Sharing a Safe Space with Kabir – A 15th Century Poet from the Bhakti Movement

जल में कुम्भ कुम्भ में जल है बाहर भीतर पानी ।
फूटा कुम्भ जल जलहि समाना यह तथ कह्यौ गयानी ॥

Jal main kumbh, kumbh mai jal hain, bahar bitar paani
puta kumbh, jal jalhi samaana, yaha tath kahain Gyani.

Translation:
There is a pot in the water
And water in the pot
Water inside-out
When the pot breaks
Water merges with water
This is what the wise say

As these words flowed through her mouth, our bodies took shape on their own, swirling, sprawling, leaping, curling, becoming the Kumbh (pot) and the jal (water) inside and outside of the Kumbh.

Some of us hummed, some snapped and some let out sounds to flow through them allowing the collective to create a unique symphony, nudging our bodies towards awareness and insights of self and the collective.

I recently got an opportunity to experience the Kaya aur Kabir workshop facilitated by Sanjukta Wagh in collaboration with Temple of Fine Arts and Atta Galatta. Which brought a new dimension to my body’s relationship with words.

Kabir is a 15th-century mystic poet from the Bhakti movement. He is called the Nirgun poet, who delved into the concept of formlessness using symbols and metaphors in his poems.

Sanjukta, a dancer who has immersed herself in Kabir’s work for over two decades, takes the participants on a road less travelled of discovering self through the world of Kabir.

Sanjukta talks about allowing the words to take space in our bodies, allowing the words to seep into our skin, blood and bones and observe how they respond.

Being a writer, I have always been fascinated by words, I often fell in love with words based on their meaning, but feeling the words themselves, without knowing what they meant or words in different languages that meant the same but evoked a different response from our bodies was a whole new experience.

The learning from this workshop unfolded in multiple layers.

It made me wonder how often we use words out of habit and justify ourselves by calling it a joke or humour not realizing that bodies keep score, bodies sense the energy in those words and respond to it.

The understanding that with every word I put out there, I’m creating an imprint brought about a profound responsibility to use each word with intent.

The experience was sacred, where each participant walked a few steps closer towards themselves and each other as a group, deepening our relationships with ourselves, acknowledging our truth and holding space for each other’s, feeling safe to break the Kumbh (pot) from within and come closer as fellow humans as Sanjukta held a space of love and compassion.

As the world is moving more and more towards distraction and disconnection, spaces like these emerge as portals that facilitate deep connection with self, others and the divine taking us a step closer to our authentic selves.