Kabir,
the most popular
of Bhakti
poets, was probably born in the 15th century in the
general area of Benares,
and earned his living as a weaver. Many
legends have attached themselves to his name — that
he was born of a Hindu mother but brought up as a Muslim,
that he was influenced by Sufi or Kundalini practices, performed
miracles and lived to over 100
years of age — but little
is known for certain: even his occupation is supposition,
from frequent allusion in his poems. In all probability,
Kabir was born into poverty and stayed poor. His name appears
in stories from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal, Punjab and
Madhya Pradesh, suggesting that Kabir or his disciples travelled
these areas, teaching and propounding his sayings. For Kabir,
life is an interplay of two spiritual principles, of the
personal soul and of God: salvation comes by bringing these
two together. From Hinduism Kabir accepted reincarnation
and the law of Karma. From Islam he took the affirmation
of the single god and the rejection of caste system and
idolatry. Kabir's thought has influencedSikhism,
and his sayings are still very much loved and quoted.
Kabir's
poetry
Kabir
was illiterate, but his transcribed sayings may have
numbered 2,000 songs and 1,500 couplets. The impression
is not the sonorous impersonality of Kalidasa,
or the pithy good sense of Bhartrihari,
but spiritual truth expressed in the most simple and direct
language. He espoused
honesty, conviction and simplicity, renewed continuously
by inner experience and propelled by an unceasing detachment
from the web of physical and intellectual realities. How
the sayings were transcribed is not
known, and Kabir seems to have been much more concerned
with changing hearts and minds than with poetry per se,
suggesting that much attributed to him has been embellished
and added to. Kabir’s great contribution is his down-to-earth
metaphors and examples: comparing God to a weaver, body
to a cloth, Guru to a washerman, ignorance to a crow, cosmic
experience to the ocean, senses to the deer, humility and
steadfastness to the tree, grace and beauty of solitude
and completeness to a swan, longing for God to the longing
of a newly-wed bride. The experiences have to be lived,
when his words flower into a variety of experiences that
are not immediately obvious. The words are suggestive, as
in all poetry, but it is what is gradually unveiled that
is truly significant.
Bhakti poetry
Thousands of bhaktas or saint-poets appeared
in India from the 6th century AD onwards, in most religions
and languages. Each expressed his or her devotion to a particular
deity
or, as in Kabir's
case, to a more generalised divinity, when they were often
critical of dogma, rituals and the caste system. Like the
Sufis, bhakti poets sought union with or inspiration from
the divine, and took as authority their own visions and
immediate experience. Though the poetry was often based
on literary i.e. Tamil or Sanskrit models, it was also urgent,
personal, colloquial and inspired, speaking directly in
a way all could understand. In time, bhakti poetry became
somewhat institutionalised and conventional, particular
verse forms being associated with various genres and areas:
e.g. the mangalakabya with Bengal, the vacana
with Virasaiva poets of Kannada and abhanga with
the Marathi poets of Jnanesvar. Some genres cut across languages,
however: pada or song, padavali or string
of songs, gatha or anthology of poems modelled on
Sanskrit, Pali or Prakit forms. Later bhakti poems became
entangled with folk stories of love, romance, work and battle,
and many were adapted for performance or integrated into
dance,
music, theatre or dance-drama. Some are immensely long,
and interweave medleys of classical texts, court and devotional
poetry, vedic stories and contemporary matters: unashamedly
directed to a popular audience, and still played on radio
stations or told by travelling actors.
