Bhagat Kabir was a man of God – a weaver by profession, who weaved the praise of God and wisdom through his magical metaphors and allegories. The Bhakti movement of the 16th century produced saint-poets who sang praises of God Almighty in their unique styles and also questioned the ingrained caste pride amongst the population. The Bani of Bhagat Kabir is part of the Guru Granth Sahib and his Saloks have simple meanings and a deep outlook. Bhupinder Singh Houston, in this unique article, presents the classic mathematics of Bhagat Kabir regarding the counting of the dead.

STRANGE AS IT MAY SOUND, READ THIS AND PONDER. Give a deep thought, think and think again, lest you miss what Bhagat Kabir is conveying. On page 1369 of Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagat Kabir says,

ਕਬੀਰ ਏਕ ਮਰੰਤੇ ਦੁਇ ਮੂਏ ਦੋਇ ਮਰੰਤਹ ਚਾਰਿ ॥ਚਾਰਿ ਮਰੰਤਹ ਛਹ ਮੂਏ ਚਾਰਿ ਪੁਰਖ ਦੁਇ ਨਾਰਿ ॥੯੧॥
Kabir, when one died, two were dead. When two died, four were dead. When four died, six were dead, four males and two females. ||91||

When we put the numbers mathematically they become:

Died      Actual Dead

1 = 1 + 1 = 2

2 = 2 + 2 = 4

Total= 2 + 4 = 6

Amazing! So, 1 has transformed into 6.

The math of Bhagat Kabir is quite perplexing, for it defies the rational logic, the very basis of Mathematics. Kabir’s words are pithy, yet they are full of wisdom. In spite of them defying logic, there is a cumulative cascading effect, from one to six.

Let us try to decipher what Kabir Ji is trying to convey.

The historical context: It is believed that this couplet is allegorical, and was written by Bhagat Kabir after witnessing a hunting scene on the banks of Ganga River. A hunter went to a forest for deer hunting. He saw a deer and took aim with an arrow. The hunter aimed the arrow releasing it and it pierced the deer. The doe (female deer) died of the wounds. The arrow had pierced the womb of the doe, and the baby came out of the womb and died. In the meantime, the buck (male deer) came there and the hunter took the aim again and killed the buck.

ਕਬੀਰ ਏਕ ਮਰੰਤੇ ਦੁਇ ਮੂਏ ਦੋਇ ਮਰੰਤਹ ਚਾਰਿ ॥
ਚਾਰਿ ਮਰੰਤਹ ਛਹ ਮੂਏ ਚਾਰਿ ਪੁਰਖ ਦੁਇ ਨਾਰਿ ॥੯੧॥
Kabir, when one died, two were dead.
When two died, four were dead.
When four died, six were dead,
four males and two females. ||91||
Guru Granth Sahib, page 1369

The hunter went closer to the dead deer to pick his hunt. There the hunter accidentally stepped on the snake and it bit the hunter. He fell down becoming unconscious and died of poisonous snake bite.

When his wife found out about the demise of her hunter husband, she rushed to the spot, seeing the hunter husband dead she passed away in shock and grief. Without the parents, the child of the hunter too passed away. Thus four males – deer, baby deer, hunter, hunter’s child and two females – doe and hunter’s wife passed away.

The Allegorical Aspect: Now, let us explore the allegorical aspect of what Bhagat Kabir is trying to convey. Let us start with the first dead – mind. When one (mind) died, two were dead. When the mind is dead and all the desires along with lust also died with it. So, he became free of all lust, desires and doubts. As a consequence, even the ego vanished. With that, the stigma of being low caste also died.

The second dead Kabir Ji is referring to is his concern for his low caste i.e. status in the society. The consequence of these two deaths was that two more died. The next two deaths were the love of the material world and desires. Thus so far the total count of dead was four. When these four died, two more died – bad company (evil association) and slander.
Thus, when four died, there were a total of six deaths – 4 male and 2 female.

ਉਨਮਨਿ ਮਨੂਆ ਸੁੰਨਿ ਸਮਾਨਾ ਦੁਬਿਧਾ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਭਾਗੀ॥
The disturbed mind has been absorbed in the Lord;
duality and evil-mindedness have run away.
Guru Granth Sahib, Page 339

Let us look at these in the Table as under:

No.	Death of/ (Gender)	Hints and Clues in Guru Granth Sahib	Translation of Hints and Clues (with Page No. from Guru Granth Sahib)	Consequences
1	Mind/ (M)	ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਬਾਧਾ ਸਰਪਨਿ ਖਾਧਾ॥	Man is bound by the evil-mindedness, and consumed by Maya, the serpent, 939	Death of desires, which translates to death of ego.
2	Status in the society/ (M)	ਕਬੀਰ ਜਾਤਿ ਜੁਲਾਹਾ ਕਿਆ ਕਰੈ ਹਿਰਦੈ ਬਸੇ ਗੁਪਾਲ॥	Kabir, what can my lowly status as a weaver do to me? The Lord dwells in my heart, 1368	Discrimination based on birth, status, class ceased.
3	Material world attachment/ (M)	ਕਬੀਰ ਐਸਾ ਕੋ ਨਹੀ ਮੰਦਰੁ ਦੇਇ ਜਰਾਇ॥	Kabir, will anyone set fire to his home (of attachments), 1368	Became detached with the realization that the possessions have to be left behind upon departure from this world.
4	Desires/ (F)	ਕਬੀਰ ਮਨੁ ਪੰਖੀ ਭਇਓ ਉਡਿ ਉਡਿ ਦਹ ਦਿਸ ਜਾਇ॥	Kabir, the mind has become a bird; it soars and flies in the ten directions (driven by desires), 1369	Desire-less, as the flutter of desires, has ebbed and now the mind has become free of desires.
5	Bad Company/ (M)	ਕਬੀਰ ਮਾਰੀ ਮਰਉ ਕੁਸੰਗ ਕੀ ਕੇਲੇ ਨਿਕਟਿ ਜੁ ਬੇਰਿ॥	Kabir, I have been ruined and destroyed by bad company, like the banana plant near the thorny bush of jujube, 1369	Bad company will bring trouble, so shun it.
6	Slander/ (F)	ਕਬੀਰ ਭਾਰ ਪਰਾਈ ਸਿਰਿ ਚਰੈ ਚਲਿਓ ਚਾਹੈ ਬਾਟ॥	Kabir, the mortal wants to walk on the path, carrying a load of others’ sins on his head, 1369	Slandering is putting others filth in your mouth.

So, Bhagat Kabir is saying one death-cascading effect resulting in a total of six deaths. The annihilation of mind culminates in ending the mind’s wonderings, attachment to status, position, power etc., desires, and ego. When these are eliminated then desire to associate with bad company or to slander will also disappear. Kabir Sahib shares with us where the mind rested on when evil-mindedness departed.

He says:

ਉਨਮਨਿ ਮਨੂਆ ਸੁੰਨਿ ਸਮਾਨਾ ਦੁਬਿਧਾ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਭਾਗੀ॥
The disturbed mind has been absorbed in the Lord; duality and evil-mindedness have run away.
Guru Granth Sahib, Page 339

Writer-columnist Houston-based Bhupinder Singh has a deep interest in spirituality, history, the life, times and writings of Bhagat Kabir.

 

Title Image Courtesy: Historic Painting ‘Deer Hunt’ by Abraham Hondius 1631-1691