________________
49
KABIR
KABIR WAS A great bhakta (devotee) who lived in or near Benares some centuries ago. Although he had siddhis (psychic powers), he earned his livelihood by weaving. One day, when he was working on his loom, a disciple entered in great excitement and said, “Sir, there is a juggler outside here who is attracting large crowds by making his stick stand in the air”. Thereupon Kabir, who like all true saints, discouraged the display of jugglery, wanted to shame the man, and so rushed out with a big ball of thread in his hand. Seeing the long bamboo standing in the air, he threw his ball of thread up in the air. As the ball went up it unwound itself till the whole length of thread stood stiff in mid-air, and to a far greater height than the juggler's stick, without any support whatever. The people, including the juggler himself, were stunned with amazement, and Sri Bhagavan's eyes acted the amazement, while his hand stood high above his head in the position of Kabir when he threw up the ball.
