Sant Vagmay

 

I was invited to speak on Sant Vagmay today in Pune to a group of ladies interested in the subject. The subject has always been dear to my heart and I have shared many posts on this here on this forum. But I had never before been asked to talk to an audience about it. I had my self doubts, plenty of them actually but my audience was very kind and made me feel comfortable and confident. It was a lively, interactive session and we included a few musical videos on select abhangas that were pertinent to the topic discussed today. Although this post will lack that full experience of interaction and the songs, I will try to present the highlights of the talk for the benefit of those who may be interested.

We invoked Lord Ganesh, Mother Saraswati, Revered Gurus before the talk.

I decided to dig into the basics of sant vagmay. What does the term mean?

What is vagmay? And what is sant?

Vak + may 

Vak वाक् = vacha=speech

Maya मय wine, alcohol = intoxicating substance 

To become maya in anything or with anything means to be consumed by that thing, engrossed in it. Gurphatoon taakne! 

Vak maya refers to everything encompassed by speech. 

Poetry, drama, conversation , letters, essays, fiction, non fiction….all come under vakmay or vangmay. Broadly refers to literature of any kind.

Sant Vangmay specifically refers to the literature put forth by the saints or based on teachings of the saints. It may be from any era, any language, any form ( poetry or prose). Subject may be spiritual( adhyatma),

philosophical( tatvadnyan) ,

social( samajic), 

ethical( naitik), 

autobiographical( atma charitra)

or something else.

What is the definition of a saint( sant)?

It depends on what religion you are referring to. In contrast to Christianity ( Roman Catholicism) , a formal canonization is not required to confer a title of saint in Hinduism. Current requirements of canonization in Christianity include two miracles attributed to the holy person being considered for the honor. Several Hindu saints have been associated with miracles historically but that is never the determining factor for considering them saints. Magicians can perform miracles too. But obviously that doesn’t make them saints. 

The definition of a saint is quite flexible depending on who you ask. For a common man any virtuous or good hearted person may be referred to as saint. In the Indian culture an ascetic, pilgrim or religious person may be called a saint. But in saint literature there are more definitive criteria to consider someone as a saint. 

Interestingly the most famous text of the Hindus , the Bhagwad Gita does not use the term Sant. There the virtuous man of the highest order is referred to as Sthithapradnya or karmayogi , dnyaani or bhakt. In contrast, there are numerous references to the word Sant in the Dnyaaneshwari which is an exposition on the original text of the Bhagwad Gita. A unique term Dnyaaneshwar has used to describe saints is Ishwar Nishthaanchi Maandiyaali ! A gathering of the servants of God! Or people devoted to God! Other places in history of Marathi Hindu literature saints are referred to as Vaishnavs. 

In the concluding chapter of Dnyaaneshwari, its author Sant Dnyaaneshwar has composed a prayer known as Pasaydaan. It is a nine verse prayer for the wellbeing of the universe and is considered by scholars as a capsule containing the entire philosophy of the Bhagwad Gita. Out of those 9 verses a third are dedicated to the description of saints, to highlight their importance.

वर्षत सकळ मंगळी । ईश्वरनिष्ठांची मांदियाळी ।

अनवरत भूमंडळी । भेटतु भूतां ॥

चलां कल्पतरूंचे आरव । चेतना चिंतामणींचें गाव ।

बोलते जे अर्णव । पीयूषाचे ॥

चंद्र्मे जे अलांछ्न । मार्तंड जे तापहीन ।

ते सर्वांही सदा सज्जन । सोयरे होतु ॥

Any individual who is determined to become a servant of God, walk a path of righteousness and seek the highest spiritual salvation is invariably at risk to be led astray by temptation and human weaknesses. Dnyaaneshwar is smart to foresee these pitfalls and point out the precise measures to overcome them. He extols the saints in these three verses to stress the fact that company and guidance of true saints is indispensable for a spiritual seeker. 

When I qualify the term sant above with the term true it is because there is something also called fake sant. In sant vagmay one comes across many tips to identify true saints vs fake saints.

An example of the qualifications of true saints is found in a popular Abhang by Tukaram Maharaj.

Je ka ranjale ganjale tyaasi mhane jo apule 

Tochi sadhu olakhava dev tethechi janava 

Mridu sabahya navneet taise sajjanaache chitta 

Jyaasi apangita nahi tyaasi dhari jo hridayi 

Daya karne je putrasi techi dasa ani dasi 

Tuka mhane saangu kiti tyaachi Bhagawantachya moorti 

Listen to this abhang in the strong voice of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. We did exactly that today before discussing the virtues described in this composition. A true saint is one who accepts those that are marginalized, suffering or treated unfairly and treats them with love and dignity. Such saint’s disposition is soft like butter within and without. He/ she treats everyone with equanimity and compassion, makes no distinction between his/her offspring and servants. 

Many of Sant Tukaram’s abhangas criticize the fake saints and alert the innocent people to beware of them. He is not alone in raising an issue about the con artists. 

Muktabai, the youngest of Dnyaaneshwar’s siblings has minced no words in one of her abhangas.

वरी भगवा झाला नामें ।

अंतरीं वश्य केला कामें ॥१॥

त्याला म्हणूं नये साधू ।

जगीं विटंबना बाधू ॥२॥

आपआपणा शोधून घ्यावें । 

विवेक नांदे त्याच्या सवें ॥३॥

आशा दंभ अवघें आवरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥

Some people dress up in saffron colored robes to pose as saints but internally they are possessed by worldly desires and greed. Such people are a disgrace and must not be recognized as saints. She beckons her dear brother Dnyaaneshwar to search for his real self, abandon false hopes and hypocrisy and enjoy spiritual wisdom and internal peace. 

There are numerous abhangas of these saints that discuss the qualities of saints and I can touch upon them one by one in future posts. 

In today’s talk I did touch upon a few other related issues. Few issues were skipped in the interest of time.

What is the role of sant?

Teacher 

Guide

Role model 

Guardian

Philosopher

Reformer

Well wisher

Healer

Barriers in the quest for sant vagmay :

Understanding meaning of words( shabd)

Understanding deeper meanings ( artha)

Forgetfulness without continued study (abhyaas, smruti )

Lack of access to sources of study 

Lack of faith( many reasons for this: previous experience, hearsay, family influences, peer pressure, misperceptions about relationship of spirituality and science) avishwaas! Scepticism! Rigid thinking!

 We discussed about 

Where science stops, spirituality begins !

Spirituality is not alternative to science! 

Science is not complete without spirituality!

Slow process and progress difficult to recognize or measure. 

 Needs patience and commitment!

Assimilation of knowledge acquired through the study of sant vagmay can be compared to the process of making roti. You can’t just take a container and add the ingredients and expect the final product to be ready. You have to mix in the flour, oil, salt, water to bring them all together and then knead the dough over a period of time to get it ready to roll using a rolling pin, then put it on a heated griddle and carefully cook it to be ready to consume. A student needs to understand the long process. It is not as straightforward as getting a college diploma or degree. 

Who turns to saints or study of their literature ?

There are four categories similar to those enumerated by Shri Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita.

Aarta, Jidnyasu, Artharthi, Dnyaanarthi

Those who have troubles in life, those who are curious to know more, those who have worldly desires and lastly those who are themselves pious and know the true worth of the saints. 

Purpose and Benefits of study:

To quote Dnyaaneshwar,

आणि ग्रंथोपजीविये
विशेषीं लोकीं इयें
दृष्टादृष्ट विजयें
होआवें जी

“In this world it would be remarkable to dedicate one’s life to a sincere study of the holy book(s), for this would enable to gain victory over the bondages of this life and afterlife.”

“SakaLaanchyaa paayaa maaze dandavat

Aapulaale chitta shuddha karaa” Sant Tukaram

Improving awareness in daily living( why we do what we do, what are its consequences)

Improving attitude deep inside. 

शब्द शस्त्रें झालें क्लेश ।

संती मानावा उपदेश ॥३॥ ( Muktabai)

Adopt attitude of learning!

Motivating for cultivating good habits, replacing bad habits.

Improving interpersonal relationships: within family most challenging!

Planting the seed of concept of atma, that is distinct from the perishable physical body and in a dimension other than and higher than the mind and intellect. 

Thus alleviating the fear of death!

“Hita te karaave devaache chintan

Karuniyaa mana ekavidha “ Sant Tukaram

Fostering the love for God

Elucidating, understanding the nature of God

Understanding the oneness of individual soul and universal soul ( jeeva and Shiva aikya)

 Avagha ranga ek zala - Sant Soyarabai

Transforming the purpose of life from survival to service! 

We concluded the talk today with another popular abhang of Sant Tukaram where he asks the Almighty to grant him constant remembrance and uninterrupted company of the saints. 

Hechi daan degaa devaa tuzaa visar na vhaavaa 

GuNa gaayin aawaDi hechi maazi sarva joDi

Na lage mukti aaNi sampadaa sant sang deyi sadaa

Tuka mhaNe garbh vaasi sukhe ghaalaave aamhaasi  🙏🏼🙏🏼

I am sincerely grateful to dear friends Sharvari Parasnis and Sarika Thigale for bringing this opportunity for me to share my thoughts in a live session and to the many wonderful ladies who listened to my rambling. 

Saree was a fine cotton Bhujodi weave from Kutch in Gujarat .