WHAT DOES KABIR BHAJAN "JHEENI JHEENI BHEENI CHADARIYA "CONVEY ?

                                                                                    

JHEENI   JHEENI  BHEENI CHADARIYA   ........  KABIR

( SUBTLE AND FINE  WAS  THE CLOTH THAT THE MASTER WOVE  )

Kabir’s Jhheeni  Jhheeni Chadariya is another Bhajan that  moves you as you listen  it. The moving words and the blissful  message is a treat  .  According to Kabir , our   body  ( Shareera ) is like a  shawl or a blanket. By body he does not mean  the physical body alone . It implies  the Being  or  the Existence   or the Life   as such that was granted to us . A transparent  object like the finely woven  shawl ,blanket or sheet of cloth  that has no dualism. No superficial covering that hides from the sight the true nature of the object.  So beautiful and so pure  handed over to us . A cloth for  which weaving was done  on a spinning wheel( Charkha ) made of  eight  lotus flowers . Yes subtle  and subtle or Jheeni and Jheeni . So pure and done to perfection after balancing it through three Prana channels ( Ida, Pingla and Sushman)  by the master in its warp and weft .  Five essential   elements ( Panch Tatva ) were also brought into shape and create it  .  And the master finished it in  10 months ( Almost equivalent  to the   period during which life takes shape from Mother’s womb ) . The sages  and  saints too wore it and  so did the  common man    .  Some soiled and defiled it.  Soiled and  defiled it by misuse or abuse of three boons that were meant to preserve it.  How poorly we understood these three boons of    Thought , Word   and  Deed . An apparel or shawl or blanket , so delicate and subtle  that  needed to be  preserved and kept as it was granted got  stained  in the process. What shall we  return to the master  at the end ?  And  Kabir ,who wore it skillfully with great effort  now returns  this Chaddar or shawl  back to his master in a state in which he had received it.  What a  grand viewpoint !

.
Many singers have sung this great Nirguna  Bhajan  in different Ragas   . The one that is my favourite is  the soulful  rendering   by  Kumar Gandharva  .  After listening to Kumar Gandharva’s rendering ,  one feels as if   Kabir is  himself singing  at Varanasi Ghat .

  I am rendering this great Bhajan to simple English relying on the lyrics used by Pandit Kumar Gandharva ..

"Jheeni Jheeni Bheeni Chadariyaa.
kah ke Tana, kah ke Bharni,
Kaun Taar se Bheeni Chadariyaa
*Ingla Pingla Taana Bharni,
Sushumna Taar se Bheeni Chadariyaa.
Ashta kamal Dal Charkha Doley,
Paanch Tatvaa, Gun Tini chadariya
Saiin ko siyat maas duss laagey,
Thonk-Thonk ke Bheeni Chadariya.
So Chaadar Sur, Nar Muni odhi,
Odhi ke Mailee keeni Chadariya
Daas Kabir Jatan Kari odhi,
Jyon ki Tyon Dhar Deeni Chadariya."
( Kabir )

This is how I understand the Nirguna Bhajan :-

( Delicate and delicate   is the weave of this cloth !
What is the  warp  ?
What is the  weft ?
What thread did the master  put to use in its making  ?
In the weave,
the master passed it through
Ingla ,Pingala
and Sushman Nadis
Creating the warp and the weft.
with subtle  threads   .
The Charkha ( Spinning Wheel ) spun *eight Lotuses 
*five elements and *Three traits together in this cloth.
My master took  ten months to finish  its weaving,
And he   kept compressing the cloth for this  taut weave.
Sages , Men and Saints  draped  this fabric around them.
Alas! Some soiled and defiled it.
Kabir wore it with care and concern
And Lo ! He returns it back 
untarnished  as he received it   from his  master.)

( Avtar Mota  )

PS

*Lotus flower  has a spiritual , philosophical and religious significance across various cultures. This flower  grows in muddy water, but in spite of growing in mud and  filth, it never has even a drop of mud on it. The lotus flower  represents purity and non-attachment, and is a symbol of Bhakti or love.The Mahayana sect of Buddhism maintains that all souls emerge from a lotus. The eight-petal lotus seen in Buddhist ,Mandalas represents   cosmic harmony.
Ashta -Kamal  also appears in Sri- Yantra . One of the eight auspicious symbols of Indian classical art, the Puran-Kalasa  symbolizes abundance and creativity, and depicts overflowing foliage consisting of lotus buds, lotus flowers and lotus leaves .In Vedic texts ,  eight  also refers to Eight Adityas or Solar gods  like  Mitra , Varuna  Aryaman, Amiya , Bhaga ,Dattar , Indra and Vivsvant.
 

 For Hindus , the Lotos  is also  linked with Brahma , Vishnu and lakshmi. The Vedas say:-

 “Oh, human! This life of yours is balanced on the lotus leaf and your lifespan is just alike a drop of water running down that leaf, which may fall any minute.”

The flower is known to have great significance in ancient Egyptian culture  and  Egyptian legend. The lotus flower  is often featured in Egyptian religious art and architecture In Japanese culture, the lotus flower is considered a sacred symbol representing  enlightenment and purity. It has symbolic relevance in Christianity , Taoism and the  native American religious beliefs .
Running alongside the sushumna nadi, on either side of the spine, are the ida and pingala nadis. Ida refers to the chandra  energies of the moon while pingala refers to the surya (yang) energies of the sun. Ida and pingala represent the two opposite forces flowing within us. Ida is passive nadi, flowing from the left side of the mooladhara (root chakra) in spirals, passing through each chakra and pingala is an active nadi, which flows from the right side of root chakra forming a criss- cross pathways, mirroring ida nadi.They correspond to the two aspects of the autonomic nervous system. Pingala coincides with sympathetic and ida with parasympathetic nervous system.Ida is what Kabir calls Ingla.

As per  Hindu  Mythology,  Human body  (Called Pinda ) is  composed of Panch-Tatva  or Five elements . These are: Prithivi ( Earth), Jal ( Water), Agni ( Fire), Vayu (Air) and Aakaash  (Space). These five elements are linked to our five senses which are the senses of smell, taste, hearing, touch and sight.The Three  traits that Kabir  comments in this Bhajan are ; Thought , Word and Deed that  affect and define the conduct of  an Individual in this world.

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.