Haridass   Bhakta Haridass was born in a Muslim family at a remote village under Khulna District (now in Bangladesh) on 1450. His parent’s names are not known. About his childhood very little is known. At the age of. eighteen he came to Shantipur in Nadia Dist. (W.B.), the famous for Vaishnava-cult and met the great Vaishanava Acharya Sri Advaita. He was initiated by Sri Advaita and entered his school as a...

Bhakta Kavir Bhakta Kavir was born in a weaver family at Varanasi in the year 1440. There are many legendary stories regarding his birth. It is a hearsay that Kavir’s mother was a Brahmin widow and just after his birth, he was left in a remote village where the Muslim weaver families were residing. Later, a weaver family found him, and nourished him as their child, as they had no issue...

Jnaneshwar Jnaneshwar was born in the village Apegaon, on the bank of the Godavari in the Deccan in 1271. His father’s name was Vitthalpantha and his mother’s name was Rukmini Devi. Vitthalpantha, after three years of marriage went to Varanasi and there Swami Ramananda initiated him into Sannyasa. Once Swami Ramananda came to the house of Sidhopantha, the father of Rukmini Devi and she prostrated before Him to receive His Blessings....

Andal An the history of Tamil literature, the period between 6th and 8th Centuries glows with the ecstasies of devotional poetry. During the 6th Century, there erupted in South India a widespread Bhakti movement. These devotional poets were either Vaishnavites or Saivites. The former group was spearheaded by three saints, Pogai Alwar, Bhutattalwar and Pey Alwar. Of the later Alwars, Vishnuchitta, known as Periya Alwar was born in Srivilliputtur in Tirunelveli...

Appar   In the development of Indian civilisation from 300 A.D.-750 A.D. in the history of Southern India, indicated that some of the Pallava kings took interest in the Alwars and Nayanmars, the religious teachers who preached a new form of Vaisnavism and Saivism based on the Bhakti Cult. Among the Saivas were “Appar” and Manikkavacakar. In Saivism, the character and position of the Vedic God Rudra — called Siva, the...

Nayanmars Nayanmars were the devotees of Siva. They were strong in their conviction that all living beings are the servants of the Lord and that every kind of object is His possession. They were clear in their minds that the `Truth’ could not be otherwise. The word Nayanmars means ‘Leaders’ or ‘Chieftains’. They were raised to this status because of their unswerving allegiance to the Lord. Themselves servants of the Lord...