The Weaver Saint: The Story of the Enlightened Master Kabir (Part 1 of 2)

The Enlightened Master at the Loom

In ancient India, a man sat quietly before a loom. He held no scepter, wore no monk's robe, but with a pair of devoted hands, He wove silent prayers and profound love.

He was Master Kabir.

Born into the humble community of weavers, Kabir illuminated the path Home for countless souls with the light of His poetry. His verses, simple yet deep, are like the boundless compassion refracted in the morning dew, containing an eternal wisdom that transcends religion and time. To this day, countless hearts yearning for Truth, no matter where they are in the world, still hear in His lines a gentle yet firm call from the Heavens.

The Sikh holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, contains more than five hundred of Kabir's poems—an honor that attests to His immortal status in the spiritual world.

In the Islamic world, the name "Kabir" signifies a great saint, and in the Quran, it is a sacred name bestowed by God.

Kabir merged the spiritual light of Hinduism and Islam. He once gently described Himself, saying, "I am a child of Allah and Ram." In His heart, whether called "Allah" or "Ram," the loving Supreme Being is one and the same.

A Mysterious Birth and Eternal Songs: Master Kabir's Advent in the World

Many mysterious legends surround the birth of Master Kabir. It is widely believed that He was born around 1440 in the holy city of Varanasi and raised by a family of weavers. However, the Master Himself profoundly stated that He came from the source of Light and Love:

"I was not born, nor did I dwell in a mother's womb. At that time, I appeared in the city of Kashi (Varanasi). I was living in the forest when a weaver found me."

Kabir's birth, like a silent dawn, gently descended upon this world, bringing with it the boundless love of God and spiritual poetry.

A Selection from the Songs of Kabir: Weaving Day and Night, Connecting with God

For the Enlightened Master Kabir, poetry was the result of the soul's dialogue with God while working at His loom.

As He fully immersed Himself in the intersecting warp and weft, His fingertips and mind sinking into a subtle rhythm, verses would flow like a clear spring, emerging naturally from His innermost depths.

In Master Kabir's eyes, the Supreme Creator wove the myriad-colored threads into the vast sky, weaving the dawn, the dusk, and the silent river of stars at night.
From the marvelous skin we wear to the boundless canopy of the universe, everything is a miracle woven by His infinite love and wisdom.

Deeply immersed in reverence and awe for the Great Weaver, Master Kabir softly sang:

"This is nothing.
What I use are simple cotton threads as warp and weft.
But the Creator—this Great Weaver,
how does He weave the exquisite fabric we call skin?
What is that warp? What is that weft?
And what fine threads does He use?"

Here, Kabir's famous folk song Jhini Jhini Bini Chadariya (The Finely Woven Shawl) is referenced:

Jhini jhini bini chadariya,
Kaahe ka tana, kaahe ki bharani,
Kaun taar se bini chadariya?

Translation: 
This sacred shawl is finely woven,
What is the warp? And what is the weft?
With what mysterious thread was this grace and miracle woven?

With this song, Kabir praises the Supreme Weaver—God—that formless, omnipresent Power of Love.

The Loom of the Mind: Ceaseless Weaving of the Name

On the loom of my mind, I weave Your name,
To make a garment for when You come to me.
My loom has ten thousand threads,
To weave a soul’s robe for You at that moment.
The Sun and Moon watch silently as I weave Your name;
The Sun and Moon listen as I count Your name.
This is my wage for day and night,
Deposited in the blooming lotus bank of my heart.
On the loom of my mind, I weave Your name,
To wash these ten thousand threads of thought, making them soft and clean,
To comb the tangled thoughts and clinging desires.
I no longer weave a garment of pain,
For You have come, drawn by my ceaseless weaving;
And still I weave, endlessly,
On the loom of my mind, Your name.
I weave Your name on the loom of my mind,
To make my garment when You come to me.
My loom has ten thousand threads
To make my garment when You come to me.
The Sun and Moon watch while I weave Your name;
The Sun and Moon hear while I count Your name.
These are the wages I get by day and night
To deposit in the lotus bank of my heart.
I weave Your name on the loom of my mind
To clean and soften ten thousand threads
And to comb the twists and knots of my thoughts.
No more shall I weave a garment of pain.
For You have come to me, drawn by my weaving,
Ceaselessly weaving Your name on the loom of my mind.

From:
https://gaatha.com/kabir-the-weaver-i-weave-your-name-on-the-loom-of-my-mind/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Conclusion

In Master Kabir's world, weaving was not merely a livelihood but a silent pilgrimage of the soul to God.

Every pass of the shuttle, every intersecting warp and weft, was like a fine golden thread quietly connecting the soul to the Supreme.

Master Kabir wove cloth with His fingertips and wove verses with His soul, creating an extraordinary spiritual legacy from the ordinary. His story, to this day, continues to softly chant its eternal hymn in every heart that yearns for Light and Truth.

References
• Songs of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore, published 1915.
• The Bijak of Kabir, translated by Linda Hess and Shukdev Singh, published 1983.
• Kabir's hymns as included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism.
• Satguru Kabir the Weaver Saint: Interview with Dr. Jagessar Das, Part 1 of 3
   https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/62831327426.html
• The Songs of Kabir (vegetarian): Songs 31 – 50, Part 1 of 2
   https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/127453869680.html
• "I Weave Your Name on the Loom of my Mind"
   https://gaatha.com/kabir-the-weaver-i-weave-your-name-on-the-loom-of-my-mind/?utm_source=chatgpt.com