He was quite an inquisitive boy, wished to know about his identity. He belonged to the family of weavers. Casteism was at its peak. He lived with his family at the banks of the holy Ganga and carried out the weaving business. Even, a colony of pandits and Brahmins resided near the banks. They were rich in bookish texts, but hollow within. But, there was a handful who were truly One with the Oneness. He wished to know the ways to access the Self. He was in search of deeper guidance. Though he used to ask his parents about the ways, his efforts didn’t yield a good harvest.
After large amounts of effort, he gathered the courage and approached the hermitage of Guru Ramanand. As he placed his steps at the doorstep, several pandits surrounded him and lashed him, as he was a boy belonging to a low caste family. He felt upset. He thought that God is One and discrimination on the grounds of caste, religion and the rest is useless. From the next day, he began keeping an eye on the activities of his Guru. He used to wake up at 4 in the morning, walk towards the Ganges, bathe in the holy waters, and return before sunrise. He observed every step of his Guru keenly.
One day, heavy rains had conquered the atmosphere. He reached the path through which Ramananda Ji was to cross. He lied on the path transversely and was camouflaged amidst the mud and swamp. As Ramananda Ji reached that point, his foot struck his head. The accident forced Ramananda Ji to spell out Rama-Rama. Ramananda Ji was unaware that he hit a man’s head, not a stone (In reality he was aware of every speck). The next morning, the young man was found dancing and prancing on the streets, enunciating the name of Rama and even Ramananda Ji. All the dwellers of Kashi province were offended. They gathered in a mob before Ramananda Ji and inquired about the reason for such proclamations by a low caste weaver. Ramananda Ji smiled and denied that he was aware of such dramatic Deeksha. The man was summoned before the mob. He accepted that he received the Deeksha from Ramananda Ji. The mob began mumbling heavily. Out of (superficial) anger, Ramananda Ji took off his slippers and threw them on the man’s head. As he flung the footwear, he uttered Rama-Rama spontaneously. The man accepted the slippers as they were and proved that his Guru gave him the mantra of Rama Naam. As he proclaimed the notion, he and his Guru went into deep samadhi. They were fixed like a ramrod for hours together. When Ramananda Ji descended to the gross plane of consciousness, he called him Das and asked him to return. He said that he was his only true disciple, amidst all the pompous flattery.
There is a big secret behind the name of the saint. He is no other than Kabir Das Ji. He was called Das after that day. There is also a mystery behind the flung slippers. Slippers are held by the wearer, but shoes hold the wearer. If he was hit by the slippers of his Guru, he was held by him tightly and was taken to the ultimate divine plane.