Kabirpanthi
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From The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India
By R. V. Russell
Of The Indian Civil Service
Superintendent Of Ethnography, Central Provinces
Assisted By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner
Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1916.
NOTE 1: The 'Central Provinces' have since been renamed Madhya Pradesh.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from the original book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot these footnotes gone astray might like to shift them to their correct place.
Kabirpanthi
\Bibliography : Right Reverend G. H. Westcott, Kahir and the R'abirpanth, Cawnpore, 1907 ; Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. pp. 53-75 (Wilson's Hindu Sects) ; Mr. Crooke's Tribes and Castes, article Kablrpanlhi ; Central Provinces Census Report {iSg I), Sir B. Robertson.] LIST OF PARAGRAPHS 1 . Li/e of Kablr. 5 . Tlie religious service. 2. Kabir's teachings. 6. Iftitiation. 3. His sayings. 7. Funeral rites. 4.
The Kabirpa7ithi sect i7i the 8. Idol worship. Central Provinces. 9. Statistics of the sect. I. Life of
Kabirpanthi Sect
A well-known religious sect founded Kabir. y-^y ^^ reformer Kabir, who flourished in the fifteenth cen- tury, and is called by Dr. Hunter the Luther of India. The sect has now split into two branches, the headquarters of one of these being at Benares, and of the other at Kawardha, or Damakheda in Raipur.
Bishop Westcott gives the date
of Kabir's life as A.D. 1440-15 18, while Mr. Crooke states that he flourished between 1488 and 15 12. Numerous legends are now told about him ; thus, according to one of these, he was the son of a virgin Brahman widow, who had been taken at her request to see the great reformer Ramanand.
He, unaware of her condition, saluted her with the benedic-
tion which he thought acceptable to all women, and wished
her the conception of a son. His words could not be recalled, and the widow conceived, but, in order to escape
the disgrace which would attach to her, exposed the child, who was Kabir. He was found by a Julaha or Muham- madan weaver and his wife, and brought up by them. The
object of this story is probably to connect Kabir with Ramanand as his successor in reformation and spiritual heir ; because the Ramanandis are an orthodox Vaishnava sect, while the Kabirpanthi.s, if they adhered to all Kabii's preaching, must be considered as quite outside the pale c)f Hinduism. To make out that Kablr came into the world by Ramanand's act provides him at any rate with an orthodox spiritual lineage. For the same reason ^ the date of
Kablr's birth is sometimes advanced as early as 139S in
order to bring it within the period of Ramanand's lifetime {circa 1300-1400). Another story is that the deity took
mortal shape as a child without birth, and was found by a
newly-married weaver's wife lying in a lotus flower on a tank, like Moses in the bulrushes. Bishop Westcott thus describes the event : " A feeling of thirst overcame Nima, the newly-wedded wife of Niru, the weaver, as after the marriage ceremony she was making her way to her husband's house. She approached the tank, but was much afraid when she there beheld the child. She thought in her heart, *
This is probably the living evidence of the shame of some virgin widow.' Niru suggested that they might take the child to their house, but Nima at first demurred, thinking that such action might give rise to scandal. Women would ask, ' Who is the mother of a child so beautiful that its eyes are like the lotus ? ' However, laying aside all fears, they took pity on the child. On approaching the house they were welcomed with the songs of women, but when the women saw the child dark thoughts arose in their heads, and they began to ask, ' How has she got this child ? ' Nima replied that she had got the child without giving birth to it, and the women then refrained from asking further questions." It is at any rate a point generally agreed on that Kabir was brought up in the house of a Muhammadan weaver. It is said that he became the chela or disciple of Ramanand, but this cannot be true, as Ramanand was dead before his birth. It seems probable that he was married, and had two children named Kamal and Kamali. Bishop Westcott states - that the Kabir Kasauti explains the story of his supposed mar- riage by the fact that he had a girl disciple named Loi, a foundling brought up by a holy man ; she followed his precepts, and coming to Benares, passed her time in the service of the saints. Afterwards Kabir raised two children
from the dead and gave them to Loi to bring up, and the ignorant suppose that these were his wife and children. Such a statement would appear to indicate that Kablr was really married, but after his sect had become important, this
fact was felt to be a blot on his claim to be a divine prophet, and so was explained away in the above fashion. The plain speaking of Kabir and his general disregard for religious conventions excited the enmity of both Hindus and IMuhammadans, and he was accused before the Emperor Sikandar Lodi, by whose orders various attempts were made
to kill him ; but he was miraculously preserved in each case, until at last the Emperor acknowledged his divine character,
asked his forgiveness, and expressed his willingness to undergo any punishment that he might name. To this Kabir replied that a man should sow flowers for those who had sown him thorns. Bishop Westcott continues .
All accounts agree that the earthly life of Kabir came to a close at Maghar, in the District of Gorakhpur. Tradition relates that Kabir died in extreme old age, when his body had become infirm and his hands were no longer able to produce the music with which he had in younger days celebrated the praises of Rama.
" A difficulty arose with regard to the disposal of his body after death. The Muhammadans desired to bury it and the Hindus to cremate it. As the rival parties dis- cussed the question with growing warmth Kabir himself appeared and bade them raise the cloth in which the body lay enshrouded. They did as he commanded, and lo ! beneath the cloth there lay but a heap of flowers. Of these flowers the Hindus removed half and burnt them at Benares, while what remained were buried at Maghar by the Muhammadans." 2. Kabir s The religion preached by Kabir was of a lofty character.
teachings,
jj^ rejected the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the whole Hindu mythology. He taught that there was no
virtue in outward observances such as shaving the head, ceremonial purity and impurity, and circumcision among Muliammadans. He condemned the worship of idols and the use of sect - marks and religious amulets, but in all
ordinary matters allowed his followers to conform to usage
in order to avoid giving offence. He abolished distinctions of caste. He enjoined a virtuous life, just conduct and kindly behaviour and much meditation on the virtues of God. He also condemned the love of money and gain. In fact, in many respects his creed resembles Christianity, just as the life of Kablr contains one or two episodes parallel to that of Christ.
He prescribed obedience to the Guru or spiritual preceptor in all matters of faith and morals. His religion appears to have been somewhat of a pantheistic character and his idea of the deity rather vague. But he considered that the divine essence was present in all human beings, and apparently that those who freed themselves from sin and the trammels of worldly desires would ultimately be absorbed into the godhead. It does not seem that Kabir made any exact pronouncement on the doctrine of the trans- migration of souls and re-birth, but as he laid great stress on avoiding the destruction of any animal life, a precept which is to some extent the outcome of the belief in transmigra- tion, he may have concurred in this tenet.
Some Kablr- panthis, however, have discarded transmigration. Bishop Westcott states that they do believe in the re-birth of the soul after an intervening period of reward or punishment, but always apparently in a human body. He would seem never to have promulgated any definite 3- i^'s account of his own religion, nor did he write anything him- " self. He uttered a large number of Sakhis or apothegms which were recorded by his disciples in the Bijak, Sukhani- dhan and other works, and are very well known and often quoted by Kablrpanthis and others. The influence of Kablr extended beyond his own sect. Nanak, the founder of the Nanakpanthis and Sikhs, was indebted to Kablr for most of his doctrine, and the Adi - Granth or first sacred book of the Sikhs is largely compiled from his sayings. Other sects such as the Dadupanthis also owe much to him. A small selection of his sayings from those recorded by Bishop Westcott may be given in illustration of their character
I. Adding cowrie to cowrie he brings together lakhs and crores. At the time of his departure he gets nothing at all, even his loin-cloth is plucked away.
2. Fire does not burn it, the wind does not carry it away, no thief comes near it ; collect the wealth of the name of Rama, that wealth is never lost.
3. By force and love circumcision is made, I shall not agree to it, O brother. If God will make me a Turk by Him will I be circumcised ; if a man becomes a Turk by being circumcised what shall be done with a woman ? She must remain a Hindu.
4. The rosaries are of wood, the gods are of stone, the Ganges and Jumna are water. Rama and Krishna are dead. The four Vedas are fictitious stories.
5. If by worshipping stones one can find God, I shall worship a mountain ; better than these stones (idols) are the stones of the flour-mill with which men grind their corn.
6. If by immersion in the water salvation be obtained, the frogs bathe continually. As the frogs so are these men, again and again they fall into the womb. 7. As long as the sun does not rise the stars sparkle ; so long as perfect knowledge of God is not obtained, men
practise rites and ceremonies. 8. Brahma is dead with Siva who lived in Kashi ; the
immortals are dead. In Mathura, Krishna, the cowherd, died. The ten incarnations (of Vishnu) are dead. Machhandranath, Gorakhnath, Dattatreya and Vyas are no longer living. Kablr cries with a loud voice. All these have fallen into
the slip-knot of death. 9. While dwelling in the womb there is no clan nor caste ; from the seed of Brahm the whole of creation is made. Whose art thou the Brahman ? Whose am I the Sudra? Whose blood am I ? Whose milk art thou ? Kabir says, ' Who reflects on Brahm, he by me is made
a Brahman.' 10. To be truthful is best of all if the heart be truthful.
A man may speak as much as he likes ; but there is no pleasure apart from truthfulness. 11. If by wandering about naked union with Hari be obtained ; then every deer of the forest will attain to God. If by shaving the head perfection is achieved, the sheep is saved, no one is lost. If salvation is got by celibacy, a eunuch should be the
first saved. Kablr says, ' Hear, O Man and Brother ; without the name of Rama no one has obtained salvation,' The resemblance of some of the above ideas to the teaching of the Gospels is striking, and, as has been seen, the story of Kablr's birth might have been borrowed from the Bible, while the Kabirpanthi Chauka or religious service has one or two features in common with Christianity.
These facts raise a probability, at any rate, that Kabir or his disciples had some acquaintance with the l^ible or with the teaching of Christian missionaries. If such a supposi- tion were correct, it would follow that Christianity had in- fluenced the religious thought of India to a greater extent than is generally supposed. Because, as has been seen, the Nanakpanthi and Sikh sects are mainly based on the teach- ing of Kabir. Another interesting though accidental re- semblance is that the religion of Kabir was handed down in the form of isolated texts and sayings like the Logia of Jesus, and was first reduced to writing in a connected form by his disciples. The fact that Kabir called the deity by the name of Rama apparently does not imply that he ascribed a unique and sole divinity to the hero king of Ajodhia. He had to have some name which might convey a definite image or conception to his uneducated followers, and may have simply adopted that which was best known and most revered by them.
The two principal headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are 4. The at Benares and at Kawardha, the capital of the State of that ^^^^^^^ gg^t name, or Damakheda in the Raipur District. These appear in the to be practically independent of each other, the head provinces. Mahants exercising separate jurisdiction over members of the sect who acknowledge their authority. The Benares branch of the sect is known as Bap (father) and the Kawardha branch as Mai (mother). In 1901 out of 850,000 Kablrpanthis in India 500,000 belonged to the Central Provinces. The following account of the practices of the sect in the Province is partly compiled from local information, and it differs in some minor, though not in essential, points from that given by Bishop Westcott. The Benares church is called the Kablrchaura Math and the Kawardha one the Dharam Das Math. 238 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part One of the converts to Kablr's teaching was Dharam Das, a Kasaundhan Bania, who distributed the whole of his wealth, eighteen lakhs of rupees, in charity at his master's bidding and became a mendicant. In reward for this Kablr promised him that his family should endure for fort\^-two generations. The Mahants of Kawardha claim to be the direct descendants of Dharam Das. They marry among Kasaundhan Banias, and their sons are initiated and succeed them.
The present Mahants Dayaram and Ugranam are twelfth and thirteenth in descent from Dharam Das. Kablr not only promised that there should be forty-two Mahants, but gave the names of each of them, so that the names of all future Mahants are known.^ Ugranam was born of a Marar woman, and, though acclaimed as the successor of his father, was challenged by Dhlrajnam, whose parentage was legiti- mate. Their dispute led to a case in the Bombay High Court, which was decided in favour of Dhlrajnam, and he accordingly occupied the seat at Kawardha. Dayaram is his successor. But Dhlrajnam was unpopular, and little attention was paid to him. Ugranam lives at Damakheda, near Simga," and enjoys the real homage of the followers of the sect, who say that Dhlraj was the official Mahant but Ugra the people's Mahant. Of the previous Mahants, four are buried at Kawardha, two at Kudarmal in Bilaspur, the site of a Kablrpanthi fair, and two at Mandla. Under the head Mahant are a number of subordinate Mahants or Gurus, each of whom has jurisdiction over the members of the sect in a certain area. The Guru pays so much a year to the head Mahant for his letter of jurisdiction and takes all the offerings himself. These subordinate Mahants may be celibate or married, and about two-thirds of them are married.
A dissenting branch called Nadiapanthi has now arisen in Raipur, all of whom are celibate. The Mahants have a high peaked cap somewhat of the shape of a mitre, a long sleeveless white robe, a chauri or whisk, cJiauba or silver stick, and a staff called kuari or aska. It is said that on one occasion there was a very high flood at Puri and the sea threatened to submerge Jagannath's temple, but Kablr planted a stick in the sand and said, * Come thus far and ' Kabir and the Kabirpaiith, pp. 115 and 116. - Kaipur District.
no further,' and the flood was sta}'cd. In memory of this the Mahants carry the crutched staff, which also serves as a means of support. When officiating they wear a small embroidered cap. Each Mahant has a Diwan or assistant, and he travels about his charge during the open season, visiting the members of the sect. A Mahant should not annoy any one by begging, but rather than do so should remain hungry. He must not touch any flesh, fish or liquor. And if any living thing is hungry he should give it of his own food.
A Kablrpanthi religious service is called Chauka, the 5. The name given to the space marked out for it with lines of wheat- '"^S'ous '^ - '^ , service. flour, 5 or 7^ yards square. In the centre is made a pattern of nine lotus-flowers to represent the sun, moon and seven planets, and over this a bunch of real flowers is laid. At one corner is a small hollow pillar of dough serving as a candle-stick, in which a stick covered with cotton-wool burns as a lamp, being fed with butter. The Mahant sits at one end and the worshippers sit round. BJiajans or religious songs are sung to the music of cymbals by one or two, and the others repeat the name of Kablr counting on their kmiiJii or necklace of beads. The Mahant lights a piece of camphor and waves it backwards and forwards in a dish. This is called Arti, a Hindu rite. He then breaks a cocoanut on a stone, a thing which only a Mahant may do. The flesh of the cocoanut is cut up and distributed to the worshippers with betel-leaf and sugar. Each receives
it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none fall on the ground. If any of the cocoanut remain, it is kept by the Mahant for another service. The Hindus think that the cocoanut is a substitute for a human head.
It is supposed to have been created by Viswamitra and the bucJi or tuft of fibre at the end represents the hair. The Kablrpanthis will not eat any part of a cocoanut from other Hindus from which this tuft has been removed, as they fear that it may have been broken off in the name of some god or spirit. Once the biicJi is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable offering, as its likeness to a human head is considered to be
1 The description of the Chaukg, service is mainly taken from Bishop West- cott's full and detailed account.
destroyed. After this the Mahant gives an address and an interval occurs. Some little time afterwards the worshippers reassemble. Meanwhile, a servant has taken the dough candle-stick and broken it up, mixing it with fragments of the cocoanut, butter and more flour. It is then brought to the Maliant, who makes it into little puris or wafers. The Mahant has also a number of betel-leaves known as parwdna or message, which have been blessed by the head guru at Kawardha or Damakheda. These are cut up into small pieces for delivery to each disciple and are supposed to represent the body of Kablr. He has also brought CJiaran Amrita or Nectar of the Feet, consisting of water in which the feet of the head gum have been washed. This is mixed with fine earth and made up into pills.
The worshippers reassemble, any who may feel unworthy absenting themselves, and each receives from the Mahant, with one hand folded beneath the other, a wafer of the dough, a piece of the pm^zvana or betel-leaf, and a pill of the foot-nectar. After partaking of the sacred food they cleanse their hands, and the proceedings conclude with a substantial meal defrayed either by subscription or by a well-to-do member. Bishop Westcott states that the parzvdna or betel-leaf is held to represent Kabir's bod}% and the Kablrpanthis say that the flame of the candle is the life or spirit of Kablr, so that the dough of the candle- stick might also be taken to symbolise his body. The
cocoanut eaten at the preliminary service is undoubtedly offered by Hindus as a substitute for a human body, though the Kablrpanthis may now disclaim this idea. And the foot-nectar of the guru might be looked upon as a substitute
for the blood of Kablr.
6. iniiia- The initiation of a proselyte is conducted at a similar service, and he is given cocoanut and betel-leaf. He solemnly vows to observe the rules of the sect, and the Mahant whispers a text into his ear and hangs a necklace of wooden beads of the wood of the tiilsi or basil round his neck. This kantlii or necklace is the mark of the Kablrpanthi, but if lost, it can be replaced by any other necklace, not necessarily of tulsi. One man was observed with a necklace of pink beads bought at Allahabad. Sometimes only a tion.
single tulsi bead is worn on a string.
The convert is also warned against eating the fruit of the giilar ^ fig-tree, as these small figs are always full of insects. Kablr condemned sect- marks, but many Kabirpanthis now have them, the mark usually being a single broad streak of white sandalwood from the top of the forehead to the nose. The Kabirpanthis are usually buried. Formerly, the 7. Funeral bodies of married people both male and female were buried "'^^' inside the compound of the house, but this is now prohibited on sanitary grounds. A cloth is placed in the grave and the corpse laid on it and another cloth placed over it covering the face. Over the grave a little platform is made on which the Mahant and two or three other persons can sit. On the twenty-first day after the death, if possible, the Mahant should hold a service for the dead. The form of the service is that already described, the Mahant sitting on the grave and the cJiauka being made in front of it. He lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and lights the lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut.
The Kabir- panthis think that the soul of the dead person remains in the grave up to this time, but when the lamp is burnt the soul mingles with the flame, which is the soul of Kablr, and is absorbed into the deity. When breaking a cocoanut over the grave of the dead the Kabirpanthis say, ' I am breaking the skull of Yama,' because they think that the soul of a Kablrpanthi is absorbed into the deity and there- fore is not liable to be taken down to hell and judged by Chitragupta and punished by Yama. From this it would appear that some of them do not believe in the transmigration of souls. Ordinarily the Kabirpanthis have no regular w^orship 8. idol except on the occasion of a visit of XkiO. guru.
But sometimes ^^°^^ 'P' in the morning they fold their hands and say ' Sat Sahib,' or the ' True God,' two or three times. They also clean a space with cowdung and place a lighted lamp on it and say ' Jai Kablr Kil or ' Victory to Kablr.' They conceive of the deity as consisting of light, and therefore it seems probable that, like the other Vaishnava sects, they really take him to be the Sun. Kablr prohibited the worship ^ Ficus gloincrata. VOL. I R
of all idols and visible symbols, but as might be expected the illiterate Kabirpanthis cannot adhere strictly to this. Some of them worship the Bijak, the principal sacred book of their sect. At Rudri near Dhamtari on the Mahanadi one of the Gurus is buried, and a religious fair is held there. Recently a platform has been made with a footprint of Kablr marked on it, and this is venerated by the pilgrims. Similarly, Kudarmal is held to contain the grave of Churaman, the first guru after Dharam Das, and a religious fair is held here at which the Kabirpanthis attend and venerate the grave.
Dharam Das himself is said to be buried at Puri, the site of Jagannath's temple, but it seems doubtful whether this story may not have been devised in order to give the Kabirpanthis a valid reason for going on pilgrimage to Puri. Similarly, an arch and platform in the court of the temple of Rama at Ramtek is considered to belong to the Kabirpanthis, though the Brahmans of the temple say that the arch was really made by the daughter of a Surajvansi king of the locality in order to fasten her swing to it. Once in three years the Mahar Kabirpanthis of Mandla make a sacrificial offering of a goat to Dulha Deo, the bridegroom god, and eat the flesh, burying the remains beneath the floor. On this occasion they also drink liquor. ^ Other Kabirpanthis venerate Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and light a lamp and burn camphor in their names, but do not make idols of them.
They will accept the cooked food offered to Vishnu as Satnarayan and a piece of the cocoanut kernel offered to Devi, but not the offerings to any other deities. And a number even of illiterate Kabirpanthis appear to abstain from any kind of idol-worship. 9. Statistics About 600,000 Kabirpanthis were returned in the c tesect. (^gj^|-j.^i Provinces in 191 i, this being equivalent to an increase of 19 per cent since the previous census. As this was less than the increase in the total population the sect appears to be stationary or declining in numbers. The weaving castes are usually Kabirpanthis, because Kablr was a weaver. The Brahmans call it ' The weaver's religion.' Of the Panka caste 84 per cent were returned as members of the sect, and this caste appears to be of sectarian formation.
consisting- of Tans or Gandas who have become Kablr- panthis. Other weaving castes such as Balahis, Koris, Koshtis and Mahars belong to the sect in considerable numbers, and it is also largely professed by other low castes as the Telis or oilmen, of whom 16 per cent adhere to it, and by Dhobis and Chamars ; and by some castes from whom a Brahman will take water, as the Ahlrs, Kurmis, Lodhis and Kachhis.
Though there seems little doubt that one of the principal aims of Kablr's preaching was the abolition of the social tyranny of the caste system, which is the most real and to the lower classes the most hateful and burdensome feature of Hinduism, yet as in the case of so many other reformers his crusade has failed, and a man who becomes a Kablrpanthi does not cease to be a member of his caste or to conform to its observances. And a few Brahmans who have been converted, though renounced by their own caste, have, it is said, been compensated by receiving high posts in the hierarchy of the sect. Formerly all members of the sect took food together at the conclusion of each Chauka or service conducted by a Mahant, But this is no longer the case, and presumably different Chaukas are now held for communities of different castes.
Only on the 13th day of Bhadon (August), which was the birthday of Kablr, as many Kabirpanthis as can meet at the head- quarters of the Guru take food together without distinction of caste in memory of their Founder's doctrine. Otherwise the Kabirpanthis of each caste make a separate group within it, but among the lower castes they take food and marry with members of the caste who are not Kabirpanthis. These latter are commonly known as Saktaha, a term which in Chhattlsgarh signifies an eater of meat as opposed to a Kablrpanthi who refrains from it.
The Mahars and Pankas permit intermarriage between Kablrpanthi and Saktaha families, the wife in each case adopting the customs and beliefs of her husband. Kabirpanthis also wear the cJioti or scalp-lock and shave the head for the death of a relative, in spite of Kablr's contempt of the custom. Still, the sect has in the past afforded to the uneducated classes a some- what higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic medley of primitive superstitions and beliefs in witchcraft and
devil worship, from which the Brahmans, carint^ only for the recognition of their social supremacy, made no attempt to raise them.
See also
Kabirpanthi
