The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

R >> R.V. Russell >> The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

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1. Life of Kabir.

_Kabirpanthi Sect_.--A well-known religious sect founded by the
reformer Kabir, who flourished in the fifteenth century, 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--1518, while Mr. Crooke states
that he flourished between 1488 and 1512. 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 benediction 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 Muhammadan 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 Kabirpanthis,
if they adhered to all Kabir's preaching, must be considered as quite
outside the pale of Hinduism. To make out that Kabir came into the
world by Ramanand's act provides him at any rate with an orthodox
spiritual lineage. For the same reason [289] the date of Kabir's birth
is sometimes advanced as early as 1398 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 [290] that the _Kabir Kasauti_ explains the story
of his supposed marriage 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
Kabir 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 Muhammadans, 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 discussed 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 teachings.

The religion preached by Kabir was of a lofty character. He 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 Muhammadans. 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 Kabir 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 transmigration 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 transmigration,
he may have concurred in this tenet. Some Kabirpanthis, 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.

3. His sayings

He would seem never to have promulgated any definite account of his
own religion, nor did he write anything himself. He uttered a large
number of Sakhis or apothegms which were recorded by his disciples
in the Bijak, Sukhanidhan and other works, and are very well known
and often quoted by Kabirpanthis and others. The influence of Kabir
extended beyond his own sect. Nanak, the founder of the Nanakpanthis
and Sikhs, was indebted to Kabir 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:

1. 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. Kabir 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. Kabir 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 Kabir'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 Bible or
with the teaching of Christian missionaries. If such a supposition
were correct, it would follow that Christianity had influenced 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 teaching of Kabir. Another interesting though
accidental resemblance 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.

4. The Kabirpanthi Sect in the Central Provinces.

The two principal headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are at Benaires
and at Kawardha, the capital of the State of that name, or Damakheda
in the Raipur District. These appear to be practically independent
of each other, the head 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 Kabirpanthis 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
Kabirchaura Math and the Kawardha one the Dharam Das Math.

One of the converts to Kabir'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 Kabir promised him that his family should endure
for forty-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. Kabir 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. [291] Ugranam was born of a Marar woman, and,
though acclaimed as the successor of his father, was challenged by
Dhirajnam, whose parentage was legitimate. Their dispute led to a case
in the Bombay High Court, which was decided in favour of Dhirajnam,
and he accordingly occupied the seat at Kawardha. Dayaram is his
successor. But Dhirajnam was unpopular, and little attention was paid
to him. Ugranam lives at Damakheda, near Simga, [292] and enjoys the
real homage of the followers of the sect, who say that Dhiraj 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 Kabirpanthi 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,
_chauba_ 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 Kabir planted
a stick in the sand and said, 'Come thus far and no further,' and the
flood was stayed. 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.

5. The religious service.

A Kabirpanthi religious service is called Chauka, the name given to the
space marked out for it with lines of wheat-flour, 5 or 7 1/2 yards
square. [293] 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. _Bhajans_ or religious songs are sung to the
music of cymbals by one or two, and the others repeat the name of Kabir
counting on their _kanthi_ 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 _buch_ or tuft of fibre at the end represents the
hair. The Kabirpanthis 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
_buch_ is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable offering, as its
likeness to a human head is considered to be 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 Mahant,
who makes it into little _puris_ or wafers. The Mahant has also a
number of betel-leaves known as _parwana_ 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 Kabir. He has also brought _Charan Amrita_ or
Nectar of the Feet, consisting of water in which the feet of the head
_guru_ 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 _parwana_
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 _parwana_ or betel-leaf is
held to represent Kabir's body, and the Kabirpanthis say that the
flame of the candle is the life or spirit of Kabir, 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 Kabirpanthis may
now disclaim this idea. And the foot-nectar of the _guru_ might be
looked upon as a substitute for the blood of Kabir.

6. Initiation.

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 _tulsi_ or
basil round his neck. This _kanthi_ or necklace is the mark of the
Kabirpanthi, 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 single _tulsi_ bead
is worn on a string. The convert is also warned against eating the
fruit of the _gular_ [294] fig-tree, as these small figs are always
full of insects. Kabir 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.

7. Funeral rites.

The Kabirpanthis are usually buried. Formerly, the 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 _chauka_ being
made in front of it. He lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and
lights the lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut. The Kabirpanthis
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 Kabir, 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 Kabirpanthi is absorbed into the deity and therefore 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.

8. Idol worship.

Ordinarily the Kabirpanthis have no regular worship except on the
occasion of a visit of the _guru_. But sometimes 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 Kabir Ki_,' or 'Victory to Kabir.' 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. Kabir prohibited the worship 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 Kabir 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 of the sect.

About 600,000 Kabirpanthis were returned in the Central Provinces
in 1911, 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 Kabir 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 Pans or Gandas
who have become Kabirpanthis. 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 Ahirs,
Kurmis, Lodhis and Kachhis. Though there seems little doubt that one
of the principal aims of Kabir'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 Kabirpanthi 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 Kabir, as many Kabirpanthis as
can meet at the headquarters 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 Chhattisgarh signifies an eater of meat as
opposed to a Kabirpanthi who refrains from it. The Mahars and Pankas
permit intermarriage between Kabirpanthi and Saktaha families,
the wife in each case adopting the customs and beliefs of her
husband. Kabirpanthis also wear the _choti_ or scalp-lock and shave
the head for the death of a relative, in spite of Kabir's contempt of
the custom. Still, the sect has in the past afforded to the uneducated
classes a somewhat higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic
medley of primitive superstitions and beliefs in witchcraft and devil
worship, from which the Brahmans, caring only for the recognition of
their social supremacy, made no attempt to raise them.