A bit about Kabir for those that do not know about him.
Kabir Das was a 15th century poet and mystic, considered a saint by both Hindus and Muslims. Born into a muslim family, he lived in the North Indian city of Varanasi and was influenced by the Hindu saint Ramananda. Kabir was well known for his critical thinking and criticism of both Hinduism and Islam and the practices of both religions.
I was fortunate to have studied his “Dohas” (couplets) in middle and high school in India.
“Pothi padh padh jag mua, pandit bhayo na koi
Dhai akshar prem ke, jo padhe so pandit hoi”
(Pothi = book, padh = to read, jag = world, mua = died, pandit = wise person, bhayo na koi = did not become, Dhai = two and a half, akshar = letters, prem = love)
In this doha, Kabir says that simply reading books and getting more and more knowledge does not make one wise. Just gathering more and more information does not lead to one being at peace or achieve mental tranquility. The wise one is the one who truly understands the meaning of love. Loving and being compassionate to all is the only way to wisdom and peace. Prem, the Sanskrit word for love is written using 2.5 letters and therefore the reference to “Dhai akshar”.
And John Lennon said it differently about 500 years later, “All you need is Love”!
I am struck by the beauty and relevance of this sentiment that Kabir wrote about to today’s deeply divided world where people on opposing sides throw all sorts of real and cooked up facts at each other. But neither is listening to the other. All you need is love! Dhai akshar prem ke, jo padhe so pandit hoi!
