Interpreting Poems No. 19 and 22 of Kabir - Research Paper Example

Introduction

If literature belongs to the domain of art and if ‘Art’ means artificial and archaic presentation of the surroundings, then it is doubtful whether Kabir’s poems can be considered as artistic or literary pieces. His poems are always perfect instances of the ancient Hindu ‘Sahajia’ doctrine. In most instances, these works consider the example of simple things in life to deliver superior knowledge. However, if art is a means to upgrade people’s thought and living, the poems of Kabir definitely deserve to hold an important position in the history of Indian literature. His simple words contain profound philosophy beyond the day-to-day trivial engagements. Kabir expressed in his songs what he believed in his life. These poems are a culmination of several religious doctrines which have been espoused for man’s upliftment. This paper makes an endeavor to interpret Poem No. 19 and 22 in the context of Kabir’s religious ideologies.

Jnana and Karma in relation to Bhakti

According to Hinduism, ‘Jnana’ refers to the ultimate knowledge about the relation between oneself and the Almighty, between ‘Atma’ and ‘Bramha’. This is applicable to poem 22. As the generation and demolition of waves are not segregated from water, the rise and fall of individuals in their karmic cycle of life cannot separate them from their origin – ‘Paramatma’. That’s the knowledge nature gives us to lead to our realization of the “Secret One inside us” who move the whole universe like the beads of ‘tulsi’. (Kabir, Poem 22)

The Hindu Philosophy defines ‘Karma’ as man’s actions. Every human being has to bear the result of his actions according to whether his past “karma” has been good or bad. The hint of rising and falling back of the waves in poem 22 generates the same sense and the impeccability of nature’s rule. This is how Kabir has espoused the doctrine of the inevitability of “karma” in the poem. (Kabir, Poem 22)

In Kabir’s poems, the ideas of Jnana and Karma are intricately woven into his main ideology of Bhakti. The saint emphatically declares that the purpose of every human life is to achieve “salvation” during its lifetime on this earth.

“What you call salvation belongs to the time before death” (Kabir, Poem 19)

Once the human being attains the true enlightenment of his soul, he is able to realize God and witness His Divine presence.

Poet Kabir has also given his followers an idea about the ways of achieving enlightenment. The spiritual seekers are encouraged to exercise their thinking powers and expand their intellect to attain true “Jnana” of the Supreme Being.

“Think….and think…..while you are alive” (Kabir, Poem 19)

Exploring the path of knowledge, the human being ultimately comes to realize that God resides within himself.

Further, the poet encourages the spiritualist to pursue the path of “karma” and engage in fruitful action by breaking the shackles of inactivity.

“If you don’t break your ropes while you are alive,

do you think

ghosts will do it after?” (Kabir, Poem 19)

However, the seeker has to be steadfast in the belief that the final aim of all his actions is to attain salvation and experience the Creator. Kabir has assured his followers that if they are able to seek God intensely in all their actions, this strength of their desire will encourage them to accomplish all their karma.

Kabir’s view of Bhakti and Dharma

‘Bhakti’ primarily means the love and respect of the devotee for God and this has several connotations in different religious practices. Amongst them, the ‘Vaishnava’ saints express their love for the Supreme Lord Krishna and regard Him to be the centre of the entire universe. For His devotees, there is nothing beyond Him; knowing Krishna is to know the ‘creation’. We can find the same thought in the final lines of the poems where Kabir is advising his followers to feel God’s ecstatic presence in themselves through the prayer beads in their garlands. (Mc Leod, 139)

Saint Kabir propagated his religious philosophies for uplifting the common masses. Therefore, it was a simple and straight-forward ideology. In order to make the profound religious thoughts attainable for the commoners, Kabir culminated various religious principles and molded them in accordance with his own understanding. His explanation of spiritual terminologies had its own uniqueness. (Lorenzen 226)

Poem 22 delivers the same thought through a beautiful metaphor of the ocean and waves forming from it. Just like the ocean waves as they always adhere to the ocean whether they rise of fade away, so also human beings remain attached to God as they experience the ups and downs of their earthly lives. According to the Hindu philosophy, every human soul is a part of the Great Divine Power and is different from the latter only in its infinitesimally small size. Man has created these false individualistic ideas using language. Kabir asks here, “Because someone has made up the word “wave”, do I have to distinguish it from water?” He becomes more direct in the next line, “There is a Secret One inside us”. (Kabir, Poem 22)

Through his writings, Kabir has encouraged his followers to form an intimate relationship of love and affection with God:

“If you make love with the Divine now, in the next life

you will have the face of satisfied desire.

So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,

Believe in the Great Sound.” (Kabir, poem 19)

Therefore, Kabir advises men to submit their heart and soul on the feet of the Lord and set out to imbibe the experiences of life. This is the “Bhakti” doctrine. If the devotee is able to adhere to this philosophy and perform his duties diligently, he will finally be able to witness the Divine Presence in his life. (McLeod, Schomer, 139)

Kabir’s Nirguna Bhakti as different from other “Bhakti” doctrines

As has been mentioned in the previous section that the word ‘Bhakti’ in Hindu scriptures refer to the love and devotion of the worshiper for the Almighty. Saint Kabir believed in the doctrine of “Nirguna Bhakti’. ‘Nirguna’ means truth which has no “shape, outline, gender or form”. Initially this concept was raised by Shankaracharya, the well-known Hindu saint in the 9th century Christian era, and was later followed by many Hindu saints. The stream of ‘Nirguna Bhakti’ thrives on the unity of the entire creation. It says that the ‘Creator’ or the ‘Supreme Power’ dwells inside human soul. He is inseparable from His devotees. The followers of “Nirguna Bhakti” as espoused by Kabir, primarily worshipped a universal God who was believed to formless. However, the followers simultaneously believe their “Gurus” (the religious teachers) to be partial embodiment of the Supreme Being and therefore regard them as persons of veneration. (Gooptu, 148) During the 14th- 17th century AD, the ‘Bhakti Movement’ was formed as a protest against the forceful conversion of Hindus by the Muslim rulers of that time. Bhakti Movement embraced various Hindu gods and goddesses altogether. Many Bhakti songs of that time praised Krishna, Shiva, Brahma and even Kali. These songs were always concentrated on the Hindu myths and philosophies.

Kabir broke these bounds and liberated the term Bhakti, in its true sense, for all. With him, the ‘Sahajia’ philosophy was circulated in Muslim ‘Sufis’ also. In Bengal, we find many ‘Bauls’ who worship ‘Allah’ and sing for Krishna. Kabir’s view of Bhakti substantiates his own identity in his own words – ‘The son of Allah and Rama at once’.

Conclusion

Saint Kabir was a foremost proponent of the “Bhakti Movement” which flourished in India during the 14th-17th century. He encouraged his followers to form an intimate relationship with God based on love and devotion and worship Him with sincere veneration. This path of devotion was one of the ways to attain salvation and ultimate God Realization. These ideals are also reflected in the poems written by Kabir. This paper has attempted to interpret Kabir’s religious philosophy of devotion as described in two of his poems. He also advocated the idea of “Nirguna Bhakti” which believed God to be devoid of any form and espoused His worship with sincere devotion. Kabir’s poems also reflect the ideas of Jnana and Karma which are intricately woven into his main ideology of Bhakti. Therefore, even to this day, Kabir’s writings are a living testimony of his unique religious philosophies.