Tourist Spots in Varanasi - Saint Kabir Das Memorial Temple at Kabirchaura in Varanasi

Of the many saints who lived and taught in Varanasi, the name of Kabir Das towers above the rest for his revolutionary thoughts and preaching’s as early as the 1440 AD. Legend has it that a Muslim weaver couple of Varanasi found an infant beside a lake in Kashi(Varanasi) and named him Kabir. Though some people believed him to be the son of high caste Brahmin who had cast him away. There is no concrete evidence on the exact place of birth of Kabir or who were the original parent’s? Nevertheless, Kabir Das was revered equally by the contemporary Hindus and Muslims.

Saint Kabir Das was a mystic poet whose work had a marked influence on the Bhakti Movement. His work is also included in the Guru Granth Sahib – the holy book of Sikhism and Kabir Das is considered one of the 15 Sikh Bhagats. The ‘Kabir Panthi’s” is a religious community that considers Kabir Das as its founding father and proudly carry forward his legacy even today. Kabir’s teachings are mainly in the form of two-line verses called ‘Dohas’. The basic religious principles he espoused are simple. According to Kabir, all life is interplay of two spiritual principles. One is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma). It is Kabir's view that salvation is the process of bringing into union these two divine principles. Kabir Daspreached the oneness of all religions and was not supportive of the meaningless rituals of Hinduism or the mindless repetition of Islam. His writings were mainly based on the concept of reincarnation and karma. Kabir Das never really abandoned his worldly life to become a saint, choosing instead to balance his life between a traditional household person and a mystic who lived his life in a simplistic manner.
Kabit Das composed poems that were full of praise for the True Guru or Satguru. He never spoke of any human gurus in his poems. Being illiterate, his verses were always spoken in the vernacular Hindi as he could never express himself in writing. Sant Kabir’s greatest composition is the ‘Bijak’ (the seedling) – a collection of poems that resonate with the idea of the fundamental one. Kabir Das advocated the ‘Sahaja’ Path or the simple/natural way to oneness with the supreme being rather than following of complex religious rites.
Kabis Das left for his heavenly abode in the year 1518 at a place called Magahar near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. His mortal remains are preserved in a Samadhi-Mandir in the Kabir Chaura area of Varanasi. Since he was revered by both the Hindus and Muslims, after his death a Samadhi-Mandir was erected on the order of the ruler of Kashi –Raja Veerdev Singh Ju. This was done to appease both his Hindu and Muslim followers. This samadhi-mandir is built on 1600 square feet (40 X 40) of land in a square shape with baluwa stones. The chauki (the part of the temple just outside the main entrance and running across the periphery of the temple) is done in black and white marble and the temple’s ghanta-ghar is made of beautifully carved stone. The temple’s roof is considered a unique and outstanding piece of architecture. The temple’s dome and minaret are evidence of rare works of architecture and workmanship. The samadhi-mandir’s courtyard is now used for holding special ceremonies.