Saint Kabir Session 1 - The Story Of Kabir

Salus,

Salus,

Salus,

Salus,

Salus.

Salus,

Salus,

Salus,

Salus,

Salus,

Salus.

So,

Today we are going to go into Saint Kabir's teachings.

A little introduction about Kabir before we go into his teachings.

Kabir was,

We can say,

Neither a Muslim nor a Hindu.

But both Hindus and Muslims wanted to claim Kabir.

Kabir was,

We are not even sure whether he was born a Hindu or Muslim.

The Hindus say that he was born to a Hindu mother but he was brought up by a Muslim family.

And the Muslims say that no,

He was born and brought up as a Muslim.

So,

That's why I say both Hindus and Muslims always wanted to claim Kabir.

There was always a tug of war going on between the Hindus and Muslims.

And we have to understand why this is so.

So,

To give you a little background,

Kabir was in Banaras.

People from everywhere meditated on the land which was close to the river Ganga.

And because lots of people through ancient times kept meditating by the river Ganga,

Ganga is now called a holy river.

Now because Banaras was so called holy,

Then people started flocking here to do rites and rituals from birth all the way to death.

In fact,

It is even believed that if you die in Banaras or Varanasi,

You will be born in heaven.

Well,

It's a nice story but it is a story of course.

The background is now laid for you.

What kind of a city is Banaras where Kabir as a little kid is growing up?

So,

Now Kabir is growing up amidst these people,

The so-called religious people who have all these beliefs,

Who have a lot of conditioning about rites and rituals and worship of God.

And Kabir,

Though he was not educated,

Though he was very very simple,

Belonged to a very very simple family,

He still had a lot of common sense which was lacking in the people around him.

So,

Since childhood,

He would question and his questions were very valid.

Just like he would simply question,

Why are you worshipping an idol?

How will that idol take your suffering away?

But Kabir was never disdainful,

Never negative in his remarks.

He was asking from a child-like simplicity,

How your little kid would ask you a question.

From that simplicity came his questions.

Why?

Why are you worshipping an idol?

Will it really take your suffering away?

Why are you chanting this name or that name?

Will it really bring liberation to you?

His innocent questioning would propel a little bit of wise people to start thinking,

What he is saying,

Really,

Will this help me?

Does this make sense?

So,

That is Kabir.

Kabir's path is only for the courageous,

Only for people who are ready to break their conditioning.

Kabir did not follow one particular God or one particular path and contrary to the belief that Kabir's path is the Bhakti path,

We will understand how it is not so.

Then why did we misunderstand it as Bhakti?

Since Kabir was a little child,

He was very interested in understanding the truth about God,

The truth about who am I.

He was not interested in rites and rituals.

He was not interested in chants and mantras.

So,

He saw that everybody in Banaras,

Maximum people in Banaras,

Were clad in orange robes and were so-called ascetics.

So,

He started thinking,

Will I really attain the truth by becoming an ascetic?

And then some of his friends,

He started making friends with the sadhus.

That is why most of the Doha's will be,

Kahat kabir suno bhai sadhu.

He is talking to the sadhus.

The sadhus simply are spiritual seekers.

In those days,

If you wanted to be a sincere spiritual seeker,

It was assumed that only by being an ascetic can you progress spiritually.

But that is ancient India,

15th century.

Today,

We don't need to become ascetics.

We don't need to wear an orange robe and go away to a holy place or to the Himalayas.

We do it while at home.

So really,

Who are today's sadhus?

You all are today's sadhus.

So,

When Kabir speaks and says,

Kahat kabir suno bhai sadhu,

Who is he speaking to?

He is speaking to you.

He is speaking to all spiritual seekers.

So now,

Back to the point,

Because of Kabir's thirst to find himself,

To know himself,

He made a lot of sadhu friends growing up.

He was very young and he started making these sadhu friends.

As he grew,

These sadhu friends told him that,

We know that you are very young,

But a guru can help answer your questions.

And there were not too many gurus who were renowned and known in that little area where he lived.

Of course,

He could not travel too far because he himself was very young.

He was not even a teenager,

About when I am telling you.

So,

He could not travel too far and the closest he found was Guru Ramanand.

Now,

Ramanand was,

As the conditioning was of those days,

That Hindus will only teach Hindus.

And that also from Hindus,

Only the Brahmin caste will be initiated,

Will be taught.

And people who are of the lower caste,

They will not be initiated and people of other castes are out of question.

Other religions are totally out of question.

So,

Ramanand had these fixed beliefs and he was so strong in his beliefs that he would,

It's a story maybe,

That he would not look at anybody else other than a Brahmin.

Or he would travel with some kind of a palakun which had curtains all around and he would not look at a Harijan.

Harijan was the scheduled class.

So,

He was so fixed about his ideas.

His fixation of ideas was so strong that he did not entertain anybody else into the ashram.

So,

Obviously the other Brahmins in the ashram,

When they were approached by Kabir that I want to come and meet the Guru,

They said,

Haha,

The Guru is not even going to meet you,

Forget about it.

Kabir had a very strong thirst.

So,

In his own way,

He explored himself and somehow he figured it out within.

He did not really find the Guru that he was looking for as a Guru.

First,

He figured it out and what did he figure out?

He figured out very simple that I see through these eyes but this eyes is not who I am.

My mind understands that I am seeing but this mind is not who I am.

So,

Then who am I?

I am not these eyes means I am not this body,

I am not this mind,

Then who am I?

And then he just closed his eyes because he saw other sadhus closing their eyes.

He was a little kid,

A teenager probably by that time and he used to just sit and automatically went to the witness,

The witnessing consciousness and realised,

Ahh,

I am this witness that is witnessing the thoughts coming and going.

Aah,

I am the witness that is seeing this body,

That body is sitting and is feeling rested now.

Oh,

Now the body is very restless.

I am the witness.

Very simple.

He was not very educated so he could not pick up books and study them.

In fact,

In those days,

Books were restricted only to the Brahmin caste,

To the priest.

So,

He figured out that this witness is not just in me,

Is in everybody.

Oh,

That God is in everybody.

So,

The sadhus used to keep saying Ram Ram.

So,

He said,

Haa,

That Ram that you are talking about,

I experience that Ram,

That Ram is in everybody.

Another sadhu would say,

Hari,

You would say,

Haa,

That Hari,

I know is in everybody.

He is not only in everybody,

He is in everything in this entire creation.

Some sadhus would say Om,

So he is saying,

Haa,

That Om is everywhere.

Do you see it?

He learnt from other sadhus,

Whatever words they used,

That's how Kabir started using those words.

Why?

Number one,

He was kept away from a guru because he did not belong to that caste or class.

Number two,

He was not only kept away from the guru but also books,

Scriptural books.

So,

There was no resource for him other than seeing the other sadhus and other people in banaras.

That's how he automatically blossomed.

He blossomed because of his thirst,

Because of wanting to find out who am I really.

Yes,

Now the story progresses where he goes to Guru Ramananda's ashram and somehow he manages to talk to Guru Ramananda but he is behind that curtain I told you.

And he clarifies to the guru that if that Om or that Ram or that Hari,

Whoever you believe in,

If that is in me also and is in you also,

Then what is this curtain for?

That is all pervading.

Then that Ram does not distinguish that I am a higher Ram and that is a lower Ram or that is a greater Hari and this is a lower Hari.

He was the one to break Ramananda's fixed ideas and Ramananda dropped that curtain.

So,

We can say Ramananda was his friend as well as his guru.

Both together.

Because Kabir had that humility.

He would not say,

Oh I know it all but you are my guru and teach me.

So,

That's how Ramananda broke the barriers and let Kabir into the ashram and then became open about other caste,

Other religious people also coming to him to study.

So,

Ramananda initially walked the path of Advaita Vedanta.

In his younger days,

Ramananda had followed the path of Advaita Vedanta which is Shankaracharya's path.

What does it say?

That everything is Brahman,

Everything including this body,

This mind,

The objects,

Everything.

It's not actually that everything is Brahman,

Only Brahman exists.

Everything is merely an appearance.

So,

That was Shankaracharya's path and that is what Advaita Vedanta is.

Slowly Ramananda moved on to Vishishta Advaita Vedanta.

Maybe he moved on to Vishishta Advaita Vedanta to explain to the sadhus of Banaras because they were very caught up in that understanding of I am the soul.

And this soul or this atma is different from the paramatma.

So,

Vishishta Advaita Vedanta also says everything is Brahman.

But it adds another flavour to it.

It says that everything is the Brahman.

Brahman is made up of different paths.

So,

Vishishta Advaita Vedanta says that Brahman is everything.

It is the whole and these small little living beings and non-living beings,

All these are the part of that whole.

So,

He moved on to explaining Vishishta Advaita Vedanta.

So,

This is what Kabir learnt from Ramananda.

At the same time Kabir taught so much to Ramananda.

It is amazing their relationship is more like friends rather than guru and disciple.

Ramananda had one more strong idea of worshipping the idols.

Every day he would do his puja.

So,

One day Kabir just walks in and says,

It's an idol.

When you have recognised that that Ram is existing everywhere,

In everything,

Then why give some special preference to one idol?

Everything is Ram.

Everything is worthy of worship.

The tree,

The hut,

The garden,

Even these disciples.

Everything is worthy of worship.

And then Ramananda dropped idol worship.

It is an amazing relationship between the two.

And this amazing relationship evolved both ways.

Kabir was also teaching a lot of things to Ramananda.

Ramananda was teaching a lot of things to Kabir.

So,

That is where you see that in Kabir's dohas there is a lot of Ram,

Ram or a lot of Hari.

But that is only because how do I educate these sadhus?

These sadhus keep saying Ram and Hari.

So,

He used their words but to bring them to this higher understanding that everything is the Brahman consciousness.

I have just put the third Dvaita Vedanta here on the board.

But Kabir did not follow that path at all.

Dvaita Vedanta is where you see that God is different and I am different.

Where you have this difference.

In fact,

Kabir wanted to move these people or these sadhus who had Dvaita in their mind towards Advaita.

Because he said that till the time there is this I and you,

There will always be a difference.

Even if you say I am Atma and you are Paramatma,

You will never merge with God.

Because you are building the wall.

You are building this gap and you are not ready to bridge this gap.

So,

He wanted the people with the understanding of Dvaita to move towards Advaita.

And that is very apparent through the Doha's.

Again,

Like I mentioned in the email,

This is not a philosophy class or I am not going to sing bhajans here.

We are only going to speak about the pure core teachings of Kabir.

Thank you.