Icons of Bhārat

Allama Prabhu was the greatest mystic of the Veerashaiva movement — the 'lord of the Linga' who presided over the assembly of the sharanas at Basava's Anubhava Mantapa. A poet of the Vachanas with the sharpest spiritual vision of the age, he guided the saints and reformers of twelfth-century Kalyana with his piercing questions and his boundless insight.

Andal is the only woman among the twelve Alvars, the Tamil saint-poets — the girl found as a baby in a tulsi garden who grew up believing herself the bride of Vishnu. Her Tiruppavai, thirty verses sung at dawn, is recited through the month of Margazhi, and she is the most beloved of Tamil's saints.

Ashvaghosha was the great Buddhist philosopher-poet of ancient Bhārat — the author of the Buddhacharita, the epic biography of the Buddha in Sanskrit, and of the Saundarananda, and a master of music who converted kings with his songs. His works are among the earliest and finest of Sanskrit literature.

Avvaiyar is the most beloved woman poet of Tamil — the wise grandmother of the Sangam age whose verses of virtue, prudence, and kindness are the first poetry every Tamil child learns. Her proverbs — the Aathichoodi, Konrai Vendhan, and Moothurai — are the moral alphabet of Tamil culture.

The Buddha — the Awakened One — was born Siddhartha Gautama, a prince who left his palace to understand suffering, and who found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya. His teaching of the Middle Path — the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path — spread from Bhārat across half the world and remains one of humanity's greatest gifts.

Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji was the 34th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham — one of the most revered spiritual heads of modern Bhārat, who guided the ancient monastery of Adi Shankara for over forty years and was honoured by the nation with the Bharata Ratna.

Gondavalekar Maharaj was one of the most loved saints of Maharashtra — a householder and a musician of the Lord's name whose life of devotion and whose famous kirtans drew thousands to his village of Gondavale. His teaching that the constant remembrance of God's name is the highest path inspired the modern practice of namasmarana across the world.

Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism — a mystic, poet, and reformer of fifteenth-century Punjab whose message of one God, honest work, and service to all gave birth to one of the world's great religions. His hymns, the Japji Sahib, are recited by millions every dawn.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, is the martyr of religious freedom — the saint who gave his life in 1675 to protect the right of Hindus to worship freely under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. His sacrifice is honoured as the defence of faith itself, and his son, Guru Gobind Singh, created the Khalsa in his memory.

Helavanakatte Giriyamma was the first woman poet of the Haridasa tradition — a saint of Karnataka who, in the eighteenth century, composed devotional songs of matchless tenderness to Lord Ranganatha. Her keertanas are sung to this day, and she is honoured as the first woman of the great devotional movement of the Kannada land.

Kalyanaswami was one of the closest disciples of Ramana Maharshi, the great sage of Arunachala — the devotee who served the Master for decades and recorded his teachings for posterity. His life was a complete offering to the Master, and his records of Ramana's conversations and daily life are treasured by devotees across the world.

Kanaka Dasa was one of the greatest saints of the Haridasa movement — a poet of the common people who sang of the divine in the language of the street and the field. His keertanas, including the famous 'Nalacharita' and the beloved 'Koloru Jaya' devotional songs, remain among the most sung in the Kannada land, and his story of devotion is the pride of the Haridasa tradition.

Madhvacharya was the philosopher of devotion who founded the Dvaita — dualist — school of Vedanta, teaching that the soul and God are eternally distinct, and that liberation is eternal loving service of God. Born at Udupi in Karnataka, he founded the Krishna temple there and established a tradition of learning and bhakti that flourishes to this day.

Mahavira was the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of Jainism — the prince who gave away everything, even his clothes, to live the most extreme life of non-violence ever attempted. His teaching that every living being has a soul, and that ahimsa is the highest dharma, shaped one of the world's most peaceable religions.

Mahendranath Gupta, known to the world simply as M, was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna who recorded the Master's words day by day — the book he wrote, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, is one of the world's greatest spiritual classics. His faithful record preserved the teaching of the saint of Dakshineswar for all humanity.

Mahipati Dasaru was the hagiographer of the saints of Maharashtra — the writer who collected and told the lives of the great devotional saints of the land in his famous works, the Bhaktavijaya and the Bhaktalilamrit. His books brought the stories of the saints to every home and became among the most beloved works of the Marathi tradition.

Manikkavachakar was one of the greatest saints of the Saiva tradition of the South — the author of the Tiruvasagam, 'the sacred utterance', a body of devotional poetry that is counted among the supreme works of Tamil literature. His hymns of longing and surrender to Shiva have been sung in the temples of the Tamil land for more than a thousand years.

Mirabai is the most beloved woman saint of Bhārat — a Rajput princess who gave her life to Krishna, who sang in the streets of her city, who refused her royal family and her in-laws, and whose bhajans of longing and love are sung across the world to this day.

Molige Marayya was a devotee of the Veerashaiva tradition whose story of total surrender is told among the greatest of the sharanas — the man who, tested by the Lord, offered even his head without hesitation. His name, meaning 'the Marayya of the pot', and his tale of devotion are preserved in the sacred lore of the tradition.

Muthuswami Dikshitar was one of the great Trinity of Carnatic music — a composer of unmatched learning whose songs to the goddess, in Sanskrit, are masterpieces of raga and poetry. He is the scholar-saint of the three, whose works are the most revered in the Carnatic tradition.

Nag Mahashaya was a saint of Bengal whose life of absolute compassion made him one of the most beloved figures of the spiritual tradition of the land — a householder who lived for others, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and meditating on the Lord without cease. Vivekananda himself honoured him as one of the greatest souls he had known.

Namadeva was the pioneer of the Varkari movement — the first great saint-poet to sing of Vithoba of Pandharpur in Marathi, centuries before Tukaram. A tailor by caste, he broke every barrier of his age, and his songs are the oldest jewels of the Marathi devotional tradition.

Nammalvar was the greatest of the twelve Alvars, the saint-poets of the Sri Vaishnava tradition — the author of the Tiruvaymoli, a thousand hymns of love for the Lord that are honoured as the Tamil Veda. His poetry of longing and union transformed the devotional life of the South and remains the heart of the Sri Vaishnava tradition.

Narasimha Mehta is the Adi Kavi — the first poet — of the Gujarati language, a saint whose bhajans on Krishna are the foundation of Gujarati literature and devotion. His song 'Vaishnav Jan To' was the favourite of Mahatma Gandhi himself, who sang it daily.

Nijaguna Shivayogi was a saint-poet of the Veerashaiva tradition who, according to tradition, renounced a throne to become a wandering seeker of the Linga. He wrote the Vivekachintamani, one of the great works of the tradition, and his life and poetry made him one of the most beloved saints of Karnataka.

Osho was one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the modern age — a mystic and thinker whose radical message of awareness, meditation, and freedom drew seekers from across the world. From his ashram in Pune he taught a new vision of the spiritual life, and his hundreds of books and his meditation methods continue to inspire millions.

Patanjali is the father of yoga as the world knows it — the sage who compiled the Yoga Sutras, the systematic guide to the science of the mind, around two thousand years ago. His work, one of the six great systems of Indian philosophy, has spread from the hermitages of Bhārat to every corner of the modern world.

Pillai Lokacharya was the theologian of the Sri Vaishnava tradition who gave its most influential statement of prapatti — total surrender to God. His works on surrender and grace shaped the Tenkalai school of the tradition and its understanding of salvation as pure divine compassion.

Purandara Dasa is the father of Carnatic music — the wealthy merchant who lost everything, found Krishna, and spent his life composing hundreds of thousands of devotional songs. The basic lessons of every Carnatic musician still begin with his compositions, and his name is the foundation of South Bhārat music itself.

R.D. Ranade was one of the greatest philosophers of modern Bhārat — a scholar of the University of Allahabad whose studies of Indian mysticism, especially his monumental works on the saints of Maharashtra and Karnataka, revealed the inner life of the Bhakti tradition to the world. He was himself a mystic, and his writings blend scholarship with experience.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was the illiterate mystic who became Bhārat's most loved modern saint — a priest of the Dakshineswar temple who experienced God directly, tried every path of every religion, and declared them all true. His disciple Swami Vivekananda carried his message to the world.

Ramana Maharshi was the silent sage of Arunachala — a sixteen-year-old who, seized by the fear of death, simply watched himself die and discovered that the Self survives all. He then sat in stillness on the holy hill for the rest of his life, teaching seekers with a few words and a vast silence. His question 'Who am I?' became the most famous meditation of modern Bhārat.

Ramanujacharya was the great teacher of devotion in South Bhārat — the philosopher who taught that the soul, though one with God, remains distinct and can love Him. He opened the doors of the great temples to all castes, and his school of Vishishtadvaita shaped the bhakti that swept across Bhārat.

Sadashiva Brahmendra was a wandering yogi and saint of the South whose life of miracle and wisdom made him a legend — the author of the famous Atma Vidya Vilasa and the devotional songs that are sung in Carnatic music to this day. His samadhi at Nerur is one of the most revered shrines of the South.

Sakhubai was the saint-devotee of the Varkari tradition — a humble woman of Dehu who served the saint Tukaram and whose own songs of devotion are treasured in the Marathi tradition. Her life of quiet service and her verses of longing are part of Maharashtra's spiritual inheritance.

Samarth Ramdas was the warrior-saint of Maharashtra — the guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the author of the Dasbodh, and the founder of the Ramdasi Sampradaya. He taught that devotion and strength belong together, and his writings and his disciples gave the Maratha state its spiritual backbone.

Sant Dnyaneshwar was the boy-saint who founded the devotional tradition of Maharashtra — the author of the Dnyaneshwari, his marvellous Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, written when he was barely sixteen. He brought the highest philosophy to the common people in their own language and died, by his own choice, at the age of twenty-one.

Sant Eknath was one of the greatest saints of the devotional tradition of Maharashtra — the poet of Paithan who lived devotion not in the forest but in the world, serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and composing the abhangas and the Eknathi Bhagavata that still move the hearts of millions. He was the bridge between the age of Dnyaneshwar and the age of Tukaram.

Sarada Devi — the Holy Mother — was the wife of Sri Ramakrishna and one of the most loved saints of modern Bhārat. Married as a child and living mostly apart from her husband, she served him and his disciples with a gentleness so complete that she was worshipped as the divine mother herself — and her own spiritual life of service became a teaching.

Sarvajna — the 'all-knowing one' — was the wandering philosopher-poet of Karnataka whose tripadis, three-line verses of biting wisdom, are the most quoted lines in the Kannada language. His verses on human folly, hypocrisy, and practical sense are passed from generation to generation.

Sathya Sai Baba was one of the most loved spiritual teachers of modern Bhārat — the guru of Puttaparthi who taught that love and service are the essence of all religion and built a vast movement of education and service across the world. His ashram, his hospitals, and his schools continue to serve millions, and his message of love drew followers from every land.

Adi Shankaracharya was the philosopher-monk who, in a short life of thirty-two years, walked from Kerala to Kashmir, defeated every rival school in debate, and unified Bhārat's spiritual thought under Advaita Vedanta — the philosophy that all is one. He also founded the four great monastic seats that still guide Hinduism.

Siddalingaswami was a great teacher of the Veerashaiva tradition — the saint who, after the age of Basava, gathered the teaching of the sharanas and carried it to the people. He founded the Suttur matha, one of the great institutions of the tradition, and his teachings and his movement of devotion are honoured to this day.

Siddharoodha was the great saint of Hubballi — a teacher of the Advaita philosophy who lived for nearly a century and taught the unity of all religions and the oneness of the self. His ashram at Hubballi drew seekers from every community, and his teaching that God is one and all paths lead to him made him a beloved figure across Karnataka.

Sri Aurobindo lived two lives in one: the revolutionary who fought for Bhārat's freedom with secret societies and fiery journalism, and the yogi who, after a year in prison, retired to Pondicherry to devote his life to spiritual realisation. His epic poem Savitri and his philosophy of the divine life are among the great works of modern Bhārat.

Srimanta Sankardeva was the saint who shaped Assam — the founder of the Ekasarana bhakti movement, a poet, playwright, painter, and reformer who gave his people their literature, their drama, their music, and their sense of cultural identity in a single lifetime.

Sripadaraja was the pioneer of the Haridasa movement of Karnataka — the first great saint to compose devotional songs in Kannada, the language of the people, rather than Sanskrit. His work opened the door for Purandara Dasa and all the singing saints who followed, making him the grandfather of Kannada devotional music.

Surdas is the blind poet-saint of the Bhakti movement whose verses on the childhood of Krishna — the Sursagar — are the most tender and beloved poems of the Hindi language. Born blind, he saw Krishna with the heart, and his songs of the divine child are sung at every festival in north Bhārat.

Swami Akhandananda was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the first monk of the order to begin organised relief work — the swami who, in the famine of Bengal, fed the starving and founded the orphanages and schools that became the Ramakrishna Mission's model of service. He was the disciple of service, the embodiment of the Master's teaching that God is in the hungry.

Swami Rama Tirtha was the brilliant mathematician-professor who renounced his chair to become a wandering sage — and who, two years after Vivekananda, carried Vedanta to America, teaching the philosophy of oneness to the West with a joy that made him famous as 'the singing monk of Bhārat'.

Swami Ramakrishnananda was one of the closest disciples of Sri Ramakrishna — the monk whose service to the Master during his final illness was so tender that he was called the mother of the group. He later carried the Master's message to Madras, where he built the great work of the order in the South.

Swami Saradananda was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the author of Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Master — the definitive biography of the saint, written after decades of collecting the memories of the disciples. As the secretary of the Ramakrishna Order for twenty-five years, he was the trusted hand that guided the movement through its first generations.

Swami Shambhavananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna Order who devoted his life to the service of the poor of Kerala — the swami who carried the teaching of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda to the southern land and built the institutions of service that still work there. His life was a model of the union of devotion and service.

At the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, a young monk in ochre robes began his speech with 'Sisters and brothers of America' — and the hall erupted. Swami Vivekananda carried Bhārat's philosophy to the West, and his call to 'arise, awake' still stirs youth today of Bhārat.

Thyagaraja is the most beloved composer of Carnatic music — a saint who lived in poverty in Tiruvaiyaru, singing of Rama with a devotion so pure that his songs are still sung in every concert hall of South Bhārat. His Pancharatna kritis, five immortal gems, are the high point of music of Bhārat.

Tukaram was the saint-poet of Maharashtra — a poor shopkeeper who lost everything and found God, spending his life singing the abhangas that are the most loved devotional songs of the Marathi language. His verse of love, humility, and human warmth is recited in every Maharashtrian home.

Tulsidas is the most beloved poet of northern Bhārat — the author of the Ramcharitmanas, the epic retelling of Rama's story in Awadhi that became the spiritual book of the Hindi heartland. His verses are sung in every village, quoted in every home, and have shaped the devotion of north Bhārat for four hundred years.

Vadiraja Tirtha was one of the greatest saints and scholars of the Dvaita tradition founded by Madhvacharya — the pontiff of the Sondur matha who lived more than a century and wrote works of theology, poetry, and devotion that are treasured to this day. His life spanned the reigns of the Vijayanagara empire at its height.

Vedanta Deshika was the great acharya of the Sri Vaishnava tradition — the poet, philosopher, and theologian who defended and enriched the teachings of Ramanuja in the fourteenth century. His Sanskrit and Tamil works, his hymns to the deities of the south, and his philosophical commentaries made him one of the giants of devotional thought of Bhārat.

Vemana is the most quoted poet of Telugu — a wandering philosopher-saint whose verses of humour, wisdom, and social criticism are on every Telugu tongue. His atavelladi, short four-line verses, mocked caste pride, religious hypocrisy, and human folly with a sharpness that remains fresh after four centuries.

Vidyaranya was the sage of Sringeri who guided the founding of the Vijayanagara empire — the great Hindu state that defended the south for three centuries. As the head of the Sringeri matha, he blessed and counselled the brothers Harihara and Bukka, and his writings — including the celebrated commentary on the Vedas — made him one of the greatest scholar-saints of Bhārat.

Vyasaraja was the great acharya of the Madhva tradition and the guru who trained the Haridasa movement's greatest saints — Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa. A scholar of immense learning, he was honoured by the Vijayanagara emperors, and his life united the academy and the street in the service of devotion.

Yamunacharya, also known as Alavandar, was the great philosopher-saint of the Sri Vaishnava tradition who prepared the ground for Ramanujacharya — the acharya who composed the works that became the foundation of the tradition and whose disciples handed the teaching of surrender to God to the great Ramanuja.