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Kabirdas
(1440 - 1518): Kabir lived in the 15th century. He was
a medieval muslim mystic, who is well remembered even today for his simple life and extraordinary devotional fervor. He lived in
Benares, the famous Hindu pilgrim center and led a very simple life as an ordinary weaver. Born to
Mohammadan parents, he came under the influence of the famous Hindu saint, Sri Ramananda and delved deep into the mysteries of Hindu mysticism. Not much is known about his birth and early childhood. But according to popular legends, he was a Muslim by birth but went beyond the religious bigotry of his times . A true worshipper of God, he emphasized the purity of mind
and selfless devotion to God. He openly opposed the weaknesses of both
Hinduism and Islam. The following verse amply illustrates his fearless assessment of these two religions
The
images are all lifeless, they cannot speak: I know, for I have cried aloud
to them.
The Purāna and the Koran are mere words: lifting up the curtain, I have
seen.
During his life time he composed many poems. They are usually two line couplets, known as
dohas, recited by many scholars even today to denote some deep philosophical truths. The Sikh Gurus found his verses especially appealing and incorporated as many as 740 of them into the Guru Granth Sahib, a clear indication that Kabir was a Spiritual Master par excellence. Kabir left behind him a legacy, but has very few followers today. It is unfortunate that he is remembered mostly in the academic circles and by a few admirers.
We have
presented in this section 100 songs of Kabir translated into English by
none other than Rabindranath Tagore, the mystic poet and the Noble Laureate.
| Source: 100 songs of Kabir translated into English by
Rabindranath Tagore, the first edition, published by The
Macmillan Company, 1915, New York. The text has been reformatted
for Hinduwebsite.com by Jayaram V who has also provided the
introduction. While we have taken every care to reproduce the text
accurately, we do not undertake any responsibility for any errors
or inaccuracies in reproducing the text. |
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