24 Kabir Poetry - Al Kabir (The Most Great), INDIA
I was just remembering when I called my son Kabir. Coming from a mixed hindu/muslim family this was very controversial. To my muslim side it was too Indian and to my hindu side of the family it was too muslim. This confirmed to us that we picked the right name…lol!
Its his birthday this month and as I feel overwhelmed with all the things I want to do for him, finally I'm deciding to spend some time to learn about Saint Kabir whom we named our son after. It was important to us to identify an anchor, spiritually as between us we both carried a lot of cultural baggage, predominately religious. I hope one day my son can draw on his wisdom and find a path through this crazy life. Saint Kabir is important to me personally because he takes me back to a time before the partisan of India and Pakistan. I grew up believing that the creation of Pakistan was a good thing. My parents believed the same and I was told as muslims were not safe living together in India. As I grew older and in my own way was seeking God and understanding I started to really think about who I am. I came to the idea that the time when we all lived peacefully together was much better than the divide that came in creating India and Pakistan.
Kabir criticised equally both the muslim and hindu religious establishment. He talks about how many lies we tell ourselves something which is still so relevant in people today (especially now with social media). I love Shabnam's Ted Talk below which I think is a great introduction to this Poet and how studying his work can impact you personally.
Unlike Rumi who the world knows I only came across Saint Kabir when I was looking for names. I think only those connected with South Asia (India) may know of him. One of my passions is to create work inspired by Kabir’s poetry. Below are a few links I found recently, these include details about Saint Kabir’s life. A concert of Kabir’s music with translation.
I have recently met some women from the Sikh heritage who love Kabir and can recite his work. We are just working out how to shape a recording opportunity and welcome any further interest. In the meantime I've managed to track down a book of Kabir poetry in English which I am reading and saving my favourites.
Al-Kabir is the 37th Name in Islam when it comes to the 99 Names of Allah.
According to my source the 37th name Al - Kabir is incomparable greatness or vastness, an unrestricted expansiveness. It is not a comparison. It is a state beyond the boundaries of time and space. Al Kabir is the infinite presence of Allah, which includes what we call presence and absence simultaneously. It is beyond expansion and contraction. It is not enough to say Al - Kabir is the biggest, the greatest, and the beyond. Language is inadequate for such realities, so poets endeavour to use finite images to describe the indescribable. Al - Kabir is like an ocean without a shore.
Why not check out the Kabir Festival if your liking the vibe or if you are totally new to all this but find it fascinating, journey with us in the creation of responses to Kabir material. Drop us an email!