SONGS OF KABIR

The Poet Kabîr Is One Of The Most Interesting Personalities In The History Of Indian Mysticism. Born In Or Near Benares Of Mohammedan Parents And Probably About The Year 1440, Be Became In Early Life A Disciple Of The Celebrated Hindu Ascetic Râmânanda. Râmânanda Had Brought To Northern India The Religious Revival That Râmânuja, The Great 12Th-Century Reformer Of Brâhmanism, Had Initiated In The South. This Revival Was In Part A Reaction Against The Increasing Formalism Of The Orthodox Cult, In Part An Assertion Of The Demands Of The Heart As Against The Intense Intellectualism Of The Vedânta Philosophy, The Exaggerated Monism That That Philosophy Proclaimed. It Took In Râmânuja'S Preaching The Form Of An Ardent Personal Devotion To The God Vishnu, As Representing The Personal Aspect Of The Divine Nature: That Mystical "Religion Of Love" That Everywhere Makes Its Appearance At A Certain Level Of Spiritual Culture.