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Message from His Holiness Panth Shri Hajur 1008Ardhnam Saheb:

Dear Devotee,

With the invention of Computers and the internet, sharing of KabirSaheb’s teachings has grown ten fold over the last decade. Moreand more people are using this medium now to keep in touch andpray, I am encouraged to see that the e-book market has taken theworld by storm and it is very important for our Panth to embracethis technology.

I urge all the Ashrams and Mahants to participate in this mediumand let the readers fulfil their quest for Kabir Saheb’s teachings,this is a quick and free way to communicate. And for those thatcontribute have my heartiest blessings.

I give my whole hearted support for the launch of this e-magazineand may the teachings of Satguru Kabir Saheb flourish for now andin the future.

Panth Shri Hajur 1008 Ardhnam SahebAcharya Gadi, Sadguru Prakatya Dham, Varanasi

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Poonam Message from His Holiness Panth Shri Hajur1008 Ardhnam Saheb:

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Introduction to the Purnima Katha

By: Dr.J.Das, Kabir Association Canada

The punam or purnima fast has been explained by Satguru KabirSaheb to his foremost disciple Dharam Dass. He taught thatSatpurush Parmatma at the beginning of creation instituted thisfast. He further taught that this fast is the root of all fasts, and thelatter are branches. So he stressed the importance of observing thisfast in the manner he described. If one observes it with fulldevotion and purity of heart, one would reap immense spiritualbenefit and general well being. It is thus important for us to observethis fast, and to encourage others to also observe it.

A brief outline of the salient features of the fast is given here tosimplify its observance. This fast is observed once a month at thefull moon based on the lunar calendar. The fast is completed by thetime the moon is full according to your time zone. Because thefasting starts in the morning and extends all day, terminating atnight with the reading of the punam katha (story), it may notalways be on the day the moon becomes full. For example, if themoon is full on Wednesday during the day, then the fast is observedon Tuesday, so it can finish by Tuesday night. One needs to stayawake until Tuesday midnight at least, but one can stay up all nightand engage in spiritual activity. If the moon is full late Wednesdaynight and into Thursday morning, the fast is observed onWednesday. The reason for the timing is that auspicious events areobserved during the waxing and not the waning phase of the moon.The hour of the full moon indicates that the dark fortnight or waningphase will commence.

On the day of the fast one wakes up and attends to the calls ofnature. One then bathes and puts on clean, white clothes, andengages in prayer and meditation. After this one spends the day ina prayerful attitude, and reads scriptures or engages in religiousdiscussions and other studies. Keep the house clean but keephousework to a minimum. In the early evening prepare your mealand prasad. After doing these, prepare a simple altar with a pictureof Satguru Kabir, some flowers, a lighted diya, and an arati thali.

Invite family, friends etc. as the case may be, and recite the katha.Explain the purpose and meaning of the katha. After this is finished,sing or recite the puranmasi mangal and the bhog shabda. Perform

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the arati and share the prasad. When all of these are finished thenone eats dinner. During the fast one needs to drink water tomaintain hydration.

When the guru or mahant is present, then one prepares thechowka arati as explained in the katha. This will then require all theother items and preparations mentioned. This is better observedwhen several people are participating and it is done in a temple.

Please visit our website at:

http://www.kabir.ca/

To translate this article please visit:

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Kabir's Bhakti Path: A Communion of Love

By James Bean (USA)

http://SantMatRadhasoami.Blogspot.comhttp://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

"Kabir has conceived of God, Raam, as one eminently attractinghumanity to a Communion of Love, and of man's putting his earthlylife to its best use in responding to this. The resulting Communionof Love finds the devotee as totally absorbed into God as is humanlyconceivable." (Chapter Seven of "Kabir's Bhakti" in TheEncyclopedia of Saints of India, Volume Two: KABIR, CriterionPublications, New Delhi)

Book Review: Kabir 1008 Vani

Kabir 1008 Vani -- Nectar of Truth and Knowledge,Essence of the Collection of Saakhis (the Saakhi Granth of Guru

Kabir) in Simple Language and Style,

Compiled by Lalchand Doohan Jigyasu,Translated into English by Kunwar Anil Kumar,

ISBN: 81-8133-515-5Publisher: Manoj Publications

Kabir 1008 Vani is a very beautiful and impressive book featuring1008 sayings of Kabir, one of Indian's greatest Masters and poet-mystics, who lived in northern India around six hundred years ago.As with Rumi, the Persian Sufi poet, in recent years Kabir has alsobecome increasingly popular in the West. A few decades ago, theonly translations of Kabir were, "Songs of Kabir" by RabindranathTagore published in 1915, and Robert Bly's 1971 paraphrase or"versions" of Kabir, which were also based upon Tagore'stranslation. These days however, there are literally hundreds ofbooks available in the English language exploring the poetry andteachings of Sri Guru Kabir Sahib. The Saakhis (a term for a certainkind of poetic composition, a couplet giving testimony of eternaltruths) are often used in the satsangs (spiritual gatherings in thename of Eternal Truth) of many spiritual paths based in India. Itmakes a great deal of sense that spiritual teachers would givesatsang talks based upon the Saakhis of Kabir, as they arebrimming with wisdom about how to integrate spiritual principlesinto one's daily life. Kabir was critical of religious hypocrisy, goingthrough the motions of outward rites and rituals without sincerity ofheart. His path was that of Bhakti, meaning, love and devotion for

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the Beloved Supreme Spirit. For Kabir, the true church, mosque, ortemple is within the body, within the human heart. The theme ofthe Saakhis is bringing all levels of our existence, more and morewith each passing day, in body, speech, emotions, and thought, intoharmony with the soul or spirit inside.Selections from Kabir 1008 Vani

"Living in this world for a short period is good, but instead ofwasting one's life doing meaningless things, it is advisable todedicate it to remembering God. What is the use of living formillions of years if one did not dedicate his time to self-introspectionand remembering God, i.e. such life is a total waste; who will keepan account of it?"

"My real happiness lies in the supreme 'Self.' And the rest in thisworld is nothing but distress. With one's mind, voice and deeds, oneshould remember Raam with a pious heart. Kabir Saheb says: 'Theessence of life is in remembering God only.'"

"The mind is very unsteady. It is not the type that would rememberGod just like that. It will remember God only when it is poked withthe goad of true Knowledge [Gnosis, direct experience]. KabirSaheb says: '...and then know for sure that this mind will notdeviate and will engage itself in remembering God.'"

"Concentrate your mind and remember the Supreme Being withoutsaying anything. Close the outside doors, i.e. quieten your sensoryorgans and detach yourself from everything. Open the inside doorsof your heart, i.e. open yourself internally and concentrate onmeditating on God and remembering him."

"Remembering God is the simplest and easiest path which hasalready been shown by the Satguru. With the help of this device Iremember God with each and every breath of mine, and I am surethis will enable me to see him one day, i.e. uttering the name ofGod continuously. Simply remembering God all the time is theeasiest process (Sahaj) of leading a spiritual life which leads thedevotee to his goal."

"You are remembering God in your heart. God resides in the sameheart. You will get a huge store of true Knowledge in this veryheart, i.e. you will find God and his transcendental Knowledgewhere you will find your supreme 'Self.'"

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"Devotion through remembering God brings every happiness to lifeand removes every distress of mind. Kabir Saheb says: 'RememberGod! It has a wonderfully powerful attraction. By continuouslyremembering God, a time comes when the devoted servant(devotee) and the master (God) become one, i.e. he attains self-realization."

"Utter the name of Raam (God) continuously. Kabir says, 'Onlydevotees can understand the Mystery of the fact that there isnothing as compared to remembering God.'"

"It is a bliss remembering God even for a moment. But only those,who practice it, know it. Remembering God is so easy that one doesnot have to spend a single penny on it. In fact one does not have tomake any extra efforts to have the best results."Prayers of Guru Kabir

"0 Supreme Being! I have become like You by remembering You allthe time. There are no more self-conceit, attachments and desiresof the world in me. I sacrifice myself on the true Knowledge of Yourname, remembering which enables me to see You all around. Thereis nothing that exists other than You."

"0 the Eternal Raam of the temple of my heart! I lost 'my' existencein remembering You continuously. I have become one with You. Iexist not without You now. My mind does not wander about anymore. I and You are one now, Raam." ////////

To translate this article please visit:

http://hajursaheb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/kabirs-bhakti-path-communion-of-love.html

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Concept of Worship

And it's Investigation in Sant Kabir's Philosophy

by: Sudha Pandit: 358, Nana Peth, Sant Kabir Chowk,"KabirBhavan",Pune - 411002.Maharashtra, India

Concept of WorshipAnd it's Investigation in Sant Kabir's PhilosophyThe term WORSHIP can be explained as a special choice for thesuperior entity by a Devotee for his Devotion, it is a communicationbetween the devotee and superior entity. It typically involvesrituals, some special kind of intentional physical actions, which arenot performed in front of any other but the worshiped entity. Itreveals some power which can be expressed in numinousexperiences or awe-inspiring. This experience sustains in thedevotee as long as s/he remains in communion with the superiorentity. It also involves praise which (explicitly) manifests thecharacteristics of the entity. Worship is a relationship (which can beunderstood in the context provided by worship). It is a strong faithin the entity. It also reveals the internal relationship between theconcept of God and the concept worship. This relation transcendsmanifestations. Worship is more powerful in congregation. Worshipis not only for the welfare of an individual but for the welfare of thesociety as a whole. Worship reflects on worshipper's lifestyle.Worship is not just the performance of external rituals it is the wayof life.In the philosophy of Sant Kabir the worship is carried out under theguidance of Guru without whom the worship cannot be understoodin its full, final and ultimate state. Guru is the path-shower for thedevotee and he is also the ideal model for a worshiper. The Guru isShabad-Data or Naam-Data thus he is initiator and also acompanion to the pathway to God.The choice of the superior entity and respect for the entity are thepre-requisites and initial fundamentals for worship without whichany worship is not worship. The choice of entity plays a pivotal rolein worship. 'A nation is known by the God it worships just as a manis known by the company he keeps.'1 The ultimate principle whichdetermines the character of a religion is the entity it worships. Thecharacter of the followers of a religion depends upon the conceptionof God they are taught to adopt. For example, if your God is too

1 Dr. Mohan Singh, A History of Punjabi Literature.

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abstract, you have a natural distrust for sentiments and feelings; ifyour God is too sternly just, tenderness and mercy have littleinfluence on your character; if your God is too tender and indulgent,your moral character and your theology lack insight.2 Theunderstanding of the idea of God is the corner-stone of a religion.The idea of God has been called the regenerative and regulativeidea of all religious systems and religious movements.3

In Sant Kabir's Bani we find him using different names for God (inthis essay we are using the word 'Superior Entity') which arecommon or known among people. He says, "I worship Ram, Rahim,Karim, Keso (Keshav), Allah, Sati."4 He said, 'Oh my mind, worshipHari!' and in the following verses he further says 'chant Ram, Ram,He is philosopher's stone (chintamani).5 In Sant Kabir's philosophythe entity as a whole is more important no matter whatever itsname may be.In the philosophy of Sant Kabir we find there are three forms of theSuperior entity:

The Sagun form of the Entity

The Nirgun form of the Entity

The 'Word', the 'Nam' form of the Entity

It is very clear that Sant Kabir is a Nirgun worshipper however Ithink there are some Shabdas which apparently seem to refer tothe Sagun form of the Entity in his Bani. There are many 'Shabdas'(in this essay I use the word 'Shabda' for devotional songs) whichare full with the praises of God in its' Sagunatva. The Shabdas areof the praises of some famous characters from Indian history,Bhaktas and some characters from famous 18 Purans (Hinduscriptures). These Shabdas are the descriptions of God in itspersonality with some special character. (Sant Kabir presupposesthat the reader or the audience knows the story). These Shabdasgenerate the nine 'Rasa' of the poetry literature. They generateshrungar, hasya, raudra, karunya, bibhasta, bhayanak, veer,adbhuta, shant ras which is not possible without exploring the 'gun'of the described entity. Even if the 'Shabdas' are praising thedeities (as stated above Sant Kabir was not much bothered aboutname of the deities in his 'Shabdas') and glorifying the personalcharacter of the deity but it ends with the lines which directly orindirectly gives the feeling of the praises for formless gods. SomeShabdas are like love songs which express unique and divinecharacter of God.

2 John Fische, Idea of God, Introduction3 God in Sikhism, by Rajindrer Kaur, p. 114 h_ma¡ am§_ ahr_ H$ar_m Ho$gmo, Ahc am§_ g{V gmoB© &&58&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr,

n¥. 3715 _Z ao h[a ^{O h[a ^{O h[a ^{O ^mB© &&122&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 409,

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There are also some Shabdas which indicate or inspire worship ofthe Nirguna form of the entity, God. Sant Kabir says in his Bani'devote yourself to the Absolute Being, no one knows theimpenetrable Lord.' 6 He further says that 'Ram is like the firewhich is in all'7 and he went on to say that 'people think that God isin the temple and go to temple to bow in front of that but actuallyGod dwells in the heart, so you be attached with that.8 Thesetypes of Shabdas are more in quantity in the total Bani.But most important thing I want to note here is 'Nirgunatva' hastwo aspects i.e. Nirgunatva which is formless God, one with nobeginning and endless entity and so on, but it has another aspectwhich is the 'Nam'. Nam has both aspects of 'Sagunatva' and'Nirgunatva'. In its initial state it has the form of some alphabets,some worldly words but as a devotee goes deeper and deeper hefinds the limitless aspect of Nam which is without any form, withpowers in itself, which is the worshipper, the worshiped and theworship i.e. the trinity finishes and only the state of Nam remains.Nam is the achievement in itself. And therefore it is advocated inSant Kabir's Bani that only Nam is the right choice of the entity toworship and Nam is all for a devotee.9 According to Sant Kabir theNam form of the entity transcends the particularity and slowlymoves towards universality. By choosing the Nam form of entity hesocially reformed and overcame the religious and communaltensions of his time which were based on the particular entities i.e.for instance Hindus holding on to the supremacy of Ram andMuslims of Allah.'WORSHIP' can be broadly divided into three categories:

General Conception of WorshipCommunal Conception of WorshipSocial and Ethical Conception of WorshipGeneral Conception of the Worship:In the General Conception of Worship we can discussthe following points.

The Superior Entity reveals Powers and Grace Power

6 {ZaJwU am§_ {ZaJwU am§_ Onhþ ao ^mB©, A{~JV H$s J{V cIr Z OmB &&Q>oH$&&49&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcrn¥. 3667 nmdH$ ê$nr am_ h¡, K{Q> K{Q> aøm g_m & {MVMH$_H$ cmJ¡ Zht, VW¢ Yy§dm± ¡ ¡ OmB© &&9&&H$. J«. gmY gmfr^yV H$m¡ A§J8 H$~ra Xþ{Zm± Xohþa¡, grg Zdm±dU OmB & {haXm ^rV[a h[a ~g¢, Vy§ Vm{h gm¢ ëm¡ cmB© &&11&& H$. J«.^«_{dYm¢gU H$m¡ A§J9 gmo YZ _oao h[a H$m Zm§C, Jm§{R> Z ~m§Ym¡ ~o{M Z Im§C && Zm§C _oao IoVr Zm§C§ _oao ~mar, ^J{V H$am¡ _¢ ga{ZVwåhmar & Zm§C _oao godm Zm§C _oao nyOm, Vwåh {~Z Am¡a Z Om§Zm¡ XÿOm &&333&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 536

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Sustains Power expressed in Numinous experiences or Awe-

inspiring. Worship is an Analogical and Metaphorical term Worship is Communication Worship is Relationship The Relation Transcends Manifestations Worship is a very strong Faith in the Entity Worship is internal relationship between the Concept of

God and Concept of WorshipFirst and foremost one must accept a superior entity for worshipwhich has powers. The entity reveals its powers and grace to thedevotee. It is believed in Sant Kabir's philosophy that only God cangrant the grace by His Will. It is by the Will or the grace of God orRam, one feels to worship or get the right path of devotion. Theentity is full of power to fulfil any wish of the devotee however allthis depend upon the grace of Ram, God. It also has the power tomake a devotee free from the sufferings of the worldly life, all painsand psycho-social imbalances.10 God, in the philosophy of SantKabir, has the power to turn a mustard seed into a mountain and amountain into a mustard seed.11 The grace of God remains with thedevotee as long as he is united with God. Association with thievesand disobeying God a devotee procures punishment from God. Onthis line Sant Kabir says, 'you are disobeying the master andmaking friendship with the thieves, as a consequence you will bepunished by God and then you will realize your mistake.'12

The power of God is expressed in numinous experiences or awe-inspiring. Sant Kabir in his Bani says, 'Light of Parbrahm, God is somuch that one cannot describe in words it can be known only byseeing it.' And in the following verses he says, 'I have perceivedGod full of glory and luminous energy and which is like paras-manithat remained in my eyes forever'13

10 am§_ ^{U am§_ ^{U am§_ qMVm_{U, ^mJ ~S>o nmm¡ N>m‹S>¡ {O{Z &&123&&nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥.40911 gm§B gy§ g~ hmoV h¡, ~§Xo W¢ H$Nw> Zm§{h & amB© W¢ na~V H$a¢, na~V amB© _m§{h &&12&& g_«WmB© H$m¡ A§J,H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 27412 gm§B© goVr Mmo[am§, Mmoam§ goVr JwP & Om§U¢Jm ao OrdS>m, _ma nS>¡Jr VwP &&10&& gm§M H$m¡A§J, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 21913 nma~«÷ Ho$ VoO H$m, H¡$gm h¡ CZ_mZ & H${h~o Hy§$ gmo^m Zht, Xo»mhr nadmZ &&3&& naMm H$m¡ A§J,H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 58 H$~ra Xo»m EH$ A§J, _{h_m H$hr Z OmB© & VoOnw§O nmag KUm|, Z¡Zy± ahm g_m &&38&& naMm H$m¡ A§J,H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 60

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The term Worship implies not only the literal terminology rather it ismore analogical and metaphorical. When a person says 'I worshipGod', the statement is an aggregation of love, respect, piousfeeling, devotion, and intention towards the superior entity which isnot the same as respecting elders, boss, authoritative powers ortowards some mundane things though apparently it may seem tobe.Consider the next part of General Conception of Worship, that isCommunication between God and devotee. The communication ofthe devotees with God is common but God communicates only withselected devotees. They are special or selected ones who are ableto understand the language of God. In all cases the Bani or Shabdasare revealed to special devotees who are also mediators and theinterpreters of God's commands for the ordinary people. Theseselected ones are prophets, or the messengers of God. Thesemessengers are born only for this purpose.The above mentioned reciprocal communication between God anddevotee is in symbolic form. The worshiper understands thelanguage of God in the form of symbols and worships Him in thesymbolic manner. This does not mean that the devotee does notuse the human language but mostly he communicates in symbolicway i.e. by offering flowers or gifts, by doing 'Seva' the service toneedy, by doing fasting or by imparting the 10th share of the totalincome.The communication can be expressed by comprehensive reasonablesymbols. Offering of flowers are symbols of love of a devotee forthe entity. These symbols are very special and sacred which cannotbe replaced with any other material having the same kind ofproperties. For instance 'Ghee' cannot be replaced by kerosene.With communication and symbolic expressions a devotee forms apersonal bond of relationship with the entity. The degree ofrelationship may differ with context, time, feelings and character ofthe devotee. The worshipper has to pass through all the stages ofthe relationship, which may start with 'Dasatva' (in Sant Kabir'sphilosophy) and may end in 'Ahm Brahmasmi' (I am That).Throughout all the phases of the relationship, the feeling of thesuperiority of the entity does not decrease from the mind of thedevotee. The duration of the phases depends upon the urge of thedevotee. In this way there is a unique relationship between thedevotee and the entity which is the devotee's own personalexperience.There are some Shabdas in the Bani of Sant Kabir which are likefolk songs in which he tries to establish various relationships withGod. He is talking about the ideal relationships between husbandand wife, mother and child, master and slave, deity and the devoteeetc. The

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Relationships are described as they were in his time. In Sant Kabir'sBani the relationships are full of feelings of desire-less love anddevotion which is not found in the worldly relationships. Thus therelationship transcends its usual meaning. He says about therelationship between husband and wife in Bijak "Hari is my husbandand I am Rama's beloved. My Rama is the greatest of all and I am avery small person.'14 And about mother and child relationship inPadavali, 'O Hari you are my mother and I am your child, why don'tyou forgive my mistakes' 15 And he says about master and slave'srelationship, 'O my master I am your servant and you can sell me.All my body, mind and wealth is yours, Ram'.16

Basically the relationship of a person depends upon the religion,society and culture. At the time of Sant Kabir the society wasdivided on the basis of religion, caste, creed and gender. However,in the philosophy of Sant Kabir we find that all human, animalincluding nature are the creation of God, how can anyone divide thecreation of God? In his view no one is greater than another. All areequal.

The Communal Conception of Worship:

The Communal or Religious Conception of Worship involves all therites and rituals which may differ from religion to religion orcommunity to community. Rituals are action based. They need to beperformed in an accurate order. The physical actions (postures),which may be bending on knees, joining hands in a certain pose ormay be simply sitting silently in meditation, are part of rites andrituals. Sacred mantras, scriptures, words, holy places, holymaterials, directions (Hindus face towards East or North, Muslimsface towards West) and some special activities such as performingpenance have an important role in rites and rituals.

The communal worship may be of two types:-1) Personal worship:- This worship is performed without anypriest. A person alone can perform it. This includes all day to dayworship at home or sandhya-tarpan (in case of Hinduism), dailyprayers at certain fixed times (3 times in Hinduism and 5 times inIslam), some kind of fast, meditation etc.2) Community Worship:- These are performed with community.The communal rituals include special life events of the founders ofthe religion or some special events of the history of that religion,and some feasts or festivals in the memory of saints of the religion.

14 h[a _moam {nC _¢ am_ H$s ~hþ[am, am_ ~S>mo _¢ VZ{H$ chþ[am &&35&& eãX, ~rOH$, n¥. 23815 h[a OZZr _¢ ~m{cH$ Voam, H$mho Z Am¡JwU ~H$ghþ _oam &&Q>oH$&&111&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥.14216 _¢ Jwcm±_ _mo{h ~oM Jwgm±B©, VZ _Z YZ _oam am_Or Ho$ Vm±Bª &&Q>oH$&&113&& nXmdcr, H$~raJ«§Wmdcr, n¥. 143

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All the above stated rituals have meaning only when it is a ropercombination of pious intention and feeling of love for theperformance and towards the entity. Sant Kabir asks, 'what arerituals? It is whatever Vedas or books (Kuran) says.'17 He has neverspoken about the performance of the rituals but he showed thecorrect way to perform rituals. For instance he says, 'do obey andserve your parents while they are alive, what is the use of doingshradha and pind-dan, or charity in the name of the deceasedparents'18 He says that without the inner thirst (of devotional love)all the rituals in form of worship, like chanting, penance, pilgrimageor hopeful faiths on different deities only result in dejection.19 SantKabir does not believe in the pilgrimage other than the pure bodyand pure mind. However he says that your mind is Mathura, (birthplace of Lord Krishna) heart is Dwarika (the place where LordKrishan lived) and the body is Kashi (the great pilgrimage ofHindus). God dwells in your body in the tenth gate i.e.Brahmarandhra and this is the place of God and also it is the way ofDivine Light.20 Thus with all his criticism on ritual conception ofworship he wanted to say that without purity of heart and mind, ifyou perform rituals only with the body and without any rationalreasons the rituals are not true rituals but only a physical exercise.The rituals can also be interpreted as the medium of communicationwith the entity. The communication may involve praise which maybe in any language (sometimes it is un-graspable by theworshipper) with intention of fulfilment of desires, for gettingknowledge, for getting peace, or to purify the devotee. Sometimespraise expressed the personal character of the deity. However, attimes the power to understand the language of God is given only tothe selected ones as stated above. These beloved ones are beyondall the rites and rituals so much so that the day, the time, the place,the words and the way of receiving the message becomes ritual forthe followers of that messenger.Rituals are action base and therefore they are attached with theconcepts of merits and demerits. Sant Kabir has reformativeopinion on the concept of merits and demerits. He says the worldlyactions will definitely give the result with some merits and demeritsbut I have stopped weaving the vertical and horizontal threads i.e.doing actions for the sake of getting some desire results, even if

17 VmW¢ H${ho cmoH$mMma, ~oX H$Vo~ H$W¢ ãm¡hma &&Q>oH$&& &356&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 54918 OrdV {nÌ Hy§$ AZ Z »dm§_¡, _y§dm§ nmN>¡ ߧS> am§d¡ & OrdV {nÌ Hy§$ ~moc¡ AnamY, _y§dm§nrN>¢ Xo{h gamY & H${h H$~ra _mo{h A{MaO Amd¡, H$D$dm ImB {nÌ Šy nmd¡ &&356&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥.54919 On Vn Xrg¡ WmoWam, VraW d«V ~¡gmg & gyd¡ g¢~c go{dm, m¢ OJ Mëm {Zamg &&8&&^«_ {dYm¢gU H$m¡ A§J,H$. J«., n¥. 22320 _Z _Wwam {Xc Ûm[aH$m, H$mm H$mgr Om±{U & Xgdm± Ûmam Xohþam, Vm_¢ Omo{V {nN>m±{U &&10&&^«_{dYm¢gU H$m¡ A§J, H$. J«., n¥. 223

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one is very much aware and prepared with the tools like yama,niyam orsayam but the worldly desires come and destroy the life of theperson, so I have started weaving a new Divine cloth with somepast bad deeds and some new good deeds. Thus my good deedsreduced my bad deeds and I am now in an equal level and savedfrom the cycle of the actions resulting into merits and demerits.21

Social and Ethical Conception of Worship

The Social and Ethical form of worship can be carried out moreexplicitly by doing social services. When the intention behindworship turns into social form of worship then the outcome of this isthe welfare of the society as a whole. Worship is more powerful inthe congregation and with family. Worship in its broad sense doesnot just remain for the benefit of a worshipper or individualliberation but it becomes liberty, freedom, fraternity, equality,harmony. Not only this but it is Divine cosmic order in nature (Rit).The worship is the way of life for the worshipper in its ethical sense.A true worshipper believes in the unity in diversity. Worship leadsus to live an ethical life.

21 _¢ ~w{Z H$[a {gam§Zm§ hmo am§_, Zm{c H$a_ Zht D$~ao &&Q>oH$&& Vm±Zm± V{Z H$[a ~m§Zm§ ~w{Z H$[a, N>mH$ nar_mo{h Üm§Z & H$h¡ H$~ra _¢ ~w§{Z {gam§Zm, OmZV h¡ ^Jdm±Zm hmo am§_ &&20&& nXmdcr, H$~ra J«§Wmdcr, n¥. 349

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Guru plays an important role in worship

Guru leads the devotee towards God. Without Guru it is not possiblefor a worshiper to reach to God. The word GURU means who leadsus from darkness to the light. Guru dispels the darkness and showsthe way to Divine world.

To translate this page please visit:http://hajursaheb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/concept-of-worship.html

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A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE MYTH WHICH UNDERLIES THECOSMOLOGY OF THE BIJAK.By: RKUK

Extract from The Bijak of Kabir by: by THE REV. AHMAD SHAH

In the beginning there was One Essential Being, Sat Purush, and“the True Person, who exists alone, without passions.

Of his own will he created the universe out of nothing. To rule theuniverse he created six Brahmas, his ** holy sons," Onkar, Sahaj,Ichchha, Sohang, Achint and Achchhar. To each was given a worldand souls to populate it.

Sat Purush found that the six Brahmas failed to preserve disciplinein the universe. He therefore proceeded to create a seventh son,whose origin was as follows:--

Achchhar was sitting where all was water, when Sat Purush broughtdeep sleep upon him. When Achchhar awoke, he saw an eggfloating on the waters, and began to meditate upon it. Suddenlywith a loud noise the egg burst in two and there came forth a beingof furious aspect, whom Achchhar named Niranjan, (called also Kaland Kal Purush).

This being, though naturally of an ungoverned temper, engaged indevotion (bhakti) so meritorious, that he was able to ask of SatPurush the boon of the sovereignty of the three worlds (loks). Theboon was granted with the condition that he should make a politerequest for the necessary materials to the Tortoise (Kurmji) inwhose keeping they were.

Niranjan however was far from conciliatory and the result was afight with the Tortoise, in the course of which Niranjan cut off threeof the sixteen heads of the Tortoise and thence there poured forththe necessary materials, the Sun, Moon, Earth, etc.

The Tortoise thereupon complained to Sat Purush, who decreed thatNiranjan should never enter his lok or see his face.

Niranjan though now possessed of the material elements, could notmake man. He therefore swallowed the three heads of Kurmji andbegan again to perform Samadhi (trance or meditation), at the end

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of which he asked for bij-khet (a field to sow in). Sat Purush createdfor him a woman; but she kept her eyes fixed on Sat Purush ratherthan on Niranjan and only with great difficulty was persuaded tobecome Niranjan's wife. There was here a kind of testing: so long asshe concentrated her mind on Sat Purush, Niranjan had no powerover her; but gradually Niranjan's fascination overcame her and shebecame entangled in the world and separated from God. The issueof the union was Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. After their birthNiranjan became invisible: the woman remained. She is Maya.

Brahma then asked his mother “Who is my father?" She answered“You have no father." Brahma, unconvinced, set out in search ofhim. Brahma, however, was destined to be the creator of thisuniverse; the woman accordingly formed a girl and sent her afterhim to persuade him to return. He told the woman that he had seenhis father, and received the answer, “That is untrue; therefore youshall beg from door to door."

Vishnu was then asked whether he had seen his father, andanswering "No" received as his reward the sovereignty of the threeloks.

Mahesh, asked in his turn, returned no answer and was told hewould be an ascetic.

The woman then created three daughters to be wives to her sons :Niranjan at the same time created the four Vedas : but all weredrowned in the ocean. The three sons therefore churned the oceanand recovered both women and Vedas. The latter were absorbed inSaraswati, who was assigned to Brahma, while the other twowomen were given to his brothers.

Brahma then created the present world, and men began to worshipthe three brother-gods. It is said that, of the four kinds of createdbeings, Andaj-Khand (oviparous) were made by the woman, PindajKhand (mammals) by Brahma, Ukmaj- Khand (insects) by Vishnu,and Sthawar (vegetable and minerals) by Mahesh.

Gradually the woman realised that her three sons were shutting herout from the attention of mankind. She therefore created threemore daughters, who originated thirty- six kinds of music and sixty-three tunes and so fascinated the world that all began to believe inthe mother (Devi).

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The souls of men were thus distraught and they cried to the SatPurush, who in answer sent Kabir into the world to teach men tolook beyond Niranjan and his progeny to the One, the Sat Purushhimself.

This messenger of the Sat Purush is known by different names inthe four ages ; thus in the Satyug he is Sat Sukrit : in the Tretayug,Munindarji : in the Dwaparyug, Karunamai Rishi ; and in theKalyug, Kabir Sahib.

To translate this page please visit:

http://hajursaheb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-short-account-of-myth-which-underlies.html

The Root of the true Religion of Kabir.

Ishwar (God) Satya Purush.Achariya (Manifester) Kabir SahibShastar (Scriptures) Parakh.Guru (Guide) Swansan Ved.Marg (Way or path) Nirvan.Cbal (Mode of life) Satoguni.Maktidwar (Gate of salvation) Sar Shabd.Lok (Abode) Satya Lok.

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KABIR PANTH SATSANGH GROUP INC: AUSTRALIA SATYANAAM

BANDEGI SAHEB

Aims and objectivesWe are a small group of individuals bonded by the grace of Satguru KabirSaheb and

With the blessing of 1008 Panth Shree Hajur Ardhnam Saheb Ji who arecollectively committed to

Spreading and maintaining the teachings of Satguru Kabir Saheb Enlightening Kabir Sahebs knowledge to present and future generations

The Kabir Panth Satsang Group Australia is based on the five pillars of Kabir Panth LoveHumanity

Compassion Non-violence

Truth“satyamav jayati nānrtam

satyena panthā vitato devayānahyenākramantyrsayo hyāptakāmā

yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhānam”

Truth alone triumphs not falsehood.Through truth the divine path is spread out by whichthe sant mahant whose desires have been completely

fulfilledreach where that supreme treasure of Truth resides

“Satyanama Jayatiam”Venue : 65 Woodcroft Drive, Woodcroft Neighbourhood

Centre, NSW AustraliaPresident: Vijay Prasad Mahabir, Vice President: Ravindra Lal,

Treasurer: Renu Mukesh, Secretary: Vinod Binet Prasad

Public Officer: Mukesh Kumar – Ph- 0417656448Email : Kabirpsatsanghgroup@hotmail.com

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Mahant Shri Kishordasji Shyamdasji Saheb

Shree Kabir Mandir, Pareshwar Chowk, MandaliyaStreet, Bhuj-Kachcch. (370 001) IndiaTelephone: (02832) 220866 or (02832) 225951

email: kabirmandirbhuj@hotmail.com

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History

Satguru Kabir Saheb was found floating on a lotus leaf at Lahartara,Varanasi. His Guru was Ramanand and one of his well knowndisciple was Dharam Das. Satguru Kabir Saheb had passed on 42names (Nam) for the Panth,known to us as Acharya or Hajur Saheb.When an Acharya is inaugurated they give up their name and takeon the name allocated by Satguru Kabir Saheb.

Vijay Das Shastri was appointed as the eighteenth Acharya and tookon the nam of Panth Shri Hajur 1008 Ardhnam Saheb. His Guru isHis Holiness Panth Shri 1008 Uditnam Saheb.

His Holiness Panth Shri Hajur 1008 Uditnam Saheb was thesixteenth name allocated by Satguru Kabir Saheb, It was his visionto build and renovate the birth place of Kabir Saheb, known todayas Sadguru Prakatya Dham, Kabir Bagh, Lahartara.

As Acharya(Hajur Saheb) they hold the highest seat of all, all of theMahants are inaugurated by an Acharya in a ceremony known asChadar Vidhi,where they are given a hat, a certificate and blessings.

Present:

A lot of the scriptures were written in Sanskrit and Hindi. Thiscentury has seen those scriptures translated into English and withthe invention of the internet these scriptures have been availableworld wide. We know our past but sometimes struggle with thepresent. Our Current Acharya( Hajur Saheb) has vowed to pass onthe teachings round the world, especially to the young His Holinessrecently visited United Kingdom and Trinidad His first ever visitoutside of India, and intends to visit again and more countries. HisHoliness is committed to completing the work of his Guru to makethe Birth place of Kabir Saheb accessible to all devotees round theworld

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KABIR SAT DHARAM PRACHARAK MAHA SABHA FIJIThis paper was presented on February 10, 2013 organized byINTERFAITH ORGANISATION FIJI.

IFSF Agenda at DAV Girl’s College (Hosted by Arya Samaj) Suva.Fiji

The topic is "What/Who Do We Worship as in Our Scriptures?"Satguru Kabir Saheb!Sat Means: TrueGuru means: TeacherSatguru is a title give specially only to an enlightened sant whoselife’s purpose is to guide others.God Satguru Kabir is the Supreme God and only He can with Hisgrace, shower supreme peace and happiness to a soul. Only He isworthy of being worshipped. God is one who only gives youhappiness and no sorrows. God is one who can forgive your sins.To achieve Supreme God there is a need for a complete saint whoacts as a medium between the soul and The God. He is called aTrue Guru or a Satguru. Once you take initiation from a Satguru,you get connected to God and then you start getting the benefits,provided you maintain full dedication in the Supreme God. SatguruKabir says,Search nearby -- why go so far?Your soul wearied in the long search.You even climbed Mount Sumeru.When you returned,you found God in your own house [body]."(Songs of Kabir in the Adi Granth,

The purpose of this speech is that by worship of one Purna Brahm inform of root, the whole tree blossoms (remains lustgreen). Byworship of (by watering) the trunk (ParBrahm-Akshar), big branch(Brahm) and the smaller branches (Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh), thewhole tree will dry out i.e. the sadhna will go in vain.Satguru Kabir spoke on every aspects of life. He told the peoplethat he was neither enemy nor friend to anyone, but that he wantedthe welfare of all. He preached that all are children of the almightily,and they should live in peace, happiness and harmony withoutfighting over castes and religions. He gave the essence of all HolyScriptures in simple, Sakhis, which are couplets with musicalrhythm. The message of those incidents is the importance ofdevotion, love, purity and humility in our life.KABIRA KHADA BAZAAR MEINSAB KI MANGE KHEIRNA KAAHU SE DOSTI NA KAAHU SE BAIR

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Kabir Panth is not only a religion but a way of life.You don’t have to

convert or to be confined into strict rules and restricted ideas to

understand and benefits from Satguru Kabir Saheb’s philosophy.

The only objective of Kabir Sahib Ji's own arrival onto the earth was

to awaken the individual soul towards true spiritualism (Satya

Bhakti). For 120 years He directed the world towards worship of

only One God i.e. Supreme Lord (Param Purush - Sahib), which

exists far beyond from this perishable universe (made up of five

perishable elements) and is Immortal. Kabir Sahib Ji disclosed all

secrets of so called "God of the Universe", who is no one, but a

Devil Mind (Niranjan/ Kaal Purush). He explained that all religions

are worshiping the same "God of the Universe" in one way or the

other i.e. in Sargun [God in Form] or in Nirgun [God as

Formless]forms. He also gave the secret of Amarlok (4th Lok)- Real

abode of Supreme Lord to the humanity whose existence is beyond

Universe (3 lok's and 5 elements) and at the same time fought

against hypocrites for the welfare of the humanity. He showed the

path of permanent salvation which can only be attained with the

blessings of a "Satguru" (true Perfect Spiritual Master).

Kabir Sahib Ji has reformed the social structure of spirituality in

right perspective. He has always been against hypocrites. He gave

the new dimensions to spiritualism through His ideology and

teachings of Pra-Bhakti (Satya-Bhakti), which became as the

ideology of Sant Mat. The words Sant and Satguru came into origin

from Kabir Sahib Ji himself. Kabir Sahib Ji only spoke about Truth

(Satya) which in itself was the reality that was unknown to the

humanity and recommended to worship only One God - Supreme

Father (Param Purush -Sahib), which was unacceptable to selfish

spiritual leaders. He was the only Saint in the history of mankind

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who has been punished with 52 death sentences also known as

Bawan Kasni. Looking at large number of devotees following Kabir

Sahib Ji's True Spiritualism (Satya Bhakti),the selfish spiritual

leaders were afraid of losing their daily-means as well as their

religious individuality. So they tried evil towards Him and

created several wrong myths about Him. Some described Him as

the offspring of an unmarried Brahman girl; others described Him

as a child with uncertain identity and so on. Even today, His birth

and life is a mystery for the people of the world.

Kabir Sahib has described this reality in His own words :

"I descended on this earth from the sky as a pure white light, right

from the Supreme Lord (Param Purush), which is an unknown place

and none could recognize my real identity. Without remaining in the

womb of the mother I appeared as a child. A weaver found me in

the Lahartara Talaab (pond) at Kashi. I have neither any wife nor

any other relation. My name ceremony was performed in the home

of Neeru - the weaver. It made me a laughing stock into the whole

world. My abode is Amarlok and I have come as per the desire of

Supreme Father (Param Purush) to liberate the souls from the grip

of Kaal Purush - Mind (Niranjan) and to take the suffering souls

back to their real abode- Amarlok".

Peace of MindWho is the Peace Maker?It is the Supreme Power, Satpurush, Satguru.What are the sorrows?Vices are the sorrows. How to get rid of worries?

It is found that almost all persons are beset with anxieties of one

kind or the one other. If you think over it, you will reach the

conclusion that man is subject to anxiety when he has fears that he

may suffer loss one way or other or something harmful, displeasing

or contrary to one likes or tastes may come to happen. A man who

has the habit of worrying about things, always entertains doubts

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and fears about the future. No doubt men are far – sighted but

anxiety or worry is not the same thing as far sightedness.

God consciousness or soul consciousness is the real jewel through

which a man can realize God, Satguru and Satnam. This jewel

ensures the fulfillment of all one’s wishes and the removal of all

sorrows and worries. Man must understand that there are natural

ups and downs in life. There is no need to worry. Man must engage

himself in these endeavors and work most happily.

How to have peace when Some Near and Dear Relative Passes

Away?

Life hangs by a thread; death may come at any moment. Hence,

one should be thoroughly cautions not to tread the wrong path.

That means he should learn to be steady in remembering the

immortal Satpurush, Satguru, instead of remembering the

departed. We mustn’t forget that this world is like a short-lived fair.

Hence, everybody must keep in mind the Law of karma and its fruit.

How to keep Calm when someone behaves improperly?

It is a matter of common observation that man becomes pleased on

receiving respect from others, but it is sad and disturbed if he is

insulted. Thus, common man’s life and outlook is determined by

situations. His happiness is not under his control.

If we now look at it wisely, we find that there is no point in losing

peace of mind. The reason is that you are not to blame for a wrong

done, yet the other man indulges in this useless talk on account of a

misunderstanding. Why should then we allow a trifling thing to

occupy our thoughts? We should have the ability to regard it as

unworthy of our attention.

According to the teachings of Satguru Kabir, MAYA hits us hard if

we forget Satguru, Satnam and ourselves. It is therefore; clear that

cultivation of the qualities of tolerance and sweetness of temper is

the way to keep calm when someone behaves improperly.

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What is the Way to Peace When One is Diseased?

The way to remain in “Sahajyoga” of Satguru Kair when one is

diseased,an iill man is called a patient, and he also is regarded as

patient whi endures with patience, i.e. who has the virtues of

toleration and courage. Hence, the ill man’s duty is to be tolerant

and to be so he should be steady in remembering the Satguru and

Satnam, In this way he will surely understand “Sahajyoga and

obtain Peace.

How to maintain Peace in face of Poverty?

Poverty is a powerful cause of misery and unrest. But, even in

poverty, man can acquire wealth in the form of DIVINE

KNOWLEDGE. By means of Sahajyoga’ of Satguru Kabir Saheb, both

material and spiritual, a man can acquire true wealth. The rich can

think of wealth but a Satsangi thinks of truth, Satnam and the

Wealth – Giver i.e. God (Satpurush).

The lesser the Wealth the lesser the Vices. The satsangies have less

money, but they have more spiritual means.

A true Santsangi can give Wealth of the true knowledge to others.

Man should not waste time in learning these priceless “Sahajyoga”

and truth. He should make his life successful by acquiring the

duvine wealth of “Sahajyoga” and Satnam.

CONCLUSION

If the achievement of complete purity, peace and prosperity is the

only aim of your life, aspire for it now and here.

If not today, tomorrow shall be too late.

So sooner the better.

Ref: website: Panth Shree HAJUR 1008 ARDHNAM SAHEB, 2012,LAHARTARA, VARANASI , INDIA.

108 Mahant Shri Ramswarupdasji Maharaj Saheb, 1990, Glimpse ofthe Life of Satguru Kabir, Jamnagar, Gujrat, India

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This Months Feature Ashram

Shri Kabir Mandir, Idgah Road, Ahata Kidara, Delhi,India.

This temple was established in Delhi by the devotees of PunjabiMaharaj after they moved to India from Multan (now in Pakistan) in1947 on the land that was got allotted in lieu of their place ofworship in Multan.

Punjabi Maharaj (S. Gurdit Singh Ji Maharaj of SultanwindAmritsar), a disciple of Swami Chhaju Dass of Saharanpur, wasbestowed land grants by the government on successful completionof civil works on the Chenab and the Indus. A saint of great spiritualattainments he would go in for meditation for hours during weehours. He would make his disciples meditate with their soul,vision,mind and breathing in unison to discover "Shabad" Bhajan,kirtan based on hymns by Satguru Kabir Ji, Acharya Garib Dass Jiand Adi Granth were the hall mark of his teachings.

After PUNJABI SAHEB, his mission was carried forward by SardarSahib Sardar Balwant Singh Ji, Mahant Tola Ram Ji, Mahant ThakurDass Ji, (disciples of Panjabi Maharaj) and Mahant Atam Parkash Ji( a disciple of Sardar Sahib Sardar Balwant Singh Ji). Presently ShriTirath Dass Ji is the Mahant of the temple.

The Management of the temple vests in Kabir Sat Dharam ParcharniSabha, (Regd.), with patrons Sh Sada Nand Ji, I A S Retd and hisfamily and Sarvshri Ved Parkash, Subhash Chand, Nand Lal, OmParkash, Deendayal as its President, Vice President, Secretary,Cashier and Prachar Secretary respectively.

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Glimpse of the Life of Sadguru Kabir

Courtesy of Dr. J. Das of the Kabir Association of Canada

Introduction to the Book

This pictorial life sketch of Satguru Kabir was first published in 1990and titled: “Glimpse of the Life of Sadguru Kabir”. It was producedby the Late Mahant Jagdish Das Shastri of the Kabir Ashram inJamnagar, Gujarat, India. He undertook the task at the request hisguru, the late Mahant Ramswarup Das of the same ashram.The book was published by: Mahant Shri Ramswarupdasji MaharajSaheb, Shri Kabir Ashram, Kabir Road, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.The type setting was done by the Kabir Association of Canada, andit was edited by Dr. J. Das of the Kabir AssociationThis pictorial book contains some of the significant events andmiracles that aim to impart true spiritual teachings, and to removehypocrisy and misunderstanding in religious practices. SinceSatguru Kabir had a long life (1398 – 1518), this book contains onlyglimpses of his activity as the title indicates. Note that he wasspeaking to, and dealing with, both Hindus and Muslims. His aimwas to help people to know the Reality of the Self that is free fromreligious boundaries.Satguru Kabir introduced Satnam as the neutral name of theEternal, Self-existent Supreme Power or God. Being neutral, theterm can be used by any religion. He introduced Surat Shabda Yogaor meditation on the Word to realize the union of the Self with theSupreme in consciousness. He is considered the father of Hindiliterature, the initiator of Sant Mat and Sahaj Yoga, and a suprememystic. Studying his teachings is to study the basics or roots ofreligion.

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1. Satguru Kabir Saheb. Introduction.

In the tradition of the mystic saints of India, Satguru KabirSaheb holds the highest position. He was the Incarnation ofSupreme Spiritual Knowledge. He is accepted as the founder of theSant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga, Sahaj Yoga and the father of Hindiliterature. His spiritual message was followed by several othersaints. Kabir Saheb was a symbol of impartiality. For the upliftmentof humanity, he delivered his discourses in very simple language.He spoke on every aspect of life. He told the people that he wasneither enemy nor friend to anyone, but that he wanted the welfareof all. He preached that all are children of the Almighty, and theyshould live in peace, happiness and harmony without fighting overcastes and religions. He gave the essence of all Holy Scriptures insimple Sakhis, which are couplets with musical rhythm. His Sakhisare so important that they are accepted as supreme testimony forprofound spiritual truth. Kabir Saheb was the supreme spiritual master of Surati ShabdaYoga. He taught the spiritual path of Easy Union with Almighty SatPurush. Several miraculous incidents happened through him. Thosesupernatural incidents are narrated in this book. The message ofthose incidents is the importance of devotion, love, purity andhumilityin our life.

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2.Appearance of Satguru Kabir

A saint comes to the world to show the right path to the peoplewho have lost their right vision or proper sense of direction in life.In India, fifteenth century was such a period when people ofdifferent faiths were fighting. Envy between two major religions ofthe time was growing rapidly. Envy amongst Hindus and Muslims,Brahmins and Mullahs, touchables and untouchables, was spreadingand moving like a cyclone. It was the period of religious bigotry,intolerance, and decrease of social, moral and spiritual values.People were proud of their own religious rites and rituals andscorned those of other religions. The rulers were tyrants. There wasinequality amongst the people. At that time, Kabir appeared on thestage of Indian history. There is a legend about the appearance of Guru Kabir. It wasMonday morning, the full moon of Jeshth month, 1455 Vikram Era(June1398 AD), at the pre-dawn hours when Swami Ashtanand wasmeditating on the bank of Lahartara Pond, near the city of Varanasi.He saw a light appearing on the lotus flower in the pond. The lighttook the form of a baby. Ashtanand was astonished. He could notfigure out what that was, whether it was an illusion or a miracle ofGod. He left the meditation and went to his Guru, SwamiRamanand, to tell him about the strange incident

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3. Adoption By Neeru and Neema

In the meanwhile, a recently married weaver couple, Neeru andNeema, came there. When Neema saw the pond she told herhusband that she wanted to wash her hands and face. He told herto do so. She went to the pond. When she was washing her handsshe heard a baby's cry. She looked around for the sound. She wasenchanted when she saw a beautiful baby boy resting on the lotusflower. He looked like a newborn baby, and his face had a divineshine on it. Neema became very excited by the scene and thedivine beauty of the child, that she shouted and called her husband.When he came, he was also enchanted by the baby. Neema couldnot resist the thought of holding the baby in her arms. She enteredthe water and took the baby in her arms. She was over-joyed whenshe held the baby close to her bosoms. She felt a motherly love forthe baby over-flowing her heart. First Neeru thought that somebodymay have left the baby there and was still close by. He thereforecalled if someone was around, but there was no response. He thenthought that the baby was abandoned. Despite Neeru’s disapproval,Neema persuaded him to take the baby home. Thus the couplebecame the foster parents of the baby who later became known as“Satguru Kabir”. Whatever the legend may be, it is true that he wasnot the flesh and blood son of Neeru and Neema.

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4. Naming Ceremony

When Neeru and Neema took the baby to their home, manypeople came to see him. His beauty enchanted them. Whoever sawhim felt some divine attraction to him. Some of the womenenquired about his caste and religion. Neeru and Neema told themthat they found the child in the Lahartara pond, and that they didnot know his caste or religion. Soon they arranged the namingceremony at an appropriate time at their home. They invitedpandits and qazis to find a name for the child. The child was firstseen in the early hours of the morning, and the time was consideredauspicious. The pandits thought of an appropriate name. At thesame time the qazis opened the Book (Koran) and found the name"Kabir" which means "The Great". The qazis opened the Book againand again and, to their amazement, the same name appeared asmany times as they opened the Book. To dispel the embarrassmentof the people, the child himself spoke in a solemn voice: "You neednot worry about my naming. I have already named myself Kabir,and by this name I will be known in the world."

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5. Deliverance of Discourses

At about ten years of age Satguru Kabir started to deliversermons on such subjects as Eternal Truth, Unity, Non-violence,and Monotheism. He explained the path of love and compassion inhis forthright, unrestrained and lucid language. He impressed themasses. Daily, more and more people attended his discussionswhich were full of truth. He told people that God loves allirrespective of caste and creed. All of us are His children. There isnothing like high and low castes. Everyone has an equal right to dodevotion and to pray to Him. He said: "If God wanted to makepandits and mullahs of high castes and others of low castes, thenwhy did He not make them be born with the sacred thread and/orcircumcision. Many pandits and mullahs were not able to respond tohis logical questions in his sermons. Some of them could nottolerate his plain truth. They were jealous of his popularity. When they could not answer the questions he raised, theystarted a rival propaganda saying that Kabir was not initiated byany Guru (accepted a spiritual master). He therefore had noauthority to deliver discourses on religious matters. Kabir saheb didnot need a guru because he was himself the manifestation ofsupreme knowledge. But just to maintain the conventional tradition,he thought of getting initiated by a prominent Guru

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6. Initiation by Swami Ramanand

Though formless in origin and the abode of Eternal knowledge,Satguru Kabir manifested himself in a human form. In order tohonour the traditional concept of initiation by a Guru, he decided tobe a disciple of Swami Ramanand, who was an accomplishedVaishnava saint in those days. Swamiji was a great devotee of God. One day, at dawn, Satguru Kabir went to the Ganges. He laydown on the steps of the Panchganga Ghat in the form of a child offive years. Ramanandji, at the early dawn, used to go to the Gangesto bathe. While climbing down the steps, Swami Ramanand came tothe spot where Kabir, in a motionless state, awaited his arrival.Because of the darkness, Swamiji could not see him and his woodensandals accidentally struck Kabir's head. Kabir immediately startedcrying. Hearing the cry, Swami Ramanand realized that a small childwas lying there and got hurt. Swamiji picked Kabir up and caressedhim. He said, "Don't cry my child. Say Ram Ram". By chance, whenSwamiji bent down, the mala (necklace) made of the tulsi (basil)plant, fell from his neck into Kabir's neck. Guru Kabir was thusinitiated by Swami Ramanand.

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7. Satguru in Dual Form

After accepting Swami Ramanand as his guru, Satguru Kabirstarted to deliver discourses in the true spirit of Vaishnava. Whenasked about his guru, he replied that he was a disciple of SwamiRamanand. Thereupon, people approached Swami Ramanand andinquired about the initiation. Swami Ramanand told them that heneither initiated nor accepted Kabir as his disciple. To ascertain thefact, Swami Ramanand sent for Kabir. When Kabir Saheb came,Swami Ramanand, without coming outside of the place of worship,asked Kabir about the initiation. Kabir, from the outside of theroom, politely narrated the incident on the Panchganga Ghat.Swami Ramanand remembered that he encountered a child aboutfive years old who was un-intentionally hurt by his sandals. He alsoremembered lifting him up and telling him to say "Ram Ram." Butthat was a child and not a grown up person. At that very momentSatguru Kabir manifested himself in dual form. As a child heappeared before Swami Ramanand, and as a youth he was amongstthe people gathered in the courtyard of the Ashram. The child Kabirasked Swami Ramanand, "Didn't I meet your honour on thePanchganga Ghat in this form?" Swami Ramanand was extremelyastonished to see Satguru Kabir as a child and instantly realizedthat he was superhuman. The door of the room was opened and thepeople witnessed the manifestation of Kabir in two forms and feltthemselves fortunate to see such a miracle.

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8. Emperor Sikandar Was Cured of Inflammation

Sikandar Lodi, the ruler of Delhi, was biased against Hindus andwas ordering serious punishments for them. As a result of hisindiscriminate and outrageous oppression, he was punished by Godin the form of inflammation all over his body. Medicines andblessings administered and showered by fakirs and doctors provedineffective. At that time those jealous of Swami Ramanand andKabir conspired a plot to destroy them. The wicked peopleapproached the King and advised him to request Ramanand andKabir to cure his morbid inflammation. The King agreed to theproposal and went to Varanasi. Sikandar Lodi first visited SwamiRamanand, who refused to see him as it was against his principle tolook at any Turk (a Muslim person). Now Satguru Kabir was theonly hope. By the King's good fortune, Kabir appeared before him.The agonized King immediately lay prostrate before Kabir andbegged him to bless and cure him. Kabir lifted the King holding hishands. And lo! By his divine touch the king was cured.

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9. Warm Welcome

King Sikandar Lodi, who was relieved of his inflammation bySatguru Kabir's divine touch, looked upon him as an accomplishedsaint. To acknowledge his gratitude, the King invited Kabir to hisresidence at Varanasi. Satguru Kabir was taken there on acaparisoned elephant in a grand procession. The king arranged aspecial ceremony in honour of Kabir Saheb. After a warm andrespectful welcome, the King, with folded hands, requested Kabir tosay a few words which would help people to understand the spirit oftrue religion. Satguru agreed to the request and delivered amessage of peace in a soothing voice. He spoke on the subjects ofHindu-Muslim unity, non-violence, and love and compassion etc. Hetold the people that God is the father of all. He is one though peoplecall Him by various names. People should not fight with each otherbecause of their different religious beliefs. The king was greatlyimpressed by Kabir's message.

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10. Test of Satguru Kabir

Shaikh Taqqi, a Muslim priest at Sikandar Lodi's court, becameenvious of Guru Kabir whom the King revered greatly. To get rid ofKabir, Shaikh Taqqi started to poison the King's mind. Shaikh Taqqitried in many ways to harass and destroy Kabir, but every time histactics failed With the King's consent, Shaikh Taqqi arranged to test Kabir inthe courtyard of the palace. Without hesitation, Kabir occupied thechosen spot. An intoxicated elephant was immediately released tocrush him. Kabir sat in meditation. He was aware of the danger.With his occult powers he immediately created two fierce lionsbeside him. The ferocious lions frightened the elephant whichquickly ran away. Though the mahout forced the elephant to attackGuru Kabir, it retreated trumpeting in fear of being killed by the twolions. The spectators, of course, couldn't see the two lions. For themSatguru Kabir was engrossed in meditation, and the elephant wasrunning.

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11. Kamal Raised From the Dead

Once King Sikandar Lodi with Kabir Saheb and Shaikh Taqqi,and others of the king's court, were taking an evening walk on thebank of the river Ganges. Accidentally they saw a boy's corpsefloating in the river. Shaikh Taqqi, with malicious intentions, askedKabir to prove his power by bringing the corpse to life. Shaikh Taqqithought that Kabir wouldn't be able to do so and he will behumiliated. People will then again respect him more than theywould Kabir. Satguru Kabir sensed Shaikh Taqqi's evil intentions. However,at his request, Guru Kabir summoned the corpse by merely pointingat him. The corpse floated towards them. Guru Kabir then placedhis hand on the corpse's head and said: "O soul! Enter in this bodyagain." Immediately, a light passed from Satguru Kabir's hand intothe corpse, and the boy awoke from his sleep. The boy immediatelylay prostrate before Kabir in reverence. The king, in greatamazement, said: "You did Kamal (wonder or miracle) "SatguruKabir then said that this boy will be named Kamal.

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12. Kamali Brought to Life

Though Shaikh Taqqi tried and tested Satguru Kabir manytimes, Kabir always emerged unscathed. It is said that Shaikh Taqqitested the divine powers of Kabir fifty-two times. He became utterlydejected. However, he thought of testing Kabir again by asking himto bring back to life his daughter who died a few days ago. The Kingagreed to this plan and they both approached Satguru Kabir for thatpurpose. Shaikh Taqqi, with folded hands, said to Kabir: "Saheb, mydaughter passed away some days ago. Please bring her back tolife." Satguru Kabir accepted his request to revive his daughter.Satguru Kabir went to the graveyard with the king and ShaikhTaqqi. Satguru Kabir stood beside the tomb and glanced at it. Thetomb opened. Looking into it, Satguru called: "O daughter of ShaikhTaqqi! Come out of the tomb!" But there was no response. Kabirthen said: "O my daughter! Enough rest. Come out now."Immediately, the corpse became alive and came out of the grave.She approached Satguru Kabir and reverently lay prostrate beforehim. The king said to Kabir: "You did Kamal again." Shaikh Taqqi'sresurrected daughter was then named Kamali, and she became agreat disciple of Kabir.

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13. Temple of Lord Jagannath

Indradaman, king of Orissa, once in his dream, was instructedby Lord Krishna to build a temple in the name of the LordJagannath. The King erected a beautiful temple. Soon after itscompletion, it was destroyed by the violent ocean waves. Thoughthe king rebuilt the temple many times, each time it was washedaway by the tumultuous sea. The King got tired and stoppedrebuilding it. When Satguru Kabir learned about the destruction of LordJagannath's temple, he went to Puri and appeared before kingIndradaman. The king, after paying due respects to him, narratedthe difficulty he faced in building the temple. However, Satguruadvised him to build the temple once more. He told the king thatthe sea would not be able to destroy it anymore. The faithful kingacted on his words and rebuilt the temple. The sea again rose todestroy it. Satguru Kabir sat on the beach and planted his kubadi (a"T" shaped stick) beside him. This was to warn the sea that itshould not surge forward beyond the kubadi. The sea could not gobeyond the kubadi as Satguru's divine power was in it. The sea god appeared before Satguru Kabir as a Brahmin andbowed to him. Kabir then told him: "The importance and greatnessof this temple will increase day by day. This will be the place ofworship for people of all castes and creeds. All the pilgrims will betreated alike. The food from the temple will be served to everyone."

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Even today one can see the same practice at the temple of LordJagannath at Puri

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14. Ramharsh Pandey

Satguru Kabir delivered spiritual discourses daily at his ashramin Varanasi. Many devotees from around the city went to listen tothem. Virsingh Baghela, the ruler of Varanasi, heard about KabirSaheb, and went to the ashram to listen to him. He felt divinelyattracted to Kabir. After the discourse, he invited Kabir Saheb to hispalace to give spiritual instructions. The news spread and manypeople went there to listen to him.

One day, in the middle of the discourse, Satguru Kabir stoppedand took his kamandalu (a water pot) and poured some water onhis feet and resumed the discourse. The whole congregation wassurprised by his strange behaviour. However, no one interruptedhim. But when he was finished speaking, the King asked him aboutthe incident.

Satguru Kabir said: "Ramharsh Pandey, a worshipper at thetemple of Jagannath, is my devotee. He was serving food whensome of the steaming rice spilled on his feet. He earnestly prayed tome to relieve his burning pain. Hence, to cure his burns, I pouredsome water upon my feet."

The King sent messengers to investigate. The temple authoritiestold them that it was true. The king and the people then realizedSatguru Kabir's divine powers and paid obeisance to him

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15. Offerings to Manes

Satguru Kabir was once taking a bath in the Ganges. He sawsome Brahmins offering "Pinda" (balls of cooked rice) and water totheir deceased ancestors and relatives. Satguru Kabir neverbelieved in such rituals. He thought it was necessary to guide theBrahmins in the right direction. He thus played a trick on them. Hestarted to pour the water towards the riverbank. This actionattracted the Brahmins. Curious to know why, they asked: "OSaheb! Why are you pouring water like that?" Satguru counter-questioned: "What are you doing there?"

"We are offering rice and water to our manes.""I'm watering my Ashram's garden,” said Kabir."On hearing this, the Brahmins burst into laughter and said:

"How funny! Will the water thrown from here reach your garden?" Kabir replied: "Will your offerings reach your deceased ancestorsfrom here? And if they can reach them in heaven or wherever theyare, then surely, this water will reach my garden, which is not farfrom here." The Brahmins could not argue with Satguru Kabir. They realizedthe futility of their actions. In this way, Kabir always tried to impartreal knowledge to the people to dispel their baseless superstitions.

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16. Gorakhnath Humbled

Gorakhnath, the yogi of Nathpanth (a cult), was trying toconvert people to his cult. Sometimes he used forceful means toincrease the number of his followers. People objected to hisundesirable behaviour. They asked Satguru Kabir to preserve andmaintain the traditional ways of worshipping.

Kabir Saheb asked Gorakhnath to stop forcing people to becomehis disciples. Gorakhnath, with the intention of exhibiting his occultpowers, pitched a trident on the ground and sat on its taperingpoints. Satguru then sat upon a thread held in the air, and calledGorakhnath to come to that height to have a discussion. Kabir said,"Your trident has the support of the earth, but come in the sky ifyou want to talk to me." Gorakhnath failed to do so. Kabir Saheb and Gorakhnath then went to the Ganges whereGorkhnath again wanted to show his occult powers. He told Kabirthat he is going to hide himself in the water and Kabir should findhim. Gorakhnath entered the water and took the form of a fish.Kabir Saheb searched and caught that fish and said: "O Gorakh!You will not be safe by becoming a fish. The fishermen can kill you."Gorakhnath then took his original form and told Kabir to hide. Kabirentered the Ganges and immersed himself in the water as water.Gorakhnath couldn't find him because there was only water. At lasthe accepted his defeat and called Kabir who then came out of thewater. Gorakhnath then agreed not to force people to follow hiscult.

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17. Conversation Between Sarvajit and Kamali

Sarvajit, a South Indian pandit, was very proud of hisknowledge. He defeated many scholars in debate on the scriptures.They gave him an honorary title "Sarvajit" (conqueror of allscholars). He went to his mother and boasted of his victory and toldher to call him "Sarvajit". His mother felt sorry for his boastfulnessand wanted to show him the value of humility. She said: "My son,you are victorious indeed, but still you should defeat one moreperson in debate." He asked: "Who is he?” His mother said: "Kabir!He lives in the city of Varanasi."

Sarvajit went to Varanasi to defeat Kabir. He carried a heavilyladen bull with books on philosophy and religion. When he camenear to Kabir's ashram, he felt thirsty. He saw a girl pulling waterfrom the well. He asked her for water and then about Kabir'sresidence. That intelligent girl was Kamali. She understood thereason why the pandit was there. She answered in a couplet:

Kabir ka ghar shikhar par, jahan silahali gail;panv na tike pipilika, tahan pandit lade bail.

(Kabir's residence is on the mountaintop and the path is veryslippery. An ant cannot set foot on it. O Pandit! You wish to go therewith this loaded bull?) However, Kamali led Sarvajit to Kabir'sashram.

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18. Discussion Between Sarvajit and Kabir

Sarvajit's mother sent him to Kabir Saheb to get some spiritualknowledge, but he was full of ego about his knowledge. He sent apot full of water to Kabir Saheb. "What is it?" asked Satguru Kabir."It is sent by Sarvajit." Without uttering a single word, SatguruKabir simply dropped a needle in the pot and sent it back. Onseeing the pot returned from Kabir, Sarvajit inquired about thereaction of Kabir Saheb. He was told: "A needle has been droppedin it by Kabir." Sarvajit could not understand the reason for Kabir'saction. Hence to get the explanation of it, he went to the ashramand asked Kabir Saheb about it. Satguru Kabir said to Sarvajit:"What was the purpose of sending the pot full of water to me?"Sarvajit replied: "To show you that I am full of knowledge." KabirSaheb said: "However, you might have seen that the needle that Idropped in the pot penetrated through the water. In the same waymy knowledge has power to penetrate through yours. Please,therefore, do not consider yourself full of knowledge. There arecertainly more learned people than you in the world." Sarvajitrealized his mistake. He then bowed down before Kabir Saheb andbegged for forgiveness. But Sarvajit wanted proof to show hismother. Kabir then told him to write that Kabir lost and Sarvajitwon, and Kabir signed the paper. Sarvajit showed it to his mother,and she read Kabir won and Sarvajit lost. He felt there must havebeen a mistake, so he went back to Kabir and had the papercorrectly written and signed. Again it read Kabir won and Sarvajitlost. Sarvajit gave up his ego and became a disciple of Kabir Saheb.

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19. Sultan Ibrahim

Sultan Ibrahim Adam of Balkh Bokhara wanted to see God, andinvited holy men of different religions to show him God. But none ofthem could. He then became angry and imprisoned them. He did somany times and the religious people became afraid. When SatguruKabir heard about it, he went to the king and told him that he wouldshow him God if he would release the prisoners. The King refused torelease them. Satguru Kabir went to the prison and saw the holymen grinding grains with the millstones. He told them to recite thename of God. They said if they stopped, the King would punishthem more severely. Then Satguru Kabir touched one of themillstones with his kubadi (staff) and commanded them to operate.Surprisingly, all the millstones began grinding by themselves.People were astonished by the miracle. The prisoners then startedto chant the name of God. One of the guards rushed to call the King who immediatelywent. He was also surprised. He saw Kabir Saheb standing and allthe saints were reciting and singing devotional songs. He realizedthe greatness of Kabir Saheb and bowed down to him. Kabir Sahebtold him to release all the prisoners immediately, which he did.From that time Kabir Saheb became known as bandichhor, thereleaser of prisoners. People applauded and said: "Kabir is great,Kabir is great."

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20. Omnipresence of God

In the course of pilgrimage, Satguru Kabir once went to Mecca.It is a holy place for Muslims. When Kabir Saheb reached there inthe evening he was tired. He slept near the mosque placing his feettowards it. As soon as the qazi saw him sleeping with his feettowards the holy Kaaba, he became angry. He approached Kabirand, with a stern look and harsh words, reprimanded him for lyingin the wrong direction. Without getting up, Kabir Saheb said to him:"O Qazi! I am tired. I cannot move my legs. Please place my feet inthe direction where there is no God." The qazi immediately turnedKabir's feet in another direction. But soon he saw that the holyshrine was in the same direction where he had placed Kabir's feet.He then moved Kabir's feet in another direction, but again the shinemoved to that direction. In whichever direction the qazi placedKabir's feet, invariably he saw the shrine of Mecca turn in thatdirection. Soon the qazi was exhausted. Seeing his discomfiture, thecompassionate Satguru told him: "O Qazi! God is Omnipresent. Inwhichever direction you go, He is there." The qazi realized the truthand, without any arguments, paid due respects to Satguru Kabir.

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21. Kabir Chaura

Whenever Satguru Kabir Saheb was at Varanasi, he used to givediscourses at various places, sometimes even in an open marketplace. He was not attached to either a mosque or a temple. It wastherefore important for his followers to find a permanent place forhis discourses. Soon they found an open place which was near hisashram. People prepared a nice small stage on which Satguru couldsit and preach. They named that place Kabir Chaura. Kabir Sahebdelivered most of his discourses from there. The place became sofamous that more and more people gathered there to listen to him.He preached to them about Eternal Truth, Divine Love, Unity,Universal brotherhood, Non-violence, Compassion, Forgiveness, etc.His topics were chosen for the benefit of the masses. His messagetouched their hearts. At that place Kings and paupers were equal.

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22. Dhani Dharamdasji

Dharamdasji, a rich merchant, lived in the city of Bandhogarhhin the Central Province of India. He was a worshipper of Vishnu.Once, on his pilgrimage, he went to Mathura. One day he wascooking food to offer to God, and observed many ants running outfrom the burning wood. He saw that many of them were burned.This made him very sad, as food cooked on the fire where manyants were burned was not fit to offer to God. He did not eat anyfood, which was not offered to God, so he decided to give it to anyneedy person. He searched for such a person and luckily sawSatguru Kabir sitting under a tree. Dharamdasji placed the food infront of him and requested that he accept it. Looking at the foodKabir Saheb smiled and said: "Do you want to pass your sins ontome which you committed by killing the ants in the fire?"Dharamdasji was very surprised and wondered how this man knewabout the killing of the ants. At that time Kabir Saheb clapped hishands and all the dead ants appeared in the food and started tocrawl out of the plate. Dharamdasji was astonished. He bowed toKabir Saheb and invited him to come to Bandhogarhh. "I liveamongst the sadhus and saints. If you want to see me again servethe sadhus and saints. One day I will come to you." Saying thisKabir saheb disappeared.

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23. Kabir Saheb at Bandhogarhh

Dharamdasji had requested Kabir Saheb to visit his place atBandhogarhh. Kabir Saheb did not accept his invitation and told himto search for him amongst the sadhus and saints, and he will findhim there. Dharamadasji wanted to see Kabir Saheb so earnestlythat he was prepared to do anything. One day he discussed it withhis wife, Amin, and planned to hold a yajna (religious function) andto invite sadhus and saints. His wife, being a devoted lady, agreed.Dharamdasji sent invitations to all sadhus and saints. He preparedfood and clothing, and offered money as gifts to them. He metsome great saints and seers but, to his disappointment, KabirSaheb was not among them. He thus decided not to take food andwater, and was prepared to die. The Omniscient and CompassionateSatguru learned about Dharamdasji's determination, and gracedhim with a visit. Dharamdasji and his wife became very happy. Theywelcomed him warmly, and prepared anandi arti to celebrate hisauspicious visit. On that very occasion Satguru Kabir Saheb initiatedDharamdasji and his wife. Dharamdasji spent all his wealth inperforming righteous activities. That is why he was honoured withthe title of "Dhani" (rich). From that time he became known asDhani Dharamdas

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24. Blessings to King Ram Singh

When Kabir Saheb was a guest at the house of Dharamdasji,Ramsingh, the King of Bandhogarh, came to see him. He heard, andtook part in, many discussions with Kabir Saheb. He realized thatKabir Saheb was a Divine Person. He arranged a grand function inhis honour at his home. He asked Kabir Saheb to make him adisciple and bless him. Kabir Saheb blessed him with DivineKnowledge and removed all the darkness of ignorance from hisheart. The King and the Queen took an active part in the satsangsheld at their palace. They arranged for anandi arti chowka andwhen Satguru Kabir Saheb was sitting in the chowka, the Kingasked Kabir Saheb to bless him with a child, and he did. KabirSaheb was pleased with the king's sincere devotion. By SatguruKabir's grace a son was born to the King and Queen. The royalcouple's desire was fulfilled. Kabir Saheb had blessed them withforty-two continuous successions. Though the years have gone by,the line of descendants is still present.

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25. Churamani Nam Saheb

As long as Kabir Saheb stayed with Dhani Dharamdasji, therewere discussions, devotional songs and explanation about spiritualmatters. People attended them with enthusiasm. Sometimes suchprograms were prolonged late at nights. The pious participants werenever satisfied listening to the words of wisdom from Satguru Kabir.The more they heard the more they wished to hear. People weregreatly impressed by his distinguished personality. More and morepeople gathered at the satsangs, and he initiated many on thespiritual path. The younger son of Dharamdasji, Churamani Nam,was also initiated at that time. He showed intense desire forspiritual knowledge and made rapid progress on the path of SuratiShabda Yoga. When Kabir Saheb saw this young boy's devotion andability, he told Dharamdasji that he would be the spiritual master inthe future. Later on, Churamani Nam was nominated the spiritualmaster of Kabir Panth. The nomination became known as vansh(successor). The link of such succession is still upheld.

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26. Brahma Nirupan

When Satguru Kabir Saheb was giving spiritual knowledge toDharamdasji, he had appointed someone to write the discussionsbetween them. In the course of discussions, Dharamdasji requestedKabir Saheb to explain the spiritual path in such a way, that everyone could understand. He asked some very important questions forthe good of humanity, and Kabir Saheb answered them. The writerrecorded them. Kabir Saheb explained to Dharamdasji the moralduty, spiritual accomplishments, true knowledge, eight-fold path ofyoga, gyan yoga, surati shabda yoga, nine-fold path of devotion,fourteen spiritual gems etc. All of these explanations are compiledin a volume called Brahm Nirupan (Description of Supreme Reality).This book contains a very precious message for mankind.

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27. Blessings to the King of Varanasi

When Kabir Saheb returned to Varanasi from Bandhogarh, thedevotees were waiting for him. People welcomed him with a grandprocession and led him to Kabir Chaura. Satsang and devotionaldiscourses started again with great enthusiasm. King Vir SinghBaghel of Varanasi, along with his queen, attended the satsangsand discourses every day. Gradually, the royal couple became veryinterested in Satguru Kabir's spiritual teachings. One day the Kinginvited him to his royal palace. When Satguru went, the queenwashed his feet and wiped them. She sprinkled that water allaround in the palace. The king and the queen washed the Satguru'sfeet again and, with great devotion, they drank that pious waterwhich is called charanamrit (the nectar from the lotus feet). Theroyal couple garlanded Satguru and offered fragrant flowers. Theydid Arati (devotional waving of light) and offered various kinds offruits. After that traditional offering, the king requested thatSatguru bless them with spiritual knowledge. Satguru was verypleased with them. He initiated them on the divine path of SahajYoga (Easy Union). He taught them the path of spiritual realization.He showed them the way to practice Surati Shabda Yoga. Thus theroyal couple was blessed to their satisfaction.

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28. Kabir Vat (the Banyan Tree Named After Kabir)

Shuklatirth, a place of pilgrimage, is a village on the bank of theriver Narmada, in Gujarat state. There is a small island in the riverwhere two Brahmin brothers, Tatwa and Jeewa, lived a very simplelife. They had great respect for sadhus, saints and sanyasis but theylacked peace of mind. A sadhu told them that they would haveenlightenment and bliss if a perfect saint initiated them. But it wasdifficult to find a perfect spiritual master. To find one they planted a dry branch of a banyan tree in theircourtyard. They washed the feet of every sadhu and saint and putthat water on the dry branch. They will accept that person as theirGuru the washing of whose feet would make that dry branch alive.They invited sadhus and saints and respectfully washed their feetand poured the water on the dry branch. It did not become alive.Day after day they did so, but it brought only disappointment. Theystarted to lose faith in holy men. Satguru Kabir heard of their vowand went to their place. They welcomed him and washed his feet asusual. They poured the water on that dry branch and it started tosprout tiny leaves. They were astonished to see the miracle. Withgreat reverence they fell at his feet and requested him to initiatethem on the spiritual path. He accepted them as his disciples. That dry branch, which came alive, has now grown into a bigbanyan tree covering several acres. It is known as the Kabir Vat. Itis now thought to be perhaps the biggest banyan tree in the world.

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29. Ram-Kabir Bhakt Samaj

The news about the sprouting of the dry branch of the banyantree spread rapidly everywhere. Thousands of people went there tosee it and to listen to Kabir Saheb's discourses. At that time GyanijiMaharaj, the disciple of Khojiji Maharaj, came to see Kabir Saheb.He had thousands of disciples in that area. Gyaniji decided tobecome Kabir Saheb's disciple. He told all his followers thatwhoever wanted to follow him should come and follow the path ofKabir Saheb. All his followers went with him and accepted KabirSaheb as their guru. Kabir Saheb showered his grace upon themand gave them Divine Knowledge. Gyaniji, by the grace of Satguru,had the realization of the Supreme Lord in his heart. He went toSatguru Kabir and asked him: "O master! We are devotees of Ramand you also preached about the same Supreme Spiritual Being,Chetan Ram. Now I realized that Ram and Kabir are one. I want tomake a word of greeting by using both names together. From thattime, all the disciples of Gyaniji Maharaj started to use the word:"Ram Kabir." Ram Kabir Sampradaya (religious sect) thus came intoexistence. The followers of this sect are in Gujarat, and evenoutside of India. A large number are in the U. S.

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30. The Great Conference at Kabir Saheb's Ashram

Once Lord Vishnu told Lakshmi that her Maya could not trapKabir. She said: "No one can escape from my trap. "Lakshmi thenwent to Kabir Saheb's ashram and tried to delude him, but herecognized her and told her to return to her abode. Lakshmi realizedthat she could not trap him and requested that he ask for a boon.He refused; but when she insisted, he told her that, at the righttime, he would call on her. Lakshmi, being satisfied, returned to herabode. In Varanasi many Brahmins envied Kabir Saheb and conspiredto defame him. Unknown to him, they invited people to a feast athis ashram. They were promised free board and lodging for fifteendays. When he saw people arriving, he realized the conspiracy. Hethen urged Lakshmi to take care of all the people and he went tomeditate in isolation. As promised, she provided everything for thecongregation for two weeks. All were very pleased. They saw KabirSaheb helping everywhere and said: "Kabir Saheb ki jai!"(Victory toKabir Saheb). Some of them returning home, saw Kabir Sahebsitting under a tree. They told him that Kabir Saheb was giving abig feast to all the sadhus and saints. Why did he not go there?"When Kabir Saheb went to the ashram, people praised him. At thattime Kabir Saheb said:

Na kuchh kiya na kari saka, na karne jog sharir,Jo kuchh kiya so hari kiya, bhaya Kabir, Kabir.

I did not do anything. I could not do anything. This body is notstrong enough to do anything. Whatever is done, it is by the graceof God, but it was attributed to Kabir.

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31. Composition of Bijak

Many disciples of Kabir Saheb used to write his teachings. Someof his philosophical teachings were collected in a book called:"Bijak". Bijak means the key for spiritual realization. The followersof Kabir Saheb accepted the Bijak as their principal source ofknowledge. In this book Kabir Saheb explained about creation anddevotion. The major teaching in this book is mystical. Withoutproper guidance, it is difficult for most people to understand it. Themessage of Kabir Saheb, in the Bijak, is for the betterment ofhumanity. Kabir Saheb spoke the plain Truth. He explained aboutGyan Yoga (spiritual realization). He taught of the great humanqualities and how to obtain contentment and enlightenment.

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32. Vedas Recited by Buffalo

Satguru Kabir Saheb never agreed with the caste system. Manydisciples of Swami Ramanand were of low caste. Once SwamiRamanandji was invited to attend a function at Totadri, a place inSouth India, where the majority of the followers of RamanujaVaishnava sect lived. They adhered strictly to the caste system.When Swami Ramanand's disciples arrived with their belongingsloaded on a buffalo, the main priest was confused because thedisciples were of various castes. His problem was how to feed themwithout humiliating his guests. After a discussion with other priests,he declared that only those who could recite the Vedic verses wouldbe allowed to eat with the Brahmins. The others would have to eatelsewhere. Satguru Kabir Saheb did not like that decision andtaught them a lesson. He told the head priest that the recitation ofthe Vedic verses is not difficult even for the buffalo. He told one ofhis disciples to bring the buffalo. Kabir Saheb told the buffalo:"Please recite some verses of the Vedas." The buffalo immediatelystarted reciting verses from the Vedas. All the Brahmins wereastonished with Kabir's superhuman power. They were moreembarrassed when Kabir Saheb told them to allow the buffalo to sitwith them. They realized their folly and, with due respect, boweddown to Kabir Saheb and asked for his forgiveness. Consequently,all the sadhus and saints were allowed to eat together

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33. Kabir Kotha

Once Satguru Kabir Saheb was on his tour to preach to thepeople of Western India. At that time he went to Dwarka, a city ofpilgrimage on the seashore in Gujarat. A temple of Lord Krishna isthere. When Kabir Saheb stayed in that city, he used to preach tothe pilgrims on the sandy beach. His devotional songs influencedthe hearts of many. His message of truth, love, devotion anduniversal brotherhood attracted many people. They became hisfollowers. He taught them not to hurt or kill other creatures. He toldthem to get rid of the negative passions of lust, anger, attachment,greed and egoism, and to replace them with the noble actions suchas to serve, love, give, meditate and realize. On the stone where heused to sit and preach, a rectangular monument was built in hishonour. It is called Kabir Kotha. It is said that the tides of the oceannever overflows on that monument.

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34. Queen Indramati

Once Kabir Saheb told Dharamdasji that in different yugas heappeared with different names. In the Dwapar Yuga, he was calledKarunamai (compassionate one). At that time there was a Kingcalled Chandravijai who ruled the state of Junagarhh. Indramati washis Queen. She was very devoted. Everyday she used to feed fivesaints and sadhus before she would eat. She did this for severalyears. One day she was waiting to feed saints and sadhus, but nonecame. A few days passed and because of her vow she could not eat.Satguru Kabir Saheb, who was known as Karunamai, heard aboutthis and went to Junagarhh, along with his five disciples. Seeingthem, the Queen sent her maidservant to bring them to the palace.However, Swami Karunamai refused to go to the palace. He told themaidservant that the Queen, herself, should come to request theirvisit. When the Queen heard this, she went personally to invitethem. After paying respects to Swami Karunamai, she entreatedhim to accept the food that she had prepared. His five disciplesenjoyed their meal. The Queen felt dejected that Swami Karunamaidid not eat. He told her that he did not need to eat. His was theDivine form above the five gross elements. She then requested himto give her some spiritual advice. Swami Karunamai showed her theway of devotion and of easy union with God. He also gave her aglimpse of his Eternal abode. The King and Queen became hisdisciples. By his grace they reached the Supreme

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35. Incident of Madhukar

Once Kabir Saheb told the story of his past appearances toDharamdasji. In Treta Yug Kabir Saheb was famous by the name ofMunindra Swami. In Ayodhya, there lived a Brahmin namedMadhukar. He was a disciple of Munindra Swami. The first timewhen Munindra Swami came to Ayodhya, Madhukar went to seehim. After listening to his spiritual discourses, Madhukar realizedthat he was the spiritual master for him. Madhukar bowed at hisfeet and invited him to his home. He showed a great deal ofdevotion to Munindra Swami and asked him to accept him as hisdisciple. Munindra Swami, seeing the earnest desire of Madhukar,accepted him as his disciple. He taught Madhukar the way of SuratiShabda Yoga. Madhukar had the ability to achieve spiritual heights.Munindra Swami taught him the easy union and gave him a glimpseof Satya Purush. Seeing Satya Purush and Satya Lok, Madhukarbecame very happy. Munindra Swami told Madhukar to preach theSurati Shabda Yoga to others. Many of the people made their wayto the Eternal Abode following the path of Surati Shabda Yoga.

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36. The Story of Bhakt Sudarshan

At the end of Dwapar Yug, Kabir Saheb was called SwamiKarunamai. He wandered as a saint, preaching the path of SuratiShabda Yoga and devotion. The great war of Mahabharata wasover. Many brave kings were killed. Moral values of the people wereat low ebb. At that time in Varanasi, there was a devotee of SwamiKarunamai named Bhakt Sudarshan who was initiated by Satguruon the path of Surati Shabda Yoga. Bhakt Sudarshan, by the graceof Satguru, became an enlightened soul. When King Yudhishthir performed the great Rajasuya Yajna, heinvited many saints and sages to attend the function. Though all ofthem took part in the yajna, it was not fulfilled. Yudhishthir askedLord Krishna why he did not hear the bell as the sign of fulfillmentof the yajna. Lord Krishna said that there was a great saint namedBhakt Sudarshan who did not eat in that yajna. Yudhishthir sentBhimsen to invite the saint. When the saint came, the QueenDrupadi prepared various kinds of food and offered them to him.The saint mixed all the food together and started to eat. When heate some of the food, the divine bell started to ring. Such was thegreatness of the disciple of Swami Karunamai

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37. Glimpse of Sant Garibdas

About three hundred years ago Baliram, a farmer, and his wife,devotees of Kabir Saheb, lived at Chhudani, near Delhi. They didmeditation, worship and pious deeds. They were happy but they didnot have a child. Baliram's wife earnestly prayed to Satguru for ason, and she got one on the full moon of Vaishakh, in 1774,Vickram era. They named him Garibdas. When Garibdas was five years old, he was trying to set a tune toa song of Kabir Saheb. He vowed that as long as he could not findthe proper tune he would not eat. His parents and others persuadedhim to eat, but he refused and went with his friends to graze hiscattle. They set the cattle loose in the field and started playinggames, but Garibdas sat aside and pondered on the appropriatetune for the song. His intense desire pleased Kabir Saheb and heappeared before him. All the children bowed to him. Garibdasoffered him milk and his blanket to sit on. Satguru said: "I will takemilk from your calf only." Garibdas brought a dozen of his calvesand said: "I will milk the calf on which you place your hand."Satguru touched the calf belonging to Garibdas and she began toproduce milk. Garibdas milked the calf and respectfully served themilk. The saint distributed the milk amongst all the boys anddisappeared. Garibdas realized that the saint was Satguru Kabir. Hethen easily set the tune to Kabir Saheb's song. Afterwards, Garibdashimself became a great saint.

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38. Glimpse of Sant Ghisadas

Khekda is a village about 35 Km. from Delhi. A Kaushik Brahminnamed Sadasukh lived there with his wife. They were very devoted.Once a follower of Satguru Kabir was their guest. They welcomedhim and, with great respect, offered him milk and food. They wereimpressed with his knowledge, and he initiated them. They thenbecame the follower of Kabir Saheb. From that time they decided toserve food daily to at least one saint or sadhu. The couple continuedto offer food to holy men for a long time. Once, for three days, nosaint or sadhu went to their home. For the first time the couple feltvery sad. They did not eat for those days. Satguru became verypleased with their devotion. After three days, he came to theirhome as a saint. It made them so happy that they felt that Satguruhad appeared before them. Immediately, they served him food withgreat respect. The saint was very pleased with their devotion. Hesaid to them: "I am very pleased with your hospitality, therefore, Iwant to give you something in return. Ask for whatever you want."The couple asked for a child. The saint said that they would have ason. When the son was born he was named Ghisa. Ghisadasjibecame a saint and acquired many siddhis (accomplishments).Many people accepted Ghisadasji as their guru, and thus GhisaPanth started.

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39. Disappearance of Kabir Saheb

A Pandit from Mithila visited Kabir Saheb at Varanasi and saidthat who dies at Kashi gets salvation, and who dies at Magaharbecomes a donkey in the next incarnation. Kabir Saheb told himthat a person gets whatever he deserves. If one does devotion toGod he will get salvation anywhere, even in Magahar. The panditchallenged him. In order to prove that all places are equal, KabirSaheb went to Magahar to die. Thousands of his disciples wentthere to get his final darshan. Kabir Saheb delivered his last sermonto them. Amongst his followers were Hindus and Muslims. He toldthem to live in peace and harmony, and not to fight for varyingreligious beliefs; that his mission was finished and he will be leavinghis body shortly. Kabir Saheb then went into the hut and lay downon the floor. The disciples covered him with a sheet and went out.The entire congregation then saw a light disappear in the sky. Theyknew then that Satguru Kabir had left his body. Hindus said that hewas their guru, and wanted to cremate his body. The Muslims saidthat he was their pir, and wanted to bury him. They forgot theteachings of the last sermon and started to fight. They then heard aDivine Voice: "Stop the fight. Go and see if the body is there." Theimportant disciples from both Hindus and Muslims went into thehut. When they removed the shroud, they saw only a heap offlowers. They divided the shroud and the flowers equally. Hinduscremated theirs according to their rites, and the Muslims buriedtheirs. Both of their monuments are still at Magahar.

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