Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Message of the 15 Bhagats or saints (Part-1)

47. Message of the 15 Bhagats or saints (Part-1)

Bhagat Kabir ji

Principle Teachings : The whole universe is the creation of one God and it is in the image of the lord almighty. Discrimination between high and low caste is a product of human prejudice which creates an unassailable gap between man and Almighty. God is not a monopoly of one group of people or religion. Unity with Almighty can be achieved through naam simran and loving Him. The person who achieves this unity becomes fearless of death. Such a mortal proclaims loudly :

O kabir I rejoice at the prospect of death which the world fears

He also says :

O kabir I am enthused by the prospect of death

A Person can achieve this stage by reciting God’s naam. As on page 1375 :

Kabir, repeating, "You, You", I have become like You. Nothing of me remains in myself. When the difference between myself and others is removed, then wherever I look, I see only You.

Baba Kabir ji was born in 1398 A.D. at Village Lehar Talau near Banaras (U.P.) India. He was brought up very fondly by his father Neeru Ali and mother Neema ji. He was destined by Almighty to do the sacred deed of reciting Naam to humanity and unify them with the creator. He was born at a time of when there was turmoil and great social degradation and political upheaval. Muslim tyranny was at its climax and the general masses were caught in the net of false rituals and fake traditions. Even the shadow of a low caste person falling upon a high caste person was considered inauspicious. His father sent him to a Maulvi and Qazi for studies. Maulvi wanted him to adopt Muslim shariat (Islamic code of living), but he thought differently. No doubt, he believed that there was no difference between ALLAH and RAM but from the very beginning, he had an inclination towards meditating on the name of RAM. So, of his own wish and will, he sometimes recited RAM and sometimes ALLAH. But how could Muslims tolerate this bent of mind? Brahmins, on the other hand, hated him having been brought up in a Muslim house. When he grew up, he was married to Mata Lo-ee, daughter of Baba Neti Ji. Mata Loee was a gentle, kind, and God fearing lady. Baba Kabir Ji helped his father in his profession of weaving cloth. He worked very hard and honestly to make both ends meet. He put his body to use by undertaking physical labor, and his mind was busy reciting Naam at every chance he got. As time passed, God blessed him with two children. He named his son Kamala and daughter Kamali. Baba Kabir Ji always recited the name of Ram, but he wanted to achieve unity with Almighty God, so an intense desire within him arose to become anointed by a spiritual teacher. At that time, Bhagat Ramanand was a charismatic, revolutionary and spiritual personality. But Kabir ji was a man of low caste, so he was under the impression that Ramanand will not accept him as his disciple. Bhagat ji thought of a plan. In order to touch Ramanand’s feet, he laid down on the foot steps at Manikaran Ghaat(Banaras) from where Ramanand ji used to pass early in the morning daily to take a dip in the River Ganges. When Ramanand ji came next morning before dawn to the bathing site, his foot touched Kabir ji who was lying on the pavement. Ramanand felt somebody was sleeping. In a casual way he remarked,” Get up man of god, utter the name of Ram (omnipresent lord), it is the ambrosial hour before dawn, why are you asleep carelessly?” Kabir ji Got up, bowed to Sri Ramanand Ji and came back home. Every pore of Kabir ji’s body began to recite Ram, Ram with the touch of Ramanand Ji’s feet. Bhai Gurdas ji has described this incident in his Tenth vaar pauri 15th :

Being detached from the world, Brahmin Ramanand lived in Varanasi (Kasi). He would rise early in the morning and go to the Ganges to bathe. Once even before Ramanand, Kabir went there and lay in the way. Touching kabir with his feet, Ramanand awakened him to and said ‘utter Ram’, the true spiritual teaching. As the iron touched by philosopher’s stone becomes gold and the margosa tree (Azadirachta indica) is made fragrant by sandal. The wondrous Guru turns even animals and ghosts into angels. Meeting the wonderous Guru the disciple wonderfully merges into the great wonderous Lord. Then from the Self springs a fountain and the words of the gurmukhs shape a beautiful form There is no difference between god and Kabir

Kabir ji didn’t want to leave this ecstatic state of bliss even for a second because of the intense waves of Ram Naam(Effect of meditation). Sometimes he would quit his daily schedule of work. When family members asked him about leaving his daily work, he used to say,” The work which deviates my mind from the name of God, I am not willing to do that work. In this work of weaving, thread breaks over and over again. When I blow into the pipe to put the thread in, I can’t concentrate on the naam of God(pray). He had describes this state of being in Raag Gujri Ghar 3 Page 524 :

Kabeer's mother sobs, cries and bewails O Lord, how will my grandchildren live ? Kabeer has given up all his spinning and weaving, and written the Name of the Lord on his body. As long as I pass the thread through the bobbin, I forget the Lord, my Beloved

Whoever came to Baba Kabir ji for spiritual teaching or to listen to his divine discourses, was given equal treatment without any sort of discrimination. As Kabir had attained an exalted state of being, he saw all beings as equal. He stated,” All the world is the creation of one God. All the mortals are made of the same basic five elements. The light of one Almighty is glittering in every one. Due to the vested interests of some people, segregation of High and low castes has been enforced upon humanity. All the expanse of the universe is due to one God only. You are simply disillusioned, when blinded by prejudice you make distinctions of caste when infact the reality is that…. As mentioned in Parbhati Kabir ji on page 1349-1350 :

First, Allah created the Light; then, by His Creative Power, He made all mortal beings. From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad ? O people, O Siblings of Destiny, do not wander deluded by doubt. The Creation is in the Creator, and the Creator is in the Creation, totally pervading and permeating all places. The clay is the same, but the Fashioner has fashioned it in various ways. There is nothing wrong with the pot of clay - there is nothing wrong with the Potter.





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				47. Message of the 15 Bhagats or saints (Part-1) Bhagat Kabir ji Principle Teachings : The whole universe is the creation of one God and it is in the image of the lord almighty. Discrimination between high and low caste is a product of human prejudice which creates an unassailable gap between man and Almighty. God is not a monopoly of one group of people or religion. Unity with Almighty can be achieved through naam simran and loving Him. The person who achieves this unity becomes fearless of death. Such a mortal proclaims loudly : O kabir I rejoice at the prospect of death which the world fears He also says : O kabir I am enthused by the prospect of death A Person can achieve this stage by reciting God’s naam. As on page 1375 : Kabir, repeating, "You, You", I have become like You. Nothing of me remains in myself. When the difference between myself and others is removed, then wherever I look, I see only You. Baba Kabir ji was born in 1398 A.D. at Village Lehar Talau near Banaras (U.P.) India. He was brought up very fondly by his father Neeru Ali and mother Neema ji. He was destined by Almighty to do the sacred deed of reciting Naam to humanity and unify them with the creator. He was born at a time of when there was turmoil and great social degradation and political upheaval. Muslim tyranny was at its climax and the general masses were caught in the net of false rituals and fake traditions. Even the shadow of a low caste person falling upon a high caste person was considered inauspicious. His father sent him to a Maulvi and Qazi for studies. Maulvi wanted him to adopt Muslim shariat (Islamic code of living), but he thought differently. No doubt, he believed that there was no difference between ALLAH and RAM but from the very beginning, he had an inclination towards meditating on the name of RAM. So, of his own wish and will, he sometimes recited RAM and sometimes ALLAH. But how could Muslims tolerate this bent of mind? Brahmins, on the other hand, hated him having been brought up in a Muslim house. When he grew up, he was married to Mata Lo-ee, daughter of Baba Neti Ji. Mata Loee was a gentle, kind, and God fearing lady. Baba Kabir Ji helped his father in his profession of weaving cloth. He worked very hard and honestly to make both ends meet. He put his body to use by undertaking physical labor, and his mind was busy reciting Naam at every chance he got. As time passed, God blessed him with two children. He named his son Kamala and daughter Kamali. Baba Kabir Ji always recited the name of Ram, but he wanted to achieve unity with Almighty God, so an intense desire within him arose to become anointed by a spiritual teacher. At that time, Bhagat Ramanand was a charismatic, revolutionary and spiritual personality. But Kabir ji was a man of low caste, so he was under the impression that Ramanand will not accept him as his disciple. Bhagat ji thought of a plan. In order to touch Ramanand’s feet, he laid down on the foot steps at Manikaran Ghaat(Banaras) from where Ramanand ji used to pass early in the morning daily to take a dip in the River Ganges. When Ramanand ji came next morning before dawn to the bathing site, his foot touched Kabir ji who was lying on the pavement. Ramanand felt somebody was sleeping. In a casual way he remarked,” Get up man of god, utter the name of Ram (omnipresent lord), it is the ambrosial hour before dawn, why are you asleep carelessly?” Kabir ji Got up, bowed to Sri Ramanand Ji and came back home. Every pore of Kabir ji’s body began to recite Ram, Ram with the touch of Ramanand Ji’s feet. Bhai Gurdas ji has described this incident in his Tenth vaar pauri 15th : Being detached from the world, Brahmin Ramanand lived in Varanasi (Kasi). He would rise early in the morning and go to the Ganges to bathe. Once even before Ramanand, Kabir went there and lay in the way. Touching kabir with his feet, Ramanand awakened him to and said ‘utter Ram’, the true spiritual teaching. As the iron touched by philosopher’s stone becomes gold and the margosa tree (Azadirachta indica) is made fragrant by sandal. The wondrous Guru turns even animals and ghosts into angels. Meeting the wonderous Guru the disciple wonderfully merges into the great wonderous Lord. Then from the Self springs a fountain and the words of the gurmukhs shape a beautiful form There is no difference between god and Kabir Kabir ji didn’t want to leave this ecstatic state of bliss even for a second because of the intense waves of Ram Naam(Effect of meditation). Sometimes he would quit his daily schedule of work. When family members asked him about leaving his daily work, he used to say,” The work which deviates my mind from the name of God, I am not willing to do that work. In this work of weaving, thread breaks over and over again. When I blow into the pipe to put the thread in, I can’t concentrate on the naam of God(pray). He had describes this state of being in Raag Gujri Ghar 3 Page 524 : Kabeer's mother sobs, cries and bewails O Lord, how will my grandchildren live ? Kabeer has given up all his spinning and weaving, and written the Name of the Lord on his body. As long as I pass the thread through the bobbin, I forget the Lord, my Beloved Whoever came to Baba Kabir ji for spiritual teaching or to listen to his divine discourses, was given equal treatment without any sort of discrimination. As Kabir had attained an exalted state of being, he saw all beings as equal. He stated,” All the world is the creation of one God. All the mortals are made of the same basic five elements. The light of one Almighty is glittering in every one. Due to the vested interests of some people, segregation of High and low castes has been enforced upon humanity. All the expanse of the universe is due to one God only. You are simply disillusioned, when blinded by prejudice you make distinctions of caste when infact the reality is that…. As mentioned in Parbhati Kabir ji on page 1349-1350 : First, Allah created the Light; then, by His Creative Power, He made all mortal beings. From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad ? O people, O Siblings of Destiny, do not wander deluded by doubt. The Creation is in the Creator, and the Creator is in the Creation, totally pervading and permeating all places. The clay is the same, but the Fashioner has fashioned it in various ways. There is nothing wrong with the pot of clay - there is nothing wrong with the Potter.

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