Sant namdev was a great devotee of

Sri Guru Granth Sahib has saluted and honored fifteen saints of Bhakti movement from the medieval India, by including their compositions in it. When the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled Guru Granth Sahib Ji, he incorporated their compositions as an endorsement of their contributions along with alignment of their thought processes with Guru Nanak’s. So, even today when one bows to Guru Granth Sahib Ji he/she is bowing to these fifteen saints as well. As most of these Bhagats came from discriminated lower castes, Guru Ji erased that discrimination and stigma. He had elevated them, and now they don the same throne along with all the Gurus in the scripture, garnering the same reverence. The banis of Bhagat Namdev were collected by Guru Nanak Dev Ji from his place of birth during his second Udassi (Long Journey) in the south and it was passed down to Guru Arjan Dev Ji. This year marks the 750th birth anniversary of Bhagat Namdev Ji; in his honor let us explore his life and legacy. Bhagat Namdev was born on 26th October in 1270 in the village of Narsi Bahamni in Satara district in Maharashtra. This place is quite close to Nanded, where Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent his last years and breathed his last. His ancestry begins with Yadushet, who was a tailor by caste. His father’s name Damashet and mother’s name was Gunai or Gonabai. At the age of two Namdev started repeating the name of Sri Vithal. Sri Vithal is a form of Krishna, which is worshipped in Maharashtra. An incident t...

Hymns of Saint Namadev Maharaj giving guidance about fulfilling the purpose of human life शेवटिली पाळी तेव्हां मनुष्य जन्म । चुकलीया वर्म फेरा पडे ॥१॥ एक जन्मीं ओळखी करा आत्मारामा । संसार सुगम भोगूं नका ॥२॥ संसारीं असावें असोनि नसावें । कीर्तन करावें वेळोवेळां ॥३॥ नामा म्हणे विठो भक्ताचिये द्वारीं । घेऊनियां करीं सुदर्शन ॥४॥ Implied meaning : A jiva (Embodied soul) gets the human birth after going through 84 lacs of other births. He has to repeat this cycle if he commits mistakes in his current life. Therefore try to learn about the Soul (Atmaram). Instead of getting involved in worldly life, keep chanting Deity’s Name continuously. Shri Vitthal is ready at the door of a devotee to emancipate him / her. दाही दिशा मना धांवसीं तूं सईरा । न चुकती येरझारा कल्पकोटी ॥१॥ विठोबाचे नामीं दृढ धरीं भाव । तेर सांडीं वाव मृगजळ ॥२॥ भक्तिमुक्ति सिद्धि जोडोनियां कर । करिति निरंतर वळगणें ॥३॥ नामा म्हणे मना धरीं तूं विश्‍वास । मग गर्भवास नहे तुज ॥४॥ Implied meaning : O, mind, although you keep running to all 10 directions to avoid the birth and death cycle, you cannot escape that ever. Have unshakable faith in Shri Vitthal. After the illusion is destroyed by the Name, devotion (Bhakti), Final liberation (Mukti) and Supernatural powers acquired through spiritual practice (siddhi) will be at your service. Have faith, then you will not suffer rebirth (Punarjanma). Shri Vitthal’s beautiful idol in Keshavraj temple in the palatial house (wada) of Saint Namdev Maharaj Shrikrushna’s idol awakening...

Namdev, a great 17th century One day, Saint Namdev was teaching some people about Saint Namdev prayed to The Lord and chanted His Name; devoutly calling to God to bring the cow to back life in a few days. Sure enough, Lord Pandurang appeared in front of Namdev on the 4th day and revived the cow. Everyone was amazed to see the cow come back to life! The Emperor too, lost his pride and bowed in Moral: In this story Saint Namdev teaches us to make prayers sincerely and specifically and that prayer with intense devotion is heard by God every time. Instead of quickly talking to God because our parents make us pray, we should pray to God as if He is truly hearing our prayers. For example, instead of simply saying ‘Thank you’ to God when eating, we can pray to God that may He make us strong and healthy with the food so that we can chant and pray daily as per His Will. We should sincerely thank God for giving us nourishing food and for taking such good care of us. Categories

Greatest devotee of Lord Vitthal, Shri Namdev, is one of the most honored saints in the Marathi saint tradition. He is so famous in North India specially Punjab that his bani (speech), is included in Guru Granth Sahib and is sung with great devotion daily. The Abhangs (bhajans) written by him in Marathi has such a place in the hearts of Maharashtrians like that of God. He is said to be the creator of Marathi Abhangs. Sant Namdev was born on 26 th October 1270 (Vikram Era 1327), at sunrise of Sunday on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of Kartik month in the town named Narasi Brahmani. His father’s name was Damasheth and mother’s name was Gonai. Few scholars believe his birth place to be Pandharpur, as his father had later settled in Pandharpur. By profession, his father was a tailor and was a great devotee of Lord Vitthal. Once, Damaseth asked his son to offer food to Lord Vitthal and went out. Child Namdev did not know how to pray or formally offer food. He went to the temple with flowers and food and offered garland to Vitthal, kept flower at his feet and kept the plate of food in front and asked God to have the food. When the idol did not eat food, Namdev sat down saying he would not move from there till Lord eats the food and pleased with the innocent devotion of the child, Lord Vitthal manifested and ate the food. Namdev was five years old that time. Namdev was married when he was nine years old. His wife’s name was Rajai. Later, he became father of four sons a...