25 Aug

Maharashtra Dharma

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Contents

• Mahanubhava sect
• Varkaris
• Vari
• Ramdasi Tradition
• Social-political message of the Varkari Sect

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Mahanubhava sect (Paramarga)

• It was founded by Chakradhar Swami in the 13^th He himself is considered as the avatar of Krishna by his disciples. His earliest biography is known as Leela Charitra, authored by Mhaimbhat in late 13^th century.
• It follows bhakti philosophy as per Dvaita tradition.
• It didn’t recognize caste distinctions.

Varkaris

• It emerged around the cult of Vithoda or Vitthala, centered around Pandharpur in Maharashtra.
  • Varkari saint poets identify Him with Krishna who came to meet the devotee Pundalik and transformed from a folk deity to Vishnu-Krishna. Panduranga, a local deity entered into Brahmanical fold as an avatara (incarnation) of Vishnu.
  • Thus, they accepted idol worship (saguna). However, they are not the followers of Ramanuja but that of Shankara, thus followers of Advaita.
• Varkari Saints: Nivruttinath, Jnanadeva, Muktabai, Eknath, Namdev and Tukaram.
  • They used Marathi language.
  • Emphasized upon the idea of social equality and religious tolerance.
  • No need to renounce householder’s life to do bhakti.
  • They used to go on annual pilgrimage (vari) to Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi.
• Although this is a saguna bhakti tradition, Namdeva is a revered Guru in Dadupanthis and his Nirguna compositions are included in Guru Granth Sahib.

Vari It is almost 800 years old tradition of pilgrimage, where pilgrim walks a distance of over 250km in 3 weeks. It takes place twice every year – during Ashadh and Kartik. (also some in Chaitra and Magh) The first procession (palakis) to be organised carrying the padukas is that of Jnanadeva from Alandi followed by other Varkari saints (Tukaram’s from Dehu; Eknath from Paithan, Namdeva from Pandharpur) from their birthplace to Pandharpur. On the way, the pilgrim chants Lord’s name (naam-jap), sings songs (abhangs) and reads sacred books (haripath). During the processions the devotees are organised in groups known as dindi. They are devotees of Krishna and Tulsi is his favourite plant, Varkaris wear rosary of Tulsi beads and they are strict vegetarians. On reaching the temple, they take sacred dip in Chandrabhaga.

Ramdasi Tradition

Most important saint was a Samarth Ramdas.

• Not only he was a popular bhakti saint, focused on worship of Ram and Hanuman but also a social commentator.
• He tried to synthesize spiritual and political life. He was also a political theorist and possibly helped Shivaji. He seems to have met Guru Hargobind in north.
• He established many mathas which were led by his disciples, including female disciples also, including Venabai and Akkabai.
• He wrote Dasbodh, as a commentary on contemporary social issues, in Marathi. He also composed Asmani Sultani and Parachakra-niroopan based on his experiences in north India.
• He used Hindi, Urdu, Arabic or Sanskrit words so long as his writing remained simple. He introduced new words to these languages.

Aarti to Ganapati Sukhakarta Dukhaharta has become very popular after Lokmanya Tilak propagated public festivals of Ganesh.

Social-political message of the Varkari Sect

• Social Dimensions: There was a synthesis of Bhagavata Purana bhakti + Shaiva Nathpanthi based social protest.
  • Importance to sacrifice, forgiveness, simplicity, peaceful co-existence, compassion, non-violence, love and humility in social life.
  • There was denial of caste element in MH dharma.
    • With God as the Ultimate Truth, Varkaris accepted ultimate equality among men. Varkaris bow in front of each other because “everybody is Brahma.”
    • Namdev attracted individuals from diverse classes and castes during community-driven bhajan singing sessions. His companions during worship sessions included.
      • Kanhopatra (a dancing girl)
      • Sena (a barber)
      • Savata (a gardener)
      • Chokhamela (an untouchable Mahar)
      • Janabai (a maid)
      • Gora (a potter)
      • Narahari (a goldsmith)
      • Dnyaneshvar (a Brahmin)
    • Elevation of the status of women.
      • Tukaram accepted disciples and devotees without discriminating gender. One of his celebrated devotees was Bahina Bai, a Brahmin woman.
      • Other important women saints: Muktabai, Janabai, Venabai, Kanhopatra etc.
    • No neglect of worldly life. Religious regeneration in the mundane life. Thus, its impact is clearly visible in political and social life of Maharashtra today.
    • Political dimension: Unlike normal belief that Hinduism is sahishnu/tolerant, MH dharma is jayishnu, cry for victory.
      • Samartha Ramdas tried to synthesize spiritual with political.
    • Cultural dimension: it gave emphasis on Marathi language and Marathi identity.
      • There was development of Marathi literature – Owee (Jnanadeva), Abhang (Tukaram) and Bharud (Eknath).
      • Jnaneshvara wrote Jnaneshvari, Amrutanubhava
      • Tukaram – Gatha (Mahatma Gandhi, while under arrest in Yerwada Central Jail translated Tukaram’s poetry)
      • Eknath – Bhagvat, Bhavartha Ramayana