Tuesday, May 24, 2011

THE BODY AS A WOVEN GARMENT.




This cloth—fine so fine!

Woven with the flavour of God’s Name,

Resplendent with three qualities,

This cloth—fine so fine !

I gave it to the washerman

He pounded it , and gave it to the dyer.

What a colour he gave it !

Steeped in red !

Wear this cloth, don’t be afraid

It’s yours for a brief two days.

Your servant Kabir wore it with care

He gave it back as he got it.

Kabir the weaver, never separated the spirit from the body. Unfortunately, what some call the “Cartesian classroom” which prevails in our present educational institutions, separates the mind from the body, so that learning is often only about the forming of the intellectual mind. The child, however, has a more holistic understanding of reality, which includes the mental awareness of an outer world, and an inner consciousness of how this outer world touches the body, through the emotions, and intuitive longings of the heart. What a process of “Learning with Kabir” should make the teacher sensitive to, is the link between the physical reality of the body, and the conscious functioning of the mind, which tries to discover the meaning of life.

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