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A
Brief Biography
Namdev was born into a family of low-caste tailors,
though as he grew he showed little interest in the family
profession or in any worldly affairs. As is sometimes
common in rural India, he was married as a child, at
age 11. He eventually had four children. His marriage
was not a happy one, however, as his wife was worldly
minded, often belittling Namdev and his devotion to
God, while Namdev, for his part, did little to earn
much needed income for the family.
Namdev came under the
influence of the bhakti poet-saint Jnanadev, who was
several years his senior. Namdev became a wandering
minstrel, travelling through the countryside chanting
and singing songs of devotion.
In his fifties, Namdev
settled down again and a group of devotees gathered
around him.
It was in the household
of Namdev that Janabai served as a maid, a revered poetess
in her own right.
Namdev, like his mentor
Jnanadev, was a devotee of the Vitthala cult. Being
a pastoral sect with a distinctive bhakti (devotional)
attititude, Vitthalas are often grouped under the umbrela
of the Krishna cults of Vaishnavite Hinduism. Many poets
and saints in the bhakhti traditons, including Namdev,
are revered by the later Sikh religion, as well.Namdev
of Maharashtra was a saint of mediaeval India. He was
not a servant of Lord Krishna, but His companion. Namdev
was an Amsa (part) of Lord Krishna.
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Namdev
was a contemporary of Jnanadev, the famous saint of
Maharashtra, being his senior in age by about five years.
He was born in 1269 A.D. He came of a family of tailors
who were sincere devotees of Vittala of Pandharpur.
The family members were observing the Wari of Pandharpur,
i.e., going on pilgrimage twice a year on the first
eleventh day of the Ashadh (June-July) and Kartik (October-November)
months. The family originated from a village called
Narsibamani on the bank of the river Krishna, near Karad,
in district Satara. Being a great devotee of Vittala
and wishing to improve his material prospects, Dama
Setti, the father of Namdev, had moved to Pandharpur
a year or two before his son’s birth.
Namdev, from his very
childhood; was like Prahlad. At the age of two, when
he began to talk, the first correct word he uttered
was ‘Vittala’, and since then, he continued
with the repetition of that sacred name incessantly,
without any help or instruction from others. He found
great pleasure when every day his mother Guna Bai took
him to the temple of Vithoba for offering worship to
the Deity. His next step was, when at the age of about
seven, he prepared a pair of cymbals and spent his time
in dancing and singing, doing Bhajan, to the neglect
of everything—food, studies in school, rest, sleep,
etc. His devotion to Vithoba was so innocent and sincere
that he used to treat Him sometimes as his dearest brother
or as his playmate.
One day, as Namdev’s
mother was busy, she asked Namdev to take the plate
of offerings to Vithoba. Namdev went to the temple,
placed the plate of eatables before Vithoba and asked
Him to accept the offering. However, when Namdev did
not find any evidence of acceptance by Vithoba, he cried
so bitterly that Vithoba actually assumed a human form
and accepted the offerings gratefully. Namdev’s
mother was surprised when her son came back in great
joy with an empty plate and explained to her that Vithoba
had accepted the offerings by actually consuming the
eatables presented in the plate. So, the next day, she
herself accompanied Namdev (but without his knowledge)
to see and verify for herself the correctness of Namdev’s
explanation. The same performance was repeated and the
mother had the satisfaction of seeing the Lord actually
accepting their offerings. Her joy and pride in Namdev
was unbounded. She felt grateful to the Lord that she
was the mother of such a great devotee.
Lord Vithoba—his
only interest
In other respects, however, Namdev was the despair of
his parents, and later, of his wife and other relatives.
From the beginning he had no interest in worldly affairs;
he neglected studies in school; he would not take interest
in his father’s profession as a tailor, or in any
other trade. His sole interest was to spend day and
night in devotion to Vithoba. His parents were getting
old; the family prosperity was waning. Therefore, their
dearest wish was that Namdev, while devoting a reasonable
spare time to his devotions, should help in maintaining
the family in comfort. So, Namdev was sent to the bazaar
one day to sell a few pieces of clothes. But Namdev
was innocent of the tricks of the trade. To him, such
things as prices, and money and its value, were unknown
subjects. He went to the bazaar with the clothes, because
his father forced him. He sat there on a stone doing
Bhajan, entirely forgetting that he had gone there to
sell the clothes. After a few hours the sun set and
it was time for him to go to the temple for the evening
devotional performance. Then only he remembered that
he had not sold the clothes and that he would get a
thrashing from his father. He was impatient to go to
the temple. He therefore sold all the clothes to the
very stone on which he was seated, i.e., he kept the
clothes on the stone, appointed another stone as a guarantee
that the first one would pay the money the next day,
and went to the temple.
Namdev’s father
was furious on hearing his son’s adventures and
asked him to bring forth Dhondya (which means a stone
and which is also used as a proper name among certain
classes of people of Maharashtra) who had guaranteed
the money. The next day Namdev went back to the bazaar,
found that the clothes had vanished during the night
and took the second stone (Dhondya) home, as it refused
to pay the money, and locked it in a room. He then went
to the temple and narrated all the events to Vithoba
and explained his difficulties also. When Namdev’s
father asked him to show him Dhondya who had guaranteed
the money, Namdev replied that Dhondya had been kept
in a closed room in the house and ran to the temple.
When the father opened the room to demand the money,
he found, to his surprise, a lump of gold. Great was
the father’s joy; but Namdev was quite indifferent
to it. He only praised God for saving him from a thrashing.
Thus it went on.
His marriage
In the meantime, Namdev married Radha Bai. Radha Bai
was a worldly-minded woman. In response to Namdev’s
invitation, Vittal attended the naming ceremony of Namdev’s
child in the guise of a human being, named the child
‘Narayana’ and gave good gifts on the occasion.
There was extreme poverty
in the house of Namdev. Namdev neglected his worldly
duties. Namdev’s mother and wife abused Lord Krishna.
Under the guise of Dharma Setti of Vaikunthapuram and
the pretence of past friendship with Namdev, the Lord
visited Namdev’s house, gave magnificent gifts
to Radha Bai and disappeared.
A Bhakta, named Parisha
Bhagavat, propitiated Rukmini and got the philosopher’s
stone which could convert iron into gold. Parisha’s
wife gave the stone to her friend Radha Bai one day.
Radha Bai showed the stone to her husband and said that
his Bhakti was of no use and was inferior to the Bhakti
of Parisha Bhagavat. Namdev threw the stone into the
river. Next day Parisha came to know of everything and
took Namdev to task. Namdev showed Parisha the place
where he had dropped the stone. Parisha searched for
the stone and found, not a single stone, but a whole
lot. Parisha was struck with wonder. He admired the
spirit of renunciation and the spiritual powers of Namdev.
Namdev felt it increasingly
difficult to take interest in household affairs and
in his parents, wife and children; and no amount of
persuasion from all those people or his friends was
successful in bringing him back to the worldly life.
To him there was only one interest and that was Lord
Vithoba. He used to spend hour after hour sitting before
Vithoba, talking to Him, discussing spiritual matters
with Him and doing Bhajan. To Namdev, Vithoba was the
beginning and the end of everything.
Meeting with Jnanadev
When Namdev was about twenty years of age, he met the
great saint Jnanadev at Pandharpur. Jnanadev was naturally
attracted to Namdev as a great devotee of Vithoba. That
he might benefit from the company of Namdev, he persuaded
Namdev to go with him to all the holy places on pilgrimage.
Namdev did not want to go, as that would mean separation
from Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur. However, wiser counsel
prevailed and Namdev was induced to go on pilgrimage.
This was the most important period in the life of Namdev.
Practically from this time, the two great saints almost
never separated till death parted them. The pilgrimage
extended to all parts of India and almost all the holy
places.
On the way, several
miracles are reported to have been performed by both
Namdev and Jnanadev. Once Namdev and Jnanadev reached
the desert of Marwar. Namdev was dying of thirst. They
found out a well, but the water was at such a low depth
that it was impossible to get it by ordinary means.
Jnanadev proposed to assume the form of a bird by his
Laghima Siddhi and bring the water up in his beak. But
Namdev proved superior to him. He prayed to Rukmini.
The level of the water rose miraculously to the surface.
The well is seen even today at Kaladji, ten miles off
Bikaner.
Namdev and Jnanadev
came to Naganathpuri. Namdev started Bhajan in the temple.
There was a huge crowd. The temple priests were not
able to enter the temple and so became angry. Namdev
went to the western gate of the temple and spent the
night in doing Kirtan. The image of the temple itself
turned to his side.
A Brahmin of Bidar invited
Namdev to do Bhajan in his house. Namdev went there
with a large number of devotees. The Sultan mistook
them for rebel troops and sent General Kasi Pant against
them. The general reported to the Sultan that it was
only a religious party. The Sultan ordered that Namdev
should be arrested and prosecuted. He asked Namdev to
rouse a butchered cow to life or embrace Islam. An elephant
was sent to crush Namdev to death. Namdev’s mother
requested her son to embrace Islam to save his life.
But Namdev was prepared to die. Namdev raised the dead
cow to life. The Sultan and others were struck with
amazement. Namdev won the admiration of the Sultan and
his party.
Namdev and Jnanadev
met Narsi Mehta at Junagarh; Kabir, Kamal and Mudgalacharya
at Kashi; Tulsidas at Chitrakut; Pipaji at Ayodhya;
Nanak at a place in the Deccan and Dadu, Gorakhnath
and Matsyendranath in other places.
When feeding of Brahmins
was done by Namdev at the end of his pilgrimage, Vittal
and Rukmini became the cooks and servers. They ate out
of the very plate which Namdev used.
Namdev gained much,
during the pilgrimage, from the society of Jnaneshwar
and from Nivritti who was Jnaneshwar’s elder brother
and Guru, and was able to look on this world with a
wider vision as the manifestation of God.
As we saw earlier, Namdev’s
world began and ended with the Deity ‘Vithoba’
of Pandharpur and he would not recognize any other Deity
as the symbol of God. The pilgrimage lasted about five
years and during this period Jnanadev advised Namdev
to adopt a Guru so that he might be in a position to
realise completely the manifestation of the all-pervading
God and thus fulfil his own mission in life. Again Namdev
hesitated as he thought that such action might alienate
his loyalty and devotion to Vithoba. He plainly said
that as long as he had the love of Vithoba, he had nothing
to desire except constant devotion to Him. In fact,
Vithoba was his Guru. It was, however, clear to Jnanadev
and other saints in the company that Namdev’s view
was rather narrow in the sense that he thought God was
centred in the Deity of Vithoba of Pandharpur and they
wanted him to acquire the wider vision which they themselves
had attained.
One day, in such company,
Gora, another saint and a potter by trade, was asked
to ascertain which of them were half-baked, i.e., had
not realised Brahman. Gora took a small, flat wooden
board such as he used to prepare or test the pots and
began to pat on the head of everybody. When he came
to Namdev and patted on his head, Namdev cried aloud
thinking he was hurt. Immediately, all the others in
the company began to laugh saying that Namdev was only
half-baked and had not become fixed in his spiritual
position.
Adopting a Guru
Greatly mortified, Namdev repaired to Vithoba and complained
to Him of his humiliation. He said that he saw no necessity
for him to have a Guru as he had intimate relationship
with Lord Krishna Himself. Lord Krishna said that Namdev
did not really know Him. Namdev denied this. Lord Krishna
challenged Namdev and asked him to find out His identity
that day. Namdev agreed. Lord Krishna took the form
of a Pathan horseman and passed before Namdev. Namdev
could not recognize the Lord. Namdev agreed to go to
a Guru. Lord Vithoba then advised him to adopt Visoba
Khechar as his Guru.
Visoba Khechar was one
of the disciples of Jnanadev and was living at the time
at a village called Avandhya. Namdev proceeded to the
village immediately and arrived there at about noon.
He took shelter in a temple in order to take some rest.
There in that temple he saw a man sleeping with his
feet on the Deity Itself. Namdev was shocked, woke up
the man and rebuked him for this sacrilege. The man
was no other than Visoba himself. Visoba replied, "O
Namdev, why did you wake me up? Is there a single spot
in this world which is not permeated by God? If you
think that such a spot can be found, kindly place my
feet there". Namdev took the feet of Visoba in
his hands and moved them to another direction, but the
Deity was there. He then moved Visoba in still another
direction, but the Deity was there too! Namdev could
not find any direction or spot where he could place
the feet of Visoba without treading on the Deity. God
was everywhere. Having realised this great truth that
God had permeated the whole universe, Namdev surrendered
himself to Visoba gratefully and humbly. Visoba then
advised Namdev at great length. A small portion of Visoba’s
advice is given below.
"If you want to
be absolutely happy, fill this world with Bhajan and
the sacred Name of the Lord. The Lord is the world itself.
Give up all ambitions or desires. Let them take care
of themselves. Be content only with the name of Vittal.
You need not undergo
any hardship or penance in order to go to heaven. Vaikuntha
will come to you of itself. Do not be anxious of this
life or of your friends or relatives. They are like
the illusions of a mirage. One has to spend a short
space of time here like the potter’s wheel which
goes on rotating even after the potter has left. Make
the best of it by keeping the name of Vittal ever in
your mind and on your lips and by recognizing Him everywhere
and in everyone. This is my experience of life.
"Pandharpur was
established on the banks of the river Chandrabhaga as
a sort of boat for people to cross safely this ocean
of life. Pandharinath is standing there as the boatman-in-charge
to take you to the other side; and the most important
point is that He does this without asking for any fee.
In this way He has saved crores of people who have gone
to Him in surrender. If you surrender to Him, there
is no death in this world."
After initiation by
Visoba, Namdev became more philosophical and large-hearted.
His temple was no longer the small narrow space on the
banks of the Chandrabhaga, but the whole world. His
God was not Vithoba or Vittal with hands and legs, but
the omnipotent infinite Being.
A few days after Namdev
had adopted Visoba as his Guru, he was sitting at a
place doing his Bhajan. In the meantime, a dog came
to the spot and ran away with the bread he had prepared
for his midday meal. Namdev ran after the dog—not
with a stick in his hand, but with a cup of Ghee; and
he addressed the dog thus: "O Lord of the world!
Why do You want to eat the dry bread? Take some Ghee
along with it. It will taste much better". Namdev’s
realisation of Atma was now complete and overflowing.
After Namdev had returned
with Jnanadev from the long pilgrimage, the latter expressed
his desire to take Samadhi at Alandi. Namdev therefore
accompanied the party to Alandi as he could not part
with Jnanadev. He was with Jnanadev to the last moment.
He then accompanied the party until the other brothers,
Nivritti and Sopan, and their sister Muktabai, left
the world. Namdev has left behind a detailed account
of the ends of these four saints in beautiful poems.
Namdev was so shocked by these events which occurred
within a short space of one year that he himself was
left with no desire to live in this world. He took his
Samadhi at Pandharpur at the age of twenty-six in 1295
A.D.
Namdev was not an author
of any big treatise; but he left behind him a large
number of Abhangas or short poems, full with the nectar
of Bhakti and love towards God. These are exceedingly
sweet. Most of these are lost, but there are extant
about four thousand Abhangas, which to this day are
a great source of inspiration to all who would read
them. Some of the Abhangas are found in the Sikh Adi
Granth.
The essence of Namdev’s
message is: "Always recite the Name of the Lord.
Constantly remember Him. Hear His glory. Meditate on
the Lord in your heart. Serve the Lord with your hands.
Place your head at His lotus feet. Do Kirtan. You will
forget your hunger and thirst. The Lord will be near
you. You will attain immortality and eternal bliss".
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