Top 10 Famous Indian Saints

 

Top 10 Famous Indian Saints

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)

His spiritual search was focused on the question ‘Who am I ?’. He pursued many spiritual practices and also maintained silence for many years. When he was at the age of 16 he got a death experience with a current shock. After that, six weeks later he went to his uncle’s house where he had taken up sanyasam (it is a form of rejecting all kinds of materialistic desires and lead one’s life to a peaceful and simple spiritual way) and remained his left life. But very soon is attracted many devotees who regarded him as an avatar. His famous works are Gambhiram Sheshayya, Who am I? and so on.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886)

This Bengali saint was an ardent devotee of Goddess Kali. His most famous disciple was Swami Vivekananda. He was inspired by many religious traditions, which also includes devotion of goddesses Kali. He was a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple. He was attracted by many spiritual teachers who teach spiritual values, social leaders and many others. He teachings were realization of god is the main goal of life, harmony of religions and lord shiva, so on.

 

 

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Ramanujacharya (1060-1118)

He was the first person to support the Bhakti movement who was appointed as the successor of his teacher Yamuna muni. He traveled all over India and finally settled down at Srirangam. He established Vaishnavism on a sound foundation. He found Visistadvita or qualified philosophy and according to him, salivation can be reached by Karma, Knowledge, and Bhakti.  He wrote Sribasya and Gitabhasya.

 

Nimbarka (13th Century)

The next person to be the supporter of the Bhakti movement, junior of equal age of Ramanuja. He was a devotee of Krishna and Radha. He found Dvaitadvaita or multiple philosophies. He wrote Vedanta Parijata-Saurabh, a commentary on principles of Bramha. He settled in Mathura. He lived in the 13th century.

Madhavacharya (1238-1317)

He is associated with Sankaracharya and Ramanuja as one of the three principles philosophers of the Vedanta system. He propounded Advaita or dualism. According to him, the ultimate goal of man is the direct knowledge of Hari, which leads to salvation or eternal happiness.

 

Vallabhacharya (1479-1531)

He was born in Varanasi. The Shuddhadvaita Vedanta which is a purely non-dual was propounded by him. He also propounded a philosophy called Pustimarg (the path of grace). He found a school called Rudra Sampradaya. He identified Brahman with Sri Krishna, characterized by Sat (Being), Cit (consciousness), and Ananda (bliss). According to him, salvation can be reached through Sneha (deep-rooted love for God). He is the author of many scholarly works in Sanskrit and Brajbhasha, the most important in them are Subodhini and Siddhant Rahasya.

Ramananda (15th Century)

He was born at Prayag(Uttar Pradesh). In North India, he was the first Bhakti saint. He opened the door of devotion to everyone without any difference of birth, caste, religion, or gender. He was a devotee of Rama and believed in two great principles, perfect love for God and human brotherhood.

Namadeva (1270-1350)

He developed in the first part of the fourteenth century. He was a tailor who had taken to burglary before he became a saint. His poetry, written in Marathi, inspires intense love and devotion to God. It is said that Namadeva traveled to faraway places and participated in discussions with Sufi saints in Delhi.

Chaitanya (1485-1534)

He was the greatest saint in the Bhakti movement. He was born as Vishwambhar Mishra at Navadwip in West Bengal. Through is kirtans in Bengal he was responsible for the popularity of Vaishnavism. He started the Achintya Bheda Abheda Vedanta School of faith or belief. He taught the religion of intense faith in one Supreme God whom he called Krishna or Hari. He worshiped Krishna and Radha and tried to spiritualize their lives in Vrindavan. He settled permanently at Puri(Odisha), where he died. Krishnadasa kaviraja wrote Chaitanya’s biography, Chaitanyacharitamrita.

Dadu Dayal (1554-1603)

He was a weaver in Ahmedabad. He made important works to the Bhakti movement. He visited a number of places of worship and became a saint. He was opposite to idol-worship, the incarnation of god, caste differences, the external symbolism of religion, and the worship at the shrines of the old saints.

 

 

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