Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 01

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 105

The Secular Religiousity in Kabir's Philosophy of Bhakti
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religious fanaticism and its symbolic ritualistic practices of idol worship, animal sacrifices and rotating of mālā etc., as the futile exercises without having the purity of heart and sense of dedication and devotion," he. with equal force, condemned the practice of giving loud azān by the mullah in the masques." His secularism had a logical and rational tone with a view to diminishing differences in the exteriorities of both the religions and negating their outward manifestations through social and religious behaviour in a conservative manner and that way, in a populist sense, it may be termed as dharmanirpekshata but at the same time the religiousity of Kabir's personality as a nirguna bhakta, tends to develop a sense of unity and harmony among all religious groups by emphasizing on a philosophy of monism when he says:
दुई जगदीश कहाँ ते आया, कह कौने भरमाया।
अल्ला हरि हजरत करीम और केशव नाम धराया।। and this-bears a sense of sarvadharma samabhava as the other specific side of the Secularism in the context of Indian society with its multicultural and multireligious nature and form. Kabir's secularism is thus not without religious but his religiousness, without any doubt, is highly secular. If in his social personality secularism rests with all its colours his religiousness finds no limit in this person who considering bhakti as the means to moksha (Ha fer ) believed very strongly in
भाव भगति बिसबास बिन कटै ने संसै मूल । कहैं कबीर हरि भगति बिन, मुकति नहीं रे मूल।।
and मैं गुलाम मोहि बेचि गुसाई।
तन मन धन मेरा राम के ताई।।" marking us aware of the intensity of his bhakti. Kabir not only taught his ideals in words but he did live with these ideals and the biggest example was his leaving the Benaras for Magahar in the last days of his life just to porve the futility and the baselessness of the popular belief that one who breathes his last in Kāśi attains mokşa." His emphasis on the religious harmony between the followers of Hindu religion and Islam came to act even after his death when, as a tradition tells that his Hindu and Muslim followers began quarrelling for performing his last rites according to their own custom and to solve this problem when the dead body was uncovered there was noting but few flowers which are divided between them for performing the last rites of the guru in accordance with their beliefs and then in the words of Kabir 1 À
T 'I Reference 1. Cambridge Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge, 2001, pp. 574 539. 2. For various meanings of Bhakti, See, Williams, M., Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 743. 3. Sharma, Krishna, Bhakti and the Bhakti Movement - A New perspective, Delhi, 1987, p. 4;
For a different view on Bhakti, see, Kosambi, D.D., The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outlines (Hindi Tr.), Delhi, 1964, pp. 261-62; Sharma, R.S., Problem of Transition From Ancient to Medieval in Indian History' in Indian Historical Review, vol-1, pt. 1, Delhi, 1974; Jaiswal,S., The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism, Delhi, 1967, p. 38-39.
4. Sharma, Krishna, op. cit., p. 5. 5. Ibid. pp. 4,5.
6. Ibid. pp. 10-11; also Sinha. A.K., 'Sankara-Darśana mein Bhakti-Cetanā' in Journal of Ganganatha Jhu Kendriya Sanskrita Vidyapeetha, Vol. L-LI, Allahabad, 1995, pp. 294-295.
7. Sinha, A.K., op. cit, p. 295.
8. "The so-called Nirguni Bhakti whose chief exponent was Kabir...". Charllottes, V., Kabir, vol. I, Oxford, 1974. p. 120: Sharma, K. op. cit., p. 18.
9. See, Tripathi, M., Kabir evam Unke Samasamayika Nirguna-Santon Ki Bhakti-Paddati, Delhi, pp. 128-129.