Kabı ̄r (1440–1512) was apparently born of a low-caste Muslim weaver who,
nonetheless, had contact with both Muslim and Hindu saints. His poetry,
composed in the Bhojpurı ̄ dialect, had a rustic, simple flavor. His songs and
religious vision incorporated aspects of Vais.n.avism, Hat.ha Yoga, Su ̄fı ̄sm, and
Veda ̄ntic monism: God was one but he had many names. The one way to
god was through bhakti, devotion. The enlightening vision of god (dars ́an)
was a gift of his grace. The self was purified by humility, renunciation, and
the praise of god in kı ̄rtan.(song) and meditation. Kabı ̄r was something
of an iconoclast as he attacked the “externals” of religion – for example,
the scriptures, whether the Pura ̄n.asor Qu‘ra ̄n, were less important than the
experience of the divine itself. Rituals, icons, caste, pilgrimages to various
sites were extraneous. In a famous verse he made fun of the unnecessary
strategies for attaining release: if celibacy were the way to enlightenment,
then eunuchs would be at the head of the line; if going around naked were
the way, shorn sheep would enter paradise immediately:
Go naked if you want,
Put on animal skins.
What does it matter till you see the inward Ram?If the union yogis seek
Came from roaming about in the buff,
every deer in the forest would be saved.If shaving your head
Spelled spiritual success,
heaven would be filled with sheep.And brother, if holding back your seed
Earned you a place in paradise,
eunuchs would be the first to arrive.Kabir says: Listen brother,
Without the name of Ram
who has ever won the spirit’s prize?***Pundit, how can you be so dumb?
You’re going to drown, along with all your kin,
unless you start speaking of Ram.146 Developments in the Late Medieval Period