His God is as his fates assign …
This short poem brings home the truth that there is only one sky, and different religions are merely different windows for looking at it. Who can deny that “his God is as his fates assign” – that if he were born in a different family, he would likely have had a different religion? And if this is so, how can anyone despise the followers of a different religion as “infidels”? It is hard to find a better literary expression than this six-line poem for the essential unity of all religions and of humanity.
Kabîr (1440-1518) was an Indian religious reformer and poet. He was opposed to all forms of religious sectarianism and caste distinctions. A Muslim by birth, he was banished from his native Varanasi, and spent the rest of his life travelling through northern India. His poems drew on the mystical aspects of both Hinduism and Islam.
The Prayer
My brother kneels, so saith Kabir, To stone and brass in heathen wise, But in my brother's voice I hear My own unanswered agonies. His God is as his fates assign, His prayer is all the world's - and mine.