The Flute of Infinity plays incessantly,
and its sound is the sound of love.
When love discards all limitations, it draws closer to truth.
Its fragrance spreads far and wide! It has no end,
nothing stands in its way.
The shape of this music shines like thousands of suns:
no other music can be compared to the music it produces,
music that emits true tones.
Kabir, also known as Al-Kabir, meaning “Infinitely Great,” “Most High,” is an extraordinary figure in Indian mysticism. He remained relatively unknown in Western circles until Rabindranath Tagore, his great admirer, translated a collection of his poems from Hindi to English. Thousands of poems are attributed to him, although only a few hundred have been preserved. Kabir himself did not write down his poems and couplets; his disciples did.
Little is known about his life, or rather, there are no credible sources. The information that has been preserved has come to us through legends and traditions, both Muslim and Hindu, and both traditions claim him and depict him through their own lens. While Hindu Sources report that he was an ascetic, with Muslim sources stating that he had a wife named Loi and two children. Both sources agree that he was born around 1440 in the vicinity of the city of Benares (Varanasi), where he spent most of his life, and that he grew up in a Muslim family that had been involved in weaving for generations, so Kabir was also a weaver.
Even as a child, he showed a predisposition towards spirituality, which intensified when he encountered Ramananda, a highly respected Hindu saint-poet, in his early youth.
Ramananda brought a religious revival to northern India, similar to the one initiated by Ramanuja, a great religious reformer from the 12th century, in southern India. While the rigid Vedic tradition emphasized the importance of rituals, this revival focused on bhakti, devoted love towards God and service. The bhakti movement itself has its roots in the earliest Vedic texts, and the Bhagavad Gita discusses bhakti yoga as the path of devotion and one of the ways to attain liberation.
During the meeting between Kabir and Ramananda. A legend is woven that says that Kabir recognized his teacher in him even as a child and constantly devised ways to get closer to him. In this way, he discovered the place on the Ganges where Ramananda used to bathe and hid on the steps leading to the river. As Ramananda descended the steps, he stepped on his body and exclaimed in surprise: Ram! Ram!, the name of the incarnation under which he worshipped God. According to legend, Kabir thus received an initiation mantra and became his disciple.
Although Ramananda accepted students from all castes and sects, which was not customary at the time, it was an exceptional case for a Hindu bhakti to take a Muslim as his disciple, thus causing sharp criticism from both sides due to the violation of socio-religious norms. Ramananda was an exceptionally learned man who passed on knowledge of the Vedas and Hinduism to Kabir, whose theology he combined with Sufi mysticism in his poems. During Kabir’s time, Sufi mysticism strongly resonated in northern India. The poems of Persian The teachings of Sadiya, Rumija, Hafez, and others noticeably influenced Kabir, but the deepest impact on him was made by Ramananda, whom he recognized as the sole spiritual authority of his time.
Unexpectedly, I was discovered in Benares, and Ramananda enlightened me.
I carried with me a thirst for infinity, and I set out to meet Him.
Ramananda’s disciples constituted the first generation of North Indian saints, diverse groups of spiritual teachers to which Kabir belonged, and they shared a common spiritual foundation in the bhakti movement. They taught that the heavy burden of caste, rituals, and complex Vedic philosophy could be rejected, and instead, one could simply express devotion to God residing in the heart.
The great bhakti movement blazed across central and northern India from the 14th to the 16th century. This period is characterized by the flourishing of devotional poetry, bhajans, in the languages of the Indian people, as the saint-poets presented their teachings in verses in the dialect of the region they lived in.
Kabir’s poetry
Ka The poet is known for his concise couplets and poems that connect everyday life and spirituality in a simple and powerful way. His genius lies in inspiring both the educated, such as Rabindranath Tagore, and the uneducated. He conveys his message through easily understandable metaphors, finding inspiration in everyday life and everything that surrounds him. He lived what he preached, and preached what he lived, which is where the strength of his message emanates from.
He teaches that life is a game of two principles: the human soul (Jivatma) and God (Paramatma). In the field of our body, a great battle is constantly being waged against passion, anger, pride, and greed. The kingdom of truth, pleasure, and purity provokes this battle, and the sword that is raised the most in it is the sword of His Name.
Liberation is the process of merging these two divine principles into one. In front of the causeless, the caused dances, “You and I are one,” the trumpet sounds…
However, devotion and love for God transcend all philosophy. The poet. By combining the pearls of Islamic and Hindu traditions, fervently speaks in his verses about God within us and transcending all differences and divisions, both between religions and between the soul and God. He invites the reader to pause and surrender to the vibrations of wisdom and chords of spiritual music that flow through his words. He is the unrestricted ultimate peace; He has spread throughout the world in the form of love. From that Ray, which is Truth, new forms constantly flow forth, and He fills them. Oh, servant, where have you sought me? Behold! I am beside you. I am not in the temple, nor in the mosque, I am not in the Kaaba, nor on Kailash; I am not in rituals or ceremonies, nor in yoga and renunciation. You will see me if you are a true seeker, you will meet me in the blink of time. How could the love between You and me ever diminish? Like a lotus leaf resting on water, so are You my Lord, and I am Your servant. Like a nocturnal bird staring at the Moon all night long, so am I Your servant, and You are my Lord. From the very beginning, throughout eternity, love_between us is endless. Beautiful is the love among us,
and how can such love be extinguished?
And Kabir says: “As the river merges into the ocean, so does my heart lean towards You.”
Kabir felt aversion towards any official religion. His saying remains remembered: Koi bole Ram Ram Koi Khudai…, which means that God can be invoked by His Hindu or Muslim name, but it is the same God from whom we all come and to whom we all return.
Hari is in the East, Allah in the West.
Penetrate into your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Rama;
All men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabir is the child of Allah and Rama.
He sees all people as divine children and existence as one, universal and indivisible unity of one God. In his teachings, there are no sectarian extremes, asceticism, or unnecessary renunciations. He strongly condemns the caste system, religious exclusivity, and religious hypocrisy. He preaches love, joy, and harmonious coexistence, as well as daily service to others. from “Svima udima s ljubavlju” is a Croatian text meaning “He serves with all his heart.”
“He seeks the words of the Quran and teaches others, but if his heart has not entered into that love, what is the use, even though he is a teacher to people?”
“The yogi dyes his robe red, but if he knows nothing of the color of love, what good is it, even though his robes are dyed?”
“Kabir says: ‘Whether in the temple or in the gallery, in the camp or in the flower garden, I truly declare – my Lord enjoys me at every moment.'”
“In the spirit of the bhakti tradition, God is celebrated through everyday work, song, dance, music, meditation, but emphasizes the importance of the teacher:”
“Oh brother, my heart longs for that true Teacher
who fills the cup with love that he himself tastes,
and then gives it to me.
He removes the veil from my eyes and gives me a true vision of Brahma.
He reveals the worlds within him, and opens the gates
of unheard music.
He unites joy and sorrow within himself,
he gives love to all living beings.
Kabir says: ‘Indeed, he who has such a teacher knows no fear, as he leads him to a safe refuge.'”
“He had the first teacher.” In Ramanandi, he later speaks of the “universal teacher”, a teacher who is omnipresent and blesses him with mystical visions.
But that formless God, transforms into thousands of forms
in the eyes of all living beings.
He is pure and indestructible,
his form is endless and unfathomable,
He dances in ecstasy, and wavy forms emerge from his dance.
The spirit and the body cannot be restrained,
when touched by his great joy.
He sails in his consciousness
in all joys and sorrows,
he has no beginning or end,
he is the one who covers everything with blessings.
Weaver Kabir skillfully weaves his mystical visions into his bhajans. He travels through deep spiritual realms and speaks of the existence of otherworldly worlds that are incomprehensible to the ordinary mind, of worlds where one treads in the footsteps of the Soul.
… There, the Fountain of Eternity dances its endless life cycle of birth and death …
There, in Him, creation progresses, it is beyond all thoughts;
because they cannot reach it;
there lies the infinite world, O my brother! And there the Nameless Being resides,
It is something that cannot be described.
Only those who have reached those realms understand this – they are different from anything that has been said or heard…
Enthusiastically, it speaks of music that fills the universe, of colors, scents, light… With almost every line, it celebrates the divine, His indescribable glory, beauty, love, and wisdom. The divine is in everything, the voice that whispers through the loom, the river, and the mill wheel, ourselves. God is within us, says Kabir, we just have to learn to stop and listen to His song.
There, the sky is filled with music,
there, nectar flows like rain,
there, the harp plays joyfully, the drums can be heard.
What an abundance in that heavenly abode!
There, the rising and setting of the Sun is never mentioned,
in the ocean of appearance, where love is the light,
day and night are united.
There, eternal joy reigns, without pain or struggle,
There, there are no mistakes.
And Kabir says, “There, I also felt the happiness of the Blessed!”
I have discovered in myself the joy of the universe: I have escaped I experienced the error of this world.
The internal and external merged in the sky,
The infinite and the finite became one:
I am intoxicated by the image of all of this!
Your light fills the universe;
the lamp of love on the holder of knowledge blazes.
The evening shadows grow thicker and deeper,
and the darkness of love increasingly envelops body and spirit.
Open the window towards the west, in the sky of love you will get lost,
Drink the fragrant honey that drips from lotus petals into your heart.
Let the waves crash against your body;
what a delight rests in the sea!
Listen! The sounds of shells and bells are heard again.
And Kabir says: “Oh brother, rejoice! The Lord is in the vessel of my body.”
These verses speak of an almost ecstatic love passion he harbors towards the divine, but Kabir also teaches:
The lamps are burning in every home, oh blind man!
But you cannot see them.
One day your eyes will suddenly recover and you will see clearly.
Great mystics and teachers have won hearts with simplicity and humility; with parables and verses adapted to the times and the simple. en In order for the people to understand them, Kabir acquired many students and followers during his lifetime and even now, after five centuries, he has a large number of devotees. The Kabir Panth community in northern India, which considers him their prophet, has millions of followers.
He left a timeless legacy of a teacher who does not allow narrow-mindedness, the appropriation of spirituality, and eternal truths, and the exclusion of these timeless wisdoms into blind alleys of superficial interpretations lacking experiential insight.
In the holy bathing places, there is nothing but water,
I have witnessed it, for I too bathed there once.
The statues are lifeless, they cannot speak,
I know this because I fervently prayed to them.
The Puranas and the Quran are but mere letters,
I lifted the veil and convinced myself of that.
Experience is the root of Kabir’s words,
and he knows well that all other things
are also meaningless.
However, the words that captivated the people provoked open disapproval and hostility from the religious authorities and orthodox brahmins at that time. They defended their views and wanted to They tried to silence and eradicate Kabir’s teachings. One legend tells how the Brahmins sent a beautiful courtesan to tempt Kabir, but she converted after meeting him.
It is said that he performed healing miracles and was once brought before the ruler of the time, Sikandar Lodi, accused of claiming to possess divine abilities. His Muslim background saved him, as he was classified as a Sufi, and Sufis enjoyed great freedom and were exempt from Brahmin laws at the time. Sikandar Lodi was tolerant of the “eccentricities” of the holy man who belonged to his own religion. It seems that this happened when Kabir was about sixty years old, and it is the last event in his life that we know for certain.
His life was spared, but in 1495 he was expelled from Benares. He died in exile in 1518 in the city of Maghar, as a traveling preacher of his teachings.
A picturesque legend says that after Kabir’s death, his Muslim and Hindu disciples each. There was a dispute over the right to possess his body. The Muslims wanted to bury him, and the Hindus wanted to burn him according to their customs. While they were arguing, legend has it that Kabir appeared before them and told them to lift the shroud and see what lies beneath. They did so, and instead of a dead body, they found a pile of flowers. The Muslims buried half of the flowers in Maghar, where he spent his last years of life, and the Hindus burned the rest in the holy city of Benares.
For us, let Kabir remain in the golden mean as a jewel of Eastern mysticism, as a teacher of divine love, who teaches us that love and a pure heart come first, that love is the highest divine essence from which wisdom, knowledge, joy, and peace arise, and who continues to encourage human souls to seek the divine within us – our only true quest.
The path of love is mysterious!
There, there are neither questions nor non-questions,
There, man loses himself before His feet,
There, he is immersed in the pleasure of searching,
diving into the depths. Love flows like a fish in water
Dedicated never hesitates before offering
their head while serving their master
Kabir proclaims the secret of this love.