Sant Mat

This article is about the Sant Mat origins in the 13th Marathi. They referred to the Divine Name as having
century. For contemporary movements claiming a Sant saving power, and dismissed the religious rituals as havMat lineage, see Contemporary Sant Mat movements.
ing no value. They presented the idea that true religion
was a matter of surrendering to God who dwells in the
heart.[3]
Sant Mat refers to a loosely associated group of teachers
that became prominent in the Indian subcontinent from The rst generation of north Indian sants, (which inabout the 13th century CE. Theologically, their teachings cluded Kabir and Ravidas), appeared in the region of
are distinguished by an inward, loving devotion to a divine Benares in the mid 15th century. Preceding them were
principle, and socially by an egalitarianism separate from two notable 13th and 14th century gures, Namdev and
the qualitative distinctions of the Hindu caste system, and Ramananda. The latter, according to Sant Mat tradition,
to those between Hindus and Muslims.[1]
was a Vaishnava ascetic who initiated Kabir, Ravidas,
and
other sants. Ramanands story is told dierently by
The sant lineage can be divided into two main groups:
his
lineage
of Ramanandi monks, by other Sants prethe northern group of sants from the provinces of the
ceding
him,
and later by the Sikhs. What is known is
Punjab region, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, who exthat
Ramananda
accepted students of all castes, a practice
pressed themselves mainly in vernacular Hindi, and the
that
was
contested
by the orthodox Hindus of that time.
southern group, whose language is archaic Marathi, repSant
Mat
practitioners
accept that Ramanandas students
[1]
resented by Namdev and other sants of Maharashtra.
formed the rst generation of Sants.[5]
Sants developed a culture of being close to marginalized humans in society including women, and the
1 Etymology
untouchables (Atishudras). Some of the more notable
Sants include Namdev (d. 1350), Kabir (d. 1518), Nanak
The expression Sant Mat literally means Teachings (d. 1539), Mira Bai (d. 1545), Surdas (d. 1573), Tulsidas
of the Saints the Path of Sants (Saints)", Path of (d. 1623), and Tukaram (d. 1650).
Truth, Right or Positive Path. As point of view of
the Sants, the term Sant is pivotal. Derived from the The tradition of the Sants (sant parampara) remained
Sanskrit sat () and has overlapping usages (true, real, non-sectarian, though a number of Sant poets have been
honest, right). Its root meaning is one who knows(is) the considered as the founders of sects. Some of these may
truth or one who has experienced (merged into) Ulti- bear the Sants name, but were developed after them
mate Reality. The term 'sant' has taken on the general by later followers such as Kabir Panth, Dadu Panth,
meaning of a good person but is properly assigned to Dariya Panth, Advait Mat, Science of Spirituality and
Radhasoami.[6]
the poet-sants of medieval India.[2]
Only a small minority of religious Hindus have formally
followed Sant Mat, but the tradition has considerably inuenced Hindus across sects and castes. Bhajans (devo2 The Sants
tional songs) attributed to past Sants such as Mira Bai
are widely listened to in India and in Hindu communities
The Sant Mat movement was not homogeneous, and conaround the world. The Sant tradition is the only one in
sisted mostly of the Sants own socio-religious attitudes,
medieval and modern India that has successfully crossed
which were based on bhakti (devotion) as described in the
some barriers between Hindu and Muslim blocks. Julius
Bhagavad Gita.[3] Sharing as few conventions with each
J. Lipner asserts that the lives of many Hindus have been
other as with the followers of the traditions they challeavened by the religious teachings of the Sants, which he
lenged, the Sants appear more as a diverse collection of
describes as liberating.[3]
spiritual personalities than a specic religious tradition,
although they acknowledged a common spiritual root.[4] The Sant Mat tradition refers to the necessity of a living
human master, which is referred to with honoric titles
The boundaries of the movement were likely not secsuch as Satguru, or perfect master.[7]
tarian and were devoid of Brahmin concepts of caste
and liturgy. The poet-sants expressed their teaching in
vernacular verse, addressing themselves to the common
folk in oral style in Hindi and other dialects such as
1

5 NOTES

Similar movements

Classical Gnostics,[8] medieval Su poets such as Shams

Tabrizi, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi or Hafez, as well
as Sindhi poets, are considered to have many similarities
with the poet-sants of Sant Mat.[9]
The Radha Soami movement in North India regards itself as the main repository of the tradition of the Sants
and their teachings, as well as their approach to religious
endeavors, and presents itself as the living incarnation of
the Sant tradition. The most notable being Radhasoami
Satsang Beas, situated on the banks of the river Beas,
whose current living master is Gurinder Singh. According to Mark Juergensmeyer, that claim is also made by
the Kabir-panthis, the Sikhs and other movements that
continue to nd the insights from the Sant tradition valid
today.[10]
Prem Rawat and the Divine Light Mission (Elan Vital)
are considered to be part of the Sant Mat tradition by
J. Gordon Melton, Lucy DuPertuis, and Vishal Mangalwadi, but that characterization is disputed by Ron
Geaves.[11][12][13][14] The 20th century religious movement Eckankar is also considered by David C. Lane to
be an oshoot of the Sant Mat tradition.[15] James R.
Lewis refers to these movements as expressions of an
older faith in a new context.[16]

See also
Param Sant Kirpal Singh
Maharshi Mehi Paramhans
Bhakti movement
Meditation
Radha Swami Satsang, Dinod
Shiv Dayal Singh
Hazur Rai Saligram Bahadur

5 Notes
[1] Linda Woodhead; et al., eds. (2001). Religions in the modern world: traditions and transformations (Reprint. ed.).
London: Routledge. pp. 712. ISBN 0-415-21784-9.
[2] Schomer, Karine, The Sant Tradition in Perspective, in
Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in
Schomer K. and McLeod W. H. (Eds.) ISBN 0-96122080-5
[3] Lipner, Julius J. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (1994). Routledge (United Kingdom), pp. 120-1 .
ISBN 0-415-05181-9
[4] Gold, Daniel, Clan and Lineage amongst the Sants: Seed,
Substance, Service, in Sant Mat:Studies in a Devotional
Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod W. H.
(Eds.). pp. 305, ISBN 0-9612208-0-5
[5] Hees, Peter, Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience, (2002) p. 359. NYU
Press, ISBN 0-8147-3650-5
[6] Vaudeville, Charlotte. Sant Mat: Santism as the Universal Path to Sanctity in Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod W.H.
(Eds.) ISBN 0-9612208-0-5
[7] Lewis, James P. (1998). Seeking the light: uncovering the
truth about the movement of spiritual inner awareness and
its founder John-Roger. Hitchin: Mandeville Press. p. 62.
ISBN 0-914829-42-4.
[8] For Sant Mats anities with Classic Gnosticism, see:
Davidson, John, 1995, The Gospel of Jesus. Davidson,
The Robe of Glory. Diem, Andrea Grace, The Gnostic
Mystery. Tessler, Neil, Sophias Passion, on-line.
[9] Alsani, Ali. Sindhi Literary Culture, in Pollock, Sheldon I
(Ed.) Literary Culture in History (2003), p. 6378, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-22821-9
[10] Juergensmeyer, Mark. The Radhasoami Revival pp. 329
55 in Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod W. H. (Eds.) ISBN 09612208-0-5

Maharishi Shiv Brat Lal

[11] Melton, J. Gordon, Encyclopedia of American Religions

Param Sant Kanwar Saheb

[12] DuPertuis, Lucy. How People Recognize Charisma: The

Case of Darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission in Sociological Analysis: A Journal in the Sociology
of Religion Vol. 47 No. 2 by Association for the Sociology
of Religion. Chicago, summer 1986, ISSN 0038-0210,
pp. 111-124.

Sant Baljit Singh

Rajinder Singh (Sant Mat)
Ajaib Singh
Sant Thakar Singh
Sirio Carrapa
Surat Shabd Yoga
Akshar Purushottam
Contemporary Sant Mat movements (overview)

[13] Mangalwadi, Vishal (1977). World of Gurus. New Delhi:

Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. p. 218. ISBN 0-70690523-7.
[14] Geaves, Ron. From Divine Light Mission to Elan Vital
and Beyond: an Exploration of Change and Adaptation
in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions Vol. 7 No. 3. March 2004, pp. 4562.
Originally presented at 2002 International Conference on

Minority Religions, Social Change and Freedom of Conscience (University of Utah at Salt Lake City). At Caliber
(Journals of the University of California Press)
[15] Lane, David C., The Making of a Spiritual Movement,
Del Mar Press; Rev. edition (December 1, 1993), ISBN
0-9611124-6-8
[16] Lewis, James R. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious
Movements p. 23, Oxford University Press (2003), ISBN
0-19-514986-6

Further reading
Barthwal, Pitambar Dutt. The Nirguna School of
Hindi Poetry: an exposition of Santa mysticism,
Banras: Indian Book Shop, 1936.
Bokser Caravella, Miriam. The Holy Name, Bes:
Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2003. ISBN 978-818256-029-1
Bokser Caravella, Miriam. Mystic Heart of Judaism,
Bes: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2011. ISBN 97893-8007-716-1
Davidson, John (1995). The Gospel of Jesus,
Shaftesbury, Dorset: Element, 1995. ISBN 1904555-14-4
Davidson, John. The Robe of Glory: An Ancient
Parable of the Soul, Element, 1992. ISBN 1-85230356-5
Gold, Daniel (1987). The Lord as Guru: Hindi Sants
in North Indian Tradition, New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-19-504339-1
Inyat Khn. The Mysticism of Music, Sound and
Word, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988. ISBN 81208-0578-X
Juergensmeyer, Mark (1991). Radhasoami Reality:
The Logic of a Modern Faith, Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07378-3
Kirpal Singh. Naam or Word. Blaine, Washington:
Ruhani Satsang Books. ISBN 0-942735-94-3
RSSB. Surat Shabad Yog or Radhasoami.
Maleki, Farida. Shams-e Tabrizi: Rumis Perfect
Teacher, New Delhi: Science of the Soul Research
Centre, 2011. ISBN 978-93-8007-717-8
Puri, Lekh Rj, Mysticism: The Spiritual Path, Bes:
Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1964, 2009. ISBN 97881-8256-840-2
Schomer, Karine & William Hewat McLeod, eds
(1987). The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987.

Academic papers from a 1978 Berkeley conference

on the Sants organised by the Graduate Theological
Union and the University of California Center for
South Asia Studies. ISBN 81-208-0277-2
A Treasury of Mystic Terms, New Delhi: Science of
the Soul Research Centre. ISBN 81-901731-0-3

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