Sant Sant Namdev is a major influencer of Vaishnavism who gained fame in India for his devotional songs with music (bhajan-kirtans).  

His philosophy combines monistic themes with components of nirguna and saguna brahman.  

In the contemporary Varkari tradition, Sant Namdev’s legacy is honored alongside those of other gurus by large crowds of people making joint pilgrimages to Pandharpur in Maharashtra every two years.  

He is also acknowledged in the Dadu Panthis, Kabir Panthis, and Sikh traditions of North India. 

Life Of Sant Namdev 

It was assumed that Namdev had the Relekar surname, which is typical of the Bhavsar and Namdev Shimpi castes.  

He is typically thought to have lived between 1270 and 1350, however textual study by S. B. Kulkarni suggests that his actual lifespan may have been closer to 1207–1287. 

Some academics place his birth date at around 1425, whereas R. Bharadvaj suggests a range of 1309–1772. 

He is one of the most well-known personalities in the historical analysis of Maharashtrian Sant figures, according to Christian Novetzke.  

His first and most well-known miracle was when he made milk drinkable for a young boy’s idol of Lord Vitthal. 

Namdev was married to Rajai and had a son named Vitha; both of them as well as his mother Gonai wrote about him.  

There are also current mentions of him made by a disciple, a potter, a guru, and other close friends.  

He is not mentioned in the documents and inscriptions of the family that was in power at the time, and the Leela Charitra, a biography written by the Mahanubhava sect in 1278, maybe the first non-Varkari source to mention him.  

He may also be mentioned in Smrtisthala, a later Mahanubhava work that dates from around 1310; after that, references stop until a bakhar from around 1538.[11][a] 

Namdev’s parents, Damashet and Gonai, were an elderly couple without children, according to Mahipati, an 18th-century hagiographer.  

Sant Namdev’s wishes for parenthood were granted, and he was discovered floating down a river.  

Elements like this, along with a number of other aspects of his life, might have been made up to avoid controversies.  

Specifically, his standing within the Hindu varna system of ritual ranking raised the possibility of conflict in this case.  

He was born into the Shudra caste, also known as the Chhipa, Chhimpa, Chhimba, and Chimpi (calico printer) caste in northern India, and differently reported as shimpi (tailor) in Marathi.  

People from those communities that follow him in Maharashtra and northern India prefer to think of him as a Kshatriya since that is where they belong. 

Objectives Of Sant Namdev 

Will dance to the rhythm of kirtan, igniting the lamp of wisdom all throughout the world, Nachu Kirtanache rangi. 

Sant Namdev traveled extensively over India while speaking his spiritual poetry (Kirtans).  

He took on the chall According to reports, he spent more than twenty years residing in the Punjabi village of Ghuman in the Gurdaspur area.  

He is regarded as one of their own by the Punjabi Sikh community, who refer to him as Sant Namdev Baba in their songs. In Punjab, his followers included Bahordas, Laddha, VishnuSwami, and Keshav Kaladhari.  

He wrote over 125 Hindi abhangas. 61 of them eventually made it into the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs, as Sant Namdevjiki Mukhbani (The holy songs of Sant Namdev).  

The Shabda Kirtan of Punjab and the Warkari Kirtan of Maharashtra are quite similar. He is honored by a memorial in Ghuman, Punjab.  

The Sikhs have also erected temples in Rajasthan in his honor. 

Sant Namdev moved to Pandharpur in his early forties, where he gathered a following of followers. People flocked to hear his Kirtans because his Abhangas was so well-liked.  

In Sant Namdev Vaachi Gaatha, almost 2500 of Sant Namdev’s Abhangas have been gathered.  

The lengthy autobiographical poetry Teerthaavali, which describes his journeys with Saint Dnyaneshwar, is also included in the collection.  

He becomes the first autobiographer in Marathi literature with this poem. He is the first Marathi biographer and has also authored a biography of Saint Dnyaneshwar in the forms of Aadi, Samadhi, and Teerthavali.  

After Saint Dnyaneshwar’s passing, he carried on spreading the Bhagawad-Dharma for another 50 years. It is said that Saint Tukaram was greatly influenced by Saint Sant Namdev. 

At the age of 80, he passed away in Pandharpur at the feet of the Lord in July of 1350.  

He chose to serve as a stepping stone in the Pandharpur temple in order to be touched by countless saints and followers as they entered the building, blessing him for all time. 

MeetIng with Jnanadev 

Sant Namdev first encountered the renowned saint Jnanadev in Pandharpur when he was approximately twenty years old.  

Jnanadev was drawn to Sant Namdev because he was a devoted follower of Vihoba. He convinced Sant Namdev to accompany him on his pilgrimage to all the holy locations so that he would benefit from Sant Namdev’s company.  

As leaving would mean being apart from Lord Vihoba of Pandharpur, Sant Namdev did not want to depart.  

Sant Namdev was persuaded to make a pilgrimage, nonetheless, by wiser advice. The most significant time of Sant Namdev’s life occurred during this time.  

From this point on, the two great saints essentially never parted until death did it. All of India and nearly all of its sacred sites were visited during the pilgrimage. 

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