MATI EK ANEK BHATI (MYRIAD SHAPES FROM ONE CLAY): KABIR AND HIS SEARCH FOR SOCIAL HARMONY

Abstract

Kabir symbolizes an attempt at an eclectic society in India. With the advent of Muslim conquerors, other castes attempted to challenge the Brahmanical caste system and bring in a more equitable social order. Muslims had a class system which though not religiously sanctioned was very much in practice. Kabir criticized the rigidity of the religious class of both Hindus and Muslims, especially their accent on rituals rather than the spirit. Since he had to address both Hindus and Muslims he adopted a vocabulary understood by both. The eclectic formulation of his poems led both Hindus and Muslims to claim Kabir and the orthodox of both religions to reject him. This was a distinct phase in Indian history, which was why the sayings of Kabir made their way to the scripture of another religious synthesis the Sikh religion. Such thoughts were attractive also to Rabindra Nath Tagore, who introduced the ideas of Kabir to a wider and now, in the British era a more modern audience.