Writings
According to B. P. Bahirat, Dnyaneshwar was the first known philosopher who wrote in the Marathi language.[50] At about age 16, he composed Dnyaneshwari in the year 1290,[29][51] a commentary on Bhagavad Gita which later became a fundamental text of the Varkari sect.[52] His words were recorded by Sacchidananda, who agreed to become Dnyaneshwar's amanuensis.[30] Dnyaneshwari was written using the Ovi; a metre, which was first used to compose women's songs in Maharashtra, of four lines where the first three or the first and third lines rhyme and the fourth line has a sharp and short ending.[53] According to W. B. Patwardhan, a scholar on Dnyaneshwar, with Dnyaneshwar the ovi "trips, it gallops, it dances, it whirls, it ambles, it trots, it runs, it takes long leaps or short jumps, it halts or sweeps along, it evolves a hundred and one graces at the master's command".[54] In Dnyaneshwari, at last he wrote "Pasaayadana" in which he prayed everything for others and all humanity and nothing for himself. Saint Dnyaneshwar himself believed that "The whole world has one soul- या विश्वाचा आत्मा एक आहे" . He wrote Dnyaneshwari so that common people can understand philosophical aspects of life which were then understood only by those who knew Sanskrit i.e. High priestly class language and lower caste people were not allowed to learn Sanskrit language. So, this was a significant work in Indian history which simplified philosophy to common man.
O, God! Thou art Ganesha, the illuminator of all intelligence. The servant of Nivritti says, attend to my story. The Vedas in their perfection is as the beautiful image of the god, of which the flawless words are the resplendent body. The Smritis are the limbs thereof, the marking of verses shows their structure, and in the meaning lies a veritable treasure-house of beauty.
— Dnyanesvari
Transl: Pradhan, Lambert[55]
His first text Dnyanesvari was in the vernacular Marathi language, as opposed to the classical Sanskrit language.[56] According to Bhagwat, like other Bhakti poets, Dnyaneshwar choice of the vernacular language was an important departure from the prevailing cultural hegemony of Sanskrit and high–caste Hinduism, a trend which continued with later bhakti poets across India. Dnyaneshwar is to the Marathi literature what Dante is to the Italian, states Bhagwat.[57]
According to tradition, Nivruttinath was not satisfied with the commentary and asked Dnyaneshwar to write an independent philosophical work. This work later came to be known as Amrutanubhava.[58][32] Scholars differ on the chronology of the Dnyaneshwari and Amrutanubhav. Patwardhan has argued that Amrutanubhav is an earlier text than Dnyaneshwari because the latter is richer in use of metaphors and imagery, and displays greater familiarity with many different philosophical systems, such as Samkhya and Yoga.[59] However, both Bahirat and Ranade disagree with this view pointing out that in Amrutanubhava, author displays familiarity with involved philosophical concepts such as Mayavada and Shunyavada, and while the text has simpler language, it reveals Dnyaneshwar's "philosophical depth".[60]
Dnyaneshwar's devotional compositions called Abhangas are believed to have been formulated during his pilgrimage to Pandharpur and other holy places when he got initiated into the Varkari tradition.[33]
Influences
"Like a good farmer giving up his old business and beginning something new every day, the man overpowered by ignorance installs images of gods, often and again and worships them with the same intensity. He becomes the disciple of the guru who is surrounded by worldly pomp, gets initiated by him and is unwilling to see any other person who has got real spiritual dignity. He is cruel to every being, worships various stone images and has no consistency of heart."
—Dnyaneshwari
Transl: Fred Dallmayr[19]
The Mahanubhava sect and the Nath Yogi tradition were two prominent movements during Dnyaneshwar's time that influenced his works. Mahanubhavas were devotees of Krishna who disregarded the caste system, the Vedas and the worship of the deity Vitthala.[61] Dnyaneshwar differed significantly from Mahanubhava's religious precepts.[61] His thought was founded on the philosophy of the later Vedic texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita,[61] and devotion to Vitthala formed the cornerstone of the egalitarian Varkari sect founded by Dnyaneshwar.[62][63] However, the literary style adopted by Mahanubhava writers influenced Dnyaneshwar's works. According to R. D. Ranade, Dnyaneshwar "stands to Mahanubhavas just in the same relation which Shakespeare stood to Elizabethan writers".[64]
Dnyaneshwar was initiated into the Nath Yogi tradition by his brother Nivruttinath,[65] sometime after the death of their parents;[30] Sopana and Muktabai were initiated into the tradition by Dnyaneshwar himself.[26] Founded by Gorakshanath,[c] the Nath Yogi sect had introduced the system of Hatha Yoga, which emphasised on yogic poses and physical fitness.[66] Gahaninath, a disciple of Gorakshanath, had initiated Nivruttinath into the Nath Yogi tradition.[67] Dnyaneshwar's non-dualistic philosophy, usage of a vernacular language in his writing and an emphasis on yoga and oneness of Vishnu and Shiva were his inheritances from the Nath Yogi tradition.[6]
The values of Universal brotherhood and compassion espoused in his works came from his interactions with the devotional Vitthala sect, a tradition which was already in existence during Dnyaneshwar's time.[68] J. N. Farquhar also notes the influence of Bhagavata Purana on Dnyaneshwar's poetry.[69]
Philosophy
Ontology and epistemology
"It is a pure knowledge itself that is not enlightened by any other knowledge or darkened by ignorance. But can the pure consciousness be conscious of itself? Can the eyeball perceive itself? Can the sky enter into itself? Can the fire burn itself... Therefore, that which is pure consciousness itself, without the quality of being conscious is not conscious of itself.
Amrutanubhava.
Translator: B.P. Bahirat[70]
Dnyaneshwar takes up the examination of being or brahman[d] in Amrutanubhava. He considers being to be the substratum of thought which enables thought and cognition. Since being is prior to thought and concepts, it is distinct from Kantian categories, and methods of thought such as epistemological analysis cannot be applied to it.[72] Dnyaneshwar believes that reality is self–evident and does not require any proof.[73] It antedates dualistic divisions into knower and known, existence and nonexistence, subject and object, knowledge and ignorance.[74]
Dnyaneshwar highlights the limitations of the traditional epistemological methods (pramanas) used in Indian philosophy.[e] He points out that any perception is validated only by another deeper understanding, while in establishing the rationality of reason, reason itself is transcended. Dnyaneshwar even cautions against reliance on scriptural testimony, which is accepted as a valid source of knowledge by philosophers of Vedanta and Mīmāṃsā schools of philosophy. Scriptural validity, to him, stems from its congruence with experiential truth and not vice versa.[72]
Ethics
Dnyaneshwar's moral philosophy comes out in his exposition of the 13th of Bhagavad Gita, in his commentary on the book Dnyaneshwari.[76] He considers humility; non–injury in action, thought and words; forbearance in the face of adversity; dispassion towards sensory pleasures; purity of heart and mind; love of solitude and devotion towards one's Guru and God as virtues; and their corresponding moral opposites as vices.[77] A pessimistic view of one's life is considered as a necessary condition for spiritual growth in Dnyaneshwari.[78] Dnyaneshwar writes that saints do not perceive distinctions and are humble because they identify all objects, animate or inanimate, with their own Self.[79]
Devotion to Guru occupies an important place throughout the commentary. Many of its chapters begin with an invocation to his Guru Nivruttinath, who is eulogized by Dnyaneshwar as the person who helped him "cross the ocean of existence".[80] The discussion on virtue and vices continues in his elucidation of the 16th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, where virtues and vices are called divine heritages and demonic heritages respectively.[81] Divine heritage comprises fearlessness, which comes from a belief in unity of all objects; charity; sacrifice,[f] which comes from performing one's duties and compassion in addition to virtues already enumerated;[83] while demonic heritage consists of six vices— ignorance, anger, arrogance, hypocrisy, harshness and pride.[84]
Dnyaneshwar's ideas are based on the Bhagavad Gita. Above: Dnyaneshwari pages in Devanagari script, Marathi language.
The doctrine of Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita is resurrected in Dnyaneshwari and its utility as a means of achieving actionlessness through action and in establishing harmony between the two is examined.[85] In the fourth chapter, the ideal karma yogi's actions are compared to the apparent movement of the Sun, which while appearing to rise and set is actually stationary;[g] similarly, a karma yogi, though appears to act, doesn't really act.[86] Performance of one's duties, acting without egoism, renunciation of the fruits of one's actions and offering one's actions to God are four ways which, according to Dnyaneshwar, result in actionlessness and Self–realisation.[87] Dnyaneshwar's metaphysical conclusion that the world is a manifestation of the divine, and not an illusion, also creates an ethical framework which rejects renunciation and recommends performing one's duties and actions in the spirit of worship.[88]
Traditional Indian scriptures see Ṛta, a Hindu theological term similar to dharma, as a natural law that governs both the cosmos and human society. Performance of one's duties to uphold social institutions, such as marriage and family, thus becomes imperative, and duty overrides individual freedom.[89] Dnyaneshwar is in agreement with tradition; he believes that divine order and moral order are one and the same and are inherent in the universe itself. He, therefore, recommends that all social institutions be protected and preserved in their totality. However, when it comes to the institution of caste, his approach becomes more humanitarian and he advocates spiritual egalitarianism.[90]
Reception and legacy
Dnyaneshwar's palkhi (palanquin), carrying the sandals of the saint, in a silver cart pulled by Oxen on a journey from Alandi to Pandharpur.
Elements of Dnyaneshwar's life and writings, such as his criticism of parochialism of the priestly elite, a celebration of the family life and spiritual egalitarianism, would shape the culture of the Varkari movement.[91][92] According to Dallmayr, Dnyaneshwar's life and writings have "developed into primary exemplars of genuine religiosity for the Varkari movement, as well as crucial sources and focal points of bhakti devotion".[92]
Devotees of the Varkari sect in the Hindu Shaka month of Ashadh join an annual pilgrimage called the Wari with symbolic Sandals (called Paduka in Marathi) of Dynaneshwar carried in a palkhi from Dnyaneshwar's shrine in Alandi to the Vitthala temple in Pandharpur .[93] The Padukas (sandals) of Dnyaneshwar are carried in a Palkhi (palanquin) for the Dnyaneshwar inspired works of later poet-saints of the Varkari movement.
His philosophy of chidvilas was adapted by Varkari writers, such as Namdev and Eknath, to their own works. Amrutanubhava's influence is visible in Eknath's Hastamalak and Swatmsukha. Tukaram's works imbibe and explain Dnyaneshwar's philosophical concepts such as the refutation of Mayavada.[94]
In popular culture
A 1940 Marathi film, Sant Dnyaneshwar, directed by Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal, was a biopic on Sant Dnyaneshwar’s life. Since 2021, a Marathi language TV serial named ‘Dnyaneshwar Mauli’ is airing on the Sony Marathi channel.
