Saint Kabir-An Iconoclast Par Excellence

Today we commemorate the  birth anniversary of a great saint of the soil whose birth or the place thereof is still not known with certainty. Though tradition has it that he was born 500 hundred years ago at well known Kashi but the Saint choiced to breath his last at a non descript place called Maghar. Yes, we refer to Saint Kabir with respect to whom both hindus and muslims alike rever equally for the ways he lived his life. His life served as message for the mankind as a whole. For Kabir religious indulgence by way of observing practices of sorts associated with any religion be they Hindu or Islam was immetarial. In fact his critical remarks with respect to both the religions were scathing. Perhaps this might have led both the communities to believe that this great saint belonged to his faith to the exclusion of the other. Here lies the mistake, a person who is truly religious becomes a rationalist in such a way that he rises above the religious denominations so far as they address dogmatism. His wisdom does not spare the hypocrisy associated with any religious belief. We do not know which religious denomination the saint belonged by birth but this much is certain that he neither professed nor preached any nor did he intend to. It is worthy of  being mentioned that this saint unlike others did not live upon the earnings of others by way of donations given out of reverence to him. Rather contrary to the popular belief that renunciation of worldly life and doning of an attire different from that of worldly people is a saintly character, Kabir led a truly गृहस्थ जीवन. Kabir eked out his living by weaving throughout his life. He was the protégé of none. We do not know any raja or nawab giving him any sort of protection or patronage. Perhaps it must have been infra dig for the self respect of a person like Kabir who lived by his own conviction and belief boldly but not blatantly. Of course what he did renounce was the worldly attachment for power, pelf and glory, hypocrisy in day to day behaviour that ruins one's inner self. Mutual suspicion and mistrust fuelled by being associated with dogmatised adherence to any religious denomination was simply unacceptable to this Great Soul. In this sense Kabir was a great iconoclast who intended to bring harmony amongst the people in the society by means of seeking Self through sheding hypocrisy in thought, belief and deeds. For this he minced no words towards attacking the bland religious beliefs of Hinduism and Islam alike without being antagonistic to none. It is said that Kabir chose to lead his life by leaving Kashi and settling at Maghar only to break the popular hindu belief that breathing last at Kashi provides liberation from rebirth and serves as passport to entry in the heavenly world. To him purification of self or soul is best achieved through living a life out of his own earning, keeping one's worldly requirement to the minimum for mental peace and happiness, living in harmony with the people having faiths different from one's own and ultimate faith in the Almighty to say the least. Fecklessness of the society pained Kabir and this was patently reflected in his compositions named Sakhi, Doha and ulatbasi. These compositions are present days jewels sufficient to provide light to the people groping in the dark and seeking peace of mind in the present world sitting on the volcano of hate, hubris and mutual destruction.
         R.R.Prabhakar
              28.06.2018