**** Sant Kabir****

[Guest guest]

Dear Sangha,

 

Felt to post this.

A mix from various web sites.

Please note the wise words in this poem/teaching below.

 

Blessings,

 

Soul

*************************************

 

Are you looking for me?

I am in the next seat.

My shoulder is against yours.

You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor

synagogues, nor in cathedrals:

not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck,

nor in eating nothing but vegetables,

When you really look for me, you will see me instantly —

you will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?

He is the breath inside the breath.

 

*********************

 

Like Gnyaneshwara before him and Guru Nanak and Sai Baba of Shirdi,

who were to follow, Kabir strove for the One Truth. He described

himself as the son of both Ram and Allah. Kabir urged introspection:

 

 

You were born on Earth as human,

Why are you in slumber now?

Take care of yourself;

Yourself is what you have to know.

The learned pundit gives discourse,

Not knowing God is near;

He does not know God dwells in him,

So seeks him here and there.

 

******************************

 

Kabir is not easily categorized as a Sufi or a Yogi -- he is all of

these. He is revered by Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. He stands as a

unique, saintly, yet very human, bridge between the great traditions

that live in India. Kabir says of himself that he is, " at once the

child of Allah and Ram. "

 

He was born in Varanasi (Benares), India, probably around the year

1440 (though other accounts place his birth as early as 1398), to

Muslim parents. But early in his life Kabir became a disciple of the

Hindu bhakti saint Ramananda. It was unusual for a Hindu teacher to

accept a Muslim student, but tradition says the young Kabir found a

creative way to overcome all objections.

 

The story is told that on one particular day of the year, anyone can

become a disciple by having a master speak the name of God over him.

It is common for those who live near the Ganges to take their morning

bath there in the sacred waters. The bhakti saint Ramananda took his

bath as he did every day, by arising before dawn. On this special

day, Ramananda awoke before dawn and found his customary way down to

the steps of the Ganges. As he was walking down the steps to the

waters, a little hand reached out in the predawn morning and grabbed

the saint's big toe. Ramananda taken by surprise and he expressed his

shock by calling out the name of God. Looking down he saw in the

early morning light the hand of the young Kabir. After his bath in

the early light he noticed that on the back of the little one's hand

was written in Arabic the name Kabir. He adopted him as son and

disciple and brought him back to his ashrama, much to the disturbance

of his Hindu students, some of whom left in righteous protest.

 

It is said that what really made this meeting the most special is

that in this case it, was only after Kabir's enlightenment that

Ramananda, his teacher, became enlightened.

 

Not much is known about what sort of spiritual training Kabir may

have received. He did not become a sadhu or rununciate. Kabir never

abandoned worldly life, choosing instead to live the balanced life of

a householder and mystic, tradesman and contemplative. Kabir was

married, had children, and lived the simple life of a weaver.

 

Although Kabir labored to bring the often clashing religious cultures

of Islam and Hinduism together, he was equally disdainful of

professional piety in any form. This earned him the hatred and

persecution of the religious authorities in Varanasi. Nearing age 60,

he was denounced before the king but, because of his Muslim birth, he

was spared execution and, instead, banished from the region.

 

He subsequently lived a life of exile, traveling through northern

India with a group of disciples. In 1518, he died at Maghar near

Gorakhpur.

 

 

 

 

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/K/Kabir/