Kabir - A Naked Sword

What if everything you believed about God, success, and truth was just an illusion? In this reflective journey through the life and teachings of one of the great poet, we'll dive deep into the sharp philosophy of Sant Kabir - Mystic who shattered religious boundaries with his fearless voice. From timeless Kabir's Couplets (Dohe) to radical self-introspection, this piece explores the naked sword of Kabir’s wisdom, and questions whether we are truly awake - or just comfortably asleep in tradition.

Yagnik Makani & Raj Senjaliya

The Hollow Rituals We Inherit

It's been a while since me and friend Yagnik has started studying philosophy. Some rare individuals have lived so profoundly that they questioned traditional beliefs and rituals with sheer rationality. They saw through the hollowness of inherited traditions - rituals that once had meaning but, over time, turned into blind customs, exploited by the few to control the many.

When society faces problems, wise individuals emerge with solutions. These solutions, in their time, serve a real purpose. Over generations, they become social norms, and as time passes, those norms evolve into traditions. But then, greed seeps in. Some exploiters twist traditions for their own benefit, making them grander, stricter, and more rigid to serve their selfish interests. Eventually, these traditions transform into organized religion, often solving fewer problems and creating more illusions. The very institutions meant to guide and unite people become tools to divide and control them.

If I were to explain this analogically, think of a mango. When unripe, it carries a tang of bitterness. As it grows, it turns sour - an acquired taste. With time, it ripens into something sweet, something everyone desires. But eventually, it overripens, decays, and becomes inedible. Similarly, the truths, rituals and ceremonies that once held meaning decay under the weight of dogma, power, and manipulation.

But what happens when someone dares to challenge this cycle?

What happens when someone questions every religion, every tradition, and every illusion that we hold dear?

What happens when someone lives so profoundly and fearlessly that they expose the hypocrisies of society?

Today, we will explore the life and wisdom of one such mystic - someone who defied religious dogma, rejected blind faith, and embraced a life of truth. When hated, he responded with love. When threatened, he remained unwavering. His words cut through illusions like a Naked Sword, leaving behind only truth.

Kabir Das

Yes, we are talking about the great poet and saint, Kabir Das.

Kabir is an integral part of Indian philosophy. Born in 1398 CE in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, though his exact birth year remains disputed, (1398-1455) is widely accepted. As a young seeker, Kabir was drawn toward self-realization, dedicating himself to his guru, Swami Ramanand. From there, he rose beyond sects, religions, and dogmas, becoming a beacon of truth.

His words still burn through centuries, igniting countless minds and shaping various religious movements. Kabir was not just a poet, a mystic, or a saint - he was a mirror, showing humanity the illusions it was trapped in. He exposed the flaws of blind faith and yet, paradoxically, revealed the path to the divine.

Success, Illusion, and the Unseen Chains

My friend and I will attempt to put his teachings into simpler words, though, in doing so, we must acknowledge our own limitations. Are we truly seeking wisdom, or are we merely feeding our egos - hoping to be perceived as intellectuals, thinkers, or enlightened beings? Perhaps even in writing this, we are caught in the very trap Kabir warns us about the need for validation, superiority, and acceptance.

Success, as we define it today, is just another illusion. Everyone has their own version of what it means to be successful, but once you delve into Kabir’s world, every definition you once believed in will begin to fade. We are bound by beliefs, religion, God, heaven, hell, and countless unseen chains. If a sighted man finds himself among the blind, he will be considered abnormal. No matter how beautifully he describes colors and light, to the blind, it will always be nonsense. If a wise man finds himself among fools, he will be labeled the fool. This is how society functions. It conditions us to conform, not to think. But Kabir was different, he was the one who saw when others were blind, who spoke when others remained silent, and who lived when others merely existed.

And so, as we explore Kabir’s philosophy, let us ask ourselves:

Are we truly seeking truth or just another illusion?

Are we awake, or are we simply dreaming within the dream of society?

And, most importantly - are we brave enough to wield the naked sword of truth?

So, let’s get started with my roller-coaster again, tighten your seat belt, remain seated in the ride until it comes to a complete stop and one more thing just to let you know "Vomiting is not allowed in my rollercoaster".

Kabir left a powerful legacy of spiritual and social philosophy that continues to resonate today. His way of living is completely opposite to the one for which we are breaking sweets. Kabir rejected the pursuit of material wealth and encouraged a life of contentment with basic necessities. But how is that even possible? Since birth, we have been told that the greater our wealth, the greater our success. Unfortunately, this cycle never ends - not until our lives do.

We constantly strive for better jobs, lifestyles, food, houses, partners - the list goes on. And everything I just mentioned is tied to one thing: money. We just want more and more. It starts with fulfilling our needs, but once those are met, greed quietly takes over. Mahatma Gandhi once famously said; “Nature has enough resources to fulfill every man’s needs, but not enough to satisfy even one man’s greed.”

Honestly, I am no different. Since childhood, I was told only one thing: to earn money. But no one ever taught me to differentiate between need and greed. Even when I think rationally, I still struggle to define what is right or wrong - what truly drives me. Kabir’s teachings are powerful, yet I lack the courage to adopt his lifestyle. Now, I can’t even blame my family or society for this mindset because I know the reality. I understand Kabir’s wisdom, yet I don’t follow it.

This led me to an important realization: we must differentiate between knowing and being influenced. No matter how much I study Kabir, it remains mere knowledge - I am not influenced enough to follow his path. Scientific research across various fields shows that our choices are shaped by social, cultural, economic, and technological influences. For instance, I chose to become a computer science engineer since early age, and this decision has indirectly influenced the lifestyle of the engineers. You might ask, why can’t I just change it? But it’s not that easy.

At its core, every choice is just a decision - a moment’s action. But the influences behind that decision are deeply ingrained, built over years of conditioning. Changing them is not simple because they are shielded by multiple layers: financial concerns, social expectations, family pressures. Our influences start as simple thoughts or aspirations, but over time, they become layered - much like an onion, which gains more layers as it grows to protect itself. In the end, lifestyle is a personal choice, and Kabir’s way of living is not for everyone. To even consider it, one must think deeply, free from preconceived notions.

Then you might ask, is there no way to achieve contentment? I believe there is - at least a starting point. It lies in balance. A life where everything is just enough to make it profound. Like a well-prepared dish, every ingredient must be in the right proportion to bring out its true taste and purpose. Similarly, in life, fulfillment comes not from excess, but from harmony between needs, desires, and contentment.

The God We Shaped in Our Image

Kabir’s philosophy isn’t just about breaking religious dogma or embracing contentment - it goes far beyond that. His naked sword was too powerful to be confined to any single idea. It cut through illusions, redefining the very meaning of God, devotion, and creation itself. He didn’t just reject falsehoods; he illuminated a path toward a higher truth - one that cannot be understood through mere rituals or blind faith.

Our eyes may be small, yet they hold the ability to see the infinite sky. Similarly, Kabir’s short couplets contain a vast ocean of wisdom, powerful enough to lead one from the realm of myths to the realm of truth. His words are simple, yet their meaning is profoundly complex. To truly understand Kabir’s devotion to God, one must learn to see reality in an entirely new way - beyond inherited traditions, beyond religious conditioning, and beyond the comfort of conventional belief.

If you wish to draw light from an oil lamp, you cannot cling to the oil - you must allow it to burn. Similarly, if you seek the path to the true God, you must be willing to burn away all misguided rituals. Kabir never asked people to stop believing; he asked them to believe differently - not in gods made of stone, nor in prayers recited without understanding, but in a divine presence that exists beyond temples, mosques, and scriptures. For Kabir, God was not an idol to be worshipped, but an experience to be lived.

For Kabir, the God you worship is empty, the devotion you define is false, the saints and priests are greedy, and the temples are nothing more than places to exploit the innocent. He saw through the illusion that had been carefully crafted over centuries - the illusion that divinity is something external, something distant, something that must be reached through rituals and intermediaries. But how can a fish be thirsty while being in water? How can a bird seek the wind while flying in the sky? Similarly, we do not need middlemen to find God - because God was never outside us to begin with.

Ram and Raheem are not confined to temples, mosques, or scriptures. They are yours - whenever and wherever you seek them - because they are already within you. Searching for God outside yourself is like a river searching for the ocean when it is already flowing toward it. You cannot define God, because any definition would be nothing more than a product of your own imagination - limited by your thinking, shaped by your expectations. God is not something to be explained, understood, or theorized - it is something to be experienced.

This is where I believe Kabir is often misunderstood. I could be wrong, and you are more than welcome to challenge my interpretation, but I believe Kabir’s philosophy was not just about rejecting religious dogma - it was about embracing humanity itself. It was about living with an open heart, unchained by fear, unburdened by desires, free from the need for validation. A true saint, in Kabir’s eyes, was not the one who preached scriptures or wore robes - but the one who lived simply, who was fearless, who had no greed, and who did not run away from the world in search of salvation. The one who is truly selfless - only he is a saint.

We envision God as a superhuman - a being that looks just like us. If we try to sketch God, it will always have a human face. Even in Hinduism, where we worship everything from the sky to the earth, from water to fire, from the Sun to the air, the ultimate creator is always imagined in human form. Whether we call it Shiva, Vishnu, or Brahma, we shape God in our own image.

But this isn’t just limited to Hinduism. Travel a little farther, and you’ll find different creators in different cultures - the Greek pantheon, the Egyptian deities, the African gods, and the mythologies of the Americas. Every civilization, in its own way, has given God a face - a reflection of their own existence.

Sahaj: The Path of Effortless Awareness

I believe when Kabir said, “Look within yourself,” he was not referring to an external deity - but to understanding our own nature. It is about recognizing how we operate, how our thoughts arise, why we feel greed, why we have expectations, and why we live in fear. Kabir’s path to the divine wasn’t through idols or temples - it was through self-introspection, through the realization of how we function as human beings.

This state of effortless awareness, of being deeply connected to one’s own existence, is what I believe Kabir meant by “Sahaj” - the path of natural enlightenment. And perhaps, to reach the final destination of self-realization, one must stop searching outside and start understanding what already exists within.

By now, a question might have arrived in your mind: Do we need to be Sahaj? And you’re right to ask. But before I explain, let me be clear - this is just my interpretation, and it might be completely different from how others understand Kabir’s philosophy.

Being self-realized helps you become aware of who you really are. Sounds fantastic, right? But even I don’t truly know who I am. Like everyone else, I keep getting influenced by different thought processes, different philosophies. The world is like that too.

When I read about Krishna, it gives me peace. His teachings are profound. But when I step into the real world with those values, I rarely see them being lived. I try to stay aligned with my ethics, but there are days when even I am challenged by them.

Then I read about Charvak - the materialist school of thought - and that too seems logical in its own way. I try not to believe in fate, yet I know things rarely happen the way I expect.

And it’s here that I feel Kabir’s teachings begin to matter the most. Knowing yourself is invaluable. When you truly begin to see yourself clearly, the way you look at decisions, success, failure, and life itself starts to shift.

The poor are poor - but in many ways, the rich are also poor. The value we chase in things doesn’t actually exist the way we think it does.

Once, a king was walking along a path and encountered a poor man holding out a bowl. The king, in a generous mood, offered silver and gold. But strangely, the bowl wasn’t full. Amused, he added finely crafted jewelry and precious ornaments - but the bowl remained empty.

Curious, the king demanded more gold be brought from the palace. His wealth kept pouring into the bowl until the royal treasury was exhausted. Yet the bowl was still not full.

In disbelief, the king finally asked the poor man, “What is the mystery behind this divine bowl?”

The man replied, “There is no divine mystery. I simply crafted the bowl from the skull of a buried man. It can never be filled.”

You see the point, don’t you? Materialistic mindset would never let us experience the true state of fulfillment and satisfaction.

I know this isn’t easy to accept. And I’ll be honest - I’m no different.

Right now, I don’t have the courage to walk Kabir’s path completely. I struggle to implement his teachings in my life. But I’m trying,

Maybe, just in case, if I keep walking, fate will take me where I truly need to be.

End

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This article is a reflection of my and my friend's personal thoughts and interpretations inspired by the teachings of Kabir Das. It is not intended to target or offend any religion, belief system, or cultural tradition. Our aim is to engage in honest introspection and share philosophical ideas that have impacted us personally. If any part of this writing unintentionally hurts the sentiments of anyone, We sincerely apologize.

References

Wikipedia - Kabir

Archive - Poems of Kabir, tr. by Rabindranath Tagore

Ajab Shahar - Kabir Project

Osho - Kahe Kabir Diwana