60 Spirituality Studies 9-1 Spring 2023 is the most apt representation of it possible in language; it is to create this silence that the poet becomes vocal about negation of everything else. Kabir’s poetry expresses not only the wonder and magic of being in touch with a dimension that is beyond physicality, but also the ease of transiting into such a state (Kabir 2003, 121): Kabir says, brother, I have gone crazy – quietly, quietly, like a thief, my mind has slipped into the simple state. Kabir settles into the simplicity of being one with the existence after going through trials and tribulations of a desperate search for truth. The wonder and ecstasy that such an expanse of being bring is the ultimate reward for a life lived with dedicated attention to what one perceives as the truth and a vigilant mental process of weeding out all kinds of lies 5 Conclusion Religion as a cultural practice can often be quite conservative and dogmatic. As Otto Pfleiderer (1983, 2) notes, “it entails the presupposition… that the transmitted dogmas contain infallible, divinely revealed truth, to which man should readily and unquestioningly submit.” The most regressive aspect about such a practice of religion is that it is belief oriented. Kabir’s poetry, especially those poems which delve into the nature of phenomenal and metaphysical truth, stand in contrast to the rigid conception of the divine in institutionalised religion. Though Kabir’s poems that are about the transcendent Absolute dismiss the phenomenality of the material world, we have seen that the spiritual seeker in Kabir is equally interested in the relative truth of the phenomenal world. Most importantly, Kabir’s poetry calls for an earnest attention to the phenomenon of life, without any deceptive mental distortions. This profound quality to be attentive to the “truth” one perceives, even when it is the relative truth of phenomenality, is alone sufficient for his poetry to stay relevant beyond time and geography. Absolute commitment to know what can be known in a temporal and situational context is what the mystic considers as the most valued quality in a spiritual seeker, and his poetry inspires many, even in our times, to make that quality a living reality in their lives. Kabir’s is a legacy that should be embraced and celebrated as his words are even more relevant in our times than his. Kabir’s notion of “truth” that this study sought to illustrate in its varying shades, despite its contextual differences, has been invariably rooted in a profound sense of honesty within the limits of one’s perception. The three phases of “truth” in Kabir’s poetry that this study discussed – being objectively factual about the phenomenal reality, being in a constant longing for the ultimate realisation of truth, and a celebration of the mystic bliss – are connected with the common thread of utmost honesty possible in a given instant. Or rather, the element of being truthful to one’s subjective reality and its longings is one constant factor we find in Kabir’s poems even as the seeker’s perception of truth changes. The poems discussed in this study stylistically and thematically point towards such an intense and unwavering honesty and its alchemic power for transforming human consciousness.
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