एक अनेक बिआपक पूरक जत देखउ तत सोई ॥
माइआ चित्र बचित्र बिमोहित बिरला बूझै कोई ॥
One is in all and all is in One,
Wherever I look there is One
Enchanting is the world of Maya
Only the wise know, they are the only one
सभु गोबिंदु है सभु गोबिंदु है गोबिंद बिनु नही कोई ॥
सूतु एकु मणि सत सहंस जैसे ओति पोति प्रभु सोई ॥
All is Govind,** in all is Govind
Without Govind there is nothing
Like one thread that pierces all beads
God traverses all beings
जल तरंग अरु फेन बुदबुदा जल ते भिंन न होई ॥
इहु परपंचु पारब्रह्म की लीला बिचरत आन न होई ॥
Waves, foam, bubbles from water are not apart
Think and you will see,
the world is an illusion
of the Lord, they are all a play and part
मिथिआ भरमु अरु सुपन मनोरथ सति पदार्थु जानिआ ॥
सुक्रित मनसा गुर उपदेसी जागत ही मनु मानिआ ॥
You desire false illusions and dream objects
Real and true to the mind they appeareth
At Gurus counsel the desire for good deeds
in the a mind awaketh
कहत नामदेउ हरि की रचना देखहु रिदै बीचारी ॥
घट घट अंतरि सरब निरंतरि केवल एक मुरारी ॥
Says Namdev gazing at Lords creation my heart decides
the One and only Murari** in every pore, the Eternal resides
(Namdev’s Bani in Guru Granth Sahib,Ang 485,21934-21941)1
(All English trans. Myself)
Namdeva stands in the company of courageous revolutionary poets like Kabir, Raidas and Nanak, who apart from being saints were also radical reformers who stood above caste and organised religion, broke the bonds of ritual and ceremonies, denounced idolatry and brushed aside the authority of religious scriptures. Being a Shudra, Namdeva had to face the contempt of the Brahmins. He was also one of the pillars of the Warkari movement. He walks among the few in the world who rose from the pits of sin to the realisation of the highest principals of Nirguna bhakti and Advaita
Between the 13th and 17th century a religious and literary renaissance flooded the region of Maharashtra. It was a spiritual awakening, the kind of which was never seen before or after. It scarcely left a soul untouched.
Some even believe that this movement whose basis was Bhakti, which later came to be known as the Warkari movement, was far more powerful than its counterpart in northern and central India. In Maharashtra, this religious revival spanned over 500 years during which more than 50 saints breathed life into it and left their mark. These saints came from all walks of life: Marathas, kunbis, tailors, gardeners, potters, gold smiths, reformed prostitutes and Muslims. 2p45
Sant Namdeva was one of the saints under whose guidance the Warkari movement gathered extraordinary saints in its fold. But apart from being one of the stalwarts of the Warkari movement Namdeva is also known as the first major saint poet of Nirguna Bhakti. A ‘Chimpi’ or variously interpreted as a tailor, dyer-cloth printer by caste, he also stands among those few saints who rose from the pit of evil doers 3p.16;4p.85 to a Saguna bhakti saint and ultimately reached the unfathomable heights of Nirguna bhakti. The sixty one hymns of Namdeva, which are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, pertain to the period when he had achieved enlightenment through devotion to the formless Absolute – Nirguna Bhakti. This change in the nature of his devotion and perception, from being a passionate devotee of Vithoba of Pandharpur to a nirgunibhakta who considered Vithoba to be a symbol of the supreme Soul that pervades the Universe is apparent in his Abhangs. Namadeva’s guru, Shri Visoba Kechar, who himself was a disciple of Gyanadeva, is believed to have shown the path of Nirguna bhakti to Namadeva4p.120. In Namdeva's Abhangs one can see the synthesis of knowledge and devotion.
Namadeva’s contribution to Bhakti literature is significant. Apart from bhajans (devotional songs set to music), he is believed to have written over 2500 abhangs(a form of devotional poetry sung in Marathi in the praise of Vithoba during pilgrimage to the temples of Pandharpur, the centre of Warkari movement) and about 250 padavalis – simple passionate lyrics in Hindi. These padavalis are beautiful syncretic lyrics in which Namadeva used various dialects of northern India that he came across during his travels. These include Khadi boli, Brajabhasha, Purvi Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic and Persian. In these Padvalis we get a glimpse of this saint and his beliefs.
He ridiculed idol worship:
एकै पाथर कीजै भाउ ॥
दूजै पाथर धरीऐ पाउ ॥
जे ओहु देउ त ओहु भी देवा ॥
कहि नामदेउ हम हरि की सेवा ॥४॥१॥
One stone is worshiped while the other is trodden upon
If one is god why the other is not?
Says Namdeva I worship Hari** none other ought
(Namdev’s Bani in Guru Granth Sahib,Ang 525,23502-2194)1
He was of the opinion that saguna bhakti i.e. the worship of God with attributes with its rituals is only a ladder to be discarded once the goal of Nirgun bhakti, the worship and oneness with the Formless Reality is achieved:
तीरथ ब्रत जगत की आस। फोकट कीजै बिन बिसवास।।
एकादसी जगत की करनीं। पाया महल तब तजी निसरनीं।।
भणंत नामदेवतुम्हारै सरणां। मुझा मनवां तुझा चरणां।।2p.283-84,Pad56
In pilgrimages and fast the world’s hope lies
Without true faith useless they lie
The ladder of fasts and outward rituals
Once the divine palace is attained it is of no use
Says Namdev he seeks Your shelter,
my heart lies at your feet’s shelter
He was brutal in his criticism of the hypocrisy and facade among Hindus and Muslims alike:
ब्रह्मा पढ़ि गुंनि बैद सुनावै मन की भ्रांति न जाइ रे
करम करै सौ सूझै नांहीं बहुतक करम कराइ रे
मास दिवस लग रोजा साधै कलमां बंग पुकारैं रे
मन मैं काती जीव बाधारैं नांव अलह का सारैं रे
केवल ब्रह्म सती करि जांनैंसहज सुंनि मैं ध्याया रे
प्रणवंत नांमदेव गुर परसादैं पाया तिनिहीं लुकाया रे 2 Pad 64, p291
They read Brahma, Veda yet deluded they remain
Offer endless rituals yet ignorance they gain
They observe the month long Ramzan fast
by the muezzin a call for prayer is requested
recite the name of Allah
yet with violent minds they are afflicted
Only those who know the One Brahma
can dwell effortlessly in the Formless
To the grace of guru Namdev bows
keeps it hidden he who knows
हिन्दू अन्हा तुरक काणा दुहां ते गिआनी सिआणा
हिन्दू पूजे देहुरा मुसलमाणु मसीत
नामे सोई सेविया जह देहुरा न मसीत 2 pad 208,p.367
The Hindu is blind and the Muslim is half-blind
None has true knowledge
In the temple worships the Hindu, the Muslim in Masjid
Namdev worships Him who is neither in temple nor Masjid
It is obvious from Namdeva’s Padvalis that like, Kabir after him, Namdeva was well versed in the ways of the Sahaj, Nath and Advaita panths:
चंद सूर दोउ समि करि राषौं मन पवन डीढ डांडी
सहजैं सुषमन तारा मंडल इहि बिधि त्रिस्नां षांडी
बैठा रहूं न फिरूं न डोलूं भूषां रहूं न षाऊं
मरूं न जीऊंअहि निसि भूगतौं नहीं आऊं नहीं जांऊं
गगन मंडल मैं रहनी हमारी सहज सुनिं ग्रीह मेला
अंतरधुनि मैं मन बिलमा ऊंकोई जोगी गंमि लहैला
पाती तोड़ि न पूजौं देवा देवलि देव न होई
नांमां कहै मैं हरि की सरना पुनरपि जनम न होई 2p.292.Pad 65
The sky resounds with the music of the flute
The sound of Anhad every where
Ignorant of his Self, O Lord, the fool wanders
here and there, nowhere
United the Sun and the Moon with ease
Held firm the mind the breath and the spine
Rose I through the subtle to the star constellation
Thereby all desires I cease
Neither stay still nor move nor vacillate I
Neither hungry nor satiated am I
Neither live nor die nor suffer do I
Neither come or go
My home I have made in the cosmic skies
Dwell I effortlessly in the Void within
Enrapt is my mind with the music within
Rare is a Yogi who can hear such a hymn
I gather no leaves for the Deva in the temple
No God dwells in the idol
Only in Hari, in Hari I have lain
Never to be born again
According to the tradition available, Namdeva (1270-1350) was a close companion of Sant Jnanesvar also known as Gyanadeva, another great Marathi saint and the author of Gyaneshvari.2p.43 Namdeva was a householder and a married man. After Gyanadeva’s death, Namdeva moved to north India and settled in Punjab in a village called Ghuman in Gurdaspur. Here he spent 20 years of his life spreading the message of devotion. However, some scholars question whether Namdev was a contemporary of Gyanadeva and whether the two came in contact with each other at all3p18.
While Gyanadeva’s influence was limited to Maharashtra, Namdeva along with Ramananda*** spread a more evolved form of Bhakti in North and Central India and laid ground for future Nirguna saint poets like Kabir, Nanak and Raidas.
Notes
*All English translations of the poetic compositions are by the author, Rupa Abdi** Govind, Hari, Murari, Ram etc. are various names, avatars and attributes of Vishnu, however in case of Namdeva, they are the various names by which he addressed the Ultimate Reality.
***A 14th century Bhakti saint who founded a new school of Vaishnavism based on love and devotion
References and further reading:
- https://www.searchgurbani.com/
- Sadarangani N.M. 2004.Bhakti Poetry in Medieval India: Its Inception, Cultural Encounter and Impact. Sarup and Sons. New Delhi
- MacNicole, N.1919.The Heritage of India: Psalms of Maratha Saints. Association Press. Calcutta
- S.K. 1972. हिंदी निर्गुणी काव्य का प्रारम्भ और नामदेवकी हिन्दी कविता. Rachana Prakashan. Allahabad
- Callewaert, Winand M & Mukund Lath. 1989. The Hindi Padavali of Namdev. Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd. Delhi
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