Marathi Bhakti tradition is indeed a rich resource. Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Ramdas, Sant Eknath, all of them are exceptional scholars, great philosophers, superb thinkers, great activists, and wonderful poets. Of these three, Sant Ramdas might not be equally well-known. Undoubtedly, he might not be as famous as Sant Namdeo or Sant Tukaram.
Actually, most probably apocryphally, like Sant Tukaram, he, too, is supposed to be the spiritual 'guru' of Shivaji Maharaj. The 'gurudom' of both of them has been so much made in to a controversy that it is better not to enter that territory where 'ignorant armies clash by night', to quote Mathew Arnold's brilliant image.
He was a great devotee of Lord Ram and of Lord Hanuman. He established in Maharashtra many temples of Maruti/Hanuman. Thus he tried to inject strength in an enervated society. One can thus go on and on about his religious contribution, the philosophical stance behind it, and so on. Well, much has already been written about these issues.
As for me, l like him a lot for two reasons. For one thing, he leads the common man from the practical to the philosophical. Better still, I admire him as a superb poet. What a range he has! He writes brilliant chain verse superbly. Honestly, nobody can beat him at anadiplosis. He is a superb master of this rhetorical ornament.
His verse makes tremendous and effective use of the music of words. The rhythm of his words is such that he need not use the names of the drum like beat, or, for that matter, any, musical instrument because his words, his structuring of syllables, the poetic forms he uses, all together create that effect so well that one thinks one can easily set it to music! No wonder, most of the much sung "aarti-es" of most gods are by him.
Most sensitively he captures a dejected mind, down and out, in doldrums. His meditative and edifying verse attains a unique sensitivity that can comfortably compete with any psychiatrist. In other words, he is absolutely contemporary.
Well, one of my ardent aspirations is to translate the great works of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Ramdas and a few Marathi women Bhakti poets in to English. Hope I manage it soon, and well! In the meanwhile, this celebratory memoir on the occasion of Ramdas Navami, the death anniversary of Sant Ramdas!
Pratima@Aai attended the training sessions at Sajjangad, dedicated to Sant Ramdas. Later, she was a teacher/evaluator for a training course based on his writings.
She studied in depth the Bhagwad Geeta, Dnyaneshwari and Tukaram Gatha. She scored exceedingly well, was a rank-holder, in the state/national level examinations conducted by Geeta Dharm Mandal.
I used to set up the pooja set up, the whole works, when she read the Upanishads and Vedas with a few other devotees.
Well, the star dust rubs on!
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