Following Kabir means understanding one’s inner self, realizing oneself, accepting oneself as is, and becoming harmonious with one’s surroundings.
b. 1440 d. 1518 CE
Legend says that he was born in 1398 and relinquished his body when he was about 120 years old. In this way his followers claim him as contemporary to Guru Nanak and Sikander Lodi. There is a famous legend about his death; when he died, his Hindu and Muslim followers started fighting about the last rites. When they lifted the cloth covering his body, they found flowers instead. The Muslim followers buried their half and the Hindu cremated their half. In Maghar, his tomb and samadhi still stand side by side.
The social and practical manifestation of Kabir’s philosophy has rung through the ages. It represented a synthesis of Hindu, and Muslim concepts. From Hinduism he accepts the concept of reincarnation and the law of Karma. From Islam he takes the affirmation of the single god and the rejection of caste systems and idolatry. The basic religious principles he espouses are simple. 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 into union these two divine principles.
