Kabir was courageous enough to speak truth even in face of societal pressure

January 9, 2004

" Kabir was one of India's leading spiritual saints who lived in

the northern part of India in (and around) the holy city of Benares

(also called Varanasi). He is widely renowned for his pithy couplets

and songs that connect life and spirituality in a simple yet

powerful way. Kabir's genius has been in that he has inspired the

scholars/poets like Rabindranath Tagore and the common masses. His

words were in a universal language that, literally and figuratively,

broke down barriers to experiencing the divine. ...

What distinguished Kabir from other " gurus " were his inner

conviction and an undying trust in his own self and experience. He

seems to have questioned and challenged all scriptural teachings,

traditions and rituals, until he himself was able to validate their

truth. This, however, should not be taken to imply that he rejected

all teachings and practices. To the contrary, given his familiarity

with, and his use of stories/teachings from, a variety of

traditions, he appears to have openly embraced and accepted any path

that could be validated by his own experience. Perhaps, this is why

it is so difficult to typecast Kabir into this or that faith or

tradition. Sometimes, he was this, sometimes he was that and at

other times he was neither this nor that!

What is clear is that Kabir was courageous enough to speak his truth

even in face of societal pressures and coercion. From his work, we

know that he was quite critical of hypocrisy especially among

religious leaders. Even though we cannot ascertain whether he was

tolerant of genuine devotees who worshipped physical forms of God,

we can be reasonably confident that his own spiritual path was

focused more on an internal form of devotion to God and Guru –

terms that he often used interchangeably to convey the cosmic force.

In essence, the core of Kabir's life and teachings are based on

honesty, truth, conviction and simplicity, renewed continuously by

inner experience and propelled by an unceasing detachment from the

web of physical and mental realities. "

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