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Yet, to say he belongs to any one of them alone, would be an egregious affront to his legacy, the likes of which challenges the notion that any one religion can hold a monopoly on the ultimate truth. Such truth, rather, is available to all who take to the path of righteousness, and it was on the current of this fundamental teaching that all of his poetry has been able to flow, clear and bold. His own life is shrouded in mystery and legend, accounts of which have been retold numerous times throughout the centuries. But to fully grasp the layers of depth behind Kabir’s words, it helps to understand the details of his life — even if those details are shrouded — and the socio-cultural backdrop against which his story unfolded. In one account, his mother is described as being a devout Hindu widow who, while on pilgrimage with her father, visited a famous ascetic. Pleased by their dedication, the ascetic blessed the widow, telling her that she would soon give birth to a son.

Tripping over Kabir in the darkness, Ramananda called out the mantra of his deity — “Rama, Rama!” — as is common for Vaishnava devotees in sudden and dangerous situations. Because formal acceptance of a disciple in Hinduism entails an official revealing of a mantra to said disciple, Kabir happily took the incident as his initiation, and a most meaningful step on his spiritual journey. Being initiated into a Vaishnava Bhakti tradition, however, didn’t mean he identified only as a Vaishnava. In addition to the aspect of complete surrender stressed in Vaishnava bhakti lineages, Kabir was also deeply impacted by non-dual Hindu philosophies, as well as Islamic monism. Furthermore, Kabir is also thought to have been influenced by Sikhism, as he is purported by some to have even met the founder of the religion, Guru Nanak. Actually, it could be said Kabir’s poetry was a pluralistic expression of all the religious traditions prevalent during that period, especially in tow with the stream of devotional poetry inundating much of India between the 14th and 16th centuries. Including poet-saints such as Namdev in Maharashtra (14th century), Narsinh Mehta (15th century) in Gujarat, and Mirabai in Rajasthan (16th century), all were part of a movement that vehemently strove to break down the barriers of religion, making it more open and available to the common man, regardless of a person’s gender or social status.