Possibly the most-quoted poet-saint of north India is Kabir, the illiterate, 15th century mystic who belonged to a class of weavers in the ancient city of Varanasi. Kabir was a 'nirguni', one who believes in a formless divinity that can be discovered both within and without. With whip-like wit, his poetry scorns outward rituals and displays of piety exhorting his listeners to seek the divine through self-interrogation, and to recognise the impermanence of manifest reality. Read on for an extract from 'The Bijak of Kabir', one of the most important anthologies of the Eastern tradition of Kabir's verses.
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