Location hunting: Babaji, Shwetambari and Kabir Muth

Kabir is one the most esoteric sage- poets of Banaras. He lived in the during 15th century. He was found abandoned as a child, much like Soham, and was picked up by a Muslim weaver family.

Kabir was born with a burning desire to seek the truth. He would go on the Banaras ghats and look for anybody who could teach him the path to reach the destination. The Hindu Gurus for obvious reasons kept away from him. However Kabir was a very determined soul. There was a famous guru named Ramanand who used to go to Panch Ganga ghat to take bath in the vee hours of the morning. One day Kabir went and slept on one of the stairs of the ghats and waited for Ramanand to return after taking his bath in the Ganages. In darkness Swami Ramanand’s foot went over his body and he uttered “ Ram”. Ramanand accepted him as his disciple to the great opposition of the people of Banaras.

Kabir was an illiterate and he learnt only one word to read and write “ Ram”, which said to have become his mantra.

Legend says that he reliquished his body when he was about 120 years old. There is a famous legend about his death; When he died, his Hindu and Muslim followers started fighting about the last rites. When they lifted the cloth covering his body, they found flowers instead. The Muslim followers buried their half and the Hindu cremated thier half. In Maghar, his tomb and samadhi still stand side by side.

The social and practical manifestation of Kabir's philosophy has rung through the ages. It represented a synthesis of Hindu, and Muslim concepts. From Hinduism he accepts the concept of reincarnation and the law of Karma. From Islam he takes the affirmation of the single god and the rejection of caste system and idolatry. The basic religious principles he espouses are simple. According to Kabir, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma). It is Kabir's view that salvation is the process of bringing into union these two divine principles.

Kabir is a very important figure in Indian history. He is unusual in that he is spiritually significant to Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims alike. Kabir openly criticized all sects and gave a new direction to the Indian philosophy. Kabir touches the soul, the conscience, the sense of awareness and the vitality of existence in a manner that is unequalled in both simplicity and style.

When we needed to shoot the ashram of Babaji, we were keen to show the Kabir ashram. We met the authorities of the Kabir muth at Kabir Chaura and they readily agreed. Since the Ashram is at the end of a narrow lane, we had big logistical problems while shooting inside the ashram. We owe a lot to the keepers of the ashram who allowed us to put a statue in the important place inside the ashram, even though Kabir always ridiculed the idol worship.

I am sure you remember the scene where Shwetambari learnt that Babaji had been dead for hundreds of years. That plcae used to be the abode of saint Kabir.