ganga from heaven where he later was found by a muslim weaver who brought him home. The second ṛṣi was Uddhav who according to legend was the counsellor to the God Kriṣṇa, who in this story became Nāmdev when placed upon earth.59 Contrasting this vivid storytelling of Kabīr’s birth, a more modest version is found within the Kabir Parachai. In its opening segment it is stated that Kabīr was born in the caste of Julāha, muslim weaver, and lived in Kashi, who followed the customes of the devotees of , i.e Viṣṇu, when God spoke to him saying: “Unless you become a Vaishnav I will not give you my darśan (sight of diety). Only if you put on the Vaishnav beads and forehead mark will you obtain my darshan.” Kabīr answered: “I belong to a Muslim caste. How can I obtain these prayer beads?” God said: “Take an from .”60 Here, in the writings of Anantadas, Kabīr’s birth is not to the same extent highlighted, instead, only Kabir’s caste and his religious belonging serves as the introducing part of the legend. However, it stresses some vital points found almost cohesively within all legends, which is that of initiation:

“Kabir said: Ramananda will not even consent to look at me. How can I get initiated? The voice said: Go at night and stay on the path where he comes out with his followers. At night Kabir came and stayed in Ramananda’s path. Ramananda stepped on him and said “Ram.” The devotee’s heart filled with enthusiasm. Then Kabir got up and went home. Kabir put on prayer beads and a forehead mark and acted in a way pleasing to the sants. Many people came to see. Kabir Das sang the of Ram.”61

Aside from all the legends about the birth of Kabīr, several versions, that contest the idea of Kabīr’s Muslim heretige, even if they are few, exists. These legendary retellings all stress the idea of a Brahmanized image of Kabīr, often composed by Kabīr Panthīs themself; “legend

59 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 44 60 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 93. 61 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 93-94. “Go at night and stay on the path where he comes out with his followers.” is almost unanimously associated with the morning bath conducted at the river . The path down is big steps (Gaṭh) almost like a staircase down from the outskirt of the city down into the river. Kabir is said to have laid down on the steps and in the dark Ramanandan stepped on him who, taken by surprise, yelled out his “Ram Ram”.

1 8 makes him [Kabīr] the son of a widow born miraculously from the palm of her hand, as the result of the prayer of the ascetic Ramanand,”62 David Lorenzen (1991) outlines, when discussing Brahmalinasmuni’s legendary accounts of Kabīr’s life in Sadgurushrikaviracharitam (1960), the heavily pro-Brahman characteristics permeated in the legend.63 According to Brahmalinasmuni, the adoptive parents of Kabīr were not in fact Muslims. Instead they belonged to the Brahmana-varṇa, who under oppression were forced to drink water from the hands of Muslims which caused impurity and loss of their high-born caste. However, Niru and Nima still practised devotion to Śiva and can in terms of this, be understood as forms of crypto-hindus, practising another religion publicly while secretly adhere to Hinduism, something that still is debated by the more pro-Hindu branches of the Kabīr panth.64 Continuing the story, Kabīr’s father decided to name the child in the of Vedic ceremony, the astrologer came and consulted his almanac with the realization that “Thus child must be an avatar of God.”65 The child then replied, giving himself the name of Kavīr (kavī - seer) which indicate a name derived from sanskrit instead of Persian-Arabic, and afterwards Kabīr, as a child, explain the hierarchy of society; “He and he alone will obtain salvation who acts above all to preserve the proper conduct of the varṇas and āshramas as taught in the and who obtains devotion and knowledge through purity of mind.”66 The image of Kabīr as a hindu or a yogi is not something new and has been deeply embedded within the Kabīr Panth and legends ascribed to Kabīr. The former mahant, chef of the monastery, Gangasharan Shasti of Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh in Banaras in his Kabīr Jivanacharitra (1978), also plays on the image of Kabīr as a of something divine:

“This child is a yogic being of infinite birth, not born from the womb…. By his yogic illusion he abandons many bodies and takes new ones…. Many times he has come to aid the world…. He is a portion of me. I have myself sent him by my own desire for the sake of welfare of men.”67

62 Shah, Ahmad. (1917), p 3. 63 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 45. Brahmalinasmuni’s Sadgurushrikaviracharitam is written in Sanskrit with commentary by the author in . 64 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). p 45. Jātibhraṣṭa - fallen from caste 65 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 46 66 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 46 67 Gangasharan Shasti. (1976). Kabir Jivancharitra. . Kabiravani Prakashan Kendra. p 8.

1 9 This view, however, is not shared with the current Ārchāya mahant of Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh, Vivek Das, who in a interview, conducted by Shabnam Virmani & Linda Hess in 2004, explained that; “I am one of the few who consider him [Kabīr] a man, a , the greatest in the world. […] Kabir wants to show that the path he took is open for all humans.”68 Vivek Das is outspokenly against these forms of legendary stories regarding Kabīr and the forms of avatar doctrines he is given in many legends. For this greater form of influence, drawn from the tradition of Vaiṣṇava, he blames the Dharmadasī:

“In the middle of the seventeenth century, paurāniktā swept into the Panth like a storm. Dharamdas was the leader of this. Dharamdasji was a Vaishnav devotee who accepted the Kabir Panth after coming under the influence of a Kabir Panthi sant. As soon as he arrived, there was an influx of paurāniktā so overpowering that a question mark was placed over all the actual facts about Kabir. In the form of false dialogues between Kabir and Dharamdas, dozens of books were composed (Anurāg Sagar, Bodh Sāgar, etc.). Because of these Puranic writings, ordinary people were led far from Kabir’s true .”69

Vivek Das has, at least during his time as mahant of the Kabīr Chaurā, been speaking against these ways and forms of deifying Kabīr, much is referred to legends and attributes given Kabīr while others, as will be explored further in the next unit of analysis, rituals and praxis within the Kabīr Panth which has all undergone great changes to fill the need of the members. As previously mentioned, a majority of these legendary retellings of Kabīr show signs of great ambiguity in how to refer to Kabīr as either human or divine. This ambiguity goes along the same lines as the theology established within the introduction of saguṇa and nirguṇa, however, it might have to freshen up. The theology of saguṇa and nirguṇa may, in these legends, be hard to separate. An example of this is found within the Kabīr Parachai wherein it is stated: “Kabir is a part of the Creator. He descended to earth to practice bhakti. Kabir meditated on nirguṇ brahman. That is how he crossed to the other shore of the ocean of worldly .”70 Other aspects of saguṇa found in the writings of Ananta das are, many times, quite obvious as Kabīr is given darśan: “Then Keshav accepted Kabir as His own. He

68 Shabnam Virmani & Linda Hess (2004). 'To deify Kabir is to defuse his power' says Vivek Das. [Video], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMLIbkoDBn4. [2021-03-04]. 69 Hess, Linda (2015). Bodies of song: Kabir oral traditions and performative worlds in Northern India. New York: Oxford University Press, p 339. 70 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 128. “He descended to earth” reflect saguṇa ideas of Kabīr an avatar. While “meditated on nirguṇ brahman.” shows that the only solution in order to get “crossed to the other shore”.

2 0 came and gave His darshan to Kabir. Hari showed himself to Kabir with His conch, discus, club and lotus. He was adorned with the kaustubh jewel and yellow robes. He displayed the mark of Bhrigu’s foot on His chest and was sitting on His eagle Garuda. The tiara on His head dazzled anyone who saw it.”71

Discussion: Life of Kabīr The image of Kabīr, found in this unit of legends and myth, shows great ambiguity in how he is being portrayed and understood. These stories, many times, diviatets when giving the retelling of Kabīr’s birth, caste, religious affiliation and whether or not he ‘descended’ upon earth or was simply born into the world from a materialized body. In several accounts given, about Kabīr, a multifold of them show a clear aim to make him more into that of a Hindu than a Muslim, since Kabīr often, if not always, is said to discard his own background as a muslim weaver in order to get initiated into the Vaiṣṇava guru Rāmananda’s teachings.72 Furthermore, is can also be noted that attempts to deify Kabīr has also been stressed several times by the writers of these legends, however, here too somewhat dubious, since there doesn't seem to be a clear cut between being of a divine essence or being that of God himself, a discussion that will be further explored later in this study. Not only may these legends serve as a way of making the image of Kabīr lean towards a more pro-Hindu or pro-Brahmanic view. Furthermore, they also gives insight on several vital points of interest when piecing together an understanding of how and why Kabīr Panthīs may recreate the life of Kabīr, in order to legitimize certain customs, myth of creation and identity, which in turn may reflect, the creators’ of legends, own socio-religious struggles, ideology and their understanding of historical identity and religious praxis or theology. Three points of interest can here be drawn towards an introducing discussion that will further be expanded upon later in the study. All three points find themselves, inside the matter of why many of the legends of Kabīr’s life may rely heavily upon a more Hinduiznied form of retelling and imagery. Firstly, may it be for the reason to compete with other contemporary sects, alongside the already established orthodox Hindu traditions that Kabīr is established in a divine form? May it be for the reason of convenience when ascribing Kabīr the imagery of already popularized puranic avatar doctrines? Or is the construction of Kabīr made for the

71 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 122. This giving of Darśan from Viṣṇu to Kabīr is very similar to the story when Kṛṣṇa gives Darśan to Arjun in the Bhagavad-gītā. 72 To create an image of Kabīr as a Hindu may be seen as a clear case of Hinduization. This term refers to the process of assimilating, rewriting texts or reimagen images and cultural phenomena of non-Hindu elements into that of Hindu elements.

2 1 sole purpose of fostering Sanskritization? It can already be stated that to all the three questions, the answer can be both yes and no. Very dull answer indeed, however, it cannot be speculated further without taking all other aspects of ritual, praxis and the imagery found in the Bījak and the Anurāg Sagār into consideration.

2 2 2 Kabīr Panth: Praxis and rituals

“The Kabir Panth exists as a protest against the religious exclusiveness of the twice-born castes. As a natural result few but Sudras whose cause it champions have associated themselves with the movement. The Panth contends for a truth Which forms part of the Gospel of Creation, viz. that all men have spiritual powers which should find their natural expression in communion with God, now in this life.”73

The Founders and the śākhās In accordance with the traditions established by the Kabīr Panthīs, four main disciples of Kabīr founded the four major independent branches (śākhās) of the panth. Surat Gopal founded the Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh, Banaras in Uttar Pradesh, Dharmadas the Dharmadasī śākhā of Chhattisgarḥ in . Jagudas created the branch of Bidupur in Bihar, and another located at Shivpur, close to Banaras. Last, the Bhagathi branch at Dhanauti, Bihar, founded by Bhagodas.74 The first two mentioned śākhās, Kabīr Chaurā and Dharmadasī of Chhattisgarh,̣ are seen as the two principal branches of the Kabīr Panth and frequently as rivals, even in some cases, according to Westcott, known also as the father and the latter being the mother.75 The Kabīr Chaurā in Banaras finds itself, in accordance with tradition, sitting on the location and supposed site of Kabīr’s family home and the original seat from which the other branches have descended. Historical information of the Maṭh in Banaras is, however, scarcely found and no dates of any formal establishment has been documented. At first there was not any form of temples (mandir), at the Maṭh. However, according to Wescott, the site of Kabīr’s home has gradually developed, over a long period of time, into the temple and courtyard complex found today.76 And as far as the Panthīs are concerned, it's own history is understood almost solely on that of their traditions in the form of legends and biographies.

73 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 72-73. 74 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987). The Kabir-Panth and Social Protest. In Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat’s The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India, p 290. 75 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 66. 76 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 69.

2 3 The earliest date, of any temple, at the site is that of the mandir (shrine dedicated to Kabīr) constructed on the order of Maharaja Veerdev Singh, the king of Banaras in 1587 Vikram Samvat, approximately 1658 c.e.77 Any more than this specific historical documentation has yet to appear, however, as previously stated, the foundation of the Kabīr Panth was done by Kabīr’s successor Surat Gopal after the passing of Kabīr in 1518 c.e. The legends, focusing on the story of how Kabīr and Surat Gopal first met, are various but share a somewhat coherent storyline. Sarvananda was a Brahman pandit from South India who was given the name Surat Gopal when he became Kabīr’s disciple. Before meeting his future guru Surat travelled throughout India, debating rival scholars and when there were no more rivals to best, he proudly gave himself the name Sarvajit, conqueror of all.78 However, in his moment of pride he was told that not all rivals had been defeated in religious debate and that he had to travel to Banaras where a man named Kabīr was located. The journey to Banaras was long and when he arrived he challenged Kabīr, debating Surat, Kabīr soon understood that his opponent was; “hopelessly afflicted with the disease of useless talk and would never be cured in this way.” Kabīr asked Surat what he wanted, Surat answered that since Kabīr lost he should write that on a piece of paper that he accepts Surat’s victory. Kabīr answered that he did not know how to write so Surat had to write it for himself, so he did. However, on his return home Surat saw that the writing had been shifted to that of “Sarvananda lost and Kabir Saheb won.” Upon this, Surat returned to Kabīr with the realization that Kabīr could not be anything else than the Lord Himself. Surat then chose to become Kabīr’s disciple, and later became the founder and head of the Chaurā Maṭh.79 The Dharmadasī branch of Chhattisgarḥ , seen as “the rival branch” of the Kabīr Chaurā, does not, find themself as the founding Chaurā, located the site of Kabīr’s family home and the original teaching. However, favored location or not, the followers of Dharmadas has greatly been popularizing Kabīr and his teachings through creation of many brightly coloured legends, playing on resistens to caste-based rules and the local socio-religious environment.80 The Dharmadasī branch has attracted nearly sixty percent of the all Kabīr Panth membership living in the central provinces, according to the survey presented in Ramdas Lamb’s Rapt in the name: the Ramnamis, Ramnam, and untouchable religion in Central India (2002).81

77 http://www.kabirchaura.com/index.htm. 78 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p 63. 79 Lorenzen, N. David. (1991), p, 64 80 Texts and legends such as Kabīr Manśūr, Kabīr Sāgar, Gyān Prakāś, and the Ānurag Sāgar. 81 Lamb, Ramdas (2002). Rapt in the name: the Ramnamis, Ramnam, and untouchable religion in Central India. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, p 47.

2 4 As claimed by tradition, the meeting between Kabīr and Dharmadas occured in Banaras, and just as in the legend of Surat Gopal, Dharmadas came from a background of wealth. However, not belonging to the Brahmana-varṇa as Gopal, he was a Bunniah belonging to the Vaiśya-varṇa. It is stated in the Anurāg Sāgar that Dharmadas was approached by Kabīr while worshiping and was asked “what are these little idols? If the big one is God, what are these small ones?” Before Dharmadas could answer, the stranger had vanished.82 Again, while Dharmadas was sitting by a pyre with his wife, Kabīr disguised as a approached and said to them that they were great sinners since all the logs inside the fire were crawling with insects. Realizing the truth spoken by the sadhu, Dharmadas understood the truth and said to himself: “I am a great sinner.”83 Later on Dharmadas recalled the two men by whom he had been approached and realized that both of them were the same person. Filled with remorse he asked his wife what he could do to meet the wise man again, she said: "Well, flies come to the sugar. You have so much money; if you perform some kind of and announce that you are going to donate things to the sadhus, many sadhus will come. It is possible that this sadhu will also come, and you can talk to him and get some knowledge of God from him."84 Dharmadas conducted the ritual. However, to his disappointment the mysterious man did not appear. Dharmadas continued making rituals and threw money all around in attempts to somehow allure the sadhu. But his endeavor was in vain and soon enough he found himself without either house nor money; "Why should I go back home when I have lost everything? It is better to commit suicide." And so he walked down towards the riverbank. Just as he was about to jump, Kabīr appeared. Dharmadas cried out: "O Lord, If I had met You before, I would have given You all the wealth which I had, instead of wasting it performing the ." Kabīr said: "This was the right time for you to come to me. If you had come to me earlier, when you had all that wealth, it is possible that you would not become what you will become now." Kabīr then gave Dharmadas initiation to his teaching, which in the Anurāg Sāgar is in the form of questions from Dharmadas to his Guru, Kabīr .85 This is not the only story, within the Anurāg Sāgar, which legitimizes Dharmadas as the inheritor of the teachings of Kabīr: “You are the incarnation of Niru [Kabīr’s father] and Amin is the incarnation of Nima [Kabīr’s mother]. You are my very dear soul about whom I

82 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995). The Ocean of love: The Anurāg Sāgar of Kabir, p vii. 83 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p viii 84 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p viii. Yajna is the vedic tradition of conducting rites by the sacred fire, . 85 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p viii-ix

2 5 worried a lot. With the orders of Sat Purush I came to you, and made you remember the previous things. I gave you darshan only because of that. O Dharam Das! this time you recognized me. I will tell you Sat Purush's Words: "Recognize the and have faith." [...] “You are My Essence, and you will take many souls to Sat Lok. Among the four, you are the dearest. Why are you thinking and pondering? There is no difference between you and me. See this within yourself, testing the Shabda.”86 Legends about the founders of Kabīr Panth śākhās, as displayed above, serve as means of legitimizing their own hierarchical positions within the Kabīr Panths and their own view of themselves. The learned Brahmana pandit Surat, full of pride and ignorance, who from his defeat in spiritual debate got accepted as the disciple of Kabīr, was initiated into the teaching of the Sants and later came to establish the foundational Panth of Kabīr at Banaras. Dharmadas who in his moment of dispair, was ready to commit suicide for his longing for greater knowlegde of the Lord, got accepted, not only as a disciple of Kabīr but also as a seeker of truth. Both legends are well known, and have traditionally been compiled by Kabīr Pantīs. However, Pantīs often refer to their respective Kabīr Panth founder, and who among them, might be understood as the one true disciple of Kabīr, the sole inheritor of Kabīr’s teaching and spiritual legacy. The Chaurā Maṭh and Dharmadasī śākhās both have interpreted legends about, and teachings of Kabīr in relation to their own specific socio-religious milieu. Furthermore, not only are the legends shaped by both physical and social location. Praxis and rituals are also affected. Banaras has throughout history been connected to orthodox brahmanical ideals and even though it has given rise to anti-brahmanical tendencies it has been and still remains imbued with high-caste orthodoxy. In this sense, according to Ramdas Lamb, all new movements, either fade away or start to emulate forms of Brahmanization.87 Kabīr Chaurā in Banaras may reflect the latter since their views on caste are somewhat ambiguous, as will later be discussed. It is true that this too has been the case within the Dharmadasī śākhā as well, however, more dalits finds themselves being more accepted as Dharmadasī as the result

86 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 138-139. Italic done by me. Among the four is referred to the establishment of the Four found within the Anurāg Sāgar, who were the original spreaders of the teachings of Kabīr, p 140-141. 87 Lamb, Ramdas (2002), p 47. Brahmanization works almost as a synonym with that of Hinduization but also Sanskritization. The first aspect may be, as it is shared with Hinduization, to embrace non-hindu traditions, and to assimilate them into that of Hindu elements. Further, it may also indicate that the aim of Sanskritization is to exclusively embrace customs and practises found in that of the Brahmana-varṇa. In contrast Sanskritization indicated the aim to embrace customs of any castes higher than that of a lower. Nevertheless, the top is strived for, and at that top - the Brahmins are found.

2 6 of lower forms of Brahmanization and caste-rules found in the milieu of Chhattisgarh.̣ 88 According to Lorenzen, two main groups of followers are found within the Kabīr Panth, even if they might vary in size:

“(1) lower class Hindus who seek an ideology which offers them a more positive status and self image, certainly in their own eyes and if possible in the eyes of others as well, and (2) tribal peoples who are being socially and culturally assimilated into lower levels of the caste hierarchy and are trying to preserve their self-esteem against almost hopeless odds.”89

In both cases, factors of social dissent against the hegemonic order of Hindu orthodoxy are, on the one hand, protested, and on the other accepted since, according to the theory of Sanskritization, joining the Kabīr Panth could be seen as an attempt to gain upward mobility within the social hierarchy. Even if upward mobility of certain social groups may be achieved, these traditions, based on the teaching of Kabīr and his dissent of high-caste religious hegemony, all to different degrees, are embracing or mimicing orthodox rituals and praxis as ways of Sanskritization. Further, it may not come as any surprise that new religious movements, frequently associated with that of non-caste traditions, foster in various degrees, Hindu customs which often derives from Greater traditions such as the Vaiṣṇava; seen as the former mahant of Chaurā Maṭh expressed himself “maiṃ Hindū hūṅ, maiṃ Vaiṣṇa hūṅ” which may have led to the statement by Lorenzen, regarding today's Kabīr Panth, being in several aspects, flatly a Vaishnava Hindu sect.90

“Then they slay souls and worship stones”

“O Sants, behold, the world is mad. If I speak the truth, they rush to beat me : the world believes in falsehood. I have seen observers of all rites, performers of all duties : at early dawn the bathe. Then they slay souls and worship stones : knowledge in them there is none. I have seen many Pirs and Aulias : they read the Book, the . They initiate disciples and give instruction in such knowledge as they have.

88 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987). The Kabir-Panth and Social Protest, p 291, 300. 89 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987), p 295. 90 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987), p 294. Following an observation of rituals at the Kabīr Chaurā, engaged in conversation, the mahant had stated that “ I am Hindu, I am a Vaiṣṇa” as quoted in the text.

2 7 They sit them down full of vanity and in their mind is vain glory. They worship brass and stone and are lost in the pride of the . They wear the beads and the cap and plume themselves on tilak and markings.” - Kabīr, Bījak; Śabda, 4.

Rituals have a dubious relation to the traditions of nirguṇa bhakti and as quoted above many forms of praxis has also been understood as falsehood full of vanity. Nonetheless, it has become an integrated part in many of the heterodox sects and its devotees’ day-to-day life. The religious praxis and rituals found within the Kabīr Panth are no different. They are various, and as already stated, may share several commonalities found in other Greater Hindu traditions. Lorenzen divides the rituals performed within the Kabīr Panth into two main sections; (1) those that are performed daily, and (2) those performed during longer and/or irregular intervals. The daily rituals conducted, in connection to a monastery, are that of the ārtī-pūjā,91 both in the morning and during the evening. Also pre-meal and later in the evening vocal recitation of the so called Sandhyā-pāṭh.92 The second form of rituals, those not conducted on a daily basis, are primarily that of the chaukā, the by far longest and intricate ritual found within the Kabīr Panth. The chaukā is a nine-step long ritual which is performed during annual festivals. Foremost, the chaukā is connected with the celebration and remembrance of the birth and death of Kabīr. However, it may also be performed during each full moon night when initiation of new members occurs, or during ceremonies of weddings and funerals.93 The morning ritual, that of ārtī-pūjā, starts early at dawn when all the sadhus, lay people and other devotees have assembled. Amongst the gathered people, one is chosen to be the pujārī, i.e officiant, of the ritual. The pujārī, in conducting the ritual, is to place flowers at the burial shrine of Kabīr, the shrine which holds the Bījak, the throne (gaddī) on which the mahant sits and at smaller shrines dedicated to former mahants of the monastery. While the pujārī is spreading the flowers, several other devotees ring bells and wave burning incense upon the placed flowers. The devotees, who have attended the ritual, then proceed to offer their greetings and respect to the mahant who sits upon the throne.94

91 Hindu based ritual done by lighting of fire and incense which is then waved before an object of worship. 92 Lorenzen, David N. (1996). Praises to a formless god: Nirguni texts from North India. Albany: State University of New York Press, p 225. 93 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 225-227. 94 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 227-229.

2 8 The second principal ritual of the day is that of the evening recitation (sandhyā-pāṭh) which is not so much practical worship as it is related to teaching of the Kabīr found in the Bījak, i.e poems and other . There is also a great importance, during the ritual, to learn about various stories attributed to the legendary life of Kabīr. The evening sandhyā-pāṭh does not only serve the purpose of entertainment and teaching of Kabīr Panth history, it also serves as instructions in moral, religious behaviour alongside the Panth’s codes of conduct found within the Bījak. However, each śākhā generally has its own booklet or text associated with the evening recitation and in the case of the Dharmadasī, the Bījak is not commonly used. It has been observed both in Lorenzens study, as well as in Westcotts, that the Chaurā in Banaras does also include texts written in Sanskrit during their recitation, which according to Lorenzen shows the fostering of Sanskritization within the Kabīr Panth.95 The way ārtī-pūjā is conducted at morning and after the evening recitation can not be claimed to be following the traditional arguments against rituals outlined by the Sants of the nirguṇa movement. It plays to much on the aspects of saguṇa worship wherein physical objects may be worshiped. However, it is also a thin balance between, on the one hand worshiping the omnipresent nirguṇa Guru, and on the other hand, that of showing deep veneration towards the human Guru and that of the Bījak. The chaukā ritual on the other hand, if anything, may reflect somewhat higher forms of ritual orthodoxy and bramanization.96 The origin of why and how the chaukā has found its way into becoming the prime important ritual of the Kabīr Panth is historically unknown. However, legends of the Panth describe it to be founded by Kabīr himself. Still, if taken into account Kabīr’s hard rhetoric against performing rituals, this may be highly unlikely. Furthermore, the hagiographic text presented by Lorenzen recollect no such ritual being mentioned. But, this is only true when indulging in the texts, often associated with the Kabīr Chaurā, of Anantadas, Priyadas and Raghavdas which Lorenzen is referring too.97 However, taking the Anurāg Sagār into consideration the chaukā finds ground in at least one legendary retelling of Kabīr:

“Kabir said: O Dharam Das, listen to the preparations for that , performing which the Yamraj runs away. Bring a piece of cloth of seven hands and set up a white canopy. Clean the house and courtyard.

95 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 234-235. 96 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 238-239. Lorenzen mentions in passing the similarities the chaukā has with that of the ritual of Satyanārāyaṇ vrat of the Vaiṣṇava tradition. However, it is stressed that even though the overall structure may resemble that of the vrat it is simplified and scaled down. 97 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 237-238.

2 9 Bring a rectangular slab of sandalwood and sprinkle water on it. Make a square on it using flour and bring one and one-quarter seer of rice. Bring one white throne and put different types of fragrance there: White sweets, white betel leaf, and the betel nut should also be white. Put a clove, cardamom and camphor; and on the leaves of the banana, put eight kinds of dried fruits. Then bring a coconut, and arrange everything neatly. Whatever the Master ordered, Dharam Das brought everything. Then Dharam Das made this request: O Competent One, tell me the way of liberation. O Master, I have brought everything which You ordered from Your Mouth. Hearing this, the Master was happy: Blessed are you, O Dharam Das. Now you have understood me. According to the directions for performing the chauka, the Lord sat on the throne. “98

It must be stressed that even though this may be one of the only cases of which the chaukā is referred to in legendary retellings, the branches of the Kabīr Panth, primarily from the Dharmadasī śākhā, have later published modern manuals regarding the ritual and how it is to be conducted.99 Several types of chaukā are indicated as prominent, four to be precise, and they are; (1) the ānandī chaukā, performed during festivals and at times of initiation. (2) janmauti, performed in order to give to the birth of a child or, if one is wanting for a child. (3) chalāvā chaukā, performed as a last rite of passage when death has occurred. (4) The ekottarī [101] chaukā, which follows the same ritual principles as the ānandī chaukā. However, the ekottarī chaukā requires one hundred and one times more material than the ānandī. Practising of all the four chaukās is not all too common and only found within the ritual manuals of the Dharmadasī śākhā, while in the Kabīr Chaurā, only two are commonly practiced and referred too, that of ānandī and chalāvā.100 The chaukā, even if evidently performed for various reasons, all share the basic physical components, and the way of conducting them does not differ dramatically. However, Lorenzen, during his observational study, was only able to observe the rituals when being conducted at the Kabīr Chaurā, and not that of the Dharmadasī śākhā, thence, the following outlining is Lorenzens observation of the ānandī chaukā:

98 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 150-151. Bold done by me. 99 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 238-239. 100 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 239-240. For a more detailed description of the separate forms of chaukā see: Hess, Linda (2015). Bodies of song: Kabir oral traditions and performative worlds in Northern India, p 329.

3 0 (1) Preparation of the ritual itself, wherein the and the mahant, as outlined in the Anurāg Sāgar, are to hang a white piece of cloth as a canopy, bring flour, several kinds of fruits, sweets, flowers, spices and nuts. After the material has been gathered they are to arrange them as the instructions require. Five squares are then marked out with the flour, one in the middle of the canopy and four on all its sides, each pointing to all the four latitudes. From each corner of the square in the middle, four lines are drawn to the edge of the canopy where at the ends the minister places a metal rupee and a betel leaf. In the eastern square a pot (kalaś) filled with water is placed and in the northern square a lamp (jyoti) filled with ghee is placed. In the southern square a cup of milk blended with sugar and five spices (pañchāmṛt) is placed. To the west, towards the guru’s gaddī, several coconuts are placed.101 (2) When everything is placed, according to the manual, the ritual begins by sounding bells, cymbals and trumpets, after which the mahant’s feets are washed as he takes his seat in front of the western square. (3) The jyoti is lit following recitation of some three ramainīs of the Bījak. (4) The people assembled then one by one approach the mahant and receive a coconut in which they are suppose to place money, fruity, or any kind of , which is then returned to the mahant. (5) The mahant collects the offered cocoanuts and breaks them against a stone. (6) The mahant then puts a piece of cloth over the offerings and the coconuts and starts chanting , (It is here between the sixth and seventh step of the ritual that any person who has arranged to be initiated into the Panth is to come forward.) (7) The mahant takes off the cloth covering the offerings which has now, after the prayers, become prasād, or as Lorenzen puts it, “the grace-giving leavings of the Satyapuruṣ.”102 (8) The ārtī-pūjā is performed, in hierarchical order, first by the minister, second, any sadhu being present, thirdly, initiated lay-devotee and fourth, any guests present, initiated or not. (9) The last stage is the distribution of the prasād amongst the assembled people.103 It is hard to fully understand the chaukā as a pure sign of Sanskritization. However, it is equally hard to argue that it is not since much of the ritual requirements are drawn from that of the vaiṣṇva tradition, as will be further explained below. If the Kabīr Panth is to fully follow the words of Kabīr, regarding the traditional values on rituals and religious practices, the Panth finds itself in great opposition to the inner faith and moral integrity of Kabīr’s, rather radical, view on the matter. Furthermore, it can be argued that, since the ritual of the chaukā is to be conducted and followed on the principles set by the mahant and minister of

101 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 240-241. See the drawing of the ritual made by Lorenen in this paper's attachment: Fig. 1. 102 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 247. Satyapuruṣ - True being. 103 Lorenzen, David N. (1996). All the steps of the ritual have been drawn from the following pages, p 240-248.

3 1 the ritual as leaders, it still shows signs of ritual purity, as Lorenzen expresses: “In theory, all sadhus are social and ritual equals, and all are allowed to serve as pujārīs and work the monastery kitchens. In practice, however, conservative mahants sometimes discourage Untouchable sadhus from doing these ritually sensitive tasks.”104 Even though all people from the various social classes of Hindu society are welcomed to take part in rituals and to be initiated into the Kabīr Panth, the way of conducting them still shows signs of ritual hierarchy, in thoughts of impurity versus purity. However, it does not have to be solely argued that being the minister of the ritual or mahant of the śākhā is only signs of purity, instead it can be seen simply as that out of convenience regarding knowledge. Since the majority of the members in the Kabīr Panth finds themselves belonging to the lower strata, of the Hindu traditional society, and may therefore not be formally educated in matters of reading sanskrit, which some hymns are recited in, and understand intricate symbolism of ritual and praxis. This argument regarding education can, however, receive backlash since the traditions of the Sants were that of the low-born people which fought for the abolishment of all forms of religious monopoly, i. e that of language, ritual purification and the knowledge of vedic scriptures, only known to them inside the Brahmana-varṇa. The rituals found, within the Kabīr Panth, are not that many and except the few outlined above there is but one more that has to be discussed, even if shorty, since it has been mentioned several times already, the ceremony of initiation.

“It has a face resembling that of a man, its surface is divided into three parts recalling , and Vishnu, its flesh is formed gradually as human flesh is formed, and it differs from other fruits in containing no seed. The breaking of the cocoanut is regarded as a bloodless sacrifice,”105

For the mahant to receive his authority to teach and to initiate new members into the Kabīr Panth he first has to become recognised by the head mahant (Āchārya) of the section of which he belongs. When the mahant is to be appointed he is given a betel leaf to eat as a pledge to perform, faithfully, the duties of their office. The mahant then receives a red hat called topi or kufi, a necklace made out of woll (seli) and a rosary known as (panch mal).106 When the mahant has been given his authority he is to annually visit the Head mahant at his

104 Lorenzen, David N. (1996), p 249. 105 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 79. Underlining done by me. 106 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 78.

3 2 main śākhā, and there, offer twelve cocoanuts as well as twelve rupees as a gift. Above that he is to offer one coconut and one rupee each, for every new member wishing to be initiated into the Kabīr Panth. The ritual of initiation is observed between the sixth and seventh step of the chaukā, as explained above, and in the process of initiation the candidate is asked to step forward into the presence of the mahant. The candidate is then required to promise and swear upon the consequences of good and bad conducts which he will afterwards observe with most solemnity. While hymns are being sung by the other participants, the mahant whispers into the candidates left ear, half of a mantra which, after the ritual, is followed by the other half being whispered into the candidates right ear.107 The ritual of initiation found here, is very much alike to how it is conducted within the tradition of Vaiṣṇava, a ritual which might have founded its way, into the Kabīr Panth, if it is to be referred to the legend of Kabīr’s initiation by Rāmananda.108 Likewise, as seen in the tradition of Vaiṣṇava, a mantra is given from the guru to his disciple at the point of initiation, further too, is the wearing of the Tika on one’s forehead, as a sign of which God they worship, a common practice found within the Kabīr Panth as well as in other Hindu traditions.109

Reflections and critique Linda Hess in her study, Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in Northern India (2015), summaries parts of the book Ghaṭ kā chaukā (2003) by Vivek Das, the current Āchārya mahant of Kabīr Chaurā. The writings quoted by Hess show Vivek Das’s critique on rituals inside the Kabīr Panth, which is mostly aimed against the rivaling Dharmadasī śākhā. Vivek Das states that “Kabir gave a great message of awakening, and today his followers have joined the Idiot Panth, the Puranic Panth.” and that “Worshiping through the chaukā āratī is a powerful assault on Kabir’s revolutionary ideas.”110 He speaks against the whole institutionalized system of offerings and the promises of salvation found by sacrificing coconuts and the superstitial rituals of the external instead of seeking salvation

107 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 80-81. 108 A legend which has been explained in the previous chapter. see p 16. 109 Westcott, G.H. (1953), p 73-74. 110 Hess, Linda (2015). Bodies of song: Kabir oral traditions and performative worlds in Northern India, p 340. This “Idiot Panth, the Puranic Panth” is directly aimed towards the Dharmadasī śākhā whose ideas of a divine Kabīr has been a central and integrated part within the branch’s view on Kabīr as an Avatar. This will further be explained in the third unit of this paper.

3 3 within, as he describes it;

“The chaukā that Kabir-sahab wanted to tell us about is the chaukā inside every human being. That is what we need to know, that is the light we need to kindle and spread. Only then can we break the head of the lord of death. Without that, even if we break a thousand coconuts, even if we perform not just 101 but thousands of chaukā aratīs, we’ll get no benefit.”111

Vivek Das’s critique is harsh, if also justified when taking into consideration Kabīr’s words in the Bījak: “I have seen observers of all rites, performers of all duties : at early dawn the bathe. Then they slay souls and worship stones : knowledge in them there is none.” and “If a dog be made to sit at the chaukā, he will but lick the aipan according to his wont.”112 However, Vivek Das’s view on the matter of ritual has not come to the point of forbidding it and the chaukā is still an integral part of the ritual life within the Kabīr Chaurā.113 Not only is ritual an important component practicing many religions, it is also something that may lead to a feeling of greater belonging, and as Hess writes:

“Ritual creates community. It is necessary for initiation, giving and receiving the name, an act by which people make a commitment to join Kabir’s tradition. Kabir’s teachings communicate on many levels, and most people aren’t ready right away to understand the highest teachings. Ritual helps them to begin the process.”114

Going further beyond the sphere of ritual, there still are several points, regarding religious behaviour and principles, which have to be addressed. Even though ritual may differ from religious behavior it can not be ignored as not being an important part of Hindu traditions, if not all religious traditions. Religious praxis, behaviour or simply following a code of conduct may all be an integral part within, not only, on the one hand religious sects and Greater-traditions of Hinduism, but may also on the other hand find itself engraved deeply within all social spheres of the Indian society, sprung from the concept of varṇāśramadharma and thoughts of purity versus impurity.

111 Hess, Linda. (2015), p 340. 112 Ahmad Shah. (1917), p 95, Śabda, 4 and p, 195, Sākhī, 111. Aipan - the cloth covered in rice flour. 113 Hess, Linda. (2015), p 338. 114 Hess, Linda. (2015), p 336.

3 4 As stated in the beginning of this unit of analysis dalits and low-born śudras make up the majority of members within the Kabīr Panth. However, even though they are in majority, they still change their way of religious praxis and behaviour towards that of an upper caste. An easy step in ensuring not being viewed as less ritually pure is the change of dietary, always from carnivore to , since vegetarianism has long been the preferred option for many traditions found within South Asia. To adopt a vegetarian diet may not, however, be a personal choice within all śākhā but instead a promise to be made when initiated following the fifty different commandments of the Kabīr Panth where in number six is the swearing to “abstain from all kinds of meats” and “to abstain from all kinds of intoxicating things,” both which are degrading in aspects of purity inside the Hindu tradition.115 Creating forms of customs, mirroring many of those found within the Vaiṣṇava tradition, the Kabīr Panth also include the wear of Tilak and a Tulsi necklace and throwing oneself at the feet of the guru with great veneration, both the human as well as the nirguṇa guru, and trust all his instructions.116 Even encouragement of doing pilgrimage are found within the Kabīr Panth, something strongly opposed in the Sant tradition, where the place of Kabīr’s birthplace, the site of his death as well as the Chaurā Maṭh are seen as auspicious sites to visit. Some śākhās, prominently that of the Dharmadasī, take their ritual of worship even further, mirroring that of Greater saguṇa traditions when they, daily, offers prasād to the image of Kabīr.117 Following the traditional idea of caste hierarchy the Kabīr Panth also makes itself guilty in strengthening the importance of one’s varṇa since it has been observed by Lorenzen that inter-caste marriages are prohibited within the Kabīr Panth, However, Lorenzen stresses that it sometimes still occurs.118 Furthermore it has been observed that many high-caste members chose to dine separated from the rest of the members, which in many traditions may be easily understood as not wanting to combine meat with vegetarian dishes. However, all members are to solely rely on a vegetarian diet, which comes to show signs of purity versus purity found within the Kabīr Panth.

115 Ahmad Shah. (1917). The Bijak of Kabir, p 44. The full list of the Commandments of the Kabīr Panth will be found in this paper’s attachments, Fig. 2a-b. 116 Ahmad Shah. (1917). See commandments number 3, 6, 14, 16 and 47. 117 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987), p 300-301. 118 Lorenzen, N. David. (1987), p 300-301.

3 5 3

There has been, in the two units of analysis conducted above, several discussions regarding some of the legendary writings and stories attributed to Kabīr’s life and teaching. There has also been an outlining regarding the story of how the two main śākhās of Kabīr were established, namly the Chaurā Maṭh and Dharmadasī branch. Further, rituals, religious praxis and code of conducts found within them have also been discussed. Some points have been made about how these śākhās express various forms of Brahmanization, Hinduization and Sanskritization in their process of creating legends, myth, customs and identity, which many times has been mirroring Greater-traditions, generally that of the Vaiṣṇava. There has previously been mentioned that the main texts being used within these two śākhās regularly boils down to that of the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr, which the former is associated with the Dharmadasī and the latter with the Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh. The former heavily follows the lines of traditional puranic avatar doctrines, while the latter regularly serves as guiding principles regarding the religious philosophy, theology, ritual and praxis following the words of Kabīr. In the following unit of analysis both the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr will be examined, specifically, how these texts presents the image Kabīr and how, or even if, these portrayals of Kabīr can be understood through the lens of Sanskritization. Furthermore, before taking a look upon Kabīr and how he is portrayed in the texts, a brief outlining of the cosmological background in which Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr play its part has to be taken into account.

The cosmology within the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr The mythical story found within the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr both share many similarities regarding the cosmology of the world, its creation and the elemental components which the world is built upon. Similarities are also found within that of Nāsadīya Sūkta, of non-, in the tenth and final part of the ṛgveda which can only be seen as a great form of inspiration drawn from the mythical storytelling of orthodox Hindu tradition, not only regarding the creation of eternity and time, but creation of the world as well: “There was neither non-existence nor existence then; Neither the realm of space, nor the sky which is

3 6 beyond; What stirred? Where? In whose protection?”119 Further, in the Bījak: “In the beginning was the Almighty alone : there was no other.”120 And in the Anurāg Sāgar: “When Sat Purush lived in latent form, He had not created the body and matter. As oil is hidden in the lotus, in the same way Sat Purush used to live, hidden.”121 Sat Puruṣ in his will created Jīva (soul or the living substance) later He, by saying the Śabda (the word, the creative force of Sat Puruṣ) created the worlds and the oceans. When the four worlds were created he sat upon his lotus throne, there, desire was found. From the will of desire He created eighty-eight thousand islands wherein his desire spread.122 With the second Śabda , the world turtle, also associated as the second reincarnation of Viṣṇu, was created ,and with the third, Gyan, wisdom, knowledge, was born. Sat Puruṣ continues creating, in total, sixteenth sons as manifestations of himself and his divine essence of light, love, etc. However, the most important creational Śabdas, following the story of Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak, were those of Kurma, Gyan and Kāl Niranjan (Time which is beyond illusion): “Kal Niranjan was incarnated. He is created from the most glorious part of the body of Sat Purush - that is why he troubles the soul. Souls are of the essence of Sat Purush and no one knows their beginning and end.”123 In the Bījak it is said that Sat Puruṣ, instead of the sixteen sons found in the Anurāg Sāgar, created six sons in order to rule and uphold order within the universe, these six ‘’ were Onkar, Sahaj, Ichchha, Sohang, Achint and Achchhar. However, Sat Puruṣ saw that his sons could not preserve discipline in the universe without spinning it into chaos, so therefore, He created a seventh son, Kāl Niranjan, who, from an egg bursted out, fully engaged in bhakti and became the ruler of the three worlds:

“Upon the face of this egg was the impression of the Word, [śabda] : From the front of the letters there broke forth the father of ten doors. Thence was manifested the light of Niranjan, and all kinds of forms : And Kal, of boundless power and strength, became the governor of the three worlds.”124

119 Griffith, Ralph. (1896). The Rig Veda. Kotagiri Nilgiri. Book 10, hymn 129. 120 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ad-Mangal , 1, p 46. 121 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 20. 122 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 20. 123 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 22. 124 Ahmad Shah. (1917), p 41, Ad-Mangal, 14-15, p 47.

3 7 However, the three worlds were not yet created and it became the task of Niranjan himself to make them according to his will. Further, Niranjan did not know how he was to create the worlds and from what materials. He was told by Sat Puruṣ to make a request to Kurma for the materials, however, instead of requesting them, Niranjan, in greed, took them:

“Dharam Rai walked around Kurma in anger, considering how to get the materials of creation from him. Kal attacked the heads of Kurma with his nails, and breaking his stomach, air came out. From the three heads of Kurma the dynasty of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh came out. Five elements came out, including the sky with the moon, sun and stars; they all came out of him. , Shesh Nag, Varah, and the pillars to support the earth came out, and in this way the creation of earth started.”125 [...] “Bowing his head, Dharam Rai said, "Give me some place where I can dwell." Then Sahaj said, "Listen, Dharam Rai! Sat Purush has given you everything. Whatever came out from Kurma's stomach, Sat Purush has ordered to give to you. You have been given the Kingdom of the three worlds! Now, without any fear, create the universe."126

Niranjan now had the materials to create the worlds, however, he still lacked the knowledge of how to properly combine them in creation. Niranjan asked Sat Puruṣ for help with a field wherein the seeds of creation may be placed (bīj-khet) and so Sat Puruṣ created, the goddess, Adhya to be the wife of Niranjan and “She, [Adhya], was ordered to go to Mansarovar, and create the dense creation.” Naranja was then told, “‘You have been given that thing which you desired. The Root Seed has been sent to you. Now you can create the universe as you like. Go and Live in Mansarovar, so that the universe can be created.’”127 From this union between Niranjan and Adhya three Guṇas sprung, sattva-balance, rajas-activity and tamas-passivity, which later, in form, became their sons, Brahma, Viṣṇu and Mahesha, i.e Śiva.128 However, Niranjans lust for power and control started to spiral out of Sat Puruṣ's hands, he remembered Niranjan’s action of anger when ripping the stomach of

125 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 27. Dharam Rai is another name of Niranjan. 126 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 29-30. “You have been given the Kingdom of the three worlds!” This refers to the place of Mansarovar, The lake of Nectar, which according to the Anurāg Sāgar is found “in Daswan Dwar, one of the two intermediary planes between Sat Lok and the three worlds of Kal's creation.”, p 25. 127 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 30-32. 128 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 30, 36-37. This story is shared not only in the Bījak but in the ṛgveda as well. However some deviations are found between the story found in the Bījak and Anurāg Sāgar. In the Ad-Mangal of the Bījak no other than Niranjan created the three Guṇas, that is without a “field to sow”, and in the Ramaini, 1. of the Bījak desire was made in the form of a woman which was given the name Gayatri from which three sons were born, i.e Brahma, Viṣṇu and Mahesha.

3 8 Kurma and later the devouring of Adhya out of lust and hunger.129 Sat Puruṣ then thought to himself, “How can I finish Kal? He is very dangerous and will make the souls restless. I cannot destroy him or stop him; he is my worthless son. If I withdraw him into myself, I will have to bring everything back.”130 Sat Puruṣ then provoked and incited a great clash between Niranjan and his brother Achint, the first essence of Kabīr, which resulted in Achint besting Niranjan who, after the battle, was weak enough to be thrown out from Mansarovar which ended in his fall into the lower parts of the universe. However, Niranjan still had the seeds of creation and the material taken from Kurma, which meant that Niranjan now, in his separation from Sat Puruṣ, the eternal universe, could become the creator, and ruler of the lower worlds together with Adhya.131

“Dharam Das, understand what happened afterwards: Fire, Air, Water, Earth and Sky-all these came out from Kurma's stomach. The five elements were taken from his stomach and the three qualities came out of his head. In this way the three gunas were manifested and Dharam Rai created the universe.” Kabir said to Dharam Das: He, [Niranjan], mixed the elements and the gunas and gave them to the goddess, and then he created his own essence. He dropped three drops in the genital organ of the woman and three parts were created. Five elements and three gunas were mixed: In this way the world was created.”132

Thus the creation of Brahma, Śiva and Viṣṇu hade taken its final form. After Niranjan together with Adhya created the five elements and their three sons, it is written that he left, giving all his attention and bhakti towards Sat Puruṣ. He commanded Adhya into “Taking these three children, rule over the world, and don't tell the secret of my existence to anyone. None of my three sons will have my darshan; if one searches for me, he will waste his life. Spread such beliefs in the world that no soul will be able to get the Knowledge of Sat Purush.”133

129 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995):“Looking at every single part of her body he became impatient, And he swallowed the woman! O, Dharam Das, hear about Kal's nature! When that unjust Kal swallowed the woman, she was astonished. At once she cried for help saying, "Kal has made me his food." Then Dharam Rai came to Sahaj, who took back the of Void from him. Then Sat Purush remembered what had happened to Kurma: how Kal had also attacked him to control him.“, p 32. 130 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 32-33. 131 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p, 34-36. 132 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 36-37. 133 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p, 37. Italic by me. This quote in Anurāg Sāgar is tied together with a passage from the Bījak, Ramaini, 4: “At first step the Guru took thought : They praise the Maker, [Kāl Nirjan], as Creator,

3 9 Niranjan then went into hiding in the Void of consciousness, he became invisible and formless, nirākār. By this Niranjan fooled the world into believing him to be the true Creator, Sat Puruṣ, and all man was entangled in the web of illusion (Māyā) created by his wife and his three sons who made the earthly entanglements of the Vedas, Shāstras and Purāṇas.134

“Using his skill, Kal has created many pleasures for the jivas. Pilgrimages, , , Yoga: all are traps of Kal. No one knows the way to escape from them. Kal himself takes up the body and he himself praises his own existence. He made many qualities and deeds, and caught the jivas in his trap. Kal is terrible, and the jivas are in his control. Birth after birth they get punished by him, without recognizing the true Naam.”135

All the Jīvas were trapped in Māyā and Kāl, illusion and time, destined to the terror of being chained to the laws of and , never to break free and join the eternal. Sat Puruṣ felt great love and sadness for those caught in the web of time and illusion, in order to save all souls someone had to show them the truth and awaken the soul. But unto whom is this burden given, if none-other than Kabīr. The Son of Eternity and the firstborn . He enters from the true into the false one created by Māyā and Kāl. In each of the he liberates the Jīvas, first he came into Satya Yuga as Sat Sukrat, secondly he came as Maninder during Treta Yuga, thirdly during Dwapara yuga he came as Karunamai, and lastly, during the Kali yuga the true form of Kabīr entered.136

3.1 Kabīr in the Anurāg Sāgar

“When Sat Purush saw the souls in such a pitiful condition. He felt on them. Then I, [Kabīr], was called by the generous gracious Lord. He explained to me many things, and ordered me to awaken the souls. He told me to extinguish the fire of the souls: He said that whoever sees me will become cool. I obeyed His orders and took His words on my head. I started from there that moment, bowing my head to Sat Purush. I came to where Yama, [death], was harassing the jivas;

[Sat Puruṣ]. By directing it to action he, [Brahma], has led the world astray : bound the world in devotion to . [...] The worshippers of Sagun and Nirgun did not understand its meaning : Many did not recognise it. 134 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ad-Mangal, 16, 17, p 46. 135 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 79. 136 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p xxvii

4 0 where Kal Niranjan was making the souls dance. I stood there where the jivas were being burned. Seeing me they called, ‘O Lord, please rescue us.’ Then I called aloud the Sat Shabda, and connected the jivas with the Shabda of Sat Purush.”137

The following section shall outline the dialog between Kabīr and Dharmadas, wherein Kabīr, retells the story of him coming into the world for the sake of liberating the souls trapped within Kāl Niranjan’s kingdom of illusion and time. Within the retelling of legends, found within the dialog, some are vivid, long and poetically written, while others serve as short anecdotes simply explaining short facts or various happenings occuring within the story. Not every story is of great importance, following the aims of this paper, and may therefore be discarded. However, the stories portraying Kabīr’s qualities are, in the case of this study, more important and will be taken into greater considerations.

Sat Yuga - Incarnation of Sat Sukrit In the city of Mathura Sat Sukrit manifested himself in front of Khemsari, he asked Sat Sukrit who he was and where he had come from. Sat Sukrit told the man about the teachings of Sat Puruṣ, the Śabda and the form of Yama (i.e Kāl). Hearing this Khemsari understood the illusion placed upon his soul, however, still in doubt about the essence of Sat Sukrit and was taken to Sat Lok, the Eternal abode, in order to fully understand the miseries of life. When he returned he uttered; "O Lord, take me to that plane, [Sat Lok]. Here there is too much of Kal's miseries.” [...] "O Lord, save me! Shower grace on me and enlighten me so that I may not fall in the trap of Kal again.”138 Khemsari asked Sat Sukrit to bless his house and family and liberate them from Yama and break their cycle of birth and rebirth. Sat Sukrit reassured them that "No one can stop those who will accept my Shabda. The suffering created by Kal will be finished for the soul who believes in my teachings. Yam Raj will not go near one who gets the passport of Sat Purush's Naam."139 To finish their souls pain of existing in illusion Sat Sukrit told Khemsari to bring forward all the material to perform ārtī-chaukā, which has been explained in unit two, when

137 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 78. 138 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 96-97. 139 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 98.

4 1 Sat Sukrit then sat within the chaukā and from this the “Indestructible Sound of the Shabda came into manifestation,”140

“At the appropriate time the chauka was performed and the Radiance of the Indestructible Light was manifested. When the chauka was performed by means of the Shabda and the coconut was broken, Kal ran away. When the coconut was struck on the rock, the head of Kal was split open and all the pains went away. When the coconut broke, a fragrance came out which gave the message of Sat Purush. I told them the Five Words and at that time they got the Naam of Sat Purush. Brother, for a moment Sat Purush came and sat there. All the people got up and performed the arti.”141

Sat Sukrit taught them the way of Dhyan, contemplation of the Nām, and then the , remembrance of that word, after which, he then had liberatet the twelve souls. Sat Suktis work, for now, was done and he returned to the company of Sat Puruṣ.142

Treta Yuga - Incarnation of Maninder Sat Yuga had now passed, however, the souls still being astray, again, Gyani came into the mortal world and took the name Maninder. In the Treta Yuga, the souls had gone deeper into the illusion of Kāl and Māyā. Maninder asked the soul ‘who will save you from Yama?’ the souls still under the illusion answered: "Our Creator is the ancient Purush. Vishnu is our protector forever, and he is the one who will save us from Yama."143 Realizing that all the souls of the world, still, were entangled, in Kāl and Māyā, Maninder traveled in of awakening the souls. Maninder came to the land of Lanka (i.e Ceylon) where he first met Vichitra Bhat, a man still devoted to the true Puruṣ, who threw himself at the Guru’s feet and got initiation by performing ārtī, as had done, long before, with Khemsari.144 The wife of Vichitra went to the queen of Lanka, Mandodari, and told her what had happened, “There is one beautiful yogi who is a great sage. [...] My husband has taken refuge in Him and has made his birth fruitful." Upon hearing this, Mandodari too wanted to be

140 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 100. This served as the first initiation conducted within the Sant tradition, according to the Anurāg Sāgar. 141 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 100-101. 142 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 101. 143 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 102. 144 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 102-103.

4 2 blessed by the sage and his Darśan (sight) and called for Maninder, who gave her initiation and “her illusion disappeared; and accepting my words, love manifested in her mind.”145 Maninder then went to the palace of Ravana, the ten headed demon king found in the story of Rāmāyaṇ, and asked the gatekeeper to call for the King. Ravana then became furious and said; “Who has taken your common sense so that you have come to call me? Not even the sons of Shiva can have my darshan, and you say that a beggar is calling me?”146 The gatekeeper answered Ravana by telling him that this Siddha was as beautiful as the moon, his form is white, he wears upon him a necklace and tilak (marking on one’s forehead). Queen Mandodari added: “O King Ravana, such is the beauty of Sat Purush. [...] O King, give up your name and fame. Touch his feet and bow down to him.”147 Ravana became enraged, took his sword and attacked Maninder who defended himself with a straw of grass. The Queen pleaded with Ravana to surrender to the true Puruṣ and be free from the bondage of Kāl, in answer Ravana exclaimed: “I will serve Shiva who has given me this firm Kingdom. I will touch only his feet and bow down to him alone.”148 Maninder then left Lanka, since he knew Ravana was a lost cause. After Ravana, Maninder met a named Madhukar who realized his true darśan and threw himself at his feet and requested Maninder to come to his home where he then got initiation after seeing Sat Lok, Madhukar was full of joy and asked Maninder to also give initiation to his family, who were sixteen souls in total: “Listen to my request! Give Sat Lok to everybody! In this land of Yama, there is so much suffering! No one even gives water to the soul. O Lord of the souls and mine, shower grace on us, O Lord, All Conscious One.”149 And so he did.

Dwapar Yuga - Incarnation of Karunamai Again the souls of man were attacked by Kāl Niranjan and so Sat Puruṣ once again called upon Kabīr: “O Gyani, go in the world soon, and save the souls from Yama. Kal is giving pain to the souls. Go and cut their chains. Finish Kal and bring the souls back. Why should they go into the world again and again?” [...] “Liberate the souls by manifesting Yourself there. The souls who accept You will achieve Me. Yama will not eat those who believe in

145 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 103, 105. 146 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 106. 147 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 106. 148 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 106. 149 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 108.

4 3 you. Go and take out the souls. You have My Glory on you. There is no difference between You and Me just as the wave of water ends inert in the ocean.”150 Gyani then entered the world as Karunamai, however, no one listened to his words since all, yet again, were chained, trapped in the illusion. The first Karunamai met was Queen Mati who hungered for knowledge when she had spotted a Sadhu walking down the road outside her palace. She sent a servant to bring the Sadhu into her presence, however, Karunamai told the servant that he would never enter a house belonging to kings or emperors. Indra Mati, upon hearing this, ran to the Sadhu and grasped his feets saying: "O Lord, shower grace on me. Now please place your feet in my house."151 Karunamai then understood her love and devotion toward the Lord and accepted her offer. When he arrived Indra Mati sat him upon a throne and started washing his feets, and “drank the water. Wiping my feet, she understood her life as a blessed one. Then she asked permission for food: "O Lord, make me happy. When your left-over food remains in my house, I will eat that blessed parshad."152 Karunamai told the Queen that he did not eat any substances except for the “Nectar of Naam”, since he had not yet fully manifested upon earth his body was not based on the elements and guṇas, which were the creation of Kāl, instead the body he had taken was based on the “Limitless Shabda”153 Karunamai then proceeded to tell the story of how Kāl created the three worlds in order to engangle the souls. Indra Mati then asked Karunamai: “O Lord, how did You become different from them? Quench my thirst, giving me Your recognition.”154 Karunamai then tells Indra Mati the story of the creation of eternity, how Kāl together with Māyā created the three worlds and their sons, about Gyani’s incarnations, about Sat Lok, about the paradise which awaits when surrendering to Sat Puruṣ and all the eternal qualities found. Upon hearing this; “she folded her hands and said, "O Lord, save me from Yama. I sacrifice this whole kingdom to You, and will give up all this wealth and property. Merciful God, take me into Your refuge! Cut my chains and make me happy!"155 Hearing this, Karunamai, like many times before, told Indra Mati to bring all the materials for the ārti-chaukā and perform, for this she will be given the Nām and initiation. Indra Mati answered saying: "You have given happiness to me-the lonely one-and with Your grace I

150 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 109. 151 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 112. 152 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 113. 153 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 114. 154 Ibid. Them is referring to the sons of Kāl, i.e Brahma, Śiva and Viṣṇu. 155 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 116.

4 4 have recognized the fathomless Lord. O Lord, now I've recognized You!-surely You are Sat Purush. Sat Purush, Who has created the planes, has graciously showered grace on me.”156 Karunamai tells Indra Mati that she is still not safe from the grasp of Kāl and that he will try to trick her into giving him devotion. Karunamai explained that Kāl will become a snake and try to poison Indra’s mind. Furthermore, Kāl will come for Indra again, this time disguised as a holy man, telling her: “O Queen, recognize me. My name is Gyani and I'm the destroyer of Kal.”, in order to protect herself, Karunamai instructs her to “Day and night repeat the Naam of mine, and what can Kal do? Keep yourself connected to Naam until your destiny is completed.”157 Indra Mati answered: “I request one thing of you, O Swami, as You are the All-Conscious Lord. Kal will harass me as a snake, and then he will come in the form of a high soul: O Lord, please come again to me, and then take my soul to Sat Lok!”158 Karunamai was right, and soon after Indra Mati was attacked by a snake and later approached by a Sadhu claiming to be Gyani. However, remaining true she recited the Nām and saw beyond the illusion of Kāl. Karunamai could not stand idly by and brought her to Sat Lok. Indra Mati was then brought in front of Sat Puruṣ who gave her darśan, sight of .

The Queen said, "This is surprising! I can't see any difference. Whatever qualities I saw in the Sat Purush, in Karunamai also I see every single one! Running, she-the wise soul-touched the Feet and said, O Lord, now I know all your character. You are the Sat Purush and You called Yourself the servant. Where did you hide this Glory? In my mind I know this for sure: that You are the Sat Purush and nobody else is. I have seen this after coming here. I hail You, O Competent One, Who woke me up.159

Kali Yuga - Incarnation of Kabīr The time of oppression came, the Kali yuga had begun and once more Gyani came to save the souls. This time on arrival Kāl Niranjan was deeply afraid, since Gyani never had fully

156 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 117. Italic done by me. 157 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 118-119. 158 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 118-119. Italic done by me. 159 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 125. Italic done by me. The text follows the hymn; “O Abode of Mercy, You are the Blessed One. Your wise Naam is the remover of worries. You are indescribable, unmoveable, immortal, steady, pure, glorious and endless. You are without doubts, selfless, the support of the world, nameless, firm and indestructible. O Lord, You are the beginning of everything, and maker of all the creatures.” Ibid. From both versions it is possible, and maybe, not entirely wrong, to draw the conclusion that Kabīr has gone from being created by Sat Puruṣ to being the creator himself…?

4 5 manifested in the yugas before, Kāl tries to reassure himself that his bindings of the world is to strong, but still he wonders why he can not win over Gyani:

“My power doesn't work with You, because with Your Power the souls go back to their home. Now again You are going into the world, but no one will listen to Your Shabda. I have created such and illusions that no one can find a way out from them. I have created the ghost of illusion in every house and, deceiving the souls, I am making them dance. The ghost of illusion has possessed all of them-but those who recognize You, their illusion goes away. All humans eat flesh and drink wine, and all kinds of flesh are favorites of theirs. I have manifested my own path and all men eat flesh and drink wine. The worship of goddesses, yogis, and spirits is the illusion which the world has taken up. Binding them in many kinds of traps, I make them unconscious at their end-time.”160

Gyani answered that, yes, much of this is true, Kāl has become very powerful and his illusions have trapped countless souls. However, Gyani stresses that all traps laid by Kāl may be dispelled with the Śabda and by the power of Nām all will be liberated. This made Kāl truly scared which led him attempting to play tricks on Gyani. Kāl asks Gyani about the of his signs, about how Gyani will come into the world and if he can be taught the true Śabda and be the disciple of Gyani: “O Dharam Rai! How deceitful you are! On the surface you say that you are my servant, and within you is only deception. I will not give you the hidden secret, as Sat Purush has not ordered me to do so. In the Kali Yuga My name will be Kabir, and by saying 'Kabir' the soul can be sure that Yama will not come near.”161 Kāl answered that he in turn, when not given the Śabda, will lead souls astray in the name of Kabīr by establishing a Panth which will only show the path of illusions. Kāl then vanishes, going back to his void.162 Kabīr started his journey upon earth and found himself at the temple, in Orissa, Puri. There Kriṣṇa had, during a long time, tried to establish himself as the king of the world by telling the King Indradaman to build him his temple. The King had done so, six times he had constructed the temple, however, the angry ocean came, again and again it tore down the temple. Kabīr heard the story of the angry ocean and told the King to once more

160 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 134. 161 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 136. Italic done by me. 162 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 136.

4 6 build the temple and when it had been done so Kabīr went down to the water and waited. The Ocean came in a raging speed and raw power, however, upon seeing Kabīr’s darśan it stopped, turned itself into a Brahmin and went up to the shore and grasped Kabīr’s feets: “O Lord, I have come here to flood the Jagannath. Forgive my sin. Now I have got your secret.”163 Kabīr instead told the Ocean to go and destroy the temple of Viṣṇu in Dwarka. The Brahmin of the temple dreamt that Kabīr had been sent by the Lord to the shore in order to save the temple, the next morning the Brahmin went down to the ocean to behold this ‘Das Kabīr’, however, his darśan was nowhere to be found. In anger the Brahmin went back to the temple, cursing and creating mischief, what kind is not explained. When he had entered his temple, all the images had turned into the image of Kabīr.164 The last remaining parts of the stories are not so much about Kabīr divinity as it is about establishing the Dharmadasī line of succession, which previously have been mentioned in unit two.

Summary: Anurāg Sāgar The image of Kabīr, which has been outlined in accordance to the legendary stories found within the Anurāg Sāgar, shows great influences from the puraṇic cum Vaiṣṇava ideals of avatar doctrines. The avatars in these stories, such as Kriṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā or Rām in the Rāmāyaṇ, all manifest their worldly bodies by their own choices and later withdraws from the mortal world. The same goes for Kabīr, as displayed above, as he not only in the Kali Yuga manifests himself upon earth, but also in the Satya, Treta and Dwapara Yuga in order to protect the Jīvas being consumed and entangled in the illusions of Māyā and Kāl. In three out of the four cases, Kabīr’s essence is based upon that of Gyani, the first creation of Sat Puruṣ, and from these creations Gyani is displayed as being from the essence of Sat Puruṣ. However, in the Dwapar Yuga this is not the sole case, as seen in the story of the Queen Indra Mati who does not only see Kabīr as a part of the same essence of Sat Puruṣ, instead sees Kabīr as the essence: “O Lord, now I've recognized You! -surely You are Sat Purush. Sat Purush, Who has created the planes, has graciously showered grace on me.”165 In all the four Yugas Kabīr, not only, finds himself imbued with supernatural qualities as the manifestation of Sat Puruṣ upon the world, he also proclaims a true teaching to man and places his teachings in contrast to that of the Ortodox teachings of Hinduism. Kabīr refers, rather often, to the astray and the sons of Māyā and Kāl as simply, ignorant and

163 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 138. 164 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 139. 165 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 117. Italic done by me.

4 7 themself being trapped. In contrast Kabīr is the only truth and salvation. The Anurāg Sāgar not only stresses, on the one hand the divine form of Kabīr, also, on the other, the chaukā-ārtī ritual and the initiation into the Kabīr Panth as the sole way towards liberation of the Jīvas. On some occasions there is also mentions of image worship, many a times discarded as falseness, simply being the illusion created by māyā which is being upheld by Brahma, Viṣṇu and Mahesha, however, in the story of Jagannath temple, Kabīr himself changes all the images in the temple to that of his own image.166 In the previous unit, there has been discussions regarding both the rituals and praxis found within the Kabīr Panth, which have had, and still has, a somewhat dubious relation in the sant tradition. Worshiping stones and conducting rituals, as said by Kabīr himself is, simply putting it, ‘vain-glory’ and ‘foolishness’, however it still finds its ways into the very fabric of Kabīr legends found in the Anurāg Sāgar. Uma Thukral in her article, The Avatar Doctrine in the Kabīr Panth (1995), stresses the question of ‘what is behind the deification of Kabīr? and what is the aim of establishing him as an avatar?’ She do answers these proposed questions, however, she speculates that by appropriating Vaiṣṇava ideals and storytelling the Kabīr Panth could possibly gain more popularity and attract converts from within the region.167 It has also been speculated by Ramdas Lamb that parts of the Kabīr Panth, mainly the Dharmadasī branch of Chhattisgarh,̣ to differentiate and distance themself from other contemporary sects.168 The avatar inspired legends, created by the Dharmadasī, has met great opposition from many of the other śakhas, especially from that of the Kabīr Chaurā, which in according to Archay Vivek Das sees the Dharmadasīs and its litteratur simply as lies in order to promote their own agenda of rituals and image worship.169 Nevertheless, ‘lies’ or not, the creation of the Anurāg Sāgar shows the attempt in fostering Sanskritization since it does not only create the image of Kabīr as a divine avatar, which the can be popularized through the already established Saguṇa traditions of Greater traditions, it also gives explicit details of rituals and initiation into the Kabīr Panth as a crucial step in becoming liberated from the world. Since the aim of Sanskritization is to gain upward mobility within the socio-religious hierarchy of the varṇa-system, these images of Kabīr and the conducting of rituals and initiation may

166 Kumar, B. Raj. (1995), p 139. 167 Thukral, Uma. The Avatar Doctrine in the Kabīr Panth. In Lorenzen, David N. (red.) (1995). Bhakti religion in North India: community identity and political action. p 221-226. 168 Lamb, Ramdas (2002), p 50. 169 Hess, Linda (2015), p 339.

4 8 serve just that purpose for the low-born castes, which as previously discussed, make up the majority of members found within the Kabīr Panth.

3.2 Kabīr in the Bījak of Kabīr In the following unit there will be an outline of three specific chapters or angas found within the Bījak of Kabīr; that of Ramainī (saying), Śabda (word) and Sākhī (witness). Why these three angas have been chosen is simply because in the multitude of distinct Bījaks found, many angas may vary in size and content.170 However, these three angas seem to be coercive and found within several versions of the Bījak. The Bījak is considered, in accordance with tradition, to be the most authentic and important saying of Kabīr, however, when it was compiled is still a mystery. There has been speculation of it being produced either, according to Westcott, around the year 1570 or, according to Chaturvedi, around the beginning of the seventeenth century.171 Either way, it must have been compiled after the passing of Kabīr and since he was, and said so himself, illiterate he could not have written it himself: “I touch not ink nor paper, nor take pen in my hand, Of the greatness of the four ages Kabir has given instruction with his lips.”172

Ramainī In the first part of the Ramainī, Kabīr tells the story about the creation of the eternal Sat Puruṣ and the creation of the three worlds of Kāl and Māyā, time and illusion, which roughly follows the outlines already introduced above. Much of the Ramainī may be understood as a call for truth, made by Kabīr in an attempt to awaken the souls, or Jīvas, of man who now harvest the bitter fruits, following the creation of the three world, as they are trapped within the illusion:

“Niranjan is invisible, none can see him : in his bondage all are bound. The falsehood wherein they, [man], are bound is manifest : they think the false to be true. He has bound all fast and made them serve with ritual. Exempt from himself he lives aloof. He has made six Ashrams of the six Darshanas : from these six juices, rejected as bad. He tells of four trees and of six branches, and science past numbering. By the he gives yet more instructions : in them one sees nor end nor

170 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 57-58. 171 Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974), p 56-57. 172 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śakhī, 188, p, 202.

4 9 beginning. Spells, pilgrimages, fasts and worship of evil spirits : almsgiving, many other good deeds are taught”173

Kabīr erges man to give up the falsehood found within the scriptures of the three sons, Brahma, Viṣṇu and Śiva, which has been manifested upon earth; “Veda and Purana are the mirror of the blind.” and “He reads the Vedas and then he destroys lives.”174 Reading and following the laws which have been given man by the so called ‘Gods’, one only gets astray. Only the man who has not read, or has thrown the scriptures away, is able to follow the right path: “He who has escaped from the thirty-four letters : knows sin from .”175 Many times over, the revealed scriptures, which Kabīr, frequently reference to in order to give insults towards high-born castes, as they take pride in being in the highest of hierarchies among the common mass: “Revealed or manifest, there is but one stamp: whom can you call Brahman and whom Sudra? Let no false pride mislead you : that Hindu and Turk are of different family is false.”176 It is often the Brahmins who find themselves in Kabīr's crosshair and may be given, almost exclusively, the blame for leading man astray: “Pandits have gone astray reading and studying the Vedas : they do not know the secret of their own selves.” and “They do misdeeds and boast their deeds are virtues: they study the Vedas and expound them to the world.” Further “Those who give religious discourses : rise early in the morning and utter lies. Lies in the morning and lies in the evening : lies have settled in their heart.”177 Not only are the high-born blamed for being entangled in Kāl and Māyā they are also given blame for upholding them. One of the most pivotal points given by Kabīr in the Ramainī is the discussion of caste, caste here simply being an illusion of Māyā and the creation of the three sons: “If thou thinkest the Maker distinguished castes : birth is according to these penalties for dees. [...] If you milk black and yellow cows together : will you be able to distinguish their milk?”178 Those who uphold the idea of caste have not realized the creator, as Kabīr argues: “They perished who did not recognise the creator : they perished who gave their mind to others.”179 The only way, according to Kabīr, to break away from these thoughts of pride and highness is to “renounce honour, renounce boasting : then pride of your mind,

173 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 22, p, 64. Ashrams of the six Darshana - stages of life. four trees - the Vedas. The six branches are the six branches of science, Shastras. Ibid. 174 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 32, 30 p, 69, 68. 175 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 24, p, 65. There are thirty-four ‘letters’ in the devanagari alphabet. 176 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 26, p, 66. 177 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 35, 56, 61 p, 70, 80, 81. 178 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 62, p, 82. 179 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 63. p, 82.

5 0 [illusion], will be broken [...] If one pursues riches and worldly honour : that plant brings him again into the world.”180 However angry Kabīr may be expressed, he still shows great pity upon many of the souls who are lost, astray from the truth, and it is almost as if he is saddened by the state of the world: “None heeds my teaching : how shall they escape the net of error?”181 Salvation is near if one truly seeks it, however, one has to throw away the ‘four-fold blanket’, i.e the Vedas, which keeps man blind. To truly be in service of the Lord is, many times, equal to being in service to the Guru and keeping company with the Sants: “He to me is a beloved friend : who leads into right paths those who have lost the road.” and “You never kept the company and fellowship of Sants : thus with your own hand you have thrown away your life. [...] Now you will have your aboud in hell : because every day you remain in the company of the false.”182 The importance of good company cannot be stressed enough and Kabīr many times expresses, rather harshly, why some are false and some are good: “They alone are Sant and Sadhu, who obey my bidding : They will see with open eyes the beginning and the end, creation and destruction.183 It is up to Kabīr to take responsibility in awakening the souls of man, or he claims it as his sole purpose: “For this cause do I speak, that you may find escape.” and “Four ages have passed since first I proclaimed it : now before whom shall I cry aloud.” Further, Kabīr’s proclamations are the secret of the world: “The Bijak tells the secret of that treasure which is hidden.”184 To be dear to Kabīr one has to know Rām, otherwise you are a lost soul, as it is expressed in several Ramainīs.185 Who is this Rām which Kabīr refers to constantly as the truth? Well Rām “was not born in the family of Dasarath : He did not lay waste the King of Lanka. [...] He did not assume on earth the form of a boar : nor by slaying the Kshattris rid the earth of Ksahatris. [...] He did not swim the river in the form of fish or tortoise.”186 The true Rām, according to Kabīr, is boundless and is in all forms the same time as it has none. To understand Rām in everything and not differentiate duality in the world, only then may the soul join the ocean of bliss.187 However, it has to be stressed that the strife is not to be indifferent to the world,

180 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 60, p, 81. 181 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 52, p, 78. 182 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 66, 44, p 84, 74. 183 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 58, p, 81. 184 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 60, 14, 37, p, 81, 60, 71 185 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 27, 62, 67, 76-77, 83, p 67, 82, 84, 89, 92. 186 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 75, p, 88. Kabīr is here referring to the doctrine of the ten avatars of Viṣṇu. Kabīr’s Rām is not this earthly dweller in form of saguṇa but the boundless dweller. 187 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 68, p 85

5 1 simply passing by without feeling anything, the aim with it is rather to understand the essence of the creator in everything, werther bad or good:

“He who considers sorrow and delight to be equal : his state not even Indra knows. [...] Paradise and hell are alike : kingdom and throne the Sant counts but a ruin. The fire of hell, the cool fragrance of sandal to him are one : to him the madman is as the wise. [...] When the two have become one, to which shall I then show preference?” 188

Śabda The sayings of Kabīr, found within the Śabda, correspond greatly with that of the core message found in the Ramainī, however, some main pointers have shifted. The creation, already established in the former anga, is not the hub of interest here, it is rather the teaching, preached by Kabīr, which serves as the epitome. Still, Kabīr indicates that the Jīvas, souls, are deeply trapped within Kāl and Māyā, time and illusion: “Listen, O Sants : the world is astray in delusion. The infinite, Boundless, the Perfect : that state is found by few.”189 Many are at fault for not accepting the teachings of Kabīr and many a times it is blamed on the “stubbornness of men” which leads to the lack of faint in Kabīr as “Men say Kabir has gone far away. But few, the steadfast, know the truth. and “They keep away from one who speaks truth, and are the bond-slaves of liars.”190 The ‘stubbornness of men’ may also be that of clinging onto the illusion of caste, pride, creed and religion which is invoked in several verses:

“Vain-glorious of authority you make me to be circumcised : never will I endure it, brother. If it is God that makes thee to be circumcised, why came this cutting not of itself? [...] By putting on the sacred thread one becomes Brahman. What hast thou given to women to wear? She from birth is but a Sudra, why dost thou eat the food she brings, O Pande. Hindu and Turk, whence have you come? Who started this path? [...] Leave these distractions, meditate on , O foolish mind : you deal with violence.”191

188 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Ramainī, 71, p 86. 189 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 46, p 117. 190 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 55-56, 109, 113, p, 121, 147, 149. The Truth or teaching of Kabīr has previously been introduced on several occasions, however, if one wants to freshen the memory, see the “Principles or commandments of the Kabir Panth” which follows many of the sayings found in the Bījak, found in attachments 2a-2b. 191 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 84, p, 135.

5 2 Claiming superiority, based on the assumptions of scriptures and caste, none is saved if one does not remember Rām every moment. The world is full of such lies based on the duality of man, religion and God. Kabīr constantly, in his verses, tries to unify these differences as he sees them as nothing more than creations of Māyā: “Hari’s dwelling is the east : Allah’s abode is in the west. Seek him in your heart : there see Him : there is Karim and rama. [...] O Kabir, the son of Allah and of Rama, he is my Guru and my Pir.”192 The creator is above the three worlds and other thoughts on the matter are false, according to Kabīr, as “there is here no universe and no creator” and “He has neither caste, nor .”193 In the case of priests and Brahmins Kabīr, again, has much to say. As in the verses found in the Ramainī, so here in the Śabdas are blamed for spreading thoughts of purity versus impurity, living as hypocrites and preaching falseness of eternal life found in their respective creed: “Who of men did not die? O pandit, speak and make this plane to me. Dead is Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesha : dead is , the son of . [...] Dead is , dead is the maker. One only did not die, the Creator.” Further, “O Pandit, all your talking is a lie. If by repeating Rama’s name the world is saved, then by repeating ‘sugar’ the mouth is sweetened. [...] Without touch, without sight, without feeling, merely taking the name, what is that? [...] Unless one sings the One Rama, he will go bound to the city of Yama, i.e death.194 The verses full of utterings about Pandits ignorance and foolishness are plentyfull, however, those who understand and realize their deceit are praised as Sants. Nonetheless, one can not simply become a wise sant on his own accord, and even more, a sant cannot travel the road without a guide, the Guru. The Guru, both the Satguru and the human guru plays an increasingly important role in the Śabdas, more so than in the Ramainī and it is many times referred to as: “The Guru is as polish on the mirror.” and “They alone are saved whom the Guru has awakened.” Further “The error will cease when the Guru is found.”195 However, a Guru who teaches the truth is hard to come by, and many a times Kabīr contradicts his own statements as he claims that “The Guru of this Kali Yug is full of wiles : by the robbery he practises he slew the whole world.” Further Kabīr lifts himself up as being one of the few Gurus who understand the truth:

192 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 97, p 142. 193 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 43, 98, p, 115, 142. 194 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 45, 40, p 116, 114. 195 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 86, 5, 115, p, 137, 96, 150.

5 3 “Kabir says, those swans were not misled, whom I met and proved their Saviour.”196 In the whole universe Kabīr claims to be the only ‘swan’ as the rest are simply ‘crows’ and is lifted to be one of the few enlightened: “The Eternal Purusha bade me to sit beside Him. Kabir entered into Light.”197 It is, simply putting it, the Path of Kabīr as the guru which leads to salvation.

Sākhī

“Kabir says, He who has not real word, an accursed life he lives. Beaten by the word some have fallen, and some have resigned dominion : They have discerned the world, their work was perfected. My word is from eternity : meditate thereon moment by moment. It will bear fruit within, all the outward is vanity.”198

By far the most poetic of the three angas, the Sākhī, i.e, witnesses, is a blend between popular wisdom cum storytelling in the form of two-four line couplets, which traditionally can both be sung or spoken. The Sākhī is Kabīr's witness of the world, its state and the truth, hence the name. In contrast to the two former angas, the Sākhī, is not filled with harsh rhetoric of man's ignorance and blames unto whom leads the Jīvas astray. Instead Kabīr stresses the importance of realization of the truth before it is too late: “Youth, age and childhood passed : now the fourth stage is come.” and “If you care for your welfare, then awake : the boat has touched the shore.” Rather concerning, Kabīr says: “Birth as man is priceless : it cannot be a second time. A ripe fruit which has fallen cannot again grow on the branch.”199 If one never seizes the opportunity given when being born as a man, i.e human, one is destined to repeat the painful cycle of birth and rebirth: “Death after death the whole world died: yet none knows how to die. None ever died in such a wise as never to die again.”200 To become wise one has to find the true Guru, i.e Sat Guru, otherwise without the Guru, man “rushes restlessly in all directions.”201 The imagery found within the Sākhī regarding the true Guru and His beauty is deeply entwined with the path of salvation, only found when man gives the Guru his/hers complete

196 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 32, p 111. 197 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 86, 64, p, 135, 126. 198 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 5-7, p 184. Italic made by me. 199 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 348, 413 115, p 217, 224, 195. Italic made by me. 200 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 332, p 215. 201 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 247, p 208.

5 4 surrender: “The disciple must be one who gives all he has to the Guru.” and to look upon the Guru’s image as the chukar gazes at the moon at night; “The Guru entered into the disciple : unbroken love prevails. No separation can sander them : they are two bodies but one soul.”202 However, the path to the Guru is hard and many do not know the way: “Rama’s cliff is very high : thereon Kabir has climbed. They say to me ‘O Kabir, come down : you have with neither provision nor guide. If your provision fail, your feet be weary, the Jiva will be in the power of another.’ The house of Kabir is on the mountain peak, where the path is winding.”203 In order to merge with the Guru one has to accept the teaching of Kabīr, he proclaims: All forest and all oceans are of me : I make lover and beloved one. Now are they on the road of Kabir : let the travellers go thereon.”204 Even though the path of Kabīr is hard, his wisdom, according to the Sākhī, greater than all else: “Praise to that milk, whence comes the ghi. Half a Sakhi of Kabir is the life of four Vedas.” Further the teaching is easy which Kabīr conveys: “Renounce self and recite the name of Hari.”205 To merge oneself with the Guru the disciple has to have within him a pure heart of truth. This is the massage Kabīr brings from the Guru:

“I, [God], describes the unseen unseen, [māyā], I describe the seen, [Eternal Puruṣ], I describe the unborn, [Niranjan] to thee. O Kabir, I describe all, but none describes me. [...] Learn to know your own true maker : believe my words. Within the five elements, of whose power was this wide display? Of the whole universe am I the maker : above me there is no second.”206

Understanding this truth, which Kabīr tries to teach to men, is to understand oneself and merge together with the Maker. Therefore, the only way to truly escape the world is to “Make your Guru your armourer : he will scour clean your mind. With the chain of his word he will burnish, and your mind will become like a mirror.”207

202 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 422, 415, 416, p 225, 224. (415: The Guru’s image is as the moon, the disciple the chakor. Moment by moment let them fix their gaze upon the Guru’s image.) 203 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 31-33, p 187. 204 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 61, p, 190. 205 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 132, 138, p 197. Ghi is the hindi word for clarified butter. 206 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 361-365, p 219. 207 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 161, p 199.

5 5 Summary: Bījak of Kabīr The image of Kabīr, found in the outlining of the Bījak presented above, is not as vividly explained or colourfully given, as in the case of the legendary retellings found within the Anurāg Sāgar. However, in the three angas several attributes given Kabīr are found and shall here be discussed. As expressed by Kabīr, he was illiterate, however, this as he claims is excellent since the one ‘who has escaped from the thirty-four letters knows sin from virtue.’ Kabīr does not only stress the virtue of man when not relying on the orthodox scriptures it is also the case that, being able to read, only serves the vain-glory and pride expressed by high-born castes. In contrast to the Anurāg Sāgar, caste is taken into greater consideration to be one of the many downfall of men entrapped within the worldly illusions. This is many times expressed in reference to that of the Maker not distinguishing caste or creed. A very angry and frustrated Kabīr is found in the earlier chapters wherein he expresses, harshly, his resentment of Brahmins as they are nothing more than false gurus who lead the world astray. His resentment of pilgrimage, rituals and giving praise to stones also play an important part in giving the attribute of a purer form of religion preached by Kabīr. These thoughts of ‘mine and thine’ are simply pride getting in the way of unity. Unity between man, especially, that of unity between religions are important factors: “The Hindus says ‘Rama is my beloved’ the Turk ‘Rahman is mine.’ They have lost their lives ever quarrelling one with another : none understands the secret.”208 However, it is also in this anger of men not knowing the truth that Kabīr’s worries shine through, as he on several occasions stresses the importance to understand the truth before it is too late, since the ‘fallen fruit cannot reattach itself to the branch of the tree’. Since Kabīr, in the angas, never descends upon earth, or for that matter, has divine attributes or powers, his means of persuasions are boiled down to simply preaching the way by discussion since he is not able to “show” the way into Sat Lok as he does in the Anurāg Sāgar, by pulling one’s soul from the body, straight into Mansarovar. The considerable contrasting attributes given Kabīr in the books of Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak is the presentation of the idea of Kabīr’s divinity. Despite the fact that Kabīr in the Bījak differs deeply on the arguments of avatars and puranic doctrines from that of the Kabīr in the Anurāg Sāgar, some hints still seeps through. In the Sākhī it is written: “I have given Sakhis in bundles, but in all four ages only two letters.” Further, “In all the four ages have I

208 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Śabda, 4, p 95.

5 6 proclaimed it : but doubt still fills their hearts.”209 These few examples should however not stain the image of Kabīr as a promoter of avatarism, instead, as the examples in the Bījak are so few, be regarded more to that of the teaching that has been proclaimed in all the four ages and maybe not by Kabīr himself.

209 Ahmad Shah. (1917). Sākhī, 117, 305, p 195, 213.

5 7 4 Creating Kabīr: Final remarks and conclusion The Purpose of this paper, as previously stated, was to examine how followers of Kabīr construct the image of Kabīr, and themselves, in accordance with literature, myth, rituals and praxis. Following this purpose, the questions I set out to answer was how the images of Kabīr are constructed within the Kabīr Chaurā Maṭh and the Dharmadasī śākhā, and additionally examine how these images of Kabīr constructed, can be understood through the lens of Sanskritization which followed the theory established by Indian sociologist Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas. In order to explore these proposed questions; three units of analysis has been conducted and these units have followed the outlining of; (1) myth and legends: Life of Kabīr, (2) the praxis and ritual within the Kabīr Chaurā and Dharmadasī śākhā, (3) the attributes ascribed to Kabīr in the Anurāg Sāgar and the Bījak of Kabīr. The outline of Kabīr’s life, found in myth and legends, were presented in the first unit of analysis and gave the insight of how these legends displays rather consistently, a process of Hinduization of Kabīr’s Muslim heretige. In, almost exclusively all, the legends of Kabīr’s life, it is found that the idea of him being Muslim is contest, or rather a dispute regarding the idea of him being born by a muslim and into a Muslim family. Further, the majority of the legendary retellings share accounts, similar to that of avatar doctrines found in contemporary Greater-traditions, as Kabīr, many times is not born into the world from an materialised womb, instead he descends, or in the case of Bhaktavijay, was put upon earth by the God Viṣṇu himself. His birth or ‘stepping in’ may not only serve the cause of Kabīr’s Hinduization, it may also strengthen the socio-religious hierarchy, which is the case within Brahmalinasmuni’s legendary retelling of Kabīr’s life, wherein Kabīr proclaims, that He and he alone will obtain salvation when understanding the proper conduct of the varṇas as taught in the Vedas and whom gain knowledge through purity. In this fashion of reasoning, it is displayed, rather obviously, not only as a way by which Kabīr can be recreated, but also how the legendary accounts created may, in greater extent, foster Brahmanization or shift the focal point towards that of the religious hierarchy found in the system of varṇāśramadharma. However, deviating as the stories of Kabīr’s mythical appearance upon earth may be, most legends share the common conception of him either, on the one hand been adopoted by the Muslim couple of Nima and Niru, or on the otherhand, came from a Brahmana-varṇa or that of a divine background. Nevertheless, born Muslim or not, all legends sooner or later leads

5 8 towards the same trail, whereon Kabīr, meets the Vaiṣṇava guru Rāmananda and gets initiation as his diciple. Linking Kabīr with the traditional Vaiṣṇava teachings, received from Rāmananda, also serves as a point of departure in the creation of religious rites and practices, as many of these rites and praxis share similar elements originated from that of the Vaiṣṇava tradition, found in unit two of the analysis. The writings found in the Bījak attributed to Kabīr, however, shows great opposition towards that of rituals and praxis towards those found, both within the muslim fate and that of orthodox Hindu tradition. These examples of oppositions generally regards those of, caste or varṇa, pilgrimage, image worship and thoughts of purity versus impurity. During the early stages of the Kabīr Panth’s formation, the Panth relied heavily upon that of the traditions established by the nirguṇī-Sants who based their preaching on equality, the abolishment of the varṇāśramadharma-system, which was stressed by high-borne castes, who in this, were fueling their own hegemonic ideology. However, soon enough great change occurred within the Kabīr Panth, reason being that, while the tradition of Kabīr grew and spread throughout North India it also led to raptures within the newly established tradition. Many broke away from each other and established for themselves their own śākhās. This schism was followed by the creations of legends and myth of origin as to which śākhā was the original, in order to legitimize their own hierarchical position and unto whom the right was given by Kabīr himself to spread the teaching. In the aftermath of this schism, the various śākhās began to further adapt and conform to the socio-religious milieu it found itself in. This readjustment within the various socio-religious climates, made for greater change and the internal essence of the śākhās began to change. On the one hand some have emulated, in various degrees, forms of Brahmanization when exposed to regions with higher forms of orthodox Hindu traditions, and on the other hand, results of lower forms of Brahmanization and caste-rules have been found where competition of religious supremacy are seldom to be found. Nevertheless, both the śākhās of Kabīr Chaurā and Dharmadasī have, over a long period of time, adopted rules of behaviour, code of conducts and the performance of rituals. Many which mirror those found within the tradition of Vaiṣṇava, such as the chaukā-ārtī, ritual of initiation, the wearing of Tilak and a rosary necklace, adopting vegetarian dietary, etc. Several times, these rituals and praxises found are have also displayed being imbued with image worship, thoughts of purity versus impurity, caste hierarchy and pilgrimage, which, if taken into consideration the preaching of the Sants, places the Kabīr Panth in great opposition

5 9 to the inner faith and moral integrity of Kabīr’s tradition. However, taking into consideration the dalits and low-born Śudras, who themselves stand as the majority of members found within the Kabīr Panth: These rituals and codes of conduct may serve as a tremendous opportunity to foster Sanskritization when they, by initiation, are given the opportunity to, not only, change their way of religious praxis and behaviour towards that of upper caste traditions, but also change the way they perceive themselves. To recreate or to reimagine Kabīr along with his teaching has also found its way, not only into the first unit of analysis, but also in that of the third, especially when taking in consideration the discussion held in the light of the Anurāg Sāgar. The literature created by the Dharmadasīs, frequently, displays greater forms of Sanskritization, or at the least, fostering of Hindunization and Brahmanization, than their counterparts found at Kabīr Chaurā. The image of Kabīr, constructed within the Anurāg Sāgar, draws inspiration heavily from that of the contemporary Vaiṣṇava ideals and storytelling found, and immensely more so than the Kabīr found in the Bījak. As previously stated, this image of Kabīr, created by the Dharmadasī, is said to be able to serve various needs, however, three has here been pinpointed. (1) Either that of an attempt to attract converts during the etablashion of the Dharmadasī śākhā, which, could conveniently be done, when adapting and following the outlines of already established Greater saguṇa traditions. (2) It could serve as a means to distinguish the śākhā, both from the Kabīr Chaurā śākhā and not to mention, other contemporary sects, already found, throughout the regions. (3) By constructing the image of Kabīr as a supreme God, or in some measure, sharing the essence of Sat Puruṣ and following the outlines drawn by that of already established orthodox Hindu traditions, Dharmadasī śākhā can use Kabir as a tool form Sanskritization, or at the minimum, position themselves together with Greater-traditions, while simultaneously joining Kabīr with the Hindu pantheon in order to gain upward momentum within the socio-religious hierarchy. In contrast to this image presented in the Anurāg Sāgar, which displays a rather successful attempt to deify Kabīr, the Bījak, cannot to the same extent be understood as an equivalent attempt to reconstruct Kabīr as a pursuit to foster Sanskritization. In the three angas found in the Bījak, there is neither mention of any divine interventions when discussing Kabīr’s birth or alleged rebirth, nor is Kabīr given any supernatural abilities or godly status. Instead Kabīr is given a charismatic status, even that of divine guru, but never, in outspoken form, a divine being. However, the preaching of Kabīr found within the Bījak has been used as a source for the bountiful numbers of rules, codes of conduct and rituals,

6 0 appearing with great importance within the Kabīr Panth. These established rules, codes or rituals have and still are, however, appear as viable conditions for the fostering of Sanskritization. I would argue, following the theory of Srinivas along with the drafts and arguments found, both here in the conclusion and throughout this paper. That the image of Kabīr, combined with the recognition and discussion held in regard to the various legends, myths, construction of rituals, praxis and the maintaining of distinct, high-caste codes of conduct, along with religious behaviour, can be seen as having undergone profound changes of imagery with ascribed attributes, in order to foster, in various forms and degrees, Sanskritization, Hindufication and Brahmanization. However, these transformations or recreations and how heavily they draw inspiration from that of orthodox Hindu traditions, may, as seen, vary from one śākhā to the next. Even though it is possible to speculate on how and when these forms of Sanskritization first may have began to appear, and from which materials the image of Kabīr, created or recreated may draw inspiration from, the fact still remains that there are still plenty of holes, both in historical along with new empirical data, which both are scarcely to be found. To fill these holes is not, however, a straightforward task, especially that of finding new historical information. On the other hand, gathering new empirical data, from active members of the various Kabīr Panths, and conducting research on how their initiation has changed their own way of reimagining their identity. Further, the questions arise as to which legendary stories of Kabīr are most prominent within the many śākhās, especially that of Kabīr Chaurā? Is it simply that of the Bījak, or is the former mahant of the śākhā, Gangasharan Shasti’s Kabir Jivancharitra an alternative legendary retelling still used within the Panth or has it been fully discarded by the current mahant, Vivek Das? Since no śākhā or religious tradition, Greater or Little, either can nor should be viewed as a monolithic formation wherein no deviating components may play part, much is still to do on the subject of, not only the image of Kabīr, but also regarding, how individual members, or śākhās understand Kabīr, their śākhā and the traditions of Sants. Furthermore, explore how they, as both individuals and collective may place themselves in relation to Kabīr and to the Panth. Moreover, the question if they perceive themselves as fosterers of Sanskritization or if it is simply a question of adaptation and cultivating ideas found in specific socio-religious milieu into already established traditions has to, in the future, be more thoroughly researched.

6 1 References

Flood, Gavin. (1996). An introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

Gangasharan Shasti. (1976). Kabir Jivancharitra. Varanasi. Kabiravani Prakashan Kendra.

Griffith, Ralph. (1896). The Rig Veda. Kotagiri Nilgiri.

Helminski, Kabir. (2017). The pocket Rumi. Colorado: Shambhala publication.

Hess, Linda (2015). Bodies of song: Kabir oral traditions and performative worlds in Northern India. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hess, L. & Singh, S. (2002). The Bijak of Kabir. New York: Oxford University Press.

Juergensmeyer, Mark. “The Radhasoami Revival of the Sant Tradition.” In Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat. (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India (ed, pp 329-359). Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies.

Kaelble, H. (1999). Der historische Vergleich. Eine einführung zum 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Campus Verlag , Frankfurt a.M.

Kumar, B. Raj. (1995). The Ocean of love: The Anurāg Sāgar of Kabir, (4, edit). Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, (ed). Sant Bani Ashram Sanbornton, New Hampshire.

Lamb, Ramdas (2002). Rapt in the name: the Ramnamis, Ramnam, and untouchable religion in Central India. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press.

Lincoln, Bruce, Theorizing myth: narrative, ideology, and scholarship, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill., 1999.

Lorenzen, N. David. “The Kabir-Panth and Social Protest.” In Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat. (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India (ed, pp 281-305). Berkeley Religious Studies, Berkeley.

Lorenzen, N. David. (1991). Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das’s Kabir Parachai. Albany: State university of New York Press.

Lorenzen, David N. (1995). Bhakti religion in North India: community identity and political action. (ed.) Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.

6 2 Lorenzen, David N. (1996). Praises to a formless god: Nirguni texts from North India. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Malik, Jamal. (2008). Islam in South Asia: a short history, Brill, Leiden.

Nelson & Woods Jr. “Content analysis”. In Stausberg, Michael & Engler, Steven. (2011). The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion (ed, pp 109-122). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Schimmel, Annemarie. (1975). Mystical dimensions of Islam, Univ. of North Carolina P., Chapel Hill.

Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat. (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India, (ed). Berkeley Religious Studies, Berkeley.

Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). Caste in modern India and other essays. Bombay: J. K. Publishers.

Stausberg, Michael. “Comparison”. In Stausberg, Michael & Engler, Steven. (2011). The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion (ed, pp 21-40). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Shah, Ahmad. (1917). The Bijak of Kabir. Indian Press, Allahabad. Hamirpur, U.P.

Vaudeville, Charlotte. (1974). Kabīr. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Vaudeville, Charlotte. “Sant Mat: Santism as the universal path to sanctity.” In Schomer, Karine & McLeod, William Hewat. (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India (ed, pp 21-41). Berkeley Religious Studies, Berkeley.

Westcott, G.H. (1953). Kabir and the Kabir Panth, (2, edit). Susil Gupta, Calcutta.

Electronic sources:

Lorenzen, D. N. (1987) ‘Traditions of Non-Caste Hinduism: The Kabir Panth’, Contributions to Indian Sociology, 21(2), pp. 263–283. doi: 10.1177/006996687021002001. [2021-06-01].

Shabnam Virmani & Linda Hess (2004). 'To deify Kabir is to defuse his power' says Vivek Das. [Video], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMLIbkoDBn4. [2021-03-04].

6 3 Attachments

Fig, 1 Outlining of the chaukā ritual, found in Lorenzen, David N. (1996). “Praises to a formless God”.

6 4 Fig, 2a. Principles of the Kabir Panth, found in Shah, Ahmad. (1917). “The Bijak of Kabir.”

6 5 Fig, 2b Principles of the Kabir Panth, found in Shah, Ahmad. (1917). “The Bijak of Kabir.”

6 6 Fig, 3 Kabīr sitting on his throne, in front of him on the ground are Dharmadas and Surat Gopal. Image found in Shah, Ahmad. (1917). “The Bijak of Kabir.”

6 7