Kabir the Guru – 2

Read Part 1 of this here.

Kabir lived in the 15^th century. But his poems and songs are still valued. Being illiterate, he didn’t write them. They were passed on orally until they were collected by certain enthusiasts into books. Vipul Rikhi’s book, Drunk on Love: The Life, Vision and Songs of Kabir, not only brings the songs and poems together in one volume but also seeks to impart the very spirit of Kabir to the reader.

Kabir is not just a name, the book informs us somewhere in the beginning. Kabir is a tradition. He is a legend, a philosophy, poetry and music. I would add that Kabir was a mystic. Most of his songs have something to do with spirituality. They strive to convey the deep meaning of reality. They also question the ordinary person’s practice of religion. They criticise the religious leaders such as pandits and mullahs.

Though a Muslim, Kabir was immensely taken up by Ram, the Hindu god, for reasons known only to him perhaps. Most of the songs are about the greatness of Rama. Kabir’s Rama is like Mahatma Gandhi’s Rama: a metaphysical idea rather than the human Rama of Valmiki. Kabir’s Rama, like Gandhi’s again, could be Rahim or any other god.

“Mecca is Varanasi again / And Ram has become Rahim.” Kabir sings. Devotees fail to see Rama within their own hearts. That’s the problem. Unable to see Rama within their hearts, devotees go seeking him outside – in temples or other places. This is the mistake. When you see Rama within you, all reality becomes sacred. You will see Rama in all reality. Incapable of such perception, “Hindus claim Ram is theirs / Muslims lay claim to Rehman / They fight and kill each other / Neither knows the essence.” Kabir laments.

He sang that in the 15^th century. We haven’t come much farther from that, have we? Kabir would say we are like the crowd in the market. They don’t understand that the stone lying in the mud is diamond. They trample over it. Then comes a jeweller. He understands the value of the stone and picks it up. He is enriched and the stone gets its right place. God is like that stone. Trampled upon by ignorant crowds.

Kabir’s God chides the devotee: “Where are you searching for me, O man? / I’m here, right next to you. / Neither in the holy place, nor in the idol / Nor am I in solitary habitation / Neither in the temple nor in the mosque / Nor am I in Mecca or Mount Kailash.”

Kabir can be blunt in his criticism of the ascetics. “O yogi, you dyed your robe ochre / But did not transform your mind / You went to the forest / You lit the holy fire / You smeared yourself with ash / Now you look like an ass!” [Does anyone come to your mind?]

Kabir is much needed in our time, especially in India. Vipul Rikhi has done a good job by presenting Kabir in this book. All of Kabir’s best songs and couplets are available in this slim volume of less than 300 pages. The last section gives the transliteration of the original Hindi versions. 

A page from the book