Kabir aka Kabira or Bhagat Kabir was a mystic poet and saint of India. Sant Kabir Panth’s writings and compositions greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.
The Bhakti movement is the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion (bhakti) through the practice of singing and compassion. Kabira was born in 1440 and died in 1518.
The name Kabir comes from Arabic Kabir which means ‘The Great’ – the 37th Name of God in the Qur’an. Not much is known of Kabir’s birth parents, but it is known that he was brought up in a family of Muslim weavers. He was found by a Muslim weaver in Varanasi and apparently was bilogically Hindu by birth. His writings often depict the hypocrisy in traditional religious dogmatic practice and he encourages the path of discovering or reaching to a personal God connection through Song, Chanting and Kirtan.
Kabir’s writings have had important influence on the Sikh scriptures. Kabir’s legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth (“Path of Kabir”), a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects or the Indian Saint traditions.