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Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c25: Appendix (A): The Religious Tenets of the Non-Bengali Mediaeval Saints in Relation to the Earlier Bengali Sahajiyās

Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c25

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Appendix (A): The Religious Tenets of the Non-Bengali Mediaeval Saints in Relation to the Earlier Bengali Sahajiyās

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We have pointed out on several occasions that most of the mediaeval saints who gave vent to their religious emotions through the medium of the different vernaculars were Sahajiyās in a general sense. We have also hinted that in the religious tenets as well as in the literary representation of the mediaeval saints the form and spirit of Ṣūfi-istic literature acted strongly against the Sahajiyā background. We have seen how in the case of the Bāuls the spirit of Ṣūfi-ism acted on the spirit of the Sahajiyās and other devotional schools. In point of time some of the Saint-poets of upper, central and northern India flourished earlier than the Bāuls of Bengal, and many of them were contemporary with, if not earlier than the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyās of Bengal. When, therefore, we speak of the Sahajiyā background of these non-Bengali mediaeval poets, we mean the Buddhist Sahajiyā movement in particular. A study of the poems of these mediaeval poets, particularly of the poems of Kabīr, decidedly the most prominent figure of the middle age, will reveal that there is a clear line of continuity from the Buddhist Sahajiyā poets to the mediaeval poets. But the difference between the earlier school and the mediaeval schools lies in the element of love and devotion, which is conspicuous by its absence in the Buddhist Sahajiyā school. This element of love and devotion was supplied profusely to the mediaeval schools by the different devotional movements as well as by Ṣūfi-ism. Though devotion may be recognised to be one of the characteristics of later Mahāyānic Buddhism, it is not so in the case of the Buddhist Sahajiyā cult, which was pre-eminently an esoteric yogic school. But inspite of this difference the general similarity in spirit, in literary form and sometimes even in language, is indeed striking. Let us now demonstrate our contention point by point. As, however, we are not attempting here any comprehensive study of the religion and literature of these mediaeval Saint-poets, but dealing with them in relation to the Bengali literature, only those points will be touched that directly concern our early and mediaeval literature.

(i) The Spirit of Revolt and Criticism

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We have seen how heterodoxy—a spirit of revolt and criticism—characterises the religion and literature of the Buddhist Sahajiyās. We have seen that the same spirit of heterodoxy characterises the religion and literature also of the Ṣūfīs. This spirit may be recognised as a salient feature of the mediaeval Saint-poets as a whole. In connection with the analysis of the different lines of heterodoxy in the religious history of India we pointed out that elements of love and devotion have often inspired heterodoxy in the religious schools and that these elements of love and devotion influenced the revolutionary spirit of the mediaeval saints to a great extent.¹ To begin with, we may consider the religious views of Kabīr as expressed in his poems, songs and couplets. At least one-third of the literature of Kabīr (which is fairly large) is devoted to criticism against the orthodox Hindus and Muslims. As a religious apostle Kabīr was neither a Hindu nor a Muslim and criticised both the communities unreservedly. He says,—"The Hindus have died by worshipping the gods and the Turks have died by going on pilgrimage; the yogins have died by matting hair,—none of them have got at the truth."² Against caste system Kabīr says,—" If thou thinkest, penalties for deeds,—born a Śūdra, you die a Śūdra,—it is only in the world of illusion that you assume the sacred thread. If birth from Brahmin mother makes you Brahmin, why did you not come by another way? If birth from a Turk mother makes you Turk, why were you not circumcised in the womb? If you milk black and yellow cows together, will you be able to distinguish their milk?"¹ Against metaphysical erudition and the recital of the sacred scriptures the criticism of Kabīr was equally strong. He says that people read the four Vedas, but none makes any enquiry about the Lord; the truth has been discovered by Kabīr, and the Pundits are searching the field in vain.² The world is dying of reading books,—yet none have become the real Pundit,—if a single letter of the Dear One be learnt, a man becomes a really learned one.³ Again it is said,—" O brother, thou art misled believing in the six Darshanas; wrapped in the garb of Pakhanda. They came and destroyed the soul and life; the four Vedas are wise and clever, but dumb. The Jainis know not the mystery of Dharma: they pluck leaves and come to God's temple. . . . The divine knowledge is outside this way: though it seems near, yet it is far off. To him who knows it is near, for all beings it pervades."⁴

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¹ Vide supra, Ch. III.

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² Kabīr-granthāvali. Ed. by Śyām-sundar-dās, Nāgarī-pracāriṇī Grantha-mālā. No. 33, p. 195.

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¹ *The Bijak of Kabir* by Ahmad Shah, *Ramainis*, No. 62.

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² *Kabīr-granthāvalī*, p. 36

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³ *Ibid*, p. 39.

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⁴ *The Bijak of Kabir*. *Ramainis*, No. 30. *Cf.* also:—

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"The Smriti made known three qualities: and the paths of sin and merit were laid down. From reading the Smriti and the Vedas disputings arose: conceit is practised in the garb of Pakhanda. One reads the Vedas and takes honour to himself; for him knot of doubt is not yet unloosed. He reads the Vedas and then he destroys lives: and offers their severed heads to images. Says Kabīr, through Pakhanda they troubled many lives. The inward light is not revealed: no one in this life has seen himself." (*Ramaini* No. 31.) "Some go on pilgrimage, some have their heads; others make discourse on Pakhandas, illusion and mantras. Reading the sciences and the Vedas they are swollen with pride, at the end they fill their mouth with ashes." (*Sabdas*, No. 21.)

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Kabīr says that roaming about on pilgrimage and bathing in the sacred rivers are absolutely futile so long as the mind is not purified through the sincere love of the Lord. The world is tired of going on pilgrimage and bathing in sacred rivers; people settle near the city of Benares and drink transparent water,—but no salvation is there without the name of Hari (the Saviour).¹ Some go to Muttra, some to Dvārākā, some to Puri to see Jagannātha,—but without the association of the saints, and sincere devotion to the Saviour nothing avails at all.² Nothing avails in putting on the robe of a yogin or a mendicant or a saint,—that is nothing but self-delusion; nothing can be gained by such hypocrisy. “There is a roof of falsehood, it spreads over earth and sky. In all ten regions its noose is set: it has beset the soul. Devotion, sacrifice and rosary, piety, pilgrimage, fastings and alms,—nine Bhaktis, Vedas, the Book, all these are cloaks of falsehood.”³ What is the good of counting beads if the mind is not controlled?⁴ What is the good of shaving the head if the superstitions and the desire are not removed from the mind?⁵ What is the good of becoming a Vaiṣṇava if true discriminative knowledge is not acquired,—the paintings and the frontal marks are only to deceive people. Everyone is engaged in practices of physical yoga, none is after the union of the mind (with God).¹

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¹ tīrath kari kari jag muvā ḍumghai pāṇṇī nhāi | rāmmahi rāmm japaṃtaḍaṃ kāl ghasityāṃ jāi || kāsī kaṃṭhaim ghar karaim pivaim nirmal nīr | mukati nahīṃ harināmu bin yauṃ kahai dās kabīr || Kabīr-granthāvalī, p. 37.

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² Ibid. Sādha Kau Aṃg, p. 49. Cf. also:— “What profit is there by bathing if the mind is full of filth? A fish lives ever in water, yet it never loses its smell. The world perished in visiting the tirthas, in fasting and in bathing in cold water. Through each knowledge of the True Name death has drowned all the ages. Two go to the tirath,—the mind is restless and the heart covetous. Not one sin was blotted out, but ten maunds burden more was loaded. Millions of tiraths visited, millions of temples built; but so long as a Sant goes unserved, all works are fruitless.” (The Bijak of Kabir, pp. 21-22.)

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³ The Bijak of Kabir. Sabdas, No. 113, pp. 148-149.

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⁴ kar pakaraim aṃguri ginaim man dhāvāi cahuṃ vor | jāhī phirāmyāṃ hari milai so bhayā kāṭh kī ṭhaur || mālā paharai man-muṣi tāthaim kachū na hoi | man mālā kauṃ pheratāṃ jug ujiyārā soi || Kabīr-granthāvalī, Bheṣa Kau Aṃg, p. 45.

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⁵ kesoṃ kahā bigadiyā je mūṃḍai sau bār | man kauṃ kāhe na muṃḍe jamaim biṣai bikār || Ibid, p. 46.

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¹ Kabīr-granthāvalī, p. 46.

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It will be seen from the above and host of such other criticisms made by Kabīr that the tone of Kabīr is harmoniously tuned with that of the earlier Sahajiyās. The resemblance is not only in spirit, but often also in language and imagery. Like Saraha-pāda² Kabīr also says,—“What are the naked,—what are the mendicants with skins, if they do not know the true nature of the self? If one becomes a yogin by roaming about naked, why should not the deer of the forest be liberated? If perfection can be attained by shaving head, why should not the sheep enter heaven? . . . Says Kabīr, hear O brother,—none have attained salvation without the name of Rāma.³ The Pundits know the Āgamas, all sciences and grammars,—Tantra, Mantra and Medicine they know,—yet they die at the end. The yogins, the ascetics, the observers of penances and the Sannyāsins wander about in many a sacred place; those, who are with their hair plucked out, with shaven heads, the silent ones and those with plaited hair—all these die at the end. They have pondered much and given serious consideration to the problems of the world,—but in no way will they be spared. Says Kabīr, take refuge in the Lord and birth and death will be stopped.' "If by worshipping stones one can find God, I shall worship a mountain. If by immersion in the water salvation be obtained, the frogs bathe continually. As the frogs, so are these men, again and again they fall into the womb."²

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² Vide supra, Ch. III.

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³ kā nāṃgem kā bāmdhe cāmm | jau nahīṃ cinhasi ātam-rāmm || nāgem phireṃ jog je hoi | ban kā mrga mukati gayā koi || mūṃḍ mūṃḍayaim jau sidhi hoi | svarga hī bhed na pahumti koi ||
* * * * kahai kabīr sunahu re bhāi | rāmm nāmm bin kin siddhi pāi || Kabīr-granthāvalī, Padāvalī No. 132.

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² Kabīr and the Kabir Panth, by Rev. G. H. Westcott, M.A. For many such other criticisms of Kabīr see pp. 56-70 of the same book. See also the Nirguṇa School of Hindi Poetry, by Dr. P. D. Barthwal, M.A., D.Litt., Ch. II.

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The revolutionary lead that was thus given by Kabīr in the early middle period of the vernacular literature was vigorously carried out by a host of poets that followed, and the current still flows on. Dādū of the sixteenth century may be said to have been the worthiest successor of Kabīr. He says,—"The Pundits have bound the world by the net-work of illusion and Karma (various activities); a good preceptor is rarely found, who can show the real path. They speak of the sinful path, believe in illusion and Karma,—none points to the perfectly pure One (Nirañjana) who is very near to us."³ Worship by love is the real worship,—that is the best kind of prayer; such love involves no activities whatsoever, neither should there be any fixed time and place for it; throughout the whole life—in all moments we may worship the Lord through our incessant flow of love. Dādū says,—"For decency's sake people (the Muslims) fast, invite others for prayer and offer prayer; the business of Dādū is with the Lord (Sahib), in what path should he walk? Why this grief, O Dādū,—stand before the Lord every day and every moment, and let your invocation (azan) be there where the Lord is in His true nature."⁴ The Muslims cut the throat of others and compel them to profess their religion; five times daily do they offer their prayer, but there is no sincere faith in their heart for truth. They do never kill their ego,—but go to kill others;

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but Dādū says,—how can one attain Khudā (God) without annihilating the self? He, who destroys the body and mind and unites with the Lord, and controls himself through the divine realisation, is the real Awliyā Pir (i.e., preceptor of the Muslim Awliyā sect).¹ Like Kabīr Dādū also repudiated communalism and sectarianism in the strongest possible words. He says,—‘The Hindus say,—‘ mine is the real path.’ The Turks say—‘ mine.’ Say, where the path for the Alekha (Skt. *alakṣya* = invisible) may at all be,—He has been realised without a path. Says Dādū, both are mistaken,—both are rustic in their view,—know only that to be the truth which transcends both. In innumerable sects the Great One has been divided into parts; O Dādū, they have left the perfect Lord and are bound by the complexes of illusion.² The earth and the sky—to what sect do they belong? Water, air, day and night, the sun and the moon, and others—to what sect do they belong?³ Without belonging to any particular sect they are serving the Lord incessantly. Pomp and peasantry, erudition and scholasticism can give man no peace,—vain is the pride of literacy, vain is the glory of scriptural knowledge. ‘‘I have composed a few verses,—and a few Sākhīs,⁴ and there arises the conviction in me that I am wise in the world. May be, listening to the discourses on knowledge some *Śabdas* and *Sākhīs* are mastered;—and simultaneously arises the conviction that there is no match for me.

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What is the good of composing verses and reciting *Sākhīs* if the truth of the Lord,—the ultimate reality—is not realised ?'”¹ “Hear, O Pundits, sons of Brahmā (i.e., the Brahmins),”—“Empty is your pot,—and you are not taking cognizance of it; you are talking all about Āgama and Nigama, but in your house there is going on the dance of ghosts (or the five bhūtas or material elements). Merely by reading you will never reach the ultimate state,—by reading you will never cross to the other shore; by reading creatures do not reach the goal;—O Dādū, call Him aloud through the pangs of your heart. Vain is the knowledge without the name (of the Lord), by explaining the Vedas and the Purāṇas they only become relieved of the burden on their head. Thoroughly have I pondered over all that are in the Vedas and the Kuran,—the land, where Nirañjana is available, is not far off from me. Tired are the Pundits by reading on and on,—but none has crossed ashore; I do not know why the whole world is running on with faith in ink and paper. How many Vedas and Kurans have perished only staining heaps of paper,—O Dādū, a real saint is he, who has read a single letter of love.”² “They serve pebbles and stone and the quintessence of the self is lost to them. When the invisible Lord is residing within, why should we roam about in other places ? They wash stone with water which they drink,—the soul worships stone! The soul thus becomes stone,—and many have sunk down thus.

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They are gathering pebbles in the skirt and are believing them to be bits of diamond; when at the end Hari, the jeweller, will test them, the whole life will be lost.”³ All rites and ceremonies, talking and preaching appear repulsive without Rāma,—vain are all knowledge, yoga and meditation. Wise men there are many,—many are the Pundits, heroes and the bounteous; innumerable are the ways of outward show;—rare is a man who is absorbed in the Lord. All make innumerable outward shows and carry on propaganda and self-advertisement ;— but Hari is available only through self-abnegation—none proceeds towards that path.¹ Great is the difference between a real saint and a hypocrite who makes parade of outward show,—their difference is just as much as the difference between the earth and the sky. The saint is absorbed in Rāma, the hopes of the hypocrite, fond of show, lie all in the outward world. Innumerable are such hypocrites in the world, rare are the saints; diamond is available in far off lands, but pebbles everywhere.² Through illusion have you got your head shaven,—but this is no yoga (union with God) at all; but with the ultimate Lord you have no acquaintance;—the hypocrite never succeed. Without love, goodwill and affection, in vain is all toilet; if the soul be not attached to the Lord, why should he recognise you?. . .

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O, Dādū, the yogin, the Jaṃgama (a Śaivite ascetic), the Sevaḍā (a Jaina saint), the Buddhist monk and the Muslim mendicant, and the six systems of philosophy—all are outward show of hypocrites without Rāma, the Supreme Lord.³ Whether you make outward dress, get your body pierced with a saw, or remain with your face upwards, or go on pilgrimage,—the Lord will not be found without truth.⁴ Illusion has thickened within,—yet outwardly they are assuming the air of one who has renounced all,—they put on a cover of thatched cloth and move in a gay mood. They are controlling the body, but the mind moves on all quarters,—they talk of the dear one,—but make nothing but self-advertisement.⁵

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¹ Kabīr-granthāvali Padāvali No. 248.

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³ The Anthology of Dādū, collected and edited by Kṣitimohan Sen, Viśva-bhārati-granthālay, Calcutta, p. 216.

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⁴ Ibid,, p. 273.

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¹ *Kabīr-granthāvalī*, p. 274.

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² *Ibid.*, pp. 275-276.

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³ *ye sab hai liske pamth mem dhartī aru asmān |* *pānī pavan din rātkā camd sūr rahimān ||* *Ibid.*, p. 276. See also pp. 387-388.

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⁴ *Sākhīs* are verses which bear testimony to some truth (from Skt. *Sākṣī*).

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¹ Kabīr-granthāvali, p. 278.

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² Ibid., p. 281. Also see p. 514.

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³ Ibid., p. 283.

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¹ Kabir-granthāvalī, p. 308.

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² Ibid., p. 310.

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³ Ibid., pp. 311-312.

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⁴ sacu bin sāmi nā milai bhāvai bhekh banāi | bhāvai karavata uradhamukhī bhāvai tīrath jāi || Ibid., p. 313. See also the questions and answers (No. 5, Ibid., p, 587), which are also found in Kabīr with slight alterations.

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⁵ Ibid., p, 337.

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Sundar-dās, the great disciple of Dādū, echoed the voice of his preceptor throughout the volumes of his poems. Like Kabīr, Dādū and a host of other poets Sundar also criticised severely the orthodox rituals and religious practices of both the Hindus and the Mahomadans.¹ Sundar says that he has seen the six systems of Hindu Philosophy, he has seen the Sūfis and the Śekh,—but none of the sects could satisfy his spiritual demand and it is therefore that he has had recourse to the most natural path.² In the *Sarvāṅga-yoga-pradīpikā* Sundar criticises the various religious sects of India severely and exhaustively.³ Similar criticism has been made by Sundar-dās in the chapter on *Bhrama-vidhvaṃsa Aṣṭaka* where his criticism has been levelled against both the orthodox Hindus and the Muslims.⁴ The lifeless orthodoxy and the formalism even of the contemporary Santa-sects, yogic sects and Sūfi sects were also criticised by him.⁵

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¹ See *Atha Sahajānanda* in the *Sundar-granthāvali*, edited by Purohita Harinārāyaṇa Śarmā and published by the Rājasthān Research Society (Serial No. 1) Verses (2-5).

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² See *Atha Pañca Prabhāva*. *Ibid*, p. 189

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³ *Ibid*., Vol, I, pp. 88-94.

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⁴ *Ibid*., Vol. I, pp. 235-238. See also *Savaiyā*, *Caṃṇak ko Aṃg*, *Ibid*., Vol. II, pp. 455-463; *Sāsi Caṃṇak ko Aṃg*, *Ibid*., Vol. II, p. 385.

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⁵ *Ibid*., Vol II, p. 385.

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Nānak, the founder of Sikhism, also echoed the same spirit as is found in Kabīr, Dādū and others. He also criticised the orthodox sects of both the Hindu and the Muslim communities. He says,—

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"(Make) kindness the mosque, sincerity the prayer carpet, rectitude (equity) the lawful (food) according to the Kuran.
Modesty circumcision, good conduct fasting, (thus) thou becomest a Musalman."⁶

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⁶ The *Ādi-grantha*, translated from the original Guru-mukhi to English by Dr. Ernest Trumpp. (Printed by order of the Secretary of State for India in Council.) p. 194, vii.

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On going to pilgrimage and bathing in the sacred rivers Nānak says,—"I bathe at a Tirtha, if I please him; without pleasing him, what shall I do with bathing?''¹ Against scholasticism, Brahminism and philosophical erudition Nānak holds the same view as his predecessors.² In a fine poem Nānak says that it is ridiculous to perform Ārati³ before the Lord in a temple,—for the whole universe is performing Ārati before Him. The sun and the moon are the lamps on the plate of the sky, the constellation of stars is the pearl; the wind is carrying incense, the forests in flower are supplying lustre, the spontaneous sound is serving as the drum—and thus is being performed the Ārati of the Lord.⁴

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¹ Kabir-granthāvali, Japu 6; also Cf. Japu 21. Cf. also:— tīrath koṭi kie isnān die bahu dān mahā brata dhāre | des phirio karo bhes tapo dhan kes dhare na mile hari piāre || āsan koṭ kare asaṭāmg dhare bahu niyās kare mukh kāre | din daiāl akāl bhaje bin amta ko amta ke dhām sidhāre || Anthology of Nānak's poems. Published by Bhāiparatāp Simha Prītam Simha, Amritsar; p. 132, Cf. also:—Ibid, p. 116, 120, 127, pp. 241-42, etc.

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² Adi-grantha, p. 934. Cf. "Reading and reading the Pandit explains the Veda, (but) the infatuation of the Maya lulls him to sleep. (Ibid., p. 117.) The Pandit, reading and reading cries aloud, but in him is the infatuation of the Maya and love (to her). (Ibid, p. 118.) In going through the six Shastras, in knowing them by heart, in worship, in (applying) the Tilak, in bathing at a Tirtha, in the practice of purity, in the eightyfour ascetic postures tranquillity is not obtained, O dear!" (Ibid., p, 136.) "He (i.e., the Pandit) explains the Smriti, shastras and the Veda; but being led astray by error he does not know the truth (the Deity)." (Ibid., p. 158, cf. also p. 326, ix.) It will appear from the verses and songs of Nānak that his strongest note was against the Smṛti-śāstra of the orthodox Hindus, and scholastic Brahmanism was made the object of scathing criticism. (See Ibid., pp. 333-334, iv. v. xxii, xxiii.)

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³ Waving light or incense before an idol.

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gagan mai thālu ravi-cand dipak bane
tārikā maṇḍalā janak moti |
dhūpumal ānalo pavaṇu cavaro kare
sagal banarāi phūlamṭa joti ||
kaisī ārati hoi |
bhav khaṇḍanā terī ārati |
anahatā sabada vājamṭa bheri ||

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Anthology of Nānak, (Amritsar publication), pp. 190-191.

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The same spirit, as illustrated above, will be found in the devotional lyrics of almost all the poets and poetesses of mediaeval vernacular literatures of India, including Tulsīdās, Mīrā-bāī, Rajjabjī, Caraṇ-dās, Sahaj-bāī, Dayā-bāī and other poets and poetesses. If these poets and poetesses stood for anything it was saving religion from degenerating into mere codes of scriptures and time-honoured customs and practices,—the watch-word of all was sincerity of love. The contemporary Sūfi mystic poets (who composed poems in some dialect of Hindi) also had the same spirit as the other devotional lyricists. Thus Rajjab says,—"Amidst the darkness pervading all the quarters the light that will radiate lustre shines within our heart. By dry indifference towards the world and the austere penances inflicting torture on the body, can you expect to destroy the enemy that lies within you, or do you derive any light therefrom?" "Fill the mosque of your life with prayer (Namaz) and salute; it is the mind that frequently creates disturbance there; from that calm mosque of life drive away this Kafer mind." "There are as many sects as there are men, and thus the creator created varieties; but salutes of all human hearts are uniting together to form a great stream of salutes to the sea of the Lord Saviour." "The Ganges has her origin at the feet of the Lord; if the feet of the Lord be within the heart of all lovers, the Ganges of love will flow in the heart of all the devotees; where the courses of all these Ganges meet together it makes a great Tirtha, and liberation is assured if one bathes in this sacred place." "This universe is the Vedas,—creation in its fullness is the real Kuran. The Pundits and the Kazis are mistaking a heap of dry paper to be the real world, and they are sadly disappointed. Paper is in the heart of the sincere devotee,—and all truth shines on it in letters of sincerity; in the universe where all the hearts have united together shine all the Vedas and the Kuran. Break away the barrier of all artificiality and read the truth of the universe formed by the unity of hearts. Readers are seen in this world of lifeless letters inscribed on the lifeless sheets of paper,—but there are the living Vedas in the life of man, and if you are to read anything, O Rajjab, read those living Vedas of life."'¹ Bulleshah, the Sūfi mystic, says,—"‘O Bulla, people say,—‘Thou shouldest sit within the mosque; what is the gain of sitting within the mosque if there is no sincere prayer (Namaz) within the heart?’ ‘O Bulla, places of pilgrimage are filled with plunderers,—in the temple reside the deceivers, —and within the mosque are rogues ;—but the beloved Lord is outside all.’ ‘Khudā (God) is to be found neither in the mosque, nor in the Kābā, nor in the scriptures, nor in the routine-work of prayer (Namaz); if something could be understood in a natural way,—the Pundits would create great disturbance.’ ‘O Bulla, there is no salvation by pilgrimage to Mecca—if egohood is not cast away from the heart;—diving hundreds of times in the Ganges cannot give you salvation; salvation will be attained only when the ego is completely resigned.’"²

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¹ See Bhāratīya Madhya-yuge Sādhanār Dhārā by Kṣitimohan Sen, pp. 82-83.

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² Ibid. pp. 114-115.

(ii) Guru-vāda

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Another striking point of similarity in the spirit of the Sahajiyā Buddhists, the Sūfi-ists and the various other Sahajiyās of the mediaeval period is the stress laid on the Guru or the preceptor. We have seen that as an offshoot of the Tāntric system Sahajiyā Buddhist school attached the greatest importance on the really qualified preceptor. The same spirit is to be found in almost all the minor religious systems of the mediaeval period. The highest stress of the innumerable Santa poets is on the Guru, that of the Sūfi poets is also on the Guru or the Mursid,—that of the Sikhs is still more particularly on the Guru, that of the Nāth yogins is similarly on the Guru, that of the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyās, and the Āuls, Bāuls, Kartā-Bhajās, Darbesis and other religious sects of Bengal is also on the Guru. The fact is so undisputed and so well known that it seems unnecessary to illustrate it from the sayings of the mediaeval poets. In the works of Kabīr, Dādū, Nānak, Sundar-dās and others separate chapters will be found entirely devoted to the explanation of the importance of the Guru. It has been held there that truth is a flash of light, which is infused from the preceptor into the disciple just as one candle is lighted from another burning candle. As a matter of fact, this Guru-vāda may be regarded as the special characteristic, not of any particular sect or line of Indian religion, it is rather the special feature of Indian religion as a whole.

(iii) All Truth within

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We have seen how in the Buddhist Sahajiyā school the physical organism was regarded as the epitome of the universe and how the physical body as such was regarded as the abode of all truth. We have further seen that it is a salient feature also of Sūfī-ism. We have seen how in the Buddhist Tantras all the metaphysical principles with all their corollaries were discovered within the body and how all the sacred mountains, rivers and places of pilgrimage have been located within the physical organism. It has been observed that in the case of the Buddhist Sahajiyās this spirit of regarding the body as the abode of all truth is not a pure and simple case of inheritance from Tāntricism; in many places the influence of Upaniṣadic mysticism is also palpable. In this aspect also the spirit of the mediaeval Hindi and Bengali literature is strikingly similar to that of the Buddhist Sahajiyā school. We have further noticed before that in this spirit of the mediaeval schools the influence of Sūfī-ism was immense against the earlier Sahajiyā background.

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In Kabīr, though the Vaiṣṇavite spirit on the Dvaitādvaita line together with the Sūfī-istic spirit may sometimes seem dominant, the Tāntric spirit is not also wanting. By Tāntric spirit, in this connection, we mean the principle of making the physical system, including the physiological and biological processes, an instrument for the realisation of truth. A study of the poems of Kabīr will reveal that Kabīr had a yogic system of his own involving the theory of the lotus or plexus, the nervous system and the control of the vital wind.¹ We find here the two important nerves in the left and the right, most commonly known as the Iḍā and Piṅgalā, as the moon and the sun, or the Gaṅgā and the Jamunā.² The meeting place of the three nerves Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Suṣumnā is, as usual, described here as the tri-veṇī (i.e., the meeting of the three courses).³ The middle nerve suṣumnā has always been spoken of (like the Buddhist Sahajiyās) as the path to Sahaja or vacuity (sahaja śūnya),⁴ and the yoga has always been described as Sahaja yoga and the final state as Sahaja-samādhi or Sahaja-śūnya. The drinking of the nectar pouring from the moon situated on the top of the mount Meru (i.e., the spinal chord) has been held very important by Kabīr.⁵ All the mediaeval Hindi poets akin to Kabīr had a similar system of yoga. Dr. P. D. Barthwal, M.A., D.Litt., in his work, *The Nirguṇa School of Hindi Poetry*, has given an exposition of the yogic system of Kabīr and other poets of his school.¹

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¹ See the songs of Kabīr in the Kabīr-granthāvalī, p. 88. (ṣaṭ dal kaval nivāsiyā etc.), p. 96 (ṣaṭ cakra kī kanak koṭhaḍī etc.). Cf. also— uḷaṭe pavan cakra ṣaṭ bedhā, mera-damḍa sarapūrā | gagan garaji mān suṃni samāmnāṃ, bāje anahad tūrā || Ibid, p. 90. uḷaṭe pavan cakra ṣaṭ bedhā, suṃni surati lai lāgī | amar na marai marai nahiṃ jīvai, tāhi khoji bairāgī || Ibid, p. 91.

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² Cf. camd sūr doi khambhavā, baṃka nālī kī ḍorī | Ibid, p. 94. camd sūr doi bhāṭhi kīnhī, suṣamani cigavā lāgī re | Ibid, p. 110. sasihar sūr milāvā, tab anahad ben bajāvā | Ibid, p. 146. See also pp, 157, 190, 198, 223, 308 etc. For Gaṅgā and Yamunā see Ibid., p. 94, p. 306 etc.

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³ Cf. tri-beṇī manāha nhavāie surati milai jau hāthi re | Ibid, p. 88. ṣaṭ cakra kī gāgarī, tribeṇīṃ saṃgam bāṭ | p. 94.

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⁴ suṣaman nārī sahaji samāmnīṃ pīvai pīvanhārā | Ibid, p. 110. sahaji suṣamanām kāchai || Ibid, p. 110.

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⁵ Vide supra ch. ix, iii, (b), (a).

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¹ See Ch. III of the same work. See also the verses of Carapaṭi, Beṇi, Nāmadev and Guru Nānak quoted at the end of the work *Gorakhnāth and Mediaeval Hindu Mysticism* of Dr. Mohan Singh, M.A., Ph.D., D. Litt.

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It will be clear from the above that the yogic and the Tāntric influence on Kabīr was no less important than the Vaiṣṇavite and the Sūfi-istic influence. Like the Buddhist poet Saraha-pāda Kabīr also says—Within the form resides the formless, his whereabouts are known to none. Musk is there in the navel cavity, yet the dear is roaming about in the forest (in search of it); exactly in the same way, Rāma is residing within every body, but the world does not perceive. The Lord is residing within the body, through illusion none knows Him,—just as the musk-deer smells the grass of the forest and roams about.² Again he says,—"In the lake of the body there is a lotus without parallel, and on it resides the Supreme Being of supreme lustre—of Him there is neither any sign or form."³ We have seen that the Buddhist Sahajiyās have declared that all the sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places of pilgrimage are within this body, and they localised them within the body.⁴ Kabīr also says,—"Within the heart are the Ganges and the Jumna and there is the ghat (bathing step) of Sahaja śūnya and Kabīr has erected his temple there."⁵ Again Kabīr says that the mind is Muttra, heart Dvārakā and the body is the temple of ten gates and lustre shines within.⁶

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² *Ibid*, *Kastūriyā Mṛga Kau Aṅg*, p. 81. Cf. also the *Kastūri Mṛga Kau Aṅg* of Dādū—see Sen's edition, pp. 298-299.

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³ *Ibid*, p. 327.

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⁴ *Supra*, ch. iv, ii.

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⁵ gaṃg jamun ur aṃtarai sahaj suṃni lyau ghāṭ | tahāṃ kabirai maṭh racyā muni janā jivaim bāṭ || *Kabīr-granthāvali*, p. 18

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⁶ man mathurā dil dvārikā, kāyā kāsi jāṃni | dasavāṃ dvārā dehurā tāmaim joti pichāṃni ||

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In Dādū, however, the Sūfī-istic spirit seems to be more prominent. He says,—"O Dādū, in every body resides the jewel of Rāma, but none perceives the Lord; when the Guru gives a light in the hand, people can realise Him there......The good preceptor has shown, that within the heart is the mosque, here the temple, here is service and salute; why should I then roam about outside? Within is the disciple, within the preceptor, within is advice; in vain people roam about outside with matted hair on their heads."'¹ Again,—"In the temple of my body I shall perform my prayer,—none else have access there; there shall I count the beads made of the pearl of mind,—and then will be my Lord pleased. My bath is in the stream of my heart, I wash my mind there; I bow down my head before the Lord and offer me to Him."'² Again,—"Some run to Dvārakā, some to Benares and some to Muttra; but the Lord is residing in the body. Near is that venerable one,—God is within the body. O Dādū, all are leaving Him aside and are offering their worship outside."'³ Again Dādū says,—"Within the body is the sky, within it is the earth; within the body are the four Vedas, within the body lies their mystery; within the body there is repeated birth; within the body is the beginning and the end,—within the body is God. Within the body are the seven seas, within the body the unknown Lord; within the body is the water of the rivers,—within the body is the truth profound, within

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¹ Dādū, ed. by K. Sen, p. 211.

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² Ibid, p. 273,

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³ Ibid, p, 284; also p, 294,

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" Cf. also— kāya madhe koṭi tirath kāya madhe kāsī | kāya madhe kavalāpati, kāya madhai baikunṭha bāsī || ulaṭi pavan ṣaṭcakra nivāsī, tirath-rāj gaṃg taṭa bāsī || gagan mamḍal rabi-sasi doi tārā, ulaṭi kūmcī lāgī kivārā | kahai kabīr bhai ujiyārā, pamca mārī ek rahyau ninārā || Ibid, Padāvalī, No. 171, p. 145.

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Cf. also— jis kārani taṭi tīrathi jāmhiṃ, ratan padārath ghaṭ hiṃ māṃhiṃ | Ibid, Padāvalī No, 42, p. 102.

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the body plays the vital force, within it is Nirvāṇa; within is the service,—within pours the incessant flow (of nectar); in the body are arts,—in it the One Being; in it the glow of love and in it the company of the Lord; in it blooms the lotus, and resides the bee; in it the manifestation, in it resides the seer."'¹

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¹ Ibid, pp. 601-602. Sundar-dās says in a song,—"In this body (ghaṭa) are Viṣṇu, Maheśa, Brahmā and other gods and the sage Nārada, in it are Indra and Kubera,—in it is the mount Sumeru; within the body is the sun and the moon, and the seven seas, nine lacs of stars, and the flow of the Ganges and the Godābarī; in it the enjoyer of worldly bliss and also the Gorakh yogin; in it the assembly of the Siddhas, in it resides the soul in her loneliness. Within the body are Muttra and Benares,—in it the householder and the ascetic of the forest, in it the bathing in the Tirthas; within the body are all dancing and singing and the playing on of the flute: in it the red powder (phāg) of the spring, in it the husband and the wife; within it are heaven and the netherlands, in it the decay of time; in it the beings are living for ages and in it they drink nectar to be immortal. When the mystery of the body is known, death and decay (kāla) will not befall anybody, and Sundar says that this mystery can never be fathomed without the help of the right preceptor. ghaṭ bhitari biṣṇu maheśa etc., Sundar-granthāvalī, p. 886.

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Nānak also says,—

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"For whose sake they go to the bank of a Tirtha.
(That) exquisite jewel is even in the heart.
The Pandit, having read and read, discusses an
argument,
(But) does not know the thing that is within."'²

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² Adi-grantha, translated by Trumpp, pp. 213-214, iv.

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Again he says,—"The nine regions of the earth are contained in this (human) body; every moment I pay reverence (to it)."'³

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³ Ibid, p. 298.

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Again,—

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"Why do you wander about searching ? search should be
made in this mind.
Who dwells with thee, O Lord, why should he wander
from forest to forest ?"'⁴

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⁴ Ibid, p. 369.

(iv) The conception of Sahaja

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The conception of Sahaja of the mediaeval poets also shows striking similarity with that of the earlier Sahajiyās. As in the case of the Bāuls of Bengal, the conception of the ultimate reality of these mediaeval Hindi poets represents a synthesis between the conception of the reality held by the earlier Sahajiyā school and that of the Supreme Beloved held in Sūfī-ism and the then prevalent other devotional schools of India. The ultimate reality being thus conceived as the Supreme Beloved, Sahaja has often been identified with Rāma, where Rāma stands for the Divine Personality as the indwelling principle, with whom it is possible to have relations of love. The Santa-poets flourished mostly before the Bāuls of Bengal; historically, therefore, it seems that the synthesis between the Sahajiyā movement and the Sūfī-movement was brought about first by the poets of Northern and Upper India. The same contingency that was responsible for bringing about such a synthesis in Northern and Upper India was responsible for effecting a similar synthesis also in Bengal.

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Speaking about Sahaja Kabīr says,—"All speak of the Sahaja,—but none knows what Sahaja actually is. That is really Sahaja, through which a man leaves off all his objects of desire,—that is called Sahaja, which keeps the five (senses) well-controlled,—that is really Sahaja, in which the son, the wife, all wealth and desire remain merged together, and in which Kabīr becomes the maid of Rāma; that is really Sahaja, through which the Lord is realised in a natural way."¹ Like their predecessors the mediaeval poets also emphasised the unspeakable nature of Sahaja, which is the Lord (Sāmī) or Rāma with them. Though Kabīr, Dādū, Nānak and other Hindi poets of the Nirguṇa-school often speak of the Lord or of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa and frequently conceive themselves as the maid of the Lord (and as a matter of fact there is a considerable number of such poems in Kabīr, Dādū and even in the Sikh poet Nānak who preached the religion of the *Alekh*), it will be a mistake to think that these poets believed in any particular incarnation of God; it has been repeatedly declared by these poets that the Lord or Rāma or Kṛṣṇa is no historical being,—neither is he the incarnation of God; He is the Divine Being, the ultimate formless reality—the non-dual all pervading reality, conceived more as immanent than as transcendent,—and that is the Sahaja of these poets. The ultimate state of bliss is frequently described by Kabīr as the *Sahaja-samādhi* just like the Buddhist Sahajiyās.¹ This state of Sahaja is to be attained through the final arrest of the functions of the mind,²—and this Sahaja is the state of vacuity and hence it is often called the *sūni sahaja*.³ This Sahaja is a non-dual state of supreme bliss (*sukha* or *mahāsukha*).⁴

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¹ Kabīr-granthāvalī, pp. 41-42.

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¹ *Ibid*, p. 89, p. 137, p. 217 etc.

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² *Ibid*, p. 159.

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³ Cf. *kahai kabīr soi jogesvar, sahaj sumni lyau lāgai* || *Ibid, Padāvalī* No. 69, p. 109. *sahaj sumni maim jini ras cāṣyā*, etc. *Ibid*, p. 111. *ṭāryau ṭarai na āvai jāi*, *sahaj sūmni mai rahyau samāi* || *Ibid*, p. 199. Also p. 269. *sunna sahaj mahi bunata hamārī* | *Ibid*, p. 272.

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⁴ Cf. *hai koī samt sahaj sukh upajai* etc. *Ibid*, p. 138. *kāṭi sakati sib sahaj pragāsyo ekai ek samānā* | *kahi kabīr guru bheṭi mahāsukh bhramata rahe man mānām* || *Ibid*, p. 316. *tana mahi hoti koṭi upādhi* | *ulaṭi bhai sukh sahaji samādhi* || * * * * * * * *kahu kabīr sukh sahaj samāo āpi no ḍaro na avar ḍarāo* | etc.

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The same description of Sahaja is to be found in the poems of Dādū. It is to be observed that the element of yoga-practices is comparatively less in Dādū than in Kabīr,—the sole emphasis of Dādū seems to be on the intensity of devotion and love through which mind attains the perfect state of unity and non-duality and this state is what he calls one can see without eyes, feel without the body and mutter the name of Brahman without the tongue, one can hear without the ears, walk without the legs and may have consciousness without the mind,—this is really the nature of Sahaja.¹ According to Dādū also this Sahaja is vacuity (śūnya) and is pervading the whole universe as the ultimate reality behind all phenomena. "In every place, in every body (ghaṭa) and in everything else Sahaja vacuity lies pervading,—there dwells the Stainless One, no quality has any access there."² "One and indivisible is the lake, immeasurable is water,—swans are bathing in that lake; void is the lake of Sahaja where the swans (the mind of the saints and the yogins) are sporting."³ "A tender plant is the self, where blooms the flower of Sahaja; in a Sahaja (natural and easy) process true preceptor gives advice about it, but rare are persons who can understand."⁴ All diversity is but the sporting of Sahaja itself. "That vital power (prāṇa), that body (pyāṇḍa)—that flesh and blood,—those ears and that nose—all are playing wonderful play in Sahaja."⁵

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¹ *nain bin dekhibā aṃg bin pekhibā* *rasan bin bolibā brahma setī |* *sravan bin sunibā caraṇ bin cālibā* *citta bin cityabā sahaj etī ||* Ibid, p. 416.

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² *Ibid*, p. 459.

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³ *Ibid*, p. 461.

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⁴ *Ibid*, p. 484.

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⁵ *Ibid*, p. 596.

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Sundar-dās in his poems on Sahajānanda says that after the preceptor had explained to him the nature of Sahaja, he has given up all religious ceremonialism and yogic practices and has been trying to approach Sahaja (the ultimate truth) in a Sahaja (natural and easy) way. This Sahaja is the Brahman, the unified cosmic principle.⁶ As a matter of fact it will be seen that almost all the mystic poets of the mediaeval period were advocates of Sahaja. Even the Sikh poet Nānak spoke of the Sahaja in the same sense as did Kabīr, Dādū and others. With him also Sahaja is not only the ultimate reality, it is at the same time the Lord—the ultimate Beloved.¹

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⁶ Sundar says,—" That perfectly pure Sahaja is in everything, and with that Sahaja all religious people gather together. Śaṅkara began his Sādhana in this Sahaja (and in the Sahaja way),—Sukdeva, Sanaka and others also followed this Sahaja way. Devotees like Sojā, Pipā, Sena and Dhanā all have drunk of this Sahaja-bliss in the natural way,—Raidās was also a Sādhaka of Sahaja and Guru Dādū also realised infinite bliss in this Sahaja path. *Sundar-granthāvalī*, pp. 303-306.

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¹ *jākai antar basai prabhu āpi |* *nānak te jan sahaji samāti ||* Anthology of Nānak, (Amritsar edition), p. 367.

(e) Similarity in the Literary Form and Language

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It may be observed in this connection that not only in ideology, but also in the poetic representation, there is a general similarity between the poetry of the Santa and the Sūfī poets and that of the Buddhist Sahajiyās. Often similar imageries, similar phrases and even similar lines are to be found. Thus, for example, Śānti-pāda in a Caryā song says,—*alakkha lakkha na jāi*, i.e., "the imperceptible cannot be perceived"; the same line is to be found in Kabīr several times.² We have seen that the highest state of realisation has often been spoken of by Kabīr as vacuity or the sky (*śūnya* or *gagana*) and the ultimate reality—the Sahaja—is also spoken of as void. In a poem Kabīr says,—"There is the sky or the void in the beginning,—void at the end and void also in the middle,³—and this indestructible void never comes and goes,⁴ neither does any entity come and go in it. When the mind is placed in this vacuity, death bows down its head before a man.⁵ These lines instantaneously remind one of the Caryā songs studied before. We have seen that Bhusuka-pāda compared the defiled mind to a deer, beset on all sides with hunters;¹ Kabīr also compares this mind to the deer beset with hunters, *kāla* (time, decay or death) being generally compared to the hunter.² Saraha-pāda says in a Dohā, "The Pundits are in the habit of explaining all the Śāstras, but do not know the Buddha, who is residing within the body." The same couplet with a slight change in language is found in Kabīr.³ In a poem of Bhusuka-pāda we find that Sahaja has been compared to a big tree,⁴ Kabīr also compares Sahaja to a big tree in a nice poem.⁵ In a Caryā song Kānhu-pāda compared his purified mind, exhilarated with supreme bliss, to an elephant in rut, who is depicted revelling in the lotus-pond of Sahaja. Kabīr also compares Sahaja to a tender plant in blossom, and the mind to an elephant attracted to it.⁶ There are poems in Kabīr, which in their entirety can very well be compared with some of the Caryā poems of the Siddhācāryas. Thus the song No. 62, given in the Appendix of the Kabīrgranthāvali (edited by Mr. Śyāma-sundar Dās), can very well be compared with some of the Caryā-padas describing the ecstatic realisation of the Sahaja bliss.¹ The next verse of Kabīr (Appendix, Song No. 63) on the illusory nature of the phenomenal world—and the unreality of all duality also offers striking similarity in idea and representation to some of the Caryā-padas dealing with the same idea. There are some other analogies, such as the analogy of the mute in connection with the realisation of the Sahaja, the analogy of mind's being merged in Sahaja just as salt in the water of the sea, etc. ; but they are inherited by all these sects from earlier common sources. Saraha-pāda says in another Dohā that those who do not enjoy (with the perfectly purified mind) the perfectly purified objects of enjoyment (viewing them and realising them all as Sahaja in nature) and only hover in the voidness, will have to return to objects (of enjoyment) like a crow, which leaves the mast and hovers over the sea and then turns to the mast once again.² The imagery is found in Dādū where he says that the mind must be made firmly fixed in Sahaja which is the mast in the ocean of existence. ‘The crow,’ he says, ‘sat on the mast and took its journey in the ocean; it hovered round and round and got tired and then sat still on the mast of the ship.³ In another Dohā Saraha says,—“Don't repress the desires for objects,—for see the cases of fish, insects, the elephant, black-bees and the deer” (i.e., they

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² *Kabīr-granthāvalī*, p. 35, p 229, p. 230, p. 328.

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³ *Ibid*, p. 103.

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⁴ *Ibid*, p 103.

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⁵ *gagan mamḍal āsan kiyā, kāl gayā sir kūṭi ||* *Ibid*, p. 76.

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¹ Supra Ch. ii.

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² *aheḍi dauṃ laiyā, mṛga pukāre roi* *jā ban maiṃ krīlā karī, dājhata hai ban soi* || *Ibid*, p. 12. *māraṃ tau mano mṛga kauṃ, nahīṃ tau mithyā jāmna* || *Ibid*, 30. *kāl aheḍi bhāgā* | *Ibid*, p. 89. *kāl aheḍi samjha sakārā, sāvaj sasā sakal saṃsārā* || *Ibid*, p. 231.

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³ *Cf.* *paṇḍia saala sattha vakkhāṇai* | *dehahīṃ vuddha vasanta ṇa jāṇai* || Dohā of Saraha, p. 68. *paḍhi paḍhi paṃḍita beda bāṣānaim,* *bhīṃtari hūti basata na jānaim* || Kabīr-granthāvalī, Padāvalī, No. 42, p. 102.

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⁴ *Caryā* No. 43.

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⁵ *Cf.* *taravar ek anamta mūrati, suratā lehu pichāmnim* | *sākhā peḍ phūl phal nāmhīṃ, tākī amṛta bāṃṇī* | *puhap bās bhavarā ek rātā, bārā le ur dhariyā* | *solaha mamjhaim pavan jhakorai, ākāse phal phaliyā* || *sahaj samādhi biraṣ yahu siṃcyā, dharatī jal har soṣyā* | *kahai kabīr tās maīṃ celā, jini yahu taravar peṣyā* || Kabīr-granthāvalī, Padāvalī, No. 166. *sahaja beli jab phūlaṇ lāgī, ḍāl, kūpal melhī* | *man kamjar jāī bāḍī bilamvyā, satgur bāhi belī* | *Ibid*, Padāvalī, No. 163, p. 142.

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¹ The poem of Kabīr runs thus:—

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² Dohākoṣa of Saraha, No. 70 (Dr. Bagchi's edition).

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³ Dādū, edited by K. Sen, p. 319.

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suṣaman nāri sahaj samāni pīvai pīvan hārā ||
avadhū merā man matavārā |
unmad caḍhā ras cākhyā tribhavan bhayā ujiyārā ||
dui pur jori rasāi bhāṭhi piu mahāras bhārī |
kām krodh dui kiye jale tā chūṭi gai saṃsārī ||
pragaṭ pragās jñān guru gammita sati guru te sudhi pāi |
dās kabīr tāsu mad-mātā ūcaki na kabahū jāi ||
Kabīr-granthāvali, p. 282.

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themselves bring about their death by the instinctive attachment towards taste, sight, touch, smell and sound respectively).¹ Almost similar Dohās are found in Tulsidās, Ravidās, Dādū and others.²

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¹ visaāsatti ma bandha karu are baḍha saraheṃ vutta | mīna paangama kari bhamara pekhaha hariṇaha jutta || Dohākoṣa of Saraha, Verse No. 71.

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² Cf. ali pataṅga mṛga mīn gaj iyāṃko ekai āṃc | tulsi yāko kyā gat, yāko piche pāṃc || Dohāvalī, edited by U. N. Mukherjee. The deer, the fish, the black-bee, the moth, the elephant are (all) destroyed by one (and the same) fault. In whom are the five incurable faults, how much hope has he ?—Ravidās, Ādi-grantha (translated by Trumpp), p. 666. Cf. also :—bhavamrā lubadhī vāskā mohyā nād kuraṃg | yaum dādū kā man rām saum jyoṃ dīpak jyoti pataṃg || Dādū, p. 505.

c25.s5.18

Another important point of similarity between the Buddhist Sahajiyā literature and the literature of the mediaeval vernaculars is the enigmatic style used in describing the secret doctrines of these cults. With this shall deal in appendix (E).

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