His name, however, is practically a
conclusive proof of Moslem ancestry: and the most probable tale is
that which represents him as the actual or adopted child of a
Mohammedan weaver of Benares, the city in which the chief events
of his life took place.
In fifteenth-century Benares the syncretistic tendencies of
Bhakti religion had reached full development. S?f?s and Br?hmans
appear to have met in disputation: the most spiritual members of
both creeds frequenting the teachings of R?m?nanda, whose
reputation was then at its height. The boy Kab?r, in whom the
religious passion was innate, saw in R?m?nanda his destined
teacher; but knew how slight were the chances that a Hindu guru
would accept a Mohammedan as disciple. He therefore hid upon the
steps of the river Ganges, where R?m?nanda was accustomed to
bathe; with the result that the master, coming down to the water,
trod upon his body unexpectedly, and exclaimed in his
astonishment, "Ram! Ram!"--the name of the incarnation under
which he worshipped God.
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