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The Philosophy of Sant Jnanadeva |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> Negligence of his Philosophy |
| Negligence of Jnanadeva's Philosophy: |
| The various historians of Indian Philosophy like Dr. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Dasgupta do not mention Jnanadeva because they have relied upon Sanskrit works only. Jnanadeva has written all his works in Marathi, hence his name is neglected by these writers. The significance of any philosophical system does not depend upon the language in which it is couched but upon the vitality of its meaning. Jnanadeva has purposely written in Marathi. In a democratic spirit he wished that his message should be understood by a Pandit as well as a layman. He was proud of his mother tongue and said that his Marathi words are more sweet than Sanskrit words. It is not the expression of a vain glory but of a real feeling. Both Jnaneshwari and Amritanubhava are written in Ovi meter. Jnanadeva's Ovi is incomparable. Prof. Patwardhan is thrilled by its beauty and cadence. He says: "With Jnanadeva the Ovi trips, it dances, it whirls, ... it takes long jumps, it halts and sweeps along, evolves a hundred and one graces of movement at the master's command. In the music of sound too it reveals a mysterious capacity of manifold evolution." The Amritanubhava is a purely philosophical work, hence these literary excellences are found there in a lesser degree than in Jnaneshwari. Still we find there beautiful similes and literary graces by which the author has tried his best to make the subject as interesting and as lively as possible. |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> Indian Idealism |
| Culmination of an Indian Idealism: |
| The dominant note of Indian philosophy is idealistic.
This idealism has its source in the Upanishads. Aruni and his disciple Yajnavalkya were the prominent teachers of Idealistic monism. The cardinal principle of the idealism is the spirituality of the Real. Yajnavalkya interpreted Spirit or Atman as the Pure Intelligence - the ontological sub-stratum of all existence as well as the epistemological nucleus of all knowledge. Later on Shamkar accepted the same interpretation but regarded the manifestations of the Pure Intelligence as illusions. His Idealism was Absolute but one sided. Kashmir Shaivism tried to correct this defect and regarded Maya as the power or the dynamic aspect of the Ultimate Reality. Jnanadeva has endorsed both the aspects of the Absolute i.e. Knowledge and Power but he introduces a new element in his theory. He draws attention to another more vital aspect of the Absolute. That aspect is the emotional one. The Absolute is not mere knowledge and will, but also affection or love. The Absolute is a person in a higher sense. He is the Shiva, the blessed Divine, who loves to manifest Himself as the knower and the known. In this way the Whole is the Experience saturated with Love Divine. Thus Idealism of Jnanadeva is the mature fruit of Upanishadic Idealism and deserves an important place in the history of Indian Idealism. |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> Ethical teaching |
| Ethical teaching: |
| The ethical teachings of Jnanadeva are in consonance with his metaphysics. The world, being a divine manifestation, is not to be despised. Hence Jnanadeva does not teach the gospel of renunciation. One should not give up one's duties but should do them in a spirit of worship. Every act should be performed in an attitude of prayer. The world is neither something heinous nor it is the object of mere sensual enjoyment. Every object is surcharged with divine significance. The ideal man of Jnanadeva is One whose heart overflows with divine Love at the sight of any object in the world. |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> Religion of Love |
| Religion of Love: |
| The religious implications of Jnanadeva's philosophy are also of great importance. With him the God of religion and the Absolute of Philosophy are identical. The ideal of life is not Moksha or liberation but Bhakti or the realization of Love Divine in this very life. Rituals or Yogic practices are of no use. Our life is not something sinful or a degradation of the Absolute but the medium through which Divine Love experiences Itself. To know this, to remember this with longing is the way of intermingling our little self with the Divine.10 This is the highest summum bonum of life which is within the reach of every human being. No barriers of caste or creed, time and space hinder his path. In this way the Philosophy of Jnanadeva is the bed rock on which the lofty and noble temple of the Bhakti cult in Maharashtra is erected. |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> His influence on later writers |
| Influence of Jnanadeva on later writers: |
| The influence of Jnanadeva upon the writers of the later periods was profound. Namadeva was his contemporary who was greatly influenced by Jnanadeva's philosophy, as was the the latter by his devotion. The Abhangas of Namadeva bear testimony to his assimilation of the philosophy of Chidvilas. In one of the religious lyrics Namadeva says: "He (God) gave birth to Himself out of his own sweetwill." Ekanatha was a great devotee of Jnanadeva who carried out the same line of teaching. His famous commentary upon the eleventh chapter of Shri Bhagawat Puran bears the stamp of Jnaneshwari and his 'Hastamalak' and 'Swatmsukha' show the influence of the Amritanubhava. Tukaram who is rightly regarded as the pinnacle of the temple of Bhagwata Dharma, has absorbed Jnanadeva's teachings and explained them in his own way, e.g. he seems to have summarised the whole chapter of the Amritanubhava on the refutation of Ajnana in one famous line of one of his Abhangas where he says, "People look out for darkness taking a lighted torch in their hand. How strange is their notion that they will meet darkness in this way!" No influence of Jnanadeva is found upon Ramadasa who was more orthodox and accepted Shamkar's Maya-vada. The name of Jnanadeva is not even mentioned in his works. An indirect reference is found in his Dasbodha, where he describes the miracle of the movement of an in-animate object. This, certainly, refers to Jnanadeva who is said to have performed the miracle of moving a wall, by his Yogic powers, when Changadeva had come to see him. Here Ramadasa is not showing his respect to Jnanadeva but is rather inclined to belittle him. |
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| Homepage --> Jnanadeva's place in the History of Indian Philosophy --> Universal significance |
| The Universal significance of Jnanadeva's Philosophy: |
| We have so far dealt at some length with the salient features of Jnanadeva's philosophy. We have seen how the Chidvilas theory propounded by him is his notable contribution to Indian Philosophy by a scheme of Idealism which must always remain one of the greatest achievements of the human mind. The blend of Bhakti, Jnana and Karma was adumbrated by Jnanadeva into a consistent and an all embracing philosophy. It stressed the feeling aspect in philosophy without the loss of intellectual heights attained by philosophers who laid stress purely on the aspect of Jnana. It is interesting to note that this blend had its natural effects in liberating the cognitive forces which were so far inhibited by the over emphasis on purely Jnana aspect of Reality. This new outlook was also responsible for an entire change in the attitude towards the worldly things. The World, the existence of which no person could deny or refuse to take into account, whose living and active presence was equally felt and experienced by both the learned and unlearned and which had the capacity to stir the highest emotions and stimulate the passions of the deepest die, was required to be regarded as a mere appearance. This the common man could not do. Naturally philosophic thought became alien and strange to him and philosophy became the pursuit of a few. This in turn made philosophy more and more unrealistic. The philosophic thought was in the main moving in the grooves of Shamkar's Philosophy. Jnanadeva tried to change this course of thought. The dynamic aspect of Jnanadeva's philosophy consists in his recognition of the feeling aspect in philosophy pan passu with the aspect of Jnana and Shakti. This dynamic nature is further accentuated by his adoption of a healthy, positive and realistic outlook of looking towards the objects in the world. For him the world is not a mirage or a cobweb of human imagination. According to his teachings God takes delight in manifesting in and realizing Himself through the infinite variety of forms of existence. Every form of existence, therefore, becomes at once endowed with the wealth and beauty of the Infinite. Again, the relation of the ultimate Reality or God with our finite-selves is one of deep sympathy and love. God is regarded as the embodiment of love. Hence to know him is to love Him, and this love is the inspiration of noble deeds and the highest social service. So the philosophy of Jnanadeva has not only a considerable historical importance but there are also elements in it that have a lasting universal significance. |
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