Sant Mat

The Sant Mat (there is no adequate translation of the expression Sant Mat, literally the 'point of view' of the Sants) was a loosely associated group of teachers (sanskrit: Guru) that assumed prominence in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent from about the 13th century. Their teachings are distinguished theologically by inward loving devotion to a divine principle, and socially by an egalitarianism opposed to the qualitative distinctions of the Hindu caste hierarchy and to the religious differences between Hindu and Muslim Woodhead, Linda & Fletcher, Paul. Religion in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations (2001) pp.71-2. Routledge (UK) ISBN 0415217849"

Etymology

The "Sant" term is derived from the Sanskrit sat (सद) (truth, reality) has overlapping usages, its root meaning being "one who knows the truth" or "one who has experienced Ultimate Reality". It differs from the false cognate "Saint" as it is often translated. The term Sant has taken on the more general ethical meaning of "good person", but is assigned specifically 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.)ISBN 0-961-22080-5

The Sants

The Sant Mat movement was not homogeneous, consisting mostly of these Sant's presentation of socio-religious attitudes based on bhakti (devotion) as described a thousand years early in the Bhagavad Gita Lipner, Julius J. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (1994). Routledge (United Kingdom), pp. 120-1 . ISBN 0415051819.

The boundaries of the movement were likely not sectarian and were devoid of Brahmin concepts of caste and liturgy. The poet-sants expressed their teaching in vernacular verse, addressing themselves to the common folk in oral style in Hindi and other dialects such as Marathi. They referred to the "Divine Name" as having saving power, and dismissed the religious rituals as having no value. They presented 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 and Raidas), appeared in the region of Benares in the mid 15th century. Preceding them were two notable 13th and 14th century figures, Namdev and Ramananda. The latter, a Vaishnava ascetic, initiated Kabir, Raidas, and other sants, according to tradition. Ramanand's story is told differently by his lineage of "Ramanandi" monks, by other Sants preceding him, and later by the Sikhs. What is known is that Ramananda accepted students of all castes, a fact that was contested by the ortodox Hindus of that time, and that his students formed the first generation of Sants.Hees, Peter, Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience, (2002) p359. NYU Press, ISBN 0-81473-650-5

Some of these Sants came from low castes, some of them were women and even untouchables (Atishudras). Some of the more notable Sants include Namdev (d.1350), Kabir (d.1518), Nanak (d.1539), Mirabai (d.1545), Surdas (d.1573) and Tulsidas (d.1623).

The 'tradition of the Sants' (sant parampara) remained non-sectarian, though a number of Sant poets have been considered as the founders of sects, some which may bear their name, but have developed after them by later followers such as Kabir Panth, Dadu Panth, Dariya Panth, Advait Mat, 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.) ISBN 0-961-22080-5 Nanak, one of the most notable Sant-poets, is the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, and considered the founder of the Sikh religion .

Formally, only a small minority of religious Hindus have followed Sant Mat, but the tradition has considerably influenced Hindus across sects and castes. Bhajans (devotional songs) attributed to past Sants such as Mirabai 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 which has successfully crossed some barriers between Hindu and Muslim blocks .

Related movements

Medieval Sufi poets such as Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, as well as Sindhi 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, ISBN 0520228219

The Radhasoami movement in North India regards itself as the main repository of the tradition of the Sants and their teachings, as well as their approach to religious endeavors, and presents itself literally as the living incarnation of the Sant tradition. According to Mark Juergensmeyer, that claim is also made by the Kabir-panthis, the Sikhs and other movements that continue to find the insights from the Sant tradition valid in a contemporary context.Juergensmeyer, Mark. The Radhasoami Revival pp.329-55 in Sant Mat:Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod (Eds.) W.H. ISBN 0-961-22080-5

The new religious movement Eckankar is considered by David C. Lane, to be an offshoot of the Sant Mat tradition. Reender Kranenborg considers Prem Rawat's Elan Vital (formerly called Divine Light Mission) to be a Sant Mat derivative.

Sant's Poetry

Poem by Kabir: Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.; My shoulder is against yours.; you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine; rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:; not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding; around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but; vegetables.; When you really look for me, you will see me; instantly —; you will find me in the tiniest house of time.; Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?; He is the breath inside the breath. Mitchell, Stephen A. The Enlightened Heart (1993) p.72. HarperCollins. ISBN 006092053X

Poem by Nanak: If you bestow your glance of grace, through grace we find the Guide ^*; This soul first passes many births, at last the Guide is heard; No giver is greater that the Guide, all people make this well; The Guide once more imparts the Truth, to those who kill the Self; The Guide who makes us grasp reality.; Asa ki Var M1 4. AG456

Poem by Mirabai: I am true to my Lord,; O my companions, there is nothing to be ashamed of now; Since I have been seen dancing openly.

In the day I have no hunger

At night I am restless and cannot sleep.

Leaving these troubles behind, I go to the other side;

A hidden knowledge has taken hold of me.

My relations surround me like bees.

But Mira is the servant of her beloved Giridhar,Taru, Susie. Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, V : 600 B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century (1992). The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 1558610278

References and footnotes