" One who does not know what are Vedas, the books of law; but follows the path of devotion only by faith, and conducts his life according to the rules of Bhagwata, is not affected by failure; no sin is committed by him , even in his dream." -- BHAGWAT DHARMA (Sant Eknath).
Bhakti movement became increasingly popular with masses because of its simplicity as well as its teachings in local languages. Love and devotion to a defined God struck cord with people in general and led to devotional transformation in several cases. Many Saints and Philosophers dominated this period, spreading message on Dharma and Ethical living. I have covered a few of them in my earlier blogs. While bowing my head to all of them in reverence,I shall try to cover a few more in my subsequent blogs. Many of the Ethical/Religious Paths guided by these Saints & Philosophers and spiritual scriptures created by them have been, impacting the life of people in society, even today.
In the current Blog, I shall briefly share the devotional messages on Dharma & Ethical living by two of the great Saints namely Sant Eknath ( circa 1533-1599) & Sant Tukaram ( circa 1608-1649). Sant Eknath was taught by a great scholar Janardana Swami in Vedanta, Nyaya, Yoga and other prominent fields of spiritual knowledge. He was a great religious reformer, who fought for Classless Dharma, free from untouchability. He wrote a couple of scriptures and religious songs to share the virtues of his path with masses. Quoting from Eknathi Bhagwat, one of his major literary work,
न यस्य जन्मकर्मभ्यां, न वर्णाश्रमजातिभिः meaning thereby that a Bhagwat person should not feel proud in his Physical Body by reasons of his birth, action, caste or status, thereby pointing to his strong reformist attitude and classless orientation. In one of the chapters, while describing "Rules of Conduct for Bhagwat way of life", he conveyed the need for such persons to come out of their limited thinking that " We are the physical body". Such thinking leads us to commitment of sins, miseries, fears, sorrows and various pains. He further added that a Bhagwat person should be totally devoted to God. His mind should be used to meditate on God, ears to listen to the glory of God, tongue to repeat the name of God, hands to propitiate the God, feet to go to God's place, nose to smell fragrance of Tulsa leaves used for worshiping God. All these demonstrate his commitment to Ethical way of living.
In another verse of same chapter, he clarifies that when identification of "I" with the body is totally dissolved, there is no ego disturbing the state of Atman and no ignorance affecting action or inaction. This is flawless Transcendental State. Further, as per him, a Bhagwat person should make no distinction between his own body & possessions and those of others, thereby conveying that one should look upon all beings with equal eye.
In chapter 10 of the same scripture, while describing duties/ actions for an Ethical person, he says that "Selfish actions" must be given up by killing Selfish desires in the mind. Purificatory actions/ rituals help a person cleanse the inner dirt and can be easily achieved by uttering the name of Hari, singing Bhajans and participating in Hari Kirtans. Quoting another verse from same chapter;
It conveyed that an Ethical person should be free from Pride, Jealousy, Sloth and Attachment. He should be firmly faithful to his GURU. He should remain calm in various situations and work towards uplifting his self knowledge, avoiding fault finding & meaningless communication.
In chapter 18 of the scripture, he conveys that SILENCE is the weapon to control one's speech, not to have interest in any uncalled for action and to control one's body. Breath control is the means to control one's mind. He emphasized that an Ethical person should control all three--- body, speech and mind. Such persons possess a reservoir of positive energy within them, leading to the happiness in the joy of the self. In another context in chapter 21, he conveys that devotion to one's duty is VIRTUE and devotion to other's duty is FAULT. Quoting a relevant verse,
An Ethical/ Dharmik person should be able to differentiate between Purity & Impurity; Righteous & Unrighteous; Virtue & Fault as well as Good & Evil consequences of his actions. There are great learning's from this great Saint thru his Abhang songs as well as other scriptures. I may not be able to do full justice to his vast reservoir of knowledge because of my brief coverage limiting to my area of focus .
We shall now move on to pick up a few more threads on Dharma/ Ethical living from another great Poet-Saint Tukaram, famous for his Abhang devotional poetry and community oriented worship by way of Kirtans. He was greatly influenced by Bhakti Saints comprising of Sant Namdev, Sant Janardan Swami, Sant Kabir, Sant Eknath and many more. Devoted to Lord Vithoba/ Vitthal, an Avatar of Lord Vishnu, he denounced mechanical rites/ rituals, sacrifices & vows and instead encouraged direct Bhakti by Kirtans-- which create spiritual path for devotees.
On Ethical front, he challenged " Human Discrimination"and stressed upon the essentials of shunning hatred because of birth, caste, class, wealth and religion. He visualized " Panduraga", his Deity in every object and surrendered to Him completely. Quoting an English translation of his poetry;
न यस्य जन्मकर्मभ्यां, न वर्णाश्रमजातिभिः meaning thereby that a Bhagwat person should not feel proud in his Physical Body by reasons of his birth, action, caste or status, thereby pointing to his strong reformist attitude and classless orientation. In one of the chapters, while describing "Rules of Conduct for Bhagwat way of life", he conveyed the need for such persons to come out of their limited thinking that " We are the physical body". Such thinking leads us to commitment of sins, miseries, fears, sorrows and various pains. He further added that a Bhagwat person should be totally devoted to God. His mind should be used to meditate on God, ears to listen to the glory of God, tongue to repeat the name of God, hands to propitiate the God, feet to go to God's place, nose to smell fragrance of Tulsa leaves used for worshiping God. All these demonstrate his commitment to Ethical way of living.
In another verse of same chapter, he clarifies that when identification of "I" with the body is totally dissolved, there is no ego disturbing the state of Atman and no ignorance affecting action or inaction. This is flawless Transcendental State. Further, as per him, a Bhagwat person should make no distinction between his own body & possessions and those of others, thereby conveying that one should look upon all beings with equal eye.
In chapter 10 of the same scripture, while describing duties/ actions for an Ethical person, he says that "Selfish actions" must be given up by killing Selfish desires in the mind. Purificatory actions/ rituals help a person cleanse the inner dirt and can be easily achieved by uttering the name of Hari, singing Bhajans and participating in Hari Kirtans. Quoting another verse from same chapter;
अमान्यमत्सरो दक्षो निर्ममो दृढसौहृदः असत्वरोर्थजिज्ञासुरन सूयुरमोघवाक् ।।
In chapter 18 of the scripture, he conveys that SILENCE is the weapon to control one's speech, not to have interest in any uncalled for action and to control one's body. Breath control is the means to control one's mind. He emphasized that an Ethical person should control all three--- body, speech and mind. Such persons possess a reservoir of positive energy within them, leading to the happiness in the joy of the self. In another context in chapter 21, he conveys that devotion to one's duty is VIRTUE and devotion to other's duty is FAULT. Quoting a relevant verse,
धर्मार्थ व्यवहारार्थ यात्रार्थमिति चानघः दर्शितोडयं मयाचारों धर्ममुद्धहतां धुरम् ।।
An Ethical/ Dharmik person should be able to differentiate between Purity & Impurity; Righteous & Unrighteous; Virtue & Fault as well as Good & Evil consequences of his actions. There are great learning's from this great Saint thru his Abhang songs as well as other scriptures. I may not be able to do full justice to his vast reservoir of knowledge because of my brief coverage limiting to my area of focus .
We shall now move on to pick up a few more threads on Dharma/ Ethical living from another great Poet-Saint Tukaram, famous for his Abhang devotional poetry and community oriented worship by way of Kirtans. He was greatly influenced by Bhakti Saints comprising of Sant Namdev, Sant Janardan Swami, Sant Kabir, Sant Eknath and many more. Devoted to Lord Vithoba/ Vitthal, an Avatar of Lord Vishnu, he denounced mechanical rites/ rituals, sacrifices & vows and instead encouraged direct Bhakti by Kirtans-- which create spiritual path for devotees.
On Ethical front, he challenged " Human Discrimination"and stressed upon the essentials of shunning hatred because of birth, caste, class, wealth and religion. He visualized " Panduraga", his Deity in every object and surrendered to Him completely. Quoting an English translation of his poetry;
" God's name on one's lips is itself salvation,
Disregarding the name is perdition ;
Companionship of the good is the only heaven,
And indifference is hell."
Quoting a few Abhangs composed by him in his local language on Dharma & Ethical living;
पुण्य परउपकार पाप ते परपीङा, आणिक नाहीं जोङा दुजा यासी ।।
It conveyed that it is ethical and moral act to help and support others while it is a sin to trouble them. Giving pain to others is unethical and immoral. There can't be any other form of PAP and PUN-YA.
सत्य तोचि धर्म असत्य तें कर्म, आणिक हैं कर्म नाहीं दुजे ।।
It means that it is one's Dharma to speak truth and act accordingly while speaking lies & acting accordingly amounts to Adharma. There are many more messages on Dharma and Ethical living conveyed by Sant Tukaram, both through his scriptures as well as his devotional gatherings.He accepted disciples and devotees without any discrimination.
While one can list down the learnings on this area in several more paras, I would like to sum up the blog with an Ethical Quote from Sant Tukaram's Abhangs conveying that the company of Saints & Noble people is like living in Heaven, while criticizing/condemning them or making fun of their contribution is closer to living in hell.
संताचा संग तोचि स्वर्गवास, नर्क तो उदास अनर्गळा ।
