EARLY BHAKTI POETS 25 Many of these are evidently the works of disciples or successors, though few of them have been published. The dialect used in the compositions contained in the Bijak is the old Avadhi dialect of Hindi. The poetry of Kabir is rough and unpolished, and the style and language make it not always easy to understand. Words are often loosely strung together with very little regard to grammatical accuracy, and the sentences are often elliptical and full of colloquialisms. The frequent play on words and the obscurity of many of the similes used increase the difficulty. But in spite of all this Kabir must be given a very high place in Hindi literature. The amazing boldness wuth which he attacked the religious practices of his day, tolerating no shams and demanding reality in all those who were seeking after God, and the moral earnestness of his appeal to men to put the things of God first, would in itself give his work an outstanding importance. But besides this the stinging satire which he has at his command, and his ability to produce striking epigrams, and the fascinating rhythm of his verse, all combine to give a wonderful power to his poetry. He has been called the pioneer of Hindi literature and the father of all Hindi hymns ; but though, in view of the predecessors we have already mentioned, such a claim can hardly be allowed, it is certainly true to say that it was he more than any others before him who popularized Hindi religious literature and vastly extended its influence, and Hindi literature of the same type subsequent to Kabir owes to him a great debt. Translations of his poems give very little idea of the charm and force of his style, but a few extracts may help to give some idea of the kind of literature he produced. Here are one or two of the Sakhis ascribed to him : — " Everything is from God and nothing from His servant; He can change a mustard-seed into a mountain and a mountain into a mustard-seed." " The house of God is distant, as is a tall palm ; He who climbs to the top, tastes of heaven ; he who falls is ground in pieces."
