The Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra - The Sampradaya Sun

The Sampradaya Sun - Independent Vaisnava News - Editorial Stories - Sep 2019 30/09/2019 11(30
The Sampradaya Sun - Independent

Vaisnava News - Editorial Stories -
Sep 2019
The Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra
BY: SUN STAFF
Sant Janeswar
https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 1 sur 5

Lithograph, Ravi Varma Press, c. 1910
Sep 23, 2019 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of the

Bhakti Movement's development in India.
Like other branches of the Vaishnava Bhakti Movement, the Maharashtra

Bhakti tradition drew much of its inspiration from the Bhagavat Purana. It
was also influenced, however, by the Saiva Nathpanthis, who were quite
popular among the 'lower' classes of Maharashtrian society during the
11th and 12th Centuries. The Nathpanthis composed many scriptural
verses in the Marathi language.
Janeswar (1275-1296 A.D.) was one of the most prominent pioneer

Bhakti saints of Maharashtra, known as a mystic poet and philosopher in
the Nath tradition. He is best known for writing an extensive commentary
on the Bhagavad-gita, popularly known as the Janesvari. One of the
earliest works of Marathi literature, the Janesvari served as the
foundation of Bhakti ideology in Maharashtra.
Sant Janeswar was also the author of many hymns, called abhangs. The
philosophy he propounded was that the only way to attain God is
through bhakti, and he emphasized the belief that in bhakti there is no
place for caste distinctions.
As noted in previous segments of this series, this is a common feature of

the Bhakti cults. Both the Rama Bhaktas (Ramanandis) and the followers
of Shankaradev's eka-sarana-dharma put great emphasis on eradicating
class and caste distinctions. With the advent of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, this sentiment became firmly established from a
siddhantic standpoint. The Six Goswamis and successive Gaudiya
Vaishnava Sampradaya Acaryas set down the philosophical truths that
erase all material lines of separation, replacing them with the absolute
tenets of devotional service in bhakti-yoga, a context whichin which the
real character and quality of a person is accurately defined.

Jnaneshwar, also known as Dnyaneshwar or Jnanadeva, was born into a

Deshastha Brahmin family. According to Nath tradition, he was born to
Vitthal Govind Kulkarni and Rukmini, a pious couple from Apegaon, near
Paithan on the banks of the river Godavari.
Jnaneshwar's father Vitthal had studied the Vedas and set out on
pilgrimages at a young age. In Alandi, about 30 km from Pune, a local
Yajurveda Brahmin named Sidhopant became very much impressed with
Vitthal, and gave him the hand of his daughter Rukmini in marriage.
Vitthal and Rukmini had four children, including their second son
Jnaneshwar (Dnyandev/Dnyaneshwar), in 1275.
Vitthal eventually got permission from Rukmini to go to Kashi (Varanasi),

where he met the Bhakta proponent, Ramananda Swami. Vitthal asked to
be given sannyasa initiation, lying about his marriage. Later, when
Ramananda Swami went to Alandi and discovered that Vitthal was
actually the husband of Rukmini, he returned to Kashi and ordered
Vitthal to return home to his family. The couple was then
excommunicated from the brahmin caste.
The couple set out on pilgrimage with their children to Tryambakeshwar,

near Nashik, where their elder son Nivrutti, at the age of 10, was initiated
into the Nath tradition by Gahininath. The paternal great grandfather of
Dnyaneshwar had also been initiated into the Nath cult by Goraksha
Nath (Gorakh Nath).

Janeswar's Samadhi at Alandi

(Behind his murti are Deities of Vitthal (Krsna) and Rukmini)
It is believed that Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping into
the waters at Prayag, the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna. They
hoped that upon their death, the four children would finally be accepted
into society. But, approaching the brahmin community of Paithan, the
Brahmins refused to accept the children, who grew up on alms.
Jnaneshwar became the student of Nivruttinath along with his younger

siblings, Sopan and Mukta, at the age of 8. Studying Vedanta and

practicing kundalini yoga, the boy grew to adulthood, eventually writing

his now famous commentary on Bhagavad-gita and other works, like his
Amrutanubhav, another esteemed scriptural work in Marathi literature.
REFERENCES:
'The Pearson Indian History Manual' by Singh, paraphrased

The Philosophy of Jnanadeva, B.P. Bahirat, Mumbai (1956), Mumbai
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Sep 2019
The Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra, Part 2
BY: SUN STAFF
A Miracle Performed near Poona by Janesvara

Poona, c. 1800

As a child, Janesvara (Dnyaneshwar) moved to the village of Nevasa, in

Ahmednagar district. Under the instruction of his guru, Nivruttinath, he
began to study the Bhagavad-gita. His discourses on the Gita were
written down by Sacchidananandbaba, and eventually published as the
Bhavartha Deepika Teeka, more commonly known as the Janesvari.
The Bhavartha Deepika Teeka commentary, completed when Janesvara

was only 15 years old, is considered a masterpiece of Marathi literature.

The commentary's 18 chapters are composed in a metre called ovi.
Janesvara presented his purports to this Sanskrit epic in the local
Marathi language, thus making it available to the common man.
His Amrutanubhav, written some time after the Janesvari, is not as

widely read, and the material is generally found to be more difficult to
approach. Composed of 10 chapters and 806 ovi, the text forms the
basis of Janesvara's bhasya on non-dualism, or Advaita siddhanta.
Sant Janesvara
The nath-influenced branch of the Vaishnava Sampradaya Janesvara

belonged to is known as the Vitthala Sampradaya, after Sri Krsna

Vitthala of Pandharpur, and the local Bhakti cult is known as the Varkari
movement. The Varkaris accepted Janesvara as their spiritual leader,
and his prominence grew as he initiated devotees associated with the
Dvaita school of dualism, converting them to his Advaita (non-dualism)
Bhakti movement.
Janesvara strongly preached jnana yukta bhakti, or devotion service

guided by knowledge. He believed that one cannot be liberated unless
he attains the true and divine knowledge of Brahman.
Another of his famous literary works is the Changdev Paasashti, a

collection of 65 ovi which comprise Sant Janesvara's discourse with a
yogi named Changdev Maharaj, who was said to be 1,400 years of age
at the time.
Many stories have been handed down about the pastimes of Janesvara,
whose life is said to have been full of miracles and phenomenal events.
In one miracle no doubt associated with his kundali practice, Janesvara
is said to have baked roti (mande bread) on his heated back.
Janesvara is said to have once caused an entire wall to move. This

pastime is depicted in the painting above. The event took place in Poona.
It shows him seated on the flying wall in the company of his guru and
siblings (from left) Muktabai, Sopan, Dnyaneshwar (Janesvara) and
Nivrittinath. In the center, Janesvara greets the ancient yogi Changdev,
who approaches on a tiger, then offers his obeisances to Janesvara.


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Sep 2019
The Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra, Part 3
BY: SUN STAFF
Sant Janesvara

The contents and character of Sant Janesvara's commentary on

Bhagavad-gita, known as Bhavartha Deepika Teeka, or the Janesvari, is
a tika generally characterized as being both a philosophical and a
mystical and poetic commentary on the Gita. Author Srm. Chandran
summarized eight basic points of interpretation that set Janesvara's Gita
commentary apart from others:
L. he refers to Brahman as the 'Sun of Absolute Reality';
O. he offers a cosmological argument for the existence of God;
Q. he speaks to the theme of illusion as interpreted by

Sankaracarya, and the 'flood of illusion' or mayanadi;
R. he speaks on the way to search for God through miseries;
S. he offers a psychological analysis of eight mystical emotions

experienced on the spiritual path;
T. he propounds the doctrine of unison, considered to be the core

of his non-dualist siddhanta;
U. he presents an original doctrine of 'asymptotism', comprised of

mystical interpretation; and
V. he gives a poetic description of spiritual victory.
The Sun of Absolute Reality
In describing the 'Sun of Absolute Reality', Janesvara explains in

mystical terms the difference between the spiritual sun and the physical
sun. He says that while the physical sun makes the phenomenal world
rise into view, the spiritual sun makes it disappear altogether. As the
physical Sun eats up the celestial stars when he rises above the horizon,

the spiritual sun eats up the stars both of knowledge and of ignorance.
Among various similar metaphors, he compares intellect and illumination

to a pair of Cakravaka birds, who love each other but are divided at night
by the river of difference. They are crying out for each other but they
cannot meet. It is only when the day dawns that they come together and
there is great rejoicing. In other words, when mystical realisation arises,
intellect and illumination meet.
The Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God
This is one of Janesvara's well developed themes. Among arguments for

the existence of God, he notes that the ontological, the cosmological
and the physico-theological have all been criticised by Kant, who
concludes that none of these prove God. Kant says that God can only be
proved by his moral argument, which he advances in Critique of
Practical Reason, or by the theological argument he advances in
Critique of Judgment. Janesvara, however, gives irrefutable examples in
which God's cosmologicaI power is exhibited, and in which the acts of
material nature exhibit God's power. All these things show that God's
omnipotence is everywhere, and this omnipotence is a supreme
cosmological argument for the existence of God.
The Flood of Illusion ( Mayanadi
Jnanesvara's description of the flood of illusion underscores and

poeticizes Shankaracarya's presentation of maya . Jnanesvara speaks to
the course of mayanadi which starts from the precipice of Brahman,
which he calls brahmacala or .
In poetic phrase he suggests, according to Chandran, that "issuing from

the precipice of Brahman, the river moves on, producing bubbles in the
shape of the elements which appear on its surface. It is further
augmented by the rain of the qualities. The qualities send showers of

rain into the flood and increase its flow. In this flood, as it moves on, there
are whirlpools of hatred and windings of jealousy, and huge fishes in the
shape of moral aberrations swim inside the flood. The flood in its motion
carries off the small hamlets of restraint and self-control which are
situated on its two banks; it breaks its waters upon the island of sexual
enjoyment which is a resort of a number of creatures, so that all these
creatures ultimately are destined to be drowned in that great flood."
The Search for God through Miseries

Jnanesvara states that life may be regarded as a boat with a hundred

holes, yet even so, it often appears a fair vessel. On the nature of death,
he says that at the very beginning, death is encircling the fetus in the
mother's womb. When a child is born, the parents may hoist auspicious
flags, but in the midst of happiness comes misery… the child is really
approaching death every day as it grows. Yet people cannot afford even
to hear the word 'death'. Wherever we look, death is encircling us and it
behooves all of us, therefore, to return to God and to think about Him
unmindful of the power of death. Regarding the various kinds of
miseries, he says that there is no way of escape from them except by
devotion to God.
The Eight Mystical Emotions
Janesvara addresses the eight sattvika bhavas, suggesting that there

may be many more than these eight, but these are the primary ones.
Physiologically, the symptoms a mystic develops are horripilation,
perspiration and lachrymation, this last being particularly due to feelings
inside the mind. Then there are physio-psychological reactions such as
tremor and paresis. These two are opposed to each other, and yet the
mystic develops them both and exhibits them at different times.
Regarding the psychological reactions, there are epoch, peace and joy.
Janesvara gives a graphic description of each of these emotions.
Doctrine of Unison
Janesvara has given an account of the unison of a devotee with God, the
chief condition for unison being surrender. Surrender is philosophically
interpreted as meaning identification with the Lord. He discusses the
complete annihilation of individuality which leads to mystical unison,
giving scientific, material, psychological and moral illustrations. This
doctrine of Janesvara's represents the core of his siddhanta, and
appears to mark the most significant point of departure from the
philosophy of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
Using many metaphors to describe his non-dualism, Janesvara's focus

is on the idea that there is absolute devotional unison between the pure
devotee and God. He emphasizes the non-difference in qualities, but
does not address the difference in quantities (i.e., potencies). This
stands in contrast to the acintya-bhedda bhedda-tattva of the Gaudiyas.
However, Janesvara does come closer to the platform of simultaneous
oneness and difference in the next aspect of his position, Asymptomatic
Realisation.
Asymptomatic Realisation
Here, in Janesvara's most original contribution to the philosophy of

mysticism, is his doctrine of 'asymptotism', which addresses asymptotic
realization and the assertion that perfection can be attained only
gradually. Instead of there being a final and perfect identity between the
mystic and God, the mystic moves towards God, meeting Him at infinity.
When they meet, there is just a little difference between them, like the
moon on the fourteenth day, and the full moon on the fifteenth day. Even
though the devotee may reach unison with God, yet he remains a
devotee.
In this doctrine, Janesvara focuses on the gradual and graduated

perfection of the mystic, saying that it's the time factor that counts. A
man who starts on his journey must not expect to reach the end at once.
There is bound to be an interval between initiation and realization:
"Granted that all the preparation is made for the realisation of God,
that one meets the Guru, that the Guru imparts to him the
knowledge of the true path; granted that the seed that is sown is
the best of its kind, yet it is only in course of time that a rich harvest
can be reaped."
(Jananesvari, XVIII. 996-1008)
The Spiritual Victory

The eighth and final point of Janesvara's fundamental siddhanta

emphasizes the concluding and ultimate message of Bhagavad-gita.
Janesvara presents it as a mystical and poetic description of the ultimate
victory of the spiritual warrior. The victory is presented in four stages:
first, the accoutrements of the warrior; second, the battlefield of life;
third, the imperial procession after conquest, and last; the coronation of
the mystic on the Throne of Unitive Life.
Regarding the accoutrements, Janesvara describes the developing

mystic, mounted on the steed of Rajayoga, putting on the armour of
dispassion and holding the sword of concentration in his hand. Equipped
with these accoutrements, he proceeds to the battlefield of life. On the
battlefield, he moves like the Sun into darkness, and cuts to pieces all
the different enemies, which Janesvara mentions by name. Success is
described as winning the bride of liberation.
The mystic's procession on the imperial road is described in terms of the

different stages of yogic development and all the gained siddhis, who
assemble along the victory route in the thousands, showering flowers on
the mystic who is soon to be crowned king, Ultimately, the coronation
takes place and the drums of victory are beaten in honour of the
attainment of swarajya -- the term Janesvara proclaims as the final goal.
The victory banner is one of self-identity -- identity of self with God.
Thus the mystic is crowned king on the Throne of Spiritual Experience.


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The Sampradaya Sun - Independent Vaisnava News - Editorial Stories - Sep 2019 30/09/2019 11(30

The Sampradaya Sun - Independent

BY: SUN STAFF

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 1 sur 5

Lithograph, Ravi Varma Press, c. 1910

Sep 23, 2019 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of the

Like other branches of the Vaishnava Bhakti Movement, the Maharashtra

Janeswar (1275-1296 A.D.) was one of the most prominent pioneer

As noted in previous segments of this series, this is a common feature of

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 2 sur 5

Jnaneshwar, also known as Dnyaneshwar or Jnanadeva, was born into a

Vitthal eventually got permission from Rukmini to go to Kashi (Varanasi),

The couple set out on pilgrimage with their children to Tryambakeshwar,

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 3 sur 5

Janeswar's Samadhi at Alandi

Jnaneshwar became the student of Nivruttinath along with his younger

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 4 sur 5

practicing kundalini yoga, the boy grew to adulthood, eventually writing

'The Pearson Indian History Manual' by Singh, paraphrased

| The Sun | News | Editorials | Features | Sun Blogs | Classifieds |

| About | Submit an Article | Contact Us | Advertise |

Copyright 2005, 2019, HareKrsna.com. All rights reserved.

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17277.htm Page 5 sur 5

The Sampradaya Sun - Independent

BY: SUN STAFF

A Miracle Performed near Poona by Janesvara

Sep 25, 2019 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of the

As a child, Janesvara (Dnyaneshwar) moved to the village of Nevasa, in

The Bhavartha Deepika Teeka commentary, completed when Janesvara

was only 15 years old, is considered a masterpiece of Marathi literature.

His Amrutanubhav, written some time after the Janesvari, is not as

The nath-influenced branch of the Vaishnava Sampradaya Janesvara

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17281.htm Page 2 sur 4

belonged to is known as the Vitthala Sampradaya, after Sri Krsna

Janesvara strongly preached jnana yukta bhakti, or devotion service

Another of his famous literary works is the Changdev Paasashti, a

Janesvara is said to have once caused an entire wall to move. This

| The Sun | News | Editorials | Features | Sun Blogs | Classifieds |

| About | Submit an Article | Contact Us | Advertise |

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17281.htm Page 3 sur 4

Copyright 2005, 2019, HareKrsna.com. All rights reserved.

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17281.htm Page 4 sur 4

The Sampradaya Sun - Independent

BY: SUN STAFF

Sep 27, 2019 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of the

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17289.htm Page 1 sur 7

Bhakti Movement's development in India.

The contents and character of Sant Janesvara's commentary on

L. he refers to Brahman as the 'Sun of Absolute Reality';

O. he offers a cosmological argument for the existence of God;

Q. he speaks to the theme of illusion as interpreted by

R. he speaks on the way to search for God through miseries;

S. he offers a psychological analysis of eight mystical emotions

T. he propounds the doctrine of unison, considered to be the core

U. he presents an original doctrine of 'asymptotism', comprised of

V. he gives a poetic description of spiritual victory.

The Sun of Absolute Reality

In describing the 'Sun of Absolute Reality', Janesvara explains in

https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/editorials/09-19/editorials17289.htm Page 2 sur 7

Among various similar metaphors, he compares intellect and illumination

The Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God

This is one of Janesvara's well developed themes. Among arguments for

The Flood of Illusion ( Mayanadi

Jnanesvara's description of the flood of illusion underscores and