Kabir and his Followers

Among medieval saints and sadhus of India., Kabir occupies a prominent place with each passing century since his death, his name and fame have gained more istre and the wise utterances and couplets of this fustic philosopher are recifed and quoted, with equal reverence, both in peasants huts as well as in the mansions of the rich. Who was Kabir, andwhy is hereversed both by the Hindus and the Muslims of India it goes to the credit of the British Scholar that he chose Kabiras the subject for his thesis of doctorate from London University in the twenties of this century which was later revised by him and given the shape of the present volume. It is perhaps the best trealise existing on the life and doctrines of Kabir in English. Who was Kabir? The traditional data of hisbirth is AD 1398 on a Monday in the bright half of the month of jyeshing. He lived to be 119 years 5 months and 27 days and died in AD 1.518 at Maghar hot far from present Gorakhpur in Basti District. He predicted the perform his funeral files according to their respective faiths. When the door of his hut was opened nothing was to be found except two sheets and some flowers. The two disciples divided the flowers and two sheets between them. Raj Bir Sinha took his partion to Benares where he cremated it and buried the ashes at a spot what is now known as the Kabir Chaurg and the Nawab buried his portion of Maghar where a since was built in his memory. This fugged philosopher hotedk the superstitious practices of both Hindus and Muslims who were vehermenity chastised by him. Like Sociatese of old amongst the Greeks, he tried to penetrate behind the conventionalities of speechand popular ideas of the reality of things. He exposed with merclless severity the weak points of both Hinduism and Islam. He is probably the greatest exponent of the composite culture of India. The Adi-Gandth of the Sikhs contains many allusions to the events of his life. His verse embodles his remarkable teachings and his short didactic poems in Hindi are quoted all over India an examples of which is quoted as under. Mala pherat Yoga Gaya: Paya na mana ka pher kara ka monka chchanrikes; mona ka manka pher (As he revolves his rosary, life passes away and he knows not the secref of his hert. Throw away the rosary of the hand and revolve the rosary of the heart) Ja Ghata prema na base: ta ghat janu masan: Jaise Khala luhar ke: sans lefa bindu pran.(the ghat in which love dwells not, know that ghat to be a burning ghat (Masan) that heartis as the blacksniths’s bellows. Which breathe but have n o life. ) “If union with God be obtained bygoing about naked. All the beasts of the forest shall be saved’ what mattereth if whether man goeth naked or weareth a deerskin; if he recognize not God in his heart”. Even Western philosophers have started taking keen interest in Kabir nd his philosophy. Aifred Adier in his remarkable book what life should ean to you gives great credence to the original ideas and philosophy of Kabir.. The present volume is without exaggeration a unique work on Kabir and although it was first published in 1931. if continues to be a matchless work on the historical, social, biographical and philosophical ideas of kabir. He will continue to inspiregenerations not yet born.