During my halcyon days in a famed left bastion in New Delhi, Kabir was generously referred to by many left-wing and progressive intellectuals. Born into a Muslim weaver family in 16th century at Kashi, he indeed carried India's plurality on his person. Said to be well-acquainted with the philosophies and practices of Sufis, Tantrikas and Nath panthis, Kabir never himself became a Vaishnava or a Sufi or a Nath panthi in the sectarian sense, yet he adopted a Vaishnava acharya Ramanad as his Guru. Kabir's 'nirgun' disdain for images, idols and avatars, as also his rejection of ritualism and caste hierarchy quite appealed to the left-liberals. The intellectual fashionistas of the time regarded Kabir, albeit erroneously, as an apostle of Hindu-Muslim unity and a torch-bearer of Ganga-Jamuni tehzib.
For these Kabir admirers, however, the spiritual or mystic side of him was irrelevant, even 'reactionary'. Purushottam Agrawal, former professor and chairperson of the Centre for Indian Languages in JNU, tries to highlight this side of Kabir, thereby furthering his own academic engagement with the saint that began with his PhD on Kabir under the supervision of the late scholar extraordinaire Namwar Singh. Professor Agrawal's 2009 book in hindi titled अकथ कहानी प्रेम की: कबीर की कविता और उनका समय (राजकमल प्रकाशन) was well received both by critics and general readers. Taking cognizance of the prodding of people like Devdutt Pattanaik to write in English, Purushottam Agrawal has come up with this exceptionally well written book on Kabir. "The book is not a translation of my Hindi work but a continuation of my reflections", he says.
The book gives a fair insight into the mind of the iconoclast. Kabir reiterated in his poems the essential fourfold hindu idea of पुरूषार्थ चतुष्टय as in dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Kabir enriched the fourfold ideal of पुरुषार्थ चतुष्टय with his own shabd chatushtya of Prem, Vivek, Sahaj and Ram. Kabir's love (पंजरी प्रेम प्रकास्या, आंतरी भया उजास। मुख कस्तूरी महमही, बानी फूटी बास।।), for instance, works in tandem with vivek. Rejecting the caste-based idea of purity, Kabir celebrates purity achieved through vivek: कबीर मन निरमल भया, जैसे गंगा नीर। तब पाछैं लगा हरि फिरै, कहत कबीर, कबीर।। The saint longed for Ram (Kabir's Ram is not the historical or mythological figure/deity but his preferred name for human consciousness) and is immersed in his love which is not unrequited. Ram too needs Kabir's love and runs after him saying 'Kabir, Kabir...' The book's title is taken from here only.
The book also provides a glimpse of the times in which Kabir lived. Delightful anecdotes about Kabir’s life find mention in it, like the one relating to his mother leading a delegation to Emperor Sikandar Lodhi to file an official complaint about Kabir’s iconoclastic activities. The last part of the book is its most intriguing where the author explores Kabir's quest from the erotic to the divine (काम मिलावे राम सूं/kama can take you to Ram). "In Kabir's poetic world", says Purushottam Agrawal, "we find Ram-bhavana(spiritual longing), samaj-bhavana (social cocerns) and kama-bhavana (the pleasure of bodily love), eddying around each other, their streams regularly mixing."
The reviewer is a Joint Secretary rank Officer in the Government of Jharkhand. The book published by Westland Publications (2021) is written by Purushottam Agrawal
