Kabir Das, the great saint and social reformer of India, greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The word Kabir comes from the Arab language. Al-Kabir in Arabic means - Great and is the 37th name of god in Islam.
Today, the community named Kabir Panth is working to carry forward the ideology and tradition of Kabir. According to an estimate, there are about 2.5 crore Kabirpanthis.
Vaishnava saint Ramanand made Kabir his disciple. When Guru Ramanand died, Kabir was only 13 years old.
Not much clear and authentic information is available about Kabir's early life. According to Indian tradition, he lived from 1398 to 1518. It is said that Guru Nanak and Sikandar Lodi were also his contemporaries. Modern scholars are not sure about the date of his birth and death.
Kabir was born at a place named Lahartara in Kashi. He was the son of a Brahmin widow. Kabir's widowed mother had abandoned him due to fear of failure in the society. After this Kabir was brought up by a poor Muslim weaver family. Kabir's mother's name was Neema and father's name was Neeru.