1 Saints and Mahatmas Of India R.K.Gupta 2 Index 1. Devrishi Narad 2. Brahmarishi Vasishtha 3. Mahrishi Ashtavakra 4. Mahrishi Valmiki 5. Mahatma Jadbharat 6. Mahatma Buddha 7. Sant Tirruvalluvar 8. Mahavir Swami 9. Acharya Shankar 10. Yamunacharya 11. Acharya Nimbark 12. Aandal Rangnayaki 13. Mahayogi Gorakhnath 14. Yogiraj Bhrutrhari 15. Acharya Ramanuja 16. Baba Farid 17. Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya 18. Acharya Madhva 19. Rasik Sant Jaydev 20. Mahatma Ramanand Swami 21. Sant Namdev 22. Sant Gyaneshwar 23. Yogini Lalleshwari 24. Sant Pipa 25. Sant Raidas 26. Sant Kabir 27. Param Vaishnav Narsi Mehta 28. Bhakt Meerabai 29. Goswami Tulsidasji 30. Sant Surdas 31. Chaitnya Mahaprabhu 32. Sant Vemna 33. Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya 34 Guru Nanak 35 Bulleh Shah 36 Sant Dadu Dayal 37 Sant Tukaram 38 Tailang Swami 39 Samarth Ramdas 40. Sant Rajjab 41. Sant Dariya Sahab 42. Mahatma Charandas 43. Sahajo Bai 3 44. Mahatma Nabhadas 45. Mahatma Eknath 46. Swami Dayanand Saraswati 47. Ramakrishna Paramhans 48. Swami Vivekananda 49. Mahayogi Arvind 50. Mahrishi Raman 51. Shirdi Sai Baba 52. Sant Vamakshepa 53. Sant Naga Nirankari 54. Yogiraj Shyamacharan Lahiri 55. Yogiraj Gambhirnath 56. Tailang Swami 57. Sant Tyagraja 58. Swamiji Maharaj-Shivdayal Singh 59. Sahajanand Swami 60. Sheikh Ahmad al-Faruqi 61. Shamsuddin Habib Allah-Mirza Zanzana 62. Swami Ram Tirtha 63. Maulana Fazl Ahmed Khan 64. Mahatma Ramchandraji 65. Jiddu Krishnamurti 66. Baba Nityanand 67. Param Sant Thakur Ram Singhji 4 PREFACE HARI ANNANT HARI KATHA ANNANTA -The Lord is Infinite and so are His attributes and the stories related to Him. Saints and Mahatmas are an expression of His glory and attributes and, therefore, they are also indescribable. Yet an attempt has been made in this book to present a glimpse into the lives of some of His Saints and Mahatmas, especially those, who have been the fountainhead of various sects in India, e.g. Mahatma Buddha, Mahavir Swami, Acharya Nimbark, Guru Gorakhnath, Sant Kabir, Chaitnya Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya, Guru Nanak, Sant Dadu Dayal, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Ramakrishna Paramhans, Shirdi Sai Baba, Yogiraj Shyamacharan Lahiri, Sahajanand Swami and Swamiji Maharaj-Shivdayal Singhji. If one asks as to what the saints and Mahatmas do for the society, the answer is that they are like the trees, the spiritual trees. As the trees standing at their own places purify the atmosphere and help bringing rains, the saints and Mahatmas purify the minds of people through their prayers and channelise the grace of the God, at times even raising storm in the Ocean of Mercy of the Almighty. Their presence is a symbol of auspiciousness for all. It is well said: ‘EK GHARI, ADHI GHARI, ADHI SE BHI ADH; TULSI SANGAT SADHU KI, KOTI KATE APRADH.’-meaning thereby that the company of Sadhus (satsang), even for a moment, brings auspiciousness in one’s life. In my humble opinion reading about saints and Mahatmas also is like spending time in their company and I am sure this also would bring auspiciousness in the life of readers. The material in this book for compiling the life stories of saints and Mahatmas of India has been taken mainly from ‘Bhakt-Mal’ by Mahatma Nabhadas; ‘Bharat Ke Sant Mahatma’ by Ramlal; ‘Bhakt-Charitank’ published by Geeta Press, Gorakhpur; ‘Bharat Ke Yogi’ by Dr. Bhagwan Sharan Bhardwaj-Pradeep and various websites. Besides, some anecdotes relating to them have also been included, as heard from great saints. I must hasten to add that many authors have written about various saints and Mahatmas but that does not make the subject stale. Every time one reads about them, a new dimension of their life and devotion comes to fore, a new understanding is developed. In any case, it is like offering flowers at the feet of the Lord. I have also, therefore, dared to offer this garland of flowers at the feet of the Lord picking up some of the most fragrant flowers from the Lord’s own garden. In order to contain the size of the book I have resticted myself to mention only important incidences relating to most of the saints and Mahatmas and in this effort I might have left some other important aspects of their lives untouched. I seek forgiveness of the wise readers for the same. It is the grace of my Guru Bhagwan Param Sant Thakur Ram Singhji that this book was conceived and completed. I am extremely thankful to my entire family and 5 friends, who have helped me from time to time in gathering the material and in timely completion of the work. New Delhi R.K Gupta August 2011 6 Devrishi Narad 7 Devrishi Narad Devrishi Narad is the fountainhead of all the saints and mahatmas. He himself has said about his state of devotion that “when I start singing in the praise of my Most Pious and Kind Lord, He immediately enters my heart as an invitee.” Devrishi Narad always keeps on wandering; it is his job to always keep on moving and playing his vina (a large musical instrument of the type of lute) singing in the praise of his Lord. He is one of the twelve main acharyas (Masters) of the bhagvatdharma (follower of Lord Vishnu) and the supreme devotional singer. He is also the composer of Bhaktisutra (the Compendium of various aspects of Devotion). He is considered to be the master of all the nine forms of devotion. He is an eternal councilor of the Divine Council. His nature is to create situations of conflict so as to protect the interest of righteous and destroy the evil. Scriptures are laid with numerous such instances. His main objective, however, is to encourage devotion to God. Both the gods and devils trust his capabilities to give them protection. Brahma, the lord of creation, first created Marichi, Atri, Sanak, Sanandan, Santkumar and Narad and thus Narad is the manas -putra (a son born of mind) of Brahma. It relates to ancient time. Narad’s eternal relationship with God was a result of his deeds in a previous birth. In his previous birth he was a Gandharva (mythol. a heavenly minstrel or musician) by the name ‘Upbarhan’. He was well built, handsome and deeply interested in music. Once many of the great Gandharvas, and Kinnars etc. assembled before Brahma to sing in the praise of God. Narad was one of them. He, however, had taken some women with him. While singing, his attention got diverted towards them and, therefore, he could not discharge his duties whole-heartedly. Brahma, therefore, cursed him to be borne as a shudra (a member of the fourth and the lowest division of early Indo-Aryan society) but this curse turned into a boon for him. He took birth through a shudra mother, who was engaged in the service of noble and religious Brahmans (the priest class). By the grace of Brahma, he was blessed with all the good qualities and his mother was very affectionate to him. The life of austerity and self-restrain of his mother had a deep impact on Narad. In the company of his mother he also started to spend his time in the service of sages and saints. Once some saints observed Chaturmasya-vrit (a resolution to follow strict religious discipline during the four months of rainy season). On his mother’s advice Narad started serving them. Narad was only about five years then. Those saints were very kind to him. He used to listen to various stories related to God from them, as a result of which his mind had become pure. At the end of the Chaturmasya-vrit they asked Narad to meditate upon the God and told him the method of Japa (remembrance of God). After the saints left, Narad started to devote his time accordingly. In the mean time his mother died of a serpent’s-bite. Her death gave Narad the complete freedom from all obligations and he now started to devote the entire time in Tapa (penance). 8 He sat under a Pipal tree (holy fig-tree) and started meditation, as instructed by those saints. As the time was passing, his desperation to seek the God was increasing. Suddenly he had a glimpse of the Divine-light in his heart, which disappeared immediately. He could not have the glimpse of that Divine-light again in spite of making repeated efforts. He then got an inspiration that this Divine-light could be seen by only those, who had acquired complete purity of mind. After this incidence, he completely devoted himself in the contemplation of the Divine and after his death, on the start of a new Kalpa (mythol. a day of Brahma) he was born as a manas -putra of Brahma, as mentioned above. As a Divine councilor he keeps on wandering, playing his vina (a musical instrument) and singing in the praise of God. He resides in the Himalayas and because of the curse of Daksha Prajapati he is not affected by the age, i.e. he is beyond the stages of childhood, youth and old age. He is connected with the happenings in all the four yugas (mythol. a day of Brahma, i.e. a Kalpa comprises of one-thousand Chaturyugas -Satyug , Treta , Dwapar and Kaliyug ). Narad had given spiritual instructions ( updesh ) to Prahlad’s mother when Prahlad was in her womb, as a result of which he was born with an inclination towards the Divine. Similarly, he had provided guidance to Dhruva, a little child, who was out in the search of the Divine. It also relates to Narad that ten-thousand sons (named as Haryashrva) of Prajapati Daksha were engaged in Tapa with the objective of the expansion of the creatures by the order of their father, when Narad found them to be pure-hearted persons, who were deserving to realize the Truth and, therefore, he instructed them and diverted their attention towards God.