Kabir The Weaver of God's Name

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IT GIVES US GREAT PLEASURE to present Kabir, the Weaver of God's Name, another book in our series on the life and teachings of the mystics of the East. Kabir, the fifteenth-century Saint of Banaras, was a low-caste weaver with no formal education; his humble origin did not prevent him, however, from becoming renowned in his own lifetime as a great Saint, and his compositions were recited, as they are now, all over the country. Of all the mystics of India, Kabir is perhaps the most well known worldwide, and the popularity and spiritual depth of his writings have encouraged us to publish a more extensive translation of his poems and couplets than has been available till now.

The primary aim of the translations has been to bring out the spiritual meaning that is the essence of Kabir's compositions; they are therefore not a rigidly literal rendering of the original, nor are they poetic for the sake of being poetic. The complex imagery that abounds in Kabir's terse poetry has been deciphered and pieced together, analyzed and explained, and its esoteric meaning has been conveyed in language that is vigorous and vivid.

In the section on Kabir's life, no attempt has been made to discuss the scholarly theories and controversies connected with Kabir's life story, as this is not the object of the present monograph. The author has, however, tried to utilize some of the incidents that are mentioned by medieval poets and Saints, in order to highlight the personality and spiritual character of the great Saint, which are also reflected in Kabir's writings. "Teachings of Kabir" is a complete comparative study revealing the unity of the message that all Saints bring, whether they are from one religious tradition or another, from recent times or ancient. Parallel expressions from the writings of various Saints illustrate that the path of the Saints, as propounded by mystics of East and West, is a living path that has been taught by all Saints at all times.

**Contents and Sample Pages**