But for Kabir in this Kaliyuga...

Author(s): Purushottam Agrawal

Source: India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 2 (AUTUMN 2010), pp. 36-45
Published by: India International Centre
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23006435
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lie QUARTERLY

But for
Kabir in this
Kaliyuga...

But for Kabir in this Kaliyuga,

The ways of the world, the force of Kaliyuga,
And the authority of the scriptures
Would have destroyed bhakti forever....
God, in his mercy, sent his own man Kabir,
Made him sing, the true light spread,
And this humble Pipa also got a glimpse of truth.1

of Kabir; this is Pipa, the Chauhan Raja of Gagrone

(in Rajasthan) expressing his gratitude to the
This is weaver
notfrom a 'modern', secular,
Banaras. Incidentally, Pipa, a junior progressive admirer
contemporary of Kabir did not shower such fulsome praise even on
his (and Kabir's) guru, Ramananda.

By Purushottam Agrawal

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 BUT FOR KABIR IN THIS KALIYUGA

In our times, Kabir is undoubtedly a cultural

and secularists in India and abroad. Some 'mo
credit themselves with the 'discovery', even
- the voice of the marginalized. After all, w
of Kabir's and Pipa's times (i.e. fifteenth-six
stagnant, medieval society, ridden with cast
of all voice and agency to the 'people from t
not Kabir himself such a voice? But here w
Raja (and there are many more like him in '
munificently praiseful of, and so uninhibitedly
weaver, who would be described as a member
Backward Classes in the official discourse o
as a historically neglected and marginalized
of modern and post-modern scholarship. G
between experienced fact and its scholarly
we should rethink some of our ideas about the times of Kabir and
the tradition, which has so lovingly and reverentially preserved his
memories till date.
To begin with, it is important to note that neither Pipa, nor
Kabir, were stand-alone voices. Kabir is uniquely respected not
as some freak miracle of history, but as the most important in a
galaxy of sadhakas before and after him. Traditionally, he is seen as
a participant in an ongoing conversation, in which not only Pipa,
but Dadu (1544-1603 AD) and many others are also participating
in their own right. The admirers of Kabir cut across time and
space. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, one comes across
Shankardeva in Assam, Tukaram in Maharshtra and Nirwan Saheb in
Gujarat, celebrating this weaver from Banaras. Then in the eighteenth
century, we have Paltudas in Ayodhya; Garibdas and Charandas,
Dayabai and Sahjobai in Haryana, proudly placing themselves in the
tradition of Kabir. Each one of these was an accomplished sadhaka
and poet in his/her own right. The mention of these few names out
of many is intended as a reminder for those admirers of Kabir who
'discover' him through some translation or interpretation, and then
treat him as a stand-alone cultural superstar, valiantly fighting a
losing battle against stagnant tradition and a decadent society. This
'method' of admiring Kabir, perforce, also becomes a way of either
condemnation or condensation for that very society and tradition,
which listened to people like Kabir, argued with them and carefully

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lie QUARTERLY

preserved their contributions along with the

this conversation.
Before and after Kabir there existed, and ex
interrogating caste and other social practi
as the primary moving force of life. This im
in north India to a great extent. A raja like P
of this impact and the continuity of this im
to see. It is a different matter, that while wr
and its transformation, the 'scriptures' (trad
are generally privileged over the evidenc
Naturally, then, Kabir is seen frozen in a
be discovered, delivered and ultimately to
project. Given this scenario of 'specialist'
the generally prevalent notions about bha
remarkable that the late Acharya Parshuram
greatest scholars of this tradition, begins
Bharat Ki Sant Parampara'2 (Sant Tradition
Gorakhnath, and the last sant about whom C
write, is Mahatma Gandhi.
The most important thing is to recog
'medieval' past of India was not made by st
caste and community working reflexively
forces of depersonalized systems of 'ci
'religious belief'. Like 'modern' histor
sentient people themselves, through their
interaction first with nature and then with
process, nature as well culture underwent
like Kabir, far from being miraculous 'accide
agents and outcomes of such a transform
the French scholar and writer had reminded
1950, 'Unlike a unique model, India had alw
but had not approached them in the same wa
The point here is this: basic human prob
but methods of approaching them are det
of historical actors, which has a dialectica
traditions and historical memories available a
We cannot truly appreciate Kabir's historical
and his meaning for ours, if we do not get r
derision for the tradition, which instead of

Purushottam Agrawal

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 BUT FOR KABIR IN THIS KALIYUGA

the cultural memory listened to and engage

'argumentative' tradition can not remain fr
one of the finest 'argumentative Indians'. R
Amartya Sen rightly points out, 'The co
the dialogic tradition and of the acceptan
to exaggerate.'4
If we go beyond the 'discovery' of Kabir u
of colonial modernity, and listen carefu
that of Pipa and countless others belongin
the 'lower' strata of society) preserving his
not as a marginalized voice, but as a perso
Listening to popular 'memory' as distinc
also make it amply clear that social struc
witnessing significant changes in pre-co
remind ourselves that legends in any soc
fabrications. In fact, they reflect a socie
past, reflections on the present and ima
The grammar of legends is determined
as it were, between what actually happe
what could have but did not happen. It i
sensitive to this grammar, while 'translat
'realistic' language.
Legends tell us that the first Acharya of
in Banaras - Suratigopal - was in fact a h
southern India, carrying the honorific '
every opponent and challenger in 'Shast
theoretical disputation). He had come to
purpose of defeating this outspoken wea
critical of all scriptures, and so sarcastic tow
religious practices. But it so happened tha
weaver, the pundit was himself 'defeated
true teacher, as his guru. A rich merchant,
Chhatisgarh region, established the other co
Panth. The question of the last rites of Kabi
his disciples - the Hindus led by Raja Vi
cremate his body and the Muslims led by
to bury it. The irony of the situation, that
his own followers and admirers apart, th
fact that far from being marginalized and

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lie QUARTERLY

commanded great respect even amongst the '

of these - Pipa, Suratigopal, Virsingh and Bijl
figures. All of them appear in historical account
So, here we have, in 'stagnant, medieval' tim
raised as a Julaha, commanding respect and v
lords and pundits apart from traders and artisa
arises: was Kabir's century indeed a century o
and of a caste system frozen in time, or is our
period clouded by blinkers of various kinds
Kabir was composing his poems in the verna
can we really have a proper historical sense o
directly engaging with vernacular sources?
The fundamental problem here is this: to m
interpreters, Kabir is a witness who is called
the 'court' is interested in listening to his own
times, but because his testimony is to be us
determined conclusion about his poetic worl
times. Naturally enough, this pre-determined co
of a larger design of past, present and future. K
play the assigned role in one or other teleol
some narratives, Kabir is made to play the ro
of Christianity without Christ, or of a Sufi,
language of Hindu bhakti. According to the o
a defender of the Hindu identity (even if, so
against the Muslim onslaught. He is also assi
'apostle of Hindu-Muslim unity', or the champio
Marx, or of twentieth-century Dalit world view
Sadly, the relation, which the bulk of 'mod
established with vernacular sources, not only in
but in general, brings to mind a scene from
village-folks have developed respect for Raju
priests are quite upset, and in order to subvert
challenge Raju to speak Sanskrit, by posing
obviously cannot take up the challenge - and
excited — 'what can he say, he knows no Sans
is at stake; he starts speaking in English, now
loss - 'what can they say, they know no English
Modern scholarship must realize that those not
Persian or English might also have someth

Purushottam Agrawal

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 BUT FOR KABIR IN THIS KALIYUGA

Listening to such people carefully, we realize t

treated either as a failure or as a marginal voic
and tradition. We can also see that Kabir was
decadent and stagnant community, waiting fo
for its deliverance. Kabir and Tukaram seem 'm
they were running ahead of their times, but
were witnessing the emergence of indigenous
history. If vernacular sources are read properl
and not as secondary evidence useful only to prov
determined conclusion (shall we say a lawyer's br
different picture of the social dynamics of 'm
starts to emerge.5 As a matter of fact, a genu
with Sanskrit and Persian sources refutes the
Indian society and an unchanging, eternal caste-s
In the specific context of Kabir, we must also
more poignant than his popular iconoclasm
anguish which permeates his oeuvre just as 'f
the entire body of a flower' (as Kabir describe
Rama in the entirety of existence). In fact, his ju
criticism flows from this dialectic. On one ha
the longing for the beloved with whom, he h
a spontaneous relationship that makes caste an
absolutely irrelevant, but on the other, expe
quite contrary to this spontaneity. Inside, he live
but the outside world conducts itself on the basis of the accident
of birth. And it is not caste alone; it is also the idea of 'piousness'
determined by faith. You are 'impure' if you do not have the right
kind of faith and dogma. Then, there are rituals, which are empty in
as much as they represent only mechanical observances bereft of any
deep meaning.
Facing all this on all sides, Kabir vehemently criticizes almost
everything. It is important to note, that given his all-round
dissatisfaction with the idea of organized religion as such, to describe
him as an 'apostle of Hindu-Muslim' unity is to get his message
hopelessly wrong. Kabir's rejection of all organized religion is so well
known that one hardly needs to quote him on this count. He is not
at all interested in such unity, which would be based on uncritical
acceptance of given faith structures and socio-religious practices.
That is why he is not actually 'qualified' to be an icon of modern

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lie QUARTERLY

day secular politics. But then, he is also no

of revolutionary atheism, which is in the ha
baby of spiritual quest and anguish along
organized religion. The idea of Kabir being in
new religious tradition, or a new Panth, is al
by his poetic compositions or by contempora
What emerges from an episode as rec
his Kabir Parchai ('an introduction to the miraculous life of
Kabir' composed in the last decade of sixteenth century, around
seventy years after the death of Kabir) is the fact that leaders and
representatives of Hindu and Muslim opinion, united not because
of, and for Kabir's poetry, but against it. They went in a delegation to
Sikandar Lodi, who was visiting Banaras, and bitterly complained:

He has abandoned the customs of the Muslims, and has broken the
untouchablity rules of Hindus ... he has corrupted everyone ...
he has separated himself from both the Hindus and the Muslims.
For this reason, no one respects us as long as this Julaha remains
in Kashi.6

The kernel of the 'complaint' would be essentially true even today.

To 'respect' the self-appointed guardians of faith and representatives
of any 'community' will be difficult for someone who chooses to
listen and engage with the Julaha of Kashi!
The question implicit in Kabir's poetry is this: if I can establish
a relationship of love and equality with my Rama, why not with
fellow human beings? He was concerned with establishing such a
relationship, not another Panth, which was established at least a
century after him, but that is another story. So far as Kabir's own
poetic sensibility and the notion of bhakti is concerned, a couple of
things can be noted.
First of all, he is a poet of direct address, he calls you to 'listen',
and he invariably extends this call to 'bhai' (brother, fellow human
being), not to jati-bhai (caste-fellow). His rejection of caste ideology
and Brahmin supremacy is honest and fundamental, not strategic
and aimed at creating a competitive constituency by taking recourse
to reverse casteism. Secondly, Kabir is an interrogator all right, but
not just that. Kabir the poet also reflects upon fundamental dilemmas
of human existence. The inner and outer courtyards in his poetry are

: Purushottam Agrawal

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 BUT FOR KABIR IN THIS K A L I Y U G A ...

constructed as part of a whole, and to insist on only on

to destroy the structure. He, as a poet and as a sad
with the dilemma of primacy, and finds solutions
the relation of continuity between the two; in rejec
of social/spiritual; inner/outer. He asks himself: how t
ultimate truth, and tells himself and his audience:

If I insist, it is just within, am I not denying the Truth of

outside?/But describing it outside will be quite untrue/s
feel and convey this deep Truth?/The way to such profo
is only through the incessantly dialogic word?7

Unfortunately, many of his modern discoverers

have 'resolved' the dilemma of primacy simply by d
existence, and in the process denying Kabir's holis
Reverend G.H. Westcott can be credited with produ
full-length tract on Kabir, from an unabashedly c
missionary point of view, and also for leaving an ex
shadow on subsequent Kabir studies. For him, Kabir
is nothing but a rehash of St. John's doctrine of word
hand for Evelyn Underhill9 (who wrote the introductio
'one hundred poems of Kabir') Kabir's scathing cri
prejudice did not deserve even the slightest notice.
It should also be noted that Kabir's bhakti is not an ab
of the vanquished before the victorious. Rather, it
between two equals. Normally, the devotee is supp
God, and follow after him; but steeped in the notio
participation',10 Kabir has the confidence to declare:

Having made my mind as pure as the water of Ganga/I c

following after, calling out, 'Kabir, Kabir'.11

Kabir never established a new church, had no church

from, was born a Muslim and revered as one of the
bhaktas and sadhakas. His was not a search for a
denomination, but for some way of relating with the c
and social experience without excluding either o
was the search of Adhyatma (which refers to tran
is generally very inadequately, in fact, misleadingly

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lie QUARTERLY

'spirituality'), and he was insistent on negoti

his poetic bhakti. He was a master of sarc
articulation of nostalgia and Utopia, love
bliss. And yet, he has been reduced to a 'refo
religious order. In fact, he was described
W.W. Hunter in the nineteenth century.
I have been speculating for a while - d
produce and preserve someone like Ka
discovery of the 'Indian Luther', I am mo
European Kabir?
If we ask this question, seriously and per
other things, we might also get rid of the d
and environment that made Kabir possible.

Purushottam Agrawal

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 UT FOR KABIR IN THIS KALIYUGA.

ENDNOTES:

1. <*Rihh ^ ^ 3?? chfci-j'i fafcl ^ft *mf<T <.«incn ^ /

... "TTfcI wcllfM <lRa<^ *np|pl SIN HcSNI / ch^kl ^ y^hltll cIFI TtP?TI'
- The Sarvangi of Gopaldas, ed. Winand Callewarte, Manohar, New Delhi, 1993,
p. 261.
2. Parshuram Chaturvedi, Uttari Bharat ki Sant Parampara, Bharati Bhandar, Allahabad,
1950.

3. Raymond Schwab, The Oriental Renaissance: Europe's Rediscovery of India and

the East-1680-1880, Columbia University Press, New York, 1984, p. 6.
4. Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History and
Identity, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2005, p. xiii.
5. I have tried to demonstrate this in my recently published Hindi book, Akath Kahani
Prem Ki: Kabirki Kavita aur Un ka Samay, Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi, 2009.
6. "'5WRH s>1s) TtfrT / ^ / ... fsrfv ^ effai
f^FTCT / t '^RI / <11 cF ^ ^ ^ / '3R ePI fli
l^fl' Kabir legends and Anantdas' Kabir Parchai, edited and translated by Dav
Lorenzen, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1992, pp. 166-167.
7. ' eft rirjt / clt ^31 iff
fafa ^ Tf'STtTT #l'
8. Kabir and Kabir Panth, first published from C
1907, reprint, Susil Gupta (India) Kolkata, 1953,
9. One Hundred Poems of Kabir, Macmillan India, first published in 1915,
subsequently in numerous reprints.
10. For a detailed exposition of this idea see my Akath Kahani Prem Ki: Kabir ki Kavita
aur Un ka Samay, Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi, 2009.
11. ' <*«n< TT Pl4el *PIJ ^ Tfnr ^ cTFTI fft =f>sTl<, ttiqUl*

:45

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