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 EARLY BHAKTI POETS 23 though he was a Muhammadan. He was taunted also with being- a nigura, that is one without a giiru. Desir- ing to remove this reproach he wished to become a disciple of Ramananda, but feared that he might not be accepted. He therefore had recourse to a stratagem. Lying down upon the steps of the ghat which he knew Ramananda visited, he hoped that in the dark the gurtc might stumble over him, and that probably then no words would rise so readily to his lips as the mantra of his order. This hope was realised and Ram.ananda uttered the words ' ' Ram, Ram. ' ' Kabir claimed that he had been initiated and Ramananda admitted the claim. After this initiation Kabir is said to have visited his gtiru regularly, but though a disciple of Ramananda he went far beyond his master in his teaching. Whether he was originally a Muhammadan or not, there is no doubt that Muhammadan influence can be traced in his ideas. He w^as the founder of the deistic movement in India. He uses the name Rama for God (as well as other names such as Hari, Govind, Allah, etc.) and has Vedantic ideas, but he rejected entirely the doctrine of incarnations, and with no unsparing voice condemned idolatry and most of the Hindu ceremonies and rites. The influence of Kabir, both direct and indirect, has been enormous. Not only is the sect of Kabirpanthis, which claims him as its founder, still very numerous, but many other sects owe to him the leading ideas of their theology. Many of these sects will be mentioned later on in connection with the literature which their leaders produced. There are many legends but not very much reliable information about the life of Kabir. His interest in religious questions to the neglect of his weaving seems to have brought him sometimes into conflict with his family, but even more trouble came to him from the opposition of both Hindus and Muhammadans, who were offended in turn at his denunciation of many of their practices. He seems to have been persecuted by the Emperor Sikandar Lodi, after being denounced by both Hindus and Muham- madans as a troublesome person, and finally was