• Kabir, who probably lived in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, was one of the most influential saints. He was brought up in a family of Muslim Julahas or weavers settled in or near the city of Benares (Varanasi). We have little reliable information about his life. We get to know of his ideas from a vast collection of verses, called Sakhis and Pads, said to have been composed by him and sung by the wandering Bhajan singers. Some of these were later collected and preserved in Guru Granth Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak.

• Kabir’s teachings were based on a complete, indeed vehement, rejection of the major religious traditions. His teachings openly ridiculed all forms of external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam, the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.

• The language of his poetry was a form of spoken Hindi, widely understood by ordinary people. He also sometimes used cryptic language, which is difficult to follow. Kabir believed in a formless Supreme God and preached that the only path to salvation was through Bhakti or devotion. Kabir drew his followers from among both Hindus and Muslims.