Introduction
“If Bhakti is the Anandamayakosha of Sanatana Dharma, Vaishnava Sampradaya is the Pranamayakosha!”
The earliest reference to Pandharpur as ‘Pandurangapalli’ is found in a copper plate inscription carved under the Rashtrakuta king Avideya.
A stone inscription dated 1237, found on an overhead beam of the present Vithoba temple, mentions that the Hoysala king Someshvara donated a village for the expense of the bhoga (food offering) for “Vitthala.”
Yadava King Ramacandra in 1276-77 AD, stopped at Pandharpur and bestowed on the God munificent gifts. In those inscriptions Pandharpur is called Phagani-pura, possibly a corruption for Phalgimi-pura or the town where the Phalguni songs (sung by Gopis to Krisna) are sung.
Review of Literature
Various research papers on the Bhakti marga specific to the Varkari Sampradaya range from the iconography, etymology of the name, philosophy of the sect, to caste differences and discrimination in the Vari. The sect of Vithoba [1960] speaks about the isolationist tendency of the castes in the Vari. The origin of Vithala, a new interpretation by S.G. Tulpule, speaks about the iconography and etymology and the various folklore surrounding the deity.
The primary focus of our paper is to show how the Varkari Sampradaya is a confluence of Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtaadvaita, GaudiyaVaishnavism and the teachings of saints of Maharashtra, and also covering the current day Varkari practices, with respect to composition of Dindi and the co-existence of all varnas, generations and economic classes. Thus this paper tries to understand how Pandharpur, is not just based on teachings of Advaita Vedanta but also a confluence of the various Vaishnavism sampradayas thus becoming the seat of Vaishnavism in Maharashtra and also how it has been able to remain so for the past 900 plus years.
Background
The many narratives about Lord Vithala
There are at least two references found of narratives revolving around Rukmini, who in angst, leaves Krishna for her maternal place Kaundinyapur which is near Pandharpur – here Krishna comes in search of her and meets Pundalik. And then the popular incident of Pundalik asking Krishna to wait and throwing a brick for him to stand upon!
Other references were found where Vithala has been originated as a Brahmin robber, who died in a fight with a person whose cattle he tried to steal. On hearing this, Vithalas sons came rushing and erected a pillar in his honour. People soon began worshiping this wish fulfilling pillar.
Other accounts talk of Vithala as a cowherd hero who died protecting the cattle and a memorial pillar or Bhadakhamba was erected which people started worshiping.
At Pattankodoli (Dist. Kolhapur) there is a temple of Vithala in Toranamala. Locally he is called as Vithala –Virappa. Legend has it that Virappa was the shepherd God and Vithala was his close aide.
Thus there are bizarre references too ranging from Vithala being a robber turned god, a pastoral hero, or a local hero who died defending the cattle and the pillar erected in his memory taking the shape of Vithala and Vaishnavism being slowly ingrained in it!!
There are even Buddhism claims with the arguments like he is standing alone without a consort and without any weapons. The murti of Vithala is in katyavalambita mudra, a favorite posture of Vrishni gods and it is so clear that the left hand of Vithala is holding a shankha. Kausthubhamani on chest is worth mentioning.
There is unanimity in describing Vithoba as a child. The image is called Balarupa in many abhangs (Tuka. I. P. 3170, Cokha 0.80 and 0.81, Eknath 0.45, Nama 0.1673 etc….). This childlike appearance is expressed by many adjectives, like ‘sukumar’ (delicate like a child), ‘balarupagojire (pretty form of a child). Tukaram uses a very expressive adjective ‘nagargode’ which means a boy “who runs about naked.” (Tuka.I. P. 2387). Sometimes indeed the child Vithoba is called ‘ughada’ which means naked or at least clad only in a loin-cloth (Tuka, I. P. 1110), or ‘digambara’ which means absolutely naked and which is the term applied to one of the two sects of Jainas precisely because they go about naked.
Transformation from a Shaiva to a Vaishnava Tirthakshetra
The Jain monk Hemachandra (1089-1172) suggested Panduranga to be Rudra (Desinamamala- 6.23). It is said that Pandharpur was once an important Saivite worship site and later maybe after the Nath Sampradaya and other Vedantic traditions, the change in orientation from Shiva to Vishnu or the gradual merging seems to have happened. The etymology of the name Vithala is uncertain.
Satavahanas, the first known dynasty of Maharashtra, that ruled from 2nd century BC till 3rd century AD belonged to the Aundra (apparently sons of Vishwamitra) clan. Aundras too were Shiva worshippers and this fact is evident from the fact that Andhra Pradesh and even Maharashtra are crowded with ancient Shiva shrines. Pundrika was an independent society that worshipped Lord Shiva, and thus erected the Shiva temple calling it “Pundrikeshwar”, Lord of Pundras. We now know that Pundra people referred to themselves as “Paundrank” (Pundra people) at least from Epical times. This solves the mystery of why Vitthal is called Pandurang (Root “Paundrank”).
Many scholars like Dr. Manikrao Dhanpalwar have tried to prove that this sacred place was originally Shaivaite before it was converted to a Vaishnava shrine. This is because the actual temple of Devotee Pundarik is a Shiva temple. It is the belief of devotees that on the head of Lord Vithala is Shiva linga. Many saints, including Dnyanehwar recognize Lord Vithala as Shiva as well as Vishnu.
महायोगपीठेतटेभीमरथ्यां
वरंपुण्डरीकायदातुंमुनीन्द्रैः।
समागत्यतिष्ठन्तमानन्दकन्दं
परब्रह्मलिङ्गंभजेपाण्डुरङ्गम्॥१॥
Meaning:
(1.1 (Salutations to Sri Panduranga) In the Seat of Great Yoga (Maha Yoga Peetha) (i.e. at Pandharpur) by the bank of river Bheemarathi (has come Panduranga),
1.2: (He has come) to give Boons to Pundarika; (He has come) along with the great Munis,
1.3: Having arrived He is standing like a Source of Great Bliss (of Parabrahman),
1.4: I Worship that Panduranga, Who is the veritable Image (Lingam) of Parabrahman.)
This was recited 1200 years back by AdiSankaracharya, perhaps the first record of Pandharpur. AdiShankara is said to have visited Pandharpur and gave us the Pandurangashtakam, which talks about the beauty of the deity Panduranga, his Gunas and how he is holding his hands at the waist telling the Bhaktas to surrender to him and that the samsara sagara is only waist deep which can easily be crossed. The above couplet is from the same. The last line of each couplet ends with “Parabrahma Lingam Bhaje Pandurangam” which essentially means that Parabrahma has manifested in this form of Panduranga.
According to Dr. R.C. Dhere, Vithala originally was a minor God of pastoral communities, named as Ital, who rose high as supreme God as his character was elevated in a Vaishnava form by the Sthalapurana’s (Local mythological scripts). According to him, he was first elevated as Shaivaite and in a later course, he was related with Vishnu and Krishna to adorn him a Vaishnava character.
Sant Dnyaneshwar settled the differences between the two factions (Shaivism and Vaishnavism) by stating that Vithal was Krishna, but he carried a Shiva lingam carved on his crown.
Varkaris also consider Vithoba as the incarnation of Parabrahma. They, however, differ radically from the Mahanubhav in that they see no differences between Visnu and Siva who are forms of Parabrahma as well. This non-sectarian spirit of the Varkaris is important to note as it explains why in Maharashtra there has never been any struggle between the devotees of various gods as has happened in other parts of India.
Varkari Sampradaya and its distinctive features
A] Bhakti Marga
There has always been an inert yet subtle dichotomy between the householder and the renouncer, a constant conflict within and a tension with the push and pull; and it is Bhakti, which came to the rescue. Embracing Bhakti is like the mother embracing the child, total surrender to its existence, yet at the physical level running the mundane errands. With Bhakti marga, renunciation was no longer necessary as in case of a Sanyasi, one could learn to leave the world from within. Bhakti Marga has shown time and again that moksha was possible without renouncing the grihastha.
The saints from 13th to 17th century were all mostly Vaishnavites – which explains how the Bhakti movement of Maharashtra vis-a-vis the Varkari Sampradaya tilted towards Vaishnavism and Maharashtra became the seat of Vaishnavism.
Also these saints took great pains to boost the morale of the people which dwindled at times due to the constant foreign invasions.
Eknath Ramayana speaks of the ideals and gunas of Prabhu Rama, Lakshmana and Hanumana, urging people to unite against the tyranny of Ravana, a symbolism with the contemporary situation – when the Deccani sultans were breaking temples and idols.
Gnyaneshwari is full of Vira Rasa and urges people into righteous action for the right purpose.
Ramadas (the spiritual guru of Shivaji Maharaj) sings of a state of Anandvanbhuvan (abode of happiness) where Aurangazeb and all Mlecchas are killed and all destroyed temples are re-built. Ramdas Swami’s message to Maharashtra was of manliness, bravery and patriotism.
Wave of Bhakti engulfed the whole of Maharashtra and the messages of the saints’ united people belonging to all sections of the society.
The Bhakti saints played an important role in achieving this unity. By enriching the Marathi language, by providing the rallying points in the form of deities like Vithoba at Pandharpur and by popularizing Kirtana singing, the Bhakti saints unified the Marathas and created a sense of belonging.
The abhangs are an integral part of this Bhakti tradition. In fact, there is a traditional order according to which they have to be sung. There are abhangs for the departure and abhangs for the arrival, abhangs for the morning and abhangs for the afternoon, abhangs for each day of the week.
The singing slowly prepares the hearts and the minds of the pilgrims to be in a fitting mood when they will reach Pandharpur. It makes them increasingly aware of the presence of the God they are going to meet. Little by little, the devotee is liberated from his daily worries and enters a state of psychological peacefulness necessary for any spiritual achievement.
B] Varkari Sampradaya
A distinctive feature is the pilgrimage to Pandharpur, called the Vari or the pilgrimage. The first inscription of Vari appears in the Hubli Stone inscription of Krishna Yadava (1248 CE). Varkari is one who regularly (kari) does the pilgrimage (vari).
A Varkari is both a messenger to God and Mauli (as they lovingly call Vithala in Marathi) himself. The very journey that the Varkari sets in lifts him to spiritual heights as if he has taken the boat to cross the samsara sagara. It seems as if the road to Pandharpur itself has the power to sanctify! The Varkari Sampradaya is steeped in Advaita Bhakti,though there are a few other variations (dvesha Bhakti, virodha bhakti) given by some sants. The tools proclaimed by the Sants for the Varkaris are Namasmaran,Sankirtan, Satsang.
The Vari essentially fulfills three characteristics of education – “preservation of traditional knowledge, its cultivation and its transmission to the next generation.”
The Varkari philisophises Advaita Vedanta – and adds a new purushartha “bhakti and calls it the mahapurushartha – above the other four purusharthas. This paramapurushartha is not to be sought in solitude but in the company of sant sajjan –
“Nalage Muktianisampada – sant sang gheisadaa“ – I don’t want your mukti – only want the company of santa mandala
“Tukamhanegarbhavasi – sukheghalaveamhasi“ – let me be born again and again and let me repeatedly walk the path with the Sant mandali
For them it is the experience of the journey of their Saints in Bhakti rasa and their words of wisdom which makes their direction, their path, their panth.
Vithoba as he is called is their mother – a universal mother who embraces everyone equally and is standing on the brick not only for Pundalik but for all those who come with love and Sharanagati- and Pandharpur their maternal home.
One distinguishing feature of the Varkari Sampradaya which is unparalleled is that the Sants are as important, as sacred and as loving to the Varis as Vithala himself. The Sants [who came from all walks of life and all different varnas] are most dear, most important for this Sampradaya and their abhangs are part of the Vari:
- Dnyaneshwar Mauli
- Namdev Maharaj – forceful figure. Namdev Maharaj’s kirtans became famous and through his voice the name of Vithala became known in distant places. Narsi Mehta in his Haramala records the deeds of Namdev, and some of his works became a part of the Granth Sahib.
- Eknath Maharaj
- Tukaram Maharaj
- Muktabai – founder women of the Varkaris
- Gonai and Rajai – mother and mother-in-law of Namdev Maharaj.
- Janabai
- Soyrabai – wife of Chokhamela
- Kanhopatra – daughter of a courtesan
- Bahinabai – married to a widower at the age of 5 – speaks of the pains of sansar
These ‘Sants’ are venerated as avataras of god at the place of their Samadhi by the group of their disciples and their descendants. Not only temples are erected in their honour, but they are considered as still present in a spiritual way, as living for the good of the community. This fact is at the root of the very existence of the pilgrimage.
When he lived, the ‘Sant’ used to go on pilgrimage to Pandharpur with the group of his disciples. While on the way, he assumed a very special holiness in the eyes of the ordinary Varkari, he was himself walking across the country, giving to everybody the possibility to come near him and receive his blessing.
Although they say that Vithoba is a form of Krsna, the great Varkari Saints never insist too much on the Puranic legends connected with this god, and when they do, it is always in a symbolic way. For the Saints, Vithoba is not only the form of Krsna or of Visnu, but he is first the form of Parabrahma.
Varkaris are a Kul, with Jnaneshwar and Tukaram as ancestors of the Kul, and Vithala their Kuladevata and Faith in the name of Vithala, being their Kula Dharma.
A person desirous of being ordained as a Varkari goes and expresses his wish to the Guru, a leader of any of the dindis with a Tulasi mala. The mala is placed on Dnyaneshwari or Eknathi Bhagavat and the Guru or Maharaj wears it around the person’s neck. He is now a Malkari (one wearing the mala).
A Varkari has to undertake at least one Vari every year. Four processions take place in the months of Chaitra (March-April), Ashadh (June-July), Kartik (October-November) and Magh (January-February). Of these, the Ashadhi Ekadashi Vari is the most popular. Open to all, the Vari welcomes whoever wishes to be a part. The old and the young, the men, the women and the children, the rich and the deprived, the healthy and the specially-abled, the sincere regular followers or the one-time adventurous individuals, the ones that walk the entire distance of 21 days or the ones that walk for particular distances. There are no restrictions in terms of accessibility to all. The Vari unites devotees beyond cultures, economic classes, languages, geographies, communities, age and professions.
The structure of the Vari is de-centralized. The whole process is set in motion as if by some design, for there is very little government machinery involved, no event managers, no priests or temple staff enroute, everything falls in place. It is just the Panchang which tells when is Ashadhi Ekadashi and 21 days before the journey begins This magic has already been created, repeated for the past 900 plus years.
The journey in its entirety is called the Vari. Vari is not a ritual, it is definitely not comfort, in fact for the newcomers it is utter chaos. But there is an element of happiness and the learning of what Bhakti is all about for the seeker. Sukha and Bhakti with nothing around you, but everything amidst you.
Varkaris include those who haven’t even planned for the next meal, do not wear slippers all along the route not as a penance or a ritual but as a lifestyle- and yet there seems to be a smile of happiness and contentment that they are going to their mother’s home – to meet their Mother – Mauli
Here is the journey itself which is the destination, for there are many who reach the destination and do not even bother to take darshan of Vithala – their mission, their penance having accomplished in the journey itself.
C] The Palkhis
The Palkhi of Dnyaneshwar from Alandi and of Tukaram from Dehu travel a distance of 150 miles for 15 days before they reach Pandharpur, with chants of Dnyanba-Tukaram echoing all through the distance.
There are numerous Palkhis – like Dnyaneshwar Mauli’s palkhi from Alandi, Tukaram Maharaj’s palkhi from Dehu, Samarth palkhi, Nath palkhi etc. and new ones like IT Dindi, Harit Dindi, Dindis of universities / colleges; each affiliated to some cause.
There are multiple palkhis that leave for Pandharpur, and in these palkhis are infused hundreds of Dindis.
Palkhis are divided into Dindis (having anywhere from 50 to 1000 Varkaris) belonging to the same village, or following the same Guru. Each Dindi, numbered according to its position in the procession, has a leader and a team of nominated members, who are allotted definite tasks. Some groups take care of night halts and meals for the Dindi members, while the other groups engage in bhajan, kirtan etc.
D] Dindis
Dindis are a part of each palkhi – Ahead of each palkhi there are few dindis and behind it are a few (more newer ones).
There is a leader of each palkhi called the “sopdar”. The moment he raises the flag, there is a pin drop silence amongst the half a lac crowd of the palkhi. Here every evening Samaj Aarti is carried out.
Each dindi is self organized and is moving in tandem to the larger mission of reaching with Bhakti towards Pandharpur at the predesigned pace. There are 13 – 14 halts for each palkhi for the total journey.
If there are 50 dindis in a palkhi, then all the 50 dindis will gather around the palkhi when they halt for each day.
The whole ecosystem is in sync with the Vari, serving god’s Bhakta is a great punyam as per our Acharyas.
Each Varkari irrespective of whatever status, location, gender or spiritual enhancement level, he or she belongs to, is a Mauli i.e. mother Vithala. Here is an event, a celebration, a congregation, a penance, pilgrimage, which goes far beyond identities and boundaries which are otherwise part of everyday existence. The Varkaris touch the feet of each other and others touch the Varkari feet once they return from the Vari.
The Varkaris have no role in the temple administration. They walk in self-contained groups; each called a ‘dindi’. Every dindi has a leader; there is a group to look after accommodation, one for food and one also includes musicians and singers who chant the name of the Lord. The order in which they walk is predetermined, and there is never any dispute or rowdyism. Their discipline can be gauged from the fact that there are often only a few hundred policemen to monitor over one million plus people.
Different dindis start off from the birth-sites and Samadhi places of various saints and converge in Pandharpur. The pilgrims travel 150 to 300 kilometers, depending on where they start. The biggest of all dindis is that of Dnaneshvara, which forms a gigantic procession. It originates in Alandi, near Pune, and covers about 250 kilometers in eighteen days’ walk. The convergence of pilgrims, and the symbolic presence of their saints, awakens the sleepy villages with intense religious fervor. United in faith, Varkaris walk with discipline and systematically in the Varis. They greet each other with a heartfelt ‘Ram Krishna Hari’ and have a common calling – ‘Mauli’. The inspiring feat through the ghats, the uneven roads, the rains challenge not just the body, but both – the mind and the faith in the divine.
The Confluence
The very image of a Vari comes across a movement steeped in Bhakti with people doing sankirtan and taking a procession of the palkhi. However, if we closely study the philosophy in the discourses which are delivered before and during the Vari, we can see how it is a confluence of various sampradayas.
To begin with, the foundation is Advaita Sampradaya. That its most revered saints (Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Namdeo) were Advaitavedantists is noteworthy as these varkaris keep singing their abhangs all the while during the Vari. For eg: The abhang of Sant Dnyaneshwar where he says:
“Payapadugeletavapaulachinadise, samorkipathimorana kale.” [when I bowed to fall at his feet, I could not see his feet. I do not understand whether he is in front of me or behind me].
This form of Advaita may not be pure Sankara Advaita but still it is Advaita as the Bhakta sees no difference between himself and Vithala. So much so that at the end of the 20 day padayatra Vari, there are many who do not even take the darshan of Vithala – for them it was a journey to Pandharpur that was more important and having completed it is good enough.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself stayed at Pandharpur for 11 days, and their method and style of sankirtan has been adopted and today’s kirtan style of Vari is surely following the style of Gaudiya Sampradaya.
The teachings of Vishishtadvaita of Brahman having all the Kalyanagunas, also finds a place in the abhangs of Varkari Sampradaya. This can be seen from the abhang ‘Mungiudali Akashi’ [the ant flew in the sky]. The Varkari has unflinching faith and is in complete surrender to his Vithala who is full of great Gunas and is the only one to save them from the samsara sagara. They believe that Vithala has his hands on the hips indicating that the depth of the sagara is only hip deep and can be crossed easily by everyone.
Vallabhacharya in his works Samnyasanirnaya says: It is not necessary to take the vows of Sanyasa in order to practice the nine – fold bhakti, for in the practice of Bhakti, help of other Bhaktas is essential; both the pride common to the state of sannyaasa and the duties of the state of sannyaasa are contrary to the bhaktimarga. This very well sums up the very essence of Varkari sampradaya.
Dnyaneshwar’s Chidvilasavada: The Varkari, who is a householder and privy to sankirtan and discourses by the learned leaders of the spectrum, very easily ingests the lofty idea of “Chidvilasvada” Chit means awareness or consciousness. The central idea of that philosophy is that there is only one consciousness in the form of various substances in the universe. Chid (brahman or consciousness) was alone – (why feel lonely, as water cannot quench its own thirst !) and the play or the Vilas which was played by this Creation – that is Chidvilas.
Kumara Sampradaya, popularly known as Nimbarka Sampradaya or Hamsa Sampradaya embraces the philosophy of Dvaitadvaita. This sampradaya talks of the existence of both Dvaita and Advaita – and Jiva and Jagat are dependent on the supreme Brahman who is Vishnu. Again we see a reflection of these very ideas in the Varkari at one extreme calling each other with the name of Mauli (as is Vithala called fondly) bringing the Advaitasidhanta while at the same time singing abhangs of Bhakti so very steeped in Dvaitasidhanta.
Thus Pandharpur seems to be the seat of Vaishnavism in Maharashtra, which is not just based on teachings of Advaita Vedanta but is a confluence of the various Vaishnavism Sampradayas and also has been able to remain so for the past 900 plus years.
Discussion
As was stated at the outset, there have been research papers on the Bhakti marga specific to the Varkari Sampradaya ranging from the iconography, etymology of the name, philosophy of the sect, to caste differences and discrimination in the Vari.
Our paper has tried to showcase the philosophy of the Varkari Sampradaya, how it is the essence of Vaishnavism and a confluence of various other sampradayas and how some of the narratives are far from reality.
The members of the various castes are not mixed together but the members of each ‘dindi’ belong to one caste only. However, this is not in opposition to the ideal above mentioned. It is on the contrary a solution to the problem of the distinction of castes and of their life together. The idea of a group composed of individuals coming from various castes with different cultures, traditions and customs could only be an artificial juxtaposition and not a true community: this idea can exist only in the minds of idealists who have lost contact with human and social reality. The Varkari solution is a happy compromise between the reality of the distinction between castes and the ideal of a social community to unite them.
There have been a few papers and publications which have singled out the segregation of Dindis as per Varna as a blot in the Varkari Sampradaya. “The dindis may become a small closed “chapel” exclusive in its membership and esoteric in its doctrine, which could split the unity of the procession. It is a real danger because these groups consist of people of the same caste and one knows the frequent isolationist tendency of the various castes in India” [Cult of Vithoba, 1960]
Is not the Dindi’s system contradictory to this ideal of the Saints and how is this ideal practically realised in the pilgrimage”[Cult of Vithoba, 1960]
However, our research and few interviews with people gives a very clear understanding of this movement as opposed to some of these armchair overseas writers.
Take the case of one Registered Dindi: Dindi No.50 (REF: Palkhi:AMovingSacredTown- Kiran Shinde
This Dindi, owned by a private charitable trust (family), came from Ambejogai (in Solapur district). The current head is a widow who inherited the Dindi from her husband’s uncle. The Dindi comprises members from all sub-castes including those from backward castes and Muslims also. This negates what has been stated in the above mentioned paper [Cult of Vithoba, 1960]. In fact the kirtans of Sheikh Mohammad who is a popular Santkavi, also dips his words in Advaita Vedanta (Communicating the Sacred Varieties of Religious Marketing Edited by Miloš Hubina and Francis S. M. Chan) . It has been popularized and legitimized also by the upholders of Maharashtrian bhakti tradition themselves who included some of Sheikh’s poetry into the most popular compilation of bhakti compositions in the Marathi vernacular space— Sakalasantagatha (Songs of All Saints).
There is also a claim that the Dindis which are closer to the Palkhi belong to specific Varnas and the others are put far behind. Again it is studied and found that the chronology of the Dindi and its proximity rests in the age of the Dindi and there is no varna strain playing here.
In fact, the palkhi in itself is a great leveller. Anybody can offer their shoulder to carry the palkhi into the village, there are no maan-karis (i.e. nobody has an exclusive right).
As discussed earlier, we also see how Pandharpur is a confluence of many Vaishnava Sampradayas such as Gaudiya Sampradaya, Kumara Sampradaya, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and the saints of Maharashtra and hence can be termed as the seat of Vaishnavism.
Conclusion
That this journey not only transforms the pilgrim (Vari) but also entire villages en route is another dimension added. When villages prepare for the night stay of thousands of Varkaris, when the entire village is dressed up for the fair and the one or two nights that the Palkhi halts, the hordes of nearby villagers get the blessings of the padukas of their saints, the current day sants and the pravachans on Vaishnavism on Bhakti and on Bhagavatam and much more by the current day Maharajas. The whole village is encroached by strangers and there is much cleaning up to be done after the Varkaris leave – but for the villagers it is now their identity that they will not give up for anything. This collective participation towards a larger goal is very rare indeed.
So if one looks at the philosophy of the vari and the psychology of the Varkari, it largely looks like Vaishnavism. But it goes beyond that. The Varkari looks beyond the divides and focuses on the connection between him and the lord immaterial of the manifestation which can be either Bhagwan Vishnu, BhagwanSriKrishna, Mauli, the universal mother, Lord Shiva, and so on. It is an amalgamation of all sampradayas. What the Varkari Sants and their followers understand and imbibe is that of Vithala being Parabrahman – so if any deity is their Kula devata, Vithala the Parabrahman is their Ishta Devata. The lofty philosophy of Parabrahman and the Saguna Nirguna Tatva is so easily ingested in the Varkari is something to be in awe of and something which speaks of the greatness of its founding Sants.
Collective Vaishnavism: Today the need of Sanatan Dharma is Sangathan. You can go to Pandharpur anytime but doing the Vari is important, bringing in a collective discipline, and in this, like the mother who is inclined more towards the weaker child, the Varkari Sampradaya with its robust movement and easy devotion wants the weak to gain momentum and voice. It is in this power of collective that the pandemic saw the Varkaris pray from their homes with a select few taking the Paduka in state transport buses without raising a commotion or a fuss about it. It is in the collective again that the Nirmal Vari Abhiyan run by the RSS takes care of 28,000 toilets en route and the waste management by 12000 swayamsevaks- with four crore litres of human waste converted to fertilizer and being used.
In today’s trying times when enemies are difficult to identify and their modus operandi varied and venomous, we have to all come together like “fractals” under the Sanatana Dharma cosmos. How easily the Varkari sees the same Vithala as his Krishna, as his Shiva, as his Mauli, mother, his Parabhrama, his Ishtadevata, yet loftily carrying the teachings of Sankara, Ramanuja, Dnyaneshwar ,Tukaram in her Tulasi plant or his Bhagva Flag , foisted above the head. Indeed these are Vaishnava Veer – for they all culminate in their bhakti of their Mauli and their Santa parampara. Let us all take this Gnyana of our Bharatiyaparampara and try to repeat it into smaller and larger copies making it a biodiversity of Sanatana Dharma. It is time for the current day Acharyas, the various panths and the various schools of Dharma to bring all of us Sanatanis into these fractals where the unique identity is retained afresh, but everyone is woven together in the journey to their Pandharpur to meet their Vithala. Just like in the symbolic “Dhava” or the race where everyone runs and everyone wins – Varkaris run at the sight of the Temple gopuram just like Tukaram began running in exhilaration at the very temple sight.
References
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