Namdevji

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Namdev

Introduction

Namdev of Maharashtra was a saint of mediaeval India.

He was not a servant of Lord Krishna, but His companion.

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".

Namdev's

maid-servant Janabai

No account of the life of Namdev would be complete without a mention of

Janabai. She was a maid-servant in the household of Namdev. Nothing is known of

her life except that she was Namdev's maid-servant. She herself forgot

sometimes that she had an existence apart from being the maid-servant of

Namdev. In several poems on devotion which she has left behind, she describes herself

as `Nam's

maid-servant' or `Namdev's Jani'. She was one of the closest followers of

Namdev and had no ambition other than to serve Namdev and sing the praises of

the Lord Vithoba. For instance, in one of her poems she sings:

"Let me undergo as many births in this world as You please, but grant

that my desires are fulfilled. They are that I see Pandharpur and serve Namdev

in every birth. I do not mind if I am a bird or a swine, a dog or a cat, but my

conditions are that in each of these lives, I must see Pandharpur and serve

Namdev. This is the ambition of Namdev's maid."

In another place, Janabai writes:

"Give me only this girl, O Hari, that I shall always sing Your sacred

Name. Fulfil my only desire that You will accept my humble homage and service.

This is all that I desire. Have mercy on me and fulfil my desires. I want to

concentrate my eyes and mind on You and have Your Name on my lips. For this the

maid Jani falls at Your feet."

That sums up the philosophy of Janabai and how she attained her desired

goal. So intense and sincere was her devotion to Vithoba that the Lord Himself

used to lighten her household duties, which, as she became old, she found

unable to perform. By her service and devotion to God, she completely succeeded

in effacing herself and she got completely merged in Him. A great soul—Janabai!

And a greater Master—Namdev!

http://www.dlshq.org/saints/namdev.htm