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“Kabīrpanth” designates a religious community having Kabīr, the 15th-/16th-century poet, as its central reference and founding figure. Though usually the term “Kabīrpanth” is used in the singular, there are many branches ( śākhās) and sub-branches ( upaśākhās) that can be very different from one another. The adherents to the Kabīrpanth are known as the Panthīs. The study of the Kabīrpanth bears testimony to the complex and controversial heritage of Kabīr, and some methodological precautions may be useful. Firstly, it is necessary …

In the 15th–16th centuries, there lived in Benares a poet-singer known as Kabīr (?–1518), weaver by trade and rebel in religious matters, who bequeathed to posterity a living tradition of singing his “truth” about worldly and divine questions and proposing a new, direct practice to experience extraworldly dimensions. For the last five hundred years, his poem-songs have enjoyed tremendous acclaim, locally and internationally, and are a source of inspiration and imitation. For many adherents to his views, he is a spiritual master ( guru) and founder of a recognized community ( panth); h…