Songs of Kabir A Review

Songs of Kabir The poetry of mysticism is as a type of prophecy or a temperamental reaction towards Reality vision. It is a unique mystical consciousness commitment to mediate between having a good relationship with God and sharing eternity secrets with men. It means the artistic consciousness self-expression possesses two attributes. It is love-poetry written with a missionary purpose. Kabir is a popular spiritual saint in India. The songs of Kabir are mystical poems that powerfully connect spirituality with life in a simple way. His songs have been an inspiration to many poets. The words used in his poems are figurative, literal and of a universal language, breaking down obstacles to experiencing the divine. The songs of Kabir are based on his spiritual visions, mystic and lifelong faith in the Supreme Being, God. The mystic songs are allusive to symbols and myths in the Hindu religion; they are full of devotion, allegorical and ideas of adoring and surrendering to God. For instance, he sang; A child was born before the mother’s birth, The Guru is touching the feet of the disciple, The fish are swinging on the trees, ……………. Or the lion is riding the waves of the ocean/ Sethi The ingenuity and uniqueness of the Songs of Kabir lies in the use of simple metaphors to convey his message, and awing to day-to-day life inspirations. Kabir establishes a clear and instantaneous communication channel with his audience; he compares steadfastness and humility to the tree, ignorance to a crow, God to a weaver, completeness and solitude beauty to a swan, body to a cloth, cosmic experience to the ocean, Guru to a washerman, and longing for God to the passion of a newly-wed bride. This can explain the diverse nature of Kabir’s audience. However, Kabir’s authentic mysticism is only experienced after his audience begin to live his words. The ingenuity of his words are founded in the depth of his personal experiences with seed-like quality latent. Kabir’s words in the songs can potentially yield various experiences through nurture and care; the experiences might not be obvious instantly during the initial engagement. For example, the meaning of “Chalti Chaaki Dekh Kar Diya Kabira Roye, Dui Pataan Ke Beech Mein Saabat Bacha Na Koi”3, and its authentic mystic experience are completely different. Although Kabir’s words are suggestive, they often have a deeper meaning. He describes his mystical instructions as “Gunge Ki Sain Jin Jani Un Mani”, meaning people who recognized the mute’s indication found the truth. Apart from Kabir’s mystical teachings in the songs, he uses illogical riddles to challenge his audience to find solutions. The riddles in the songs do not necessarily have meanings or solutions tied to them, but seek to inspire readers to think beyond the words and get into a deeper introspection state of the mind. Readers can question time flow’s direction or experience the ability of the mind to develop realities. His audience can also instantly realize the flowing creativity within them just like a fish swimming in the waters. Kabir’s words or riddles in the songs translate to the exact and precise experiences they generate in the audience. Looking for the right answers to his words is counterproductive and futile. He sang; No one tells me about the bird That sings within the body Its colour is a colourless hue, Its form a formless form, It lives under the shade of nam. . . . . In the vast tree dwells a bird, It hops, it pecks, it eats, And from branch to branch it flies. . . . . But they fly away in the evening. Morning they return for the day; . . . . But where, O Pundits, Where, O learned ones, Is the home of the bird That no one is able to see, That sings within each body? The Bird that Sings Within / Sethi 254 Bird symbolizes a soul living in the human body-cage or the world tree. It eats two fruits, that is, the bad and good effects of initial birth. The soul leaves in the evening, when mortal life ends and returns in the morning, when mortal life is reborn. The Bauls and fakirs songs uses many of such symbolism, preferring a direction relationship and communion with God without outgoing rituals. He further sings; The vagrant rabbit of the wild woods Has made the ocean its abode; The lively fish of the seas Has made the mountain peaks its home. The base one has devoured liquor, But the noble one has become intoxicated. Without an orchard, without a tree Grows a fruit of rare delicacy. . . . . Says Kabir; Hearken O, sages, On the path of supreme knowledge, By my master’s grace The elephant comes and goes Through the needle’s eye. Fish Climbs to the Peaks /Sethi 480-81 Fish symbolizes a soul that leaves its usual water ecosystem to go enjoy spiritual heights. The rabbit also leaves the woods to go and enjoy the bliss of the oceans. The statements are paradoxical in nature: a mind full of impurities is compared to an elephant that becomes small and humble in the eyes of God, and by his grace, passes through a needle. It is also by God’s grace that the dumb become talkative and the lame are able to cross the mountain. As divine grace raises the fallen, such things occur; the scripture is full of examples such as a dumb person becoming talkative and the lame crossing mountains by the grace of God. True mysticism in the songs of Kabir lie in his personalized instruction or writings for his audience. When the reader abandons himself in search of the ultimate truth that Kabir writes about, only then is he able to reveal it in completeness.