REFLECTION ON THE MOVIE: In this movie the director sets out on a journey to discover Ram.

In modern times the name and use of the Ram has been done in many forms like as a God, a concept, a political tool, a cultural hero, a religious deity, to name a few. Amidst all this furore, somewhere the common man has lost his Ram; that common man whose sufferings, dreams and hopes are not bounded by any religion. So the director moving through different narratives reaches Kabir only to find that Ram is Kabir and Kabir is Ram. Kabir was a 15th century mystic poet of north India who defied the boundaries between Hindu and Muslim. He had a Muslim name and upbringing, but his poetry repeatedly invokes the widely revered Hindu name for God Ram. Who is Kabirs Ram? This film journeys through song and poem into the politics of religion, and finds a myriad answers on both sides of the hostile border between India and Pakistan. In this journey the director scales different stories, narrations, and comes across many faces of Kabir. Stories and people trying to bound that free spirit in the name of religion, sect, caste, even explaining his existence as human or divine. On this process she sets out on a journey to find Kabir- the Kabir inside her, the Kabir sitting inside every heart waiting to be reckoned. This movie also takes a closer look at the divides created by regionalism and nationalism. The spontaneity of this film is heart warming to behold. Nothing seemed pre-planned; Shabnam (the director) simply set out on an instinct and with no pre-determined script in her mind. It was as if she kept following interesting leads. Sometimes, they yielded nothing, but sometimes beautiful moments would just happen and she was there, ready with her camera to respond to them. The movie continues with a host of questions that stimulate the soul from the very beginning. In this busy life, we have ceased to quench the inner thirst. This movie oriented me towards what Ill call seeking life. Somewhere in between the everyday mayhem we lose ourselves more, we keep looking up to materialistic things in search of peace and satisfaction. But we get none because there isnt any peace and happiness outside of us. Is the mind bigger or what it believes in? Is Ram bigger, Or the knower of Ram?

For me, the movie has been a deeply transforming experience. Each moment of the journey brought me closer to the fissures in my own mind; the dualistic way of perceiving myself and the world. The experiences in the movie made me realise that this film is not creation that the director had chosen or made; rather, this is a gift that audience has received from a space that we could not claim to completely comprehend. Over the years, the meaning of Kabir and his teachings have undergone a change for the common man. I think knowing Kabir more deeply is a process of knowing yourself more deeply. And so, in that sense, Kabir continues to speak to anyone on a day-to-day, basis (provided one seeks) because knowing oneself and ones location in the world is an endless quest, isnt it?

This movie made me reflect on two major themesThe theme of love and the theme of Kabir.

ON LOVE. Repeating the name of the Beloved I have become the Beloved myself. Whom shall I call the Beloved now? Bulleh Shah (1680 - 1758) Love is boundless it is the inside of me, hidden and preserved waiting to be discovered only the seeker will find it. The beloved resides in the heart. The purest love doesnt exalt the self but pulses in the beloved. In love nothing exists between heart and heart, speech is born out of longing. When God is my lover, I think of him, I long for him, then Im him. This unity is ecstatic. It gives peace, joy and satisfaction. In this form of love when I love I will not say God is my heart rather I will say I am the heart of God. This identification with God himself frees me from context, space and time. I belong to nowhere, I belong everywhere. Im then a free spirit that cannot be tied down, so is my love- like an ocean vast, boundless and mesmerising as is its source- God himself. I see so deeply within myself, not needing my eyes, I can see everything clearly, Why would I want to bother my eyes again? This love breeds love for the entire mankind. It sees God everywhere and in everything. This love is for all, it discriminated none. This love doesnt think what Ill lose. The more it gives the more it receives. Like aptly put in Kabirs couplet- pots may differ in size and shape but the water in all of them is one. The one who realises this loving God is loving his people, the one who understands that love is the only thing and everything in this world, he only will do something worthwhile. Such involvement is a tough struggle. Much self-reflection and clarity of mind and heart is required. To become the beloved one has to know the beloved. But where to find him? He is in my heart, where I never look, where I never seek, and that leaves me weeping. Jaise Til Mein Tel Hai, Jyon Chakmak Mein Aag Tera Sayeen Tujh Mein Hai, Tu Jaag Sake To Jaag [Just as seed contains the oil, fire's in flint stone Your temple seats the Divine, realize if you can]

IN SEARCH OF KABIR..

Anhad ke maidaan mein raha Kabira soye (In the boundless field, sleeps Kabira in peace)

The word Kabir mentioned throughout the movie, invoked a curiosity in me. The love of a Kabir as it seemed is different from what I had known it to be. Kabir was a fakir. I have to try to know him. I have to understand why Kabir is still alive, why Kabir is boundless, why Kabir can be found only by becoming Kabir. After much thought and repeated viewing of the movie this is what I could reflect onA Kabir is not mere a word but a psychological, emotional and a spiritual power. A Kabir is not only indifferent to vicissitudes of material life; he is a man of strong will, who has a moral stake in the social and political life of the people around him, motivated by the love for the ideal of moral and spiritual regeneration of mankind. In the attainment of this ideal, he is ready to sacrifice everything. This essence is Kabir. He is a fakir. The word fakir has been derived from the Persian word Faqr which means poverty, but also an attitude of detachment towards the world, a complete negation of the self, a voyage from the outward to the inward Wherever, from the exoteric to the esoteric. A Kabir is a concept, a theme by the nirguns, and Sufi saints. A Kabir discards all worldly pleasure and pains. His sole aim becomes only to get united with the one God through the path of humanity. A Kabir dedicates his devotion in the serving and soothing the poor and the suffering. Fearlessness is what a Kabir reaches with his spiritual prowess whereas the kings and the rulers always seemed to have fear towards the Kabir (true Fakir). Powered with strong will power, the spirituality of the Kabir reaches a stage where he shines with an aura, a kind of a positive energy. The positive energy has been used in terms of healing people from physical, mental and spiritual suffering. Kabir always stands against any kind of ritualistic practices or religious rules-regulations and systems. Rather he stands for a very unique process of worshipping god, to get unified with the one god. The Kabir is considered no less than the ruler in terms of respect, reputation and being loved by the common mass. His aura is hypnotic. he goes, people amass and experience the love. A Kabir selflessly thinking and dedicated to the service of the humankind is not like social service or a part time charity but a twenty four hour duty. Bauls of rural Bengal and Natha Siddhas of Bihar region in India and its subcontinents are similar practices. All these practices involve a great deal of performance. Be it Fakir, Baul or Natha Siddha; their mode of unifying with the almighty also involve singing. High pitched singing helps the devotee (both the singer and the listener) to reach a certain stage of trance, for moments the god and the devotee becomes one and inseparable. The body reacts against gravity and

psychologically elevates it for a divine ecstasy. For Kabir, the influences of singing had come to be the way of union with God. The theme of spiritually inclined Kabir is not religion biased in any sense rather it can be compared what we called as Secular in modern terminology. His urge to get unified with a formless, supreme and one power has taken different names and shapes in different parts of the world. The art of loving someone selflessly with complete devotion and dedication has taken the name of Nirguna Bhakti in India. One who listens to their heart, doesnt care about rules-regulations or religious obstacles of Dos or Donts. All they learn and believe in their practical experiences. As Amir Khusru once wroteTum kehte Kagad ki lekhi Mei Kehta aankhon ki dekhi (You speak what you read, and I speak what I have practically experienced)
And they are the Kabir

MY EXPERIENCE: For me, the movie has been a deeply transforming experience. Each moment of the journey brought me closer to the fissures in my own mind; the dualistic way of perceiving myself and the world. The experiences in the movie made me realise that this film is not creation that the director had chosen or made; rather, this is a gift that audience has received from a space that we could not claim to completely comprehend. Over the years, the meaning of Kabir and his teachings have undergone a change for the common man. I think knowing Kabir more deeply is a process of knowing yourself more deeply. And so, in that sense, Kabir continues to speak to anyone on a day-to-day, basis (provided one seeks) because knowing oneself and ones location in the world is an endless quest, isnt it? In Kabir I found Ram. They are the same. And I can be one with them to. A journey of thousand miles begins with just one step. I think I have embarked upon an inspired journey to look for Kabir. By knowing him I shall know myself.