My strength I broke, and I have become weak; my unstable mind I fixed and made stable; my unfashioned mind I fashioned, and then I quaffed nectar.
In that state I sang of Him who preceded the soul[1] and the three qualities.[2]
The idea that Thou and I are distinct hath been removed.
What was worthy of worship I worshipped, what was worthy of trust I trusted; and I have become blended with God as water with water.
Saith Jaidev, I have repeated God's name,[3] and becoming absorbed in His love have obtained Him who liveth undisturbed.
NAMDEV[4]
Namdev was the son of Damasheti, a tailor, who resided at Narsi Bamani, a village near Karhad in the Satara district of the Bombay Presidency. Namdev's mother was Gonabai, daughter of a tailor at Kalyan, in the same district. Both Namdev's
- ↑ God the Supreme Spirit, is the source whence the souls, jīvatāma, of all animals have proceeded. The soul can only return to God by good works and laborious struggles for perfection. As long as God and the soul are distinct, the latter is subject to transmigration. When by the practice of good works the light of the soul blends with the light of God, nirvān, or eternal rest, is obtained.
- ↑ That is, from whom the soul and the three qualities emanated. God being a spirit cannot be said from a human point of view to possess any attributes.
- ↑ Jaidev, which literally means victory to God.
- ↑ The accounts of Nāmdev current in different provinces and languages of India are, for the most part, incorrect. The most trustworthy materials for his life are contained in the Gātha, compiled by Mr. Tukarām Tatya. It contains many hymns attributed to Nāmdev himself, but even these contain several exaggerations. The author is indebted to Messrs. A. F. Maconochie and L. J. Mountford, governors of the Sholapur District, and to Messrs. N. G. Chandorkar and S. B. Sardesai, officials in the same district, for inquiries made regarding the lives of Nāmdev and other saints of the Dakhan.
