Mention the teachings of
a)Baba guru Nanak
b)kabir
c)Mirabai
Answers
(a)While being credited with the finding of a new religion known as Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji's teachings have always had a universal appeal especially among the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike. Highly appealing at once both to reason and devotion, Guru Nanak's teachings are deeply rooted in the dogmas of Hinduism and Islam. The source of Guru Nanak's teachings is the holy scripture of Sikhs called Guru Granth Sahib.This is perhaps the foundation of all of Guru Nanak's teachings. He says there is only one God who is the Supreme Truth and ultimate reality. He known no fear and does not have any enemies. He is self created and is beyond time. He reveals himself to the created beings through His own grace.Ego is a highly dangerous phenomenon in humans. Engage in worship of the ultimate reality. The word of God can cleanse you and move you in spiritual advancement. Falsehood and hypocrisy are highly prevalent among the humans which needs to be purged of through spiritual pursuit.Vand Chhakkna: Always share what you have with others. Help those who are in need. 2. Kirat Karna: Earn money honestly and without ever resorting to fraud or exploitation. 3. Naam Japna: Always remember God and practise ceaseless devotion to Him by constantly chanting His name.
(b)Kabir spent much of his time in the company of Hindu ascetics, saints and Muslim sufis. So he imbibed the tenets of both the religions and realized the best of both. Allah and Ram were but names of the same God. He was to be found neither in temples nor in mosques, neither in Benares nor in Mecca but only in the heart of a true devotee.Kabir did not believe in idol worship nor did he believe in caste system. Reacting to the authority of the Vedas and the Quran he put emphasis on the inner virtues of man. For him the love for human race, irrespective of caste, colour or creed, was the true religion. He appealed to the Hindus to give up rituals, sacrifices, lip-worship and caste differences and openly denounced the concept of incarnations. He appealed to the Muslims to give up their exclusiveness, their blind faith in one prophet, their performance of rites like pilgrimage to Mecca, their regulated prayers and mode of fasting etc.
Thus Kabir’s mission was to preach the religion of love that could unite all. For him, religion without devotion was no religion at all which should be accompanied with the singing of hymns in praise of God Almighty. In the words of Underhill,
“Kabir is an intrepid path-finder, the great pioneer of the unity of Hindu and Muslim communities of India and the apostle of faith of Humanity who taught that the Divine disclosed itself in the human race as a whole.”
Thus Kabir did not establish any separate religious sect. Both Hindus and Muslims were his followers and came to be known as Kabirpanthis. His views and teachings, challenged and rejected by the upper castes, were largely accepted by the lower strata of the society and later on some of his hymns were incorporated in the Adi-granth of the Sikhs.
Kabir was the first saint to reconcile Hinduism with Islam. In the words of Yugalanand, “The Hindu resorts to the temple and the Muslim to the mosque, but Kabir goes to the place where both are known. These two religions are like two branches in the middle of which there is a sprout surpassing them. Kabir has taken the higher path abandoning the customs of the two.”
His immediate disciple Dharamdas rightly remarked,
“Kabir is an incarnation of the Absolute who revealed himself to the world.”
Kabir died at Maghar in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh in 1518 A.D.
(c)Meera, also known as Meera Bai (Hindi: मीरा बाई) or Mirabai (1498-1546) was a Hindu mystic poet of the Bhakti movement. She referred to the Lord, whom she saw as her husband, with different names like Satguru, Prabhu Ji, Girdhar Nagar, Krishna. She even called him the husband of her soul. Due to her mother, her in-laws disapproved of her public singing and dancing as she belonged to a Royal Family of Mewar and was a princess. But she had too much love for her god and sacrificed everything, even her family, for god and attained Moksha through Bhakti Yoga. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition.[Meera Bai was born into family of Merta, Rajasthan, India. She is mentioned in Bhaktamal, confirming that she was widely known and a cherished figure in the Bhakti movement culture by about 1600 CE.Most legends about Meera mention her fearless disregard for social and family conventions, her devotion to Lord Krishna, her treating Krishna as her husband, and she being persecuted by her in-laws for her religious devotion. She has been the subject of numerous folk tales and hagiographic legends, which are inconsistent or widely different in details.
A.Baba Guru Nanak
The Teachings by Guru Nanak Dev Ji are:-
*There is one God
This is perhaps the foundation of all of Guru Nanak's teachings. He says there is only one God who is the Supreme Truth and ultimate reality. He known no fear and does not have any enemies. He is self created and is beyond time. He reveals himself to the created beings through His own grace.
*Ego is a deterrent of spiritual progress
Ego is a highly dangerous phenomenon in humans. Engage in worship of the ultimate reality. The word of God can cleanse you and move you in spiritual advancement. Falsehood and hypocrisy are highly prevalent among the humans which needs to be purged of through spiritual pursuit.
*The three guiding principles to spiritual life
# Vand Chhakkna: Always share what you have with others. Help those who are in need.
# Kirat Karna: Earn money honestly and without ever resorting to fraud or exploitation.
# Naam Japna: Always remember God and practise ceaseless devotion to Him by constantly chanting His name.
*All humans are equal
Equality of humans is the crux of Guru Nanak's teachings. There are no caste, creed or religious differences whatsoever. Never discriminate people on the basis of race, status and caste. To illustrate his teaching Guru Nanak started an institution called Langar that promoted sitting together and eating without any distinction and differences.
*The greatness of womanhood
Men and women are equal. In fact, women are even more respectable since man is born to a woman, he is conceived within a woman; he is married to a woman; he makes friend with woman; his future generations depend on women; when his woman dies, man seeks another woman and is bound to her. Woman also create other women and they mother great kings of the world. Without women there will not be anyone on this earth except the Lord. Therefore, respect her and never call her bad.
*The ideal religion
The ideal religion is that which does not advocate rituals, caste system and idolatry. See the omnipresent god everywhere, love all humans and serve them in all possible means. The essence of religion is engaging man to constantly remembering the divine at all times and at all places. This shall redeem him and make him complete. Follow the light within and march in the path illumined by it.
*The path to God
God is beyond the perception of the senses and none can every approach him through reason even when toiling for ages and ages. Without the help of a Guru, none can cross the ocean to the other shore. His grace shall remove delusion and illumine your path to divine.
B. Saint Kabir
The central teachings of Kabir are very simple:-
*He laid stress 'Bhakti'.
*He said that through Bhakti or devotion one would come nearer to God; one could be released from the cycle of birth and death only by sincere love and devotion to God, which he called Bhakti.
*He sincerely tried to emphasise the unity of Islam and Hinduism by preaching those virtues which were common to both religions.
* He made no distinction between Hindus and Muslims.
* To Kabir Allah and Rama were but different names of the same supreme being. To him Hindus and Muslims were "pots of the same clay".
* According to Kabir salvation could be attained by doing good deeds or by means of Bhakti or sincere devotion to God.
* Kabir was against Caste System and Idol worship and rejected the authorities of both Vedas and Qurans.
C. Mirabai
Mirabai, also known as Yogini Meera had most simple teachings ever. They were:-
*We shouldn't believe in ceremonies
* We shouldn't hurt someone who believes in other religion
* God is one
* All the rituals and superstitions are filthy
* All people are children of God