Kabir ranks among the world’s greatest poets. He lived in the Indian city of Varanasi (also known as Benares) about a hundred years before Shakespeare, his life spanning most, if not all, of the 15th century. Like most Indian writers, Kabir is little known in the West. His poetry, often difficult to translate to English because of his use of arcane words and allusions, is nonetheless simple, immediate and deep. Kabir was more than a poet. He was a philosopher and a man of the spirit. He was wise and humble and close to God. He was a saint. In India, Kabir is perhaps the most quoted of writers, even though in his own lifetime he criticized all the religious sects of his country. Regardless of this, he is still mentioned with respect and honour by even those most tradition-bound. This paradox can be accounted for by the fact that Kabir spokethe truth. Simply put: he had wisdom.