Sample Chapter

Chapter Three:

Kabir: The Path of Perfect Faith

For Ages past I have been Thy devotee:
How can I now be separated?
The harmony playing at Thy door,
becomes manifest in my forehead.
Kabir (Trans by K. Singh)

Kabir is regarded by many as one of the greatest Indian saints to bless the hallowed soil of India. A Sant saint and revolutionary figure whose life though still shrouded in myth and legend continues to influence and affect the spirituality of millions in the subcontinent of India and indeed the entire world. To this day even the time of his birth and death remain unclear and without historical validation. Yet the now legendary story of his death reveals his vision of transcendent unity and characteristic flaunting of meaningless superstition. According to his biographers, Kabir planned to enter maha samadhi—his conscious death, in the town of Magahar, considered by the orthodox Hindus of his era to be an extremely inauspicious place to die. In a poem-song complied in the work Kabir Bijak Kabir refers to the absurdity of such meaningless rituals:

You say that he who dies at Magahar will become a donkey,
Have you lost faith in Ram?
If Ram dwells in my heart,
What is Kashi? What is the barren ground of Magahar?
If Kabir leaves this body in Kashi,
What debt is owed to him?
(Shabda 103, 1972:145 Trans. by D. Lorenzen.)

As the poem narrates, Kabir breaks with Hindu tradition and purposely decides to die in Magahar instead of the holy city of Kashi, the “spiritually correct” place to die.
Immediately after his death, a dispute arose between his Hindu and Muslim followers as to what should be done with his body. According to their respective customs, the Hindus wanted to cremate Kabir; the Muslims want to bury him. Both the Muslims and Hindus at least agreed to cover Kabir's body with a full thirty-two cartloads of flowers. In clear view of all, these flowers were lovingly placed on, over and beneath the body, covering it so high and thick with flowers that his body was now invisible to his assembled devotees.

His followers, although sad at their Master's passing, were also overjoyed their teacher was now re-united with his beloved, Beloved God. A jubilant celebration was held as the Master's body lay-in-state on the dais. The joyous celebration continued long into the night until it was time to uncover the body and decide among themselves what to do with his body—burn or bury it.

To the amazement of all, Kabir's body simply vanished—only the flowers remained. Now the question of burning or burying the body was a mute one—apparently just the way Kabir wanted it! Even in his death, Kabir taught his disciples real worship is beyond the limitations of traditional rites and rituals, time and space. Real worship is an inner opening of the heart.

Throughout Kabir's verses as well as in the many legends and stories about him, he steadfastly reminds his listeners the essence of true spirituality and authentic worship is beyond blind performance of outer rites and rituals. Considered by many to be the father of modern spirituality in India, Kabir’s simple message is devoid of philosophical encumbrances and artifice. He dispensed with the superfluous mystique of other complex Indian philosophical systems and revealed the inner secret of the path to God which he called shahaja yoga. He taught that true worship was a matter of direct contact with the inner reality within, an experience everyone could have, regardless of caste, tradition, or religion.

At a time when Hinduism was reeling under the oppressive weight of excessive formalism and rigid caste structure, Kabir brought spirituality back to its transcendent core. In addition to reforming Hinduism, he also steered Islam away from zealous fanatics who sought to convert others at the point of the sword. Today, Kabir's verses are sung throughout the Asian subcontinent, found on the lips of both Islamic mullahs and Hindu pundits. Even present-day politicians, educators and artists dip into the treasure-house of Kabir's much-loved verses.