Saint Jnaneshwar: A Spiritual Leader of Varkari Sampradaya (Sect) of Maharashtra; a Retrospection

Abstract

Throughout human history, spiritual masters have come to this world to awaken within us the light of divinity with the help of their teaching they taught us that God is present in all creations and guide us to realize this. We too can be the bearers of this spiritual light, which we can share with this world by practicing it. Saint Jnaneshwar being spiritual leader (1275-1296) was the greatest mystic saint poet and philosophers of India (Maharashtra) during medieval era. He was born in Maharashtra in the thirteenth century. During this period in Maharashtra very few people were acquainted with the knowledge of Sanskrit in society. As a result of it the majority of the common masses were denied the wealth of ancient Hindu scriptures and religious knowledge. He rose as a very bright star on the horizon of Maharashtra as the authority of scriptural, spiritual knowledge and he rebelled out against the strict norms set up by the Brahmins by using the local language Marathi as his vehicle for preaching.

The name Jnaneshwar means ‘Lord of knowledge’ (Jnaniyacha Raja). He is also called as ‘Mauli’ means ‘mother’. Jnaneshwar is said to have laid the foundation of the Bhakti movement ‘Varkari Sampradaya’ in Maharashtra which was later on taken to its peak by Tukaram and other saints. This paper tries to explore the intellectual and spiritual legacy and teachings of Saint Jnaneshwar for the establishment of bhakti marga for the wellbeing of common man and path to attain moksha.