Kabīr (Kabīra) (Hindi: कबीर, Punjabi: ਕਬੀਰ, Urdu: کبير) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' - the 37th name of God in Islam.
Apart from having an important influence on Sikhism, Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census.[2] His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar.
It is known that he was brought up in a family of Muslim weavers. He was found by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife, Nima, in Lehartara, situated in Varanasi. They adopted the boy and taught him the weaver's trade. According to Kabir, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma). It is Kabir's view that salvation is the process of bringing these two divine principles into union.
Sant Kabir is considered to be one of the greatest poets as well as mystics ever born in India. He believed that human beings are equal and being one with God is the ultimate aim of every individual. His love and devotion towards the Supreme One clearly reflects in his poetry. The Holy Guru Granth Sahib contains over 500 verses by the great saint, Kabir. Amongst the several saints that have blessed our country, Kabir Das, the well known mystic poet, deserves a major credit for bringing about a revolution. He was a man of principles and practiced what he preached. People called him by different names like Das, sant, bhakta etc. As Das, he was referred to as the servant of humanity and thus a servant of divinity.
Kabir played the role of a teacher and social reformer by the medium of his writings, which mainly consisted of the two line verses called Dohas.
One of his great poem :
Friend, Wake Up! Why Do You Go On Sleeping?
Friend, wake up! Why do you go on sleeping?
The night is over— do you want to lose the day
the same way?
Other women who managed to get up early have
already found an elephant or a jewel...
so much was lost already while you slept...
and that was so unnecessary!
The one who loves you understood, but you did not.
You forgot to make a place in your bed next to you.
Instead you spent your life playing.
In your twenties you did not grow
because you did not know who your Lord was.
Wake up! Wake up! There's no one in your bed—
He left you during the long night.
Kabir says: The only woman awake is the woman
who has heard the flute!
To know more about Kabir visit : www.kabirparakh.com
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