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Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i.e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following '' sants'' and their teachings, a movement was formed. Theologically, the teachings are distinguished by inward, loving devotion by the individual soul ('' atma'') to the Divine Principal God (''Parmatma''). Socially, its egalitarianism distinguishes it from the
caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
, and from Hindus and Muslims. Sant Mat not to be confused with the 19th-century
Radha Soami Radha Soami is a spiritual tradition founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India. p. 90 note 5, Quote: "The date of Seth Shiv Dayal's first public discourse is Basant Panchami Day, February 15, 1861"., Quote: ...
, also known as contemporary " Sant Mat movement". The lineage of '' sants'' can be divided into two main groups: a northern group from the provinces of Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, who expressed themselves mainly in
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
Hindi; and a southern group, whose language is Marathi, represented by
Namdev Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Bahujan saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He lived ...
and other sants of Maharashtra.


Etymology

The expression ''Sant Mat'' literally means "Teachings of the Saints" – the "Path of Sants (Saints)", "Path of Truth", "Right or Positive Path". As "point of view of the Sants", the term ''Sant'' is pivotal. Derived from the Sanskrit ''
sat The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
'' () and has overlapping usages (true, real, honest, right). Its root meaning is "one who knows(is) the truth" or "one who has experienced (merged into) Ultimate Reality." The term ''sant'' has taken on the general meaning of "a good person" but is properly assigned to the poet-sants of medieval India.Schomer, Karine, ''The Sant Tradition in Perspective'', in ''Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India'' in Schomer K. and McLeod W. H. (Eds.)


The Sants

The Sant Mat movement was heterogeneous, and consisted mostly of the ''sants'' own socio-religious attitudes, which were based on ''
bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
'' (devotion) as described in the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (ch ...
.Lipner, Julius J. ''Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'' (1994). Routledge (United Kingdom), pp. 120-1 . Sharing as few conventions with each other as with the followers of the traditions they challenged, the ''sants'' appear more as a diverse collection of spiritual personalities than a specific religious tradition, although they acknowledged a common spiritual root. The poet-sants expressed their teaching in
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
verse, addressing themselves to the common folk in oral style in Hindi and other dialects and other languages such as Marathi,
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
and
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
. They referred to the "Divine Name" as having saving power, and dismissed the religious rituals as having no value. They presented the idea that true religion was a matter of surrendering to God "who dwells in the heart". The first generation of north Indian ''sants'', (which included
Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...
and
Ravidas Ravidas or Raidas, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a ''guru'' (teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punj ...
), appeared in the region of
Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...
in the mid–15th century. Preceding them were two notable 13th and 14th century figures,
Namdev Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Bahujan saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He lived ...
and Ramananda. The latter, according to Sant Mat tradition, was a
Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
ascetic who initiated Kabir, Ravidas, and other sants. Ramanand's story is told differently by his lineage of "Ramanandi" monks, by other ''sants'' preceding him, and later by the Sikhs. Sant Mat practitioners accept that Ramananda's students formed the first generation of ''sants''.Hees, Peter, ''Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience'', (2002) p. 359. NYU Press, ''Sants'' developed a culture of concern for marginalized humans in society including women, and the
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
(''Atishudras''). Some of the more notable ''sants'' include Namdev (d. 1350),
Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...
(d. 1518),
Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...
(d. 1539),
Mira Bai Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...
(d. 1545),
Surdas Surdas (IAST: Sūr, Devanagari: सूर) was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a ...
(d. 1573),
Dadu Dayal Dadu Dayal Ji ( hi, संत दादूदयाल , 1544—1603) was a poet- sant from Gujarat, India, a religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft. Etymology "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassiona ...
(d. 1603),
Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but ...
(d. 1623), and
Tukaram Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) - ...
(d. 1650). The tradition of the ''sants'' (''sant parampara'') remained non-sectarian, although a number of ''sant'' poets have been considered as the founders of sects. Some of these may bear the ''sant's'' name, but were developed after them by later followers such as
Kabir Panth Kabir Panth (Path of Kabir) is a Sant Mat denomination and philosophy based on the teachings of Kabir. It is based on devotion to him as one guru as a means to salvation. Its adherents are from many religious backgrounds as Kabir never advocated ...
, Dadu Panth, Dariya Panth,
Advait Mat Advait Mat or Paramhans Advait Mat is a cluster of panths (groups of disciples) in northern India. It was founded by Shri Swami Advaitanand Ji Maharaj (1846-1919) who is also known as Paramhans Dyal Ji Maharaj. He declared Swami Swarupanand J ...
,
Science of Spirituality Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and Radhasoami.Vaudeville, Charlotte. "Sant Mat: Santism as the Universal Path to Sanctity" in ''Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India'' in Schomer K. and McLeod W.H. (Eds.) Only a small minority of religious Hindus have formally followed Sant Mat, but the tradition has considerably influenced Hindus across sects and castes.
Bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
(devotional songs) attributed to past ''sants'' such as Mira Bai are widely listened to in India and in Hindu communities around the world. The ''sant'' tradition is the only one in medieval and modern India that has successfully crossed some barriers between Hindu and Muslim faiths.
Julius J. Lipner Julius Lipner (born 11 August 1946), who is of Indo-Czech origin, is Professor of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion at the University of Cambridge. Early life Lipner was born and brought up in India, for the most part in West Bengal ...
asserts that the lives of many Hindus have been leavened by the religious teachings of the ''sants'', which he describes as liberating. The Sant Mat tradition teaches the necessity of a living human master, who is referred to with honorific titles such as ''
satguru ''Satguru'' ( sa, सत्गुरु), or ''sadguru'' ( sa, सद्गुरु), means the 'true guru' in Sanskrit. The term is distinguished from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on ...
'', or perfect master.


Similar movements

Classical Gnostics, medieval Sufi poets such as
Shams Tabrizi Shams-i Tabrīzī ( fa, شمس تبریزی) or Shams al-Din Mohammad (1185–1248) was a Persian * * * * Shafi'ite poet, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is ref ...
,
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
or Hafez, as well as
Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...
poets, are considered to have many similarities with the poet-sants of Sant Mat.Alsani, Ali. ''Sindhi Literary Culture'', in Pollock, Sheldon I (Ed.) ''Literary Culture in History'' (2003), p. 637–8, University of California Press, The
Radha Soami Radha Soami is a spiritual tradition founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India. p. 90 note 5, Quote: "The date of Seth Shiv Dayal's first public discourse is Basant Panchami Day, February 15, 1861"., Quote: ...
movement in North India, also known as " Sant Mat movement", is regarded as a repository of the tradition of the Sants and their teachings, as well as their approach to religious endeavours, and presents itself as a living incarnation of the Sant tradition. The most notable being Radhasoami Satsang Beas, situated on the banks of the river Beas, whose current
Living Master Living Master is a term which distinguishes a living spiritual teacher from one who has already left his physical form (i.e., died.) Certain esoteric spiritual movements, notably Sant Mat and Surat Shabd Yoga, consider a living spiritual adept to be ...
is Baba Gurinder Singh. According to
Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer (born 1940 in Carlinville, Illinois) is an American sociologist and scholar specialized in global studies and religious studies, and a writer best known for his studies on comparative religion, religious violence, and global ...
, that claim is also made by the Kabir-panthis, the Satpanthis, the Sikhs and other movements that continue to find the insights from the Sant tradition valid today.Juergensmeyer, Mark. ''The Radhasoami Revival'' pp. 329–55 in ''Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India'' in Schomer K. and McLeod W. H. (Eds.)
Prem Rawat Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji, is an international speaker and book-author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal re ...
and the
Divine Light Mission The Divine Light Mission (''Divya Sandesh Parishad''; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth ...
( Elan Vital) are considered to be part of the Sant Mat tradition by
J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...
, Lucy DuPertuis, and
Vishal Mangalwadi Vishal Mangalwadi (born 1949) is a social reformer, political columnist, Indian Christian philosopher, writer and lecturer. Early life Vishal was born in Chhattarpur ( M.P.), India, to Victor and Kusum Mangalwadi and grew up along with his six ...
, but that characterization is disputed by
Ron Geaves Ron Geaves (born 7 June 1948) is a British scholar of religious studies who was professor of the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University in England, retiring in December 2013. He was formerly Programme Leader and Chair in rel ...
. The 20th century religious movement Eckankar is also considered by
David C. Lane David Christopher Lane (born April 29, 1956 in Burbank, California) is a professor of philosophy and sociology at Mt. San Antonio College, in Walnut, California. He is notable for his book ''The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story o ...
to be an offshoot of the Sant Mat tradition.Lane, David C., "The Making of a Spiritual Movement", Del Mar Press; Rev. edition (December 1, 1993), James R. Lewis refers to these movements as "expressions of an older faith in a new context".Lewis, James R. ''The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements'' p. 23, Oxford University Press (2003),


See also


Notes


Further reading

* Barthwal, Pitambar Dutt. ''The Nirguna School of Hindi Poetry: an exposition of Santa mysticism'', Banāras: Indian Book Shop, 1936. * Bokser Caravella, Miriam. ''The Holy Name'', Beās: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2003. * Bokser Caravella, Miriam. ''Mystic Heart of Judaism'', Beās: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2011. * Davidson, John (1995). ''The Gospel of Jesus'', Shaftesbury, Dorset: Element, 1995. * Davidson, John. ''The Robe of Glory: An Ancient Parable of the Soul'', Element, 1992. * Gold, Daniel (1987). ''The Lord as Guru: Hindi Sants in North Indian Tradition'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. * Ināyat Khān. ''The Mysticism of Music, Sound and Word'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988. * Juergensmeyer, Mark (1991). ''Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith'', Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. *
Kirpal Singh Kirpal Singh (6 February 1894 – 21 August 1974) was a spiritual master ('' satguru'') in the tradition of Radha Soami. Kirpal Singh was born in Sayyad Kasran, Punjab, in what is now Pakistan. He lived in Lahore during the period of his disci ...
.
Naam or Word
'. Blaine, Washington: Ruhani Satsang Books. * * RSSB.
Surat Shabad Yog or Radhasoami
'. * Maleki, Farida. ''Shams-e Tabrizi: Rumi's Perfect Teacher'', New Delhi: Science of the Soul Research Centre, 2011. * Puri, Lekh Rāj, ''Mysticism: The Spiritual Path'', Beās: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1964, 2009. * Schomer, Karine & William Hewat McLeod, eds (1987). ''The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987. Academic papers from a 1978 Berkeley conference on the Sants organised by the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California Center for South Asia Studies. * ''A Treasury of Mystic Terms,'' New Delhi: Science of the Soul Research Centre. * Baba Jaigurude

* Dera Sach Khand Balla

{{Sant Mat Sant Mat, Meditation Mysticism