Bhagat Kabir Das Ji and Guru Granth Sahib

Bhagat Kabir Das Ji and Guru Granth Sahib

Bhagat Kabir Das was a mystic Indian poet and saint in the 15^th century. His verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib. He is one of the medieval Indian saints of Bhakti and Sufi movement whose compositions contribute the largest in the holy book of Sikhs. There are 227 Padas in 17 ragas and 237 slokas. The presence of a substantial amount of Kabir’s verse in the Sikh scripture led some Western scholars to describe him as the forerunner of Sikhism. Some have even called him the preceptor of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.  However there is sufficient evidence to prove that Guru Nanak and Kabir had ever met as their period of time don’t coincide with each other.

Guru Nanak Dev ji, had collected the Banis of about 15 Bhagats such as Bhagat Kabir Ji, Bhagat Namdev ji etc. Bhagat Kabir ji’s Bani’s received a great deal of admiration when it was published in the Guru Granth Sahib. The compilation of Kabir’s compositions in the Guru Grath Sahib happened much later when Guru Arjan Dev ji, fifth in spiritual line from the founder, compiled the holy book. He entered in it hymns of some saints and mystics, both Hindu and Muslim. Before Guru Arjan Dev Ji no real efforts were made to compile the banis of Saints and Gurus. With the help of Bhai Gurdas ji, Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave the Banis of the saints a formal single form and they address to the total humanity irrespective of any restrictions of time or place and communicates in terms of human emancipation. The ideology of all the contributors is well knitted together by a single learned person. The contribution of the Bani of Bhagat Kabir Ji is the largest of the Banis contributed by all Bhagats in compilation of this scripture.

Bhagat Kabir Ji was a revolutionary saint-poet of the Bhakti movement as he emphasized the equality and fraternity of all mankind. Kabir is believed to have become the first disciple of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi. Very little information is available on the life of Kabir but there is no dearth of legend gathering around him. It is not clear whether he married or not, but tradition says his wife’s name was Loi and he had two children. He was abandoned by his biological parents, later to be adopted by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife Nima who raised him as his parents.

Kabir’s poems were in vernacular Hindi, borrowing from various dialects such as Braj, Bhojpuri and Awadhi. Kabir composed his verses in simple Hindi words and they cover various aspects of life and show devotion for God. Numerous poems are associated with Kabir but there is a doubt to their authenticity. Many scholars interpret Kabir’s philosophy to be questioning the need for religion as he rejected the hypocrisy and misguided rituals practices of his day. He was a social reformer of high order and opposed in his Bani the social evils like high and low, caste and creeds, rituals, hypocrisy and self-importance. Kabir’s bani have the strength to abolish the wrong traditions of the time. Kabir ji considers the creation of this world from Ek Onkar i.e. from one light. He also considered maya the sinner and betrayer because this maya stands by no one in the end. Kabir Ji considers human life indispensable and warns man of the same. He also agreed with the concept that man gets reward for what he does.

Kabir Ji was a true representative of human society and be referred as a reformer in the real sense as he was fearless, lucid and humble at the same time. He didn’t believe in accepting hypocrisy in any way and was an enemy towards pride and misconduct. He however doesn’t think well of women as there is outburst against them in the hymns of Kabir and he characterizes them as ‘black cobra’, ‘the pit of hell and the refuse of the world’. His views about woman are also evident from all his intense attacks against maya. According to him woman stand between man and god and she is there to entice man away from God. Despite his views, his Banis have a special and important place in the Holy book.