Varkari
Jñāneśvar (the Gītā voice; the tradition flows on through Nāmdev, Eknāth, Tukārām) · 13th century; the Jñāneśvarī dated c. 1290 · Pandharpur, with Āḷandī, the samādhi seat of Jñāneśvar · Vārkarī sampradāya
The Varkari path begins on the road. Once a year the pilgrim ties on the tulsī beads, takes up the saints' songs, and walks to Pandharpur, where Viṭṭhala stands on a brick, hands on hips, waiting. The school's Gītā is the Jñāneśvarī, sung in Marathi so that a farmer can hold what a paṇḍit holds. Its seeing is gentle and total: the world is not a trap but the play of consciousness, God delighting in being many. What it asks is simple and lifelong: remember the Name, keep the company of the sants, treat no caste as far from God, and let knowledge ripen into love.
The path took shape in thirteenth-century Maharashtra, in the years of the Yādava kings of Devagiri. Jñāneśvar received initiation from his elder brother and guru Nivṛttināth, who carried the Nath yoga lineage descending through Gahinīnāth, and around 1290, during the reign of king Rāmadeva, he composed the Bhāvārtha Dīpikā, remembered as the Jñāneśvarī: some nine thousand Marathi ovī verses unfolding the Gītā's seven hundred. It is the first great vernacular Gītā commentary, and the oldest surviving literary work in Marathi. Tradition holds that Jñāneśvar entered samādhi at Āḷandī in 1296, barely past twenty.
The question the work answered was one of admission: who is allowed to hear the Gītā? Sanskrit had kept it with the learned; Jñāneśvar sang it in the speech of the fields, declaring that the Gītā refreshes the whole world without weighing high birth against low. The movement that gathered around Viṭṭhala worship at Pandharpur made that declaration a society: Nāmdev the tailor, Gorā the potter, Janābāī the maidservant, Chokhāmeḷā from a community the orthodox called untouchable, all honored as sants, all composing abhaṅgas. The sampradāya explicitly refuses caste discrimination on the path, and the pilgrimage walks that refusal out loud.
The tradition renewed itself in waves. In 1584 Eknāth prepared a careful recension of the Jñāneśvarī, which remains the accepted text, and wrote his own Marathi commentary on the Bhāgavata's eleventh book. In the seventeenth century Tukārām's abhaṅgas carried the song to its widest reach, and from 1685 his son Nārāyaṇ Mahārāj began the practice of carrying the saints' sandals in palanquins to Pandharpur. That procession continues: each year in the month of Āṣāḍha hundreds of thousands of Varkaris walk for weeks behind the pālkhīs of Jñāneśvar and Tukārām, reciting the Haripāṭh, singing the sants, treating the Jñāneśvarī itself as scripture.
Whether Jñāneśvar founded the Varkari sampradāya or gave voice to an older one is debated; Viṭṭhala worship and the walking pilgrimage to Pandharpur appear to predate him, so many treat him as the tradition's great consolidator rather than its origin.
The received Jñāneśvarī is Eknāth's recension of 1584, and how closely it preserves the wording of the 1290 original cannot be fully known, though scholars generally accept his text as the most reliable.
Scholars differ on whether the Jñāneśvarī is essentially Śaṅkara's Advaita in Marathi dress or a distinct non-dualism, since its cidvilāsa teaching and the Amṛtānubhava's critique of avidyā depart from the doctrine of the world as illusion.
Brahman is self-luminous consciousness whose nature is not bare stillness but delight. It does not hide behind the world; it shines as the world, the way a face shines as its own smile. The Jñāneśvarī calls this cidvilāsa, the play of awareness. And for the pilgrim, that same absolute stands embodied at Pandharpur as Viṭṭhala, near enough to touch.
The jīva is a wave on the sea of consciousness, never other than the water. Its sense of being a small separate doer is a forgetting, not a fact. Through the guru's grace, as Nivṛttināth gave it to Jñāneśvar, the wave recognizes the sea. Until that dawn it walks, sings the Name, and lets love do the remembering.
The world is not a deception to be argued away. Avidyā, the tradition observes, is by its own definition non-existent, so it cannot be the world's maker. Creation is the spontaneous shining of consciousness, God's own joy taking shape. Diversity does not wound unity; it adorns it, as ornaments do not divide the gold they are made of.
Liberation is recognition, not relocation: nothing new is gained, only the forgetting ends. And here the path keeps walking past its own goal, for the freed soul does not retire from love. Devotion remains after liberation as its fragrance. The sant still goes to Pandharpur, still sings, preferring the sweetness of meeting to the bare fact of oneness.
The Gītā is heard here as a mother's speech, not a court's ruling. Kṛṣṇa is not settling a contest between knowledge and devotion; he is leading Arjuna from bewilderment to a love that knows. At the center stands this: the one consciousness has become all of this, so action offered as worship, knowledge ripened by the guru's grace, and devotion to the Lord's dear form are one movement seen from three sides. The verse promising the highest goal even to those the world counts low is no footnote; it is the door the whole tradition walks through, every year, all the way to Pandharpur.
in their fuller words
Sant Jnaneshwar's 13th-century Marathi Bhavartha-dipika (Jnaneshwari), in the 1954 English translation by Ramchandra Keshav Bhagwat (Samata Books, public domain). Verse 4.34: “Understand, that after humble prostration, by reverent questioning, by (devoted) service, those who have known and realised the Truth will impart it to thee: (164) Should you be desirous of attaining the status of this best knowledge you should devote yourself to the service of the saints in a wholehearted manner, since service at the feet of saints becomes the very threshold of the temple of knowledge. You should, therefore, turn and reach that position. You must, for that purpose, humble yourself at the feet of saints, and do them wholehearted service, dropping all sense of pride and egotism. When you do this, the saints will impart to you that knowledge which you wish for and which you implore of them and that knowledge is such that once it illumines the heart, the heart’s cravings and fantasy’s acts come to a stop.Sant Jnaneshwar
in their fuller words
Sant Jnaneshwar's 13th-century Marathi Bhavartha-dipika (Jnaneshwari), in the 1954 English translation by Ramchandra Keshav Bhagwat (Samata Books, public domain). Verse 6.13: “There, having steadied himself, and holding the body, the head, and the neck evenly in a line, motionless, with the gaze fixed upon the tip of one’s nose and not looking in the (different) directions. (201) Then both the palms automatically rest on the left foot forming a bowl (droṇa), and the shoulders appear to get raised. The head gets sunken between the two raised shoulders and the eyes automatically get half-shut. The upper eyelids get closed while the lower ones get widened, with the result that the eyes remain half-open. The vision partly inside (closed) and partly outside (open) gets directed to and obstructed at the tip of the nose. The vision thus getting handicapped for want of free scope to get out has to steady itself on the tip of the nose in a partially widened condition. It loses all its desires to fix the gaze in any quarter, or to look at some form or shape. The neck gets contracted, while the chin lowers down and fills the pit formed by the collar bones, and while the neck getting stiff presses against the chest. The windpipe (kaṇṭhanalī) gets shrouded and the wheel (physical posture) that gets formed in this way is called “Jalandhara.” Then rises up the navel while the stomach gets flat and the heart expands in the interior. The “Bandha” (Yogic posture) formed above the anus and below navel is called Uddiyan (oḍhīyāna). While these Bandhas and Mudras appear on the exterior of the body as the signs of practice of the Yoga study, the mind’s functions (working) inwardly, are uprooted from their basis.Sant Jnaneshwar
in their fuller words
Sant Jnaneshwar's 13th-century Marathi Bhavartha-dipika (Jnaneshwari), in the 1954 English translation by Ramchandra Keshav Bhagwat (Samata Books, public domain). Verse 9.32: “For, O Son of Paritha, betaking themselves unto Me, even though they be the (so called) lowly-born: women, Vashyas (producers and merchants) as also Shudras (menials), yet shall even these attain the Goal Supreme. (443) Many indeed are, Oh Kiriti! the souls that are born in families un-nameably low and the vilest of the vile. Being slow-witted, they are as good as stones; and yet they are of unflinching faith and devotion to Me. (There are) others: their speech is nothing but My praises; their vision is ever fixed on Me; their mind ever thinks of nothing but Me; their ears ever listen to my praises; nothing else than acts of worshipful service decorates their bodies; their knowledge is a stranger to sense-objects, and so their awareness divines the sole God in Me. Being thus in Me and for Me, life is worth living (for them); all else is death. Thus have they, Oh Kind, made Me, in entirety, the very life-breath of their life. May such as these be the lowest of the low and base-born, may (they) be reckoned unlearned, all the same, they are not a whit inferior to Me in greatness. Just consider the very demons (daitya): by the power of their devotion (to Me), they made their rivals, the Gods, sink into degradation. Born in the demon race, My devotee Prahlada won his eternal glory by making Me incarnate as Nrisimha. That great Prahlada suffered the worst tortures in God’s name, and therefore, did by his mere word command all that I would give. Born though he was of the demon family, the very Indra could not equal him in rank and glory. The one crucible here, therefore, is devotion and passionate love to God; all else like race or caste is the merest trash. A scrap of leather has power to buy all things, if made to wear the royal insignia: without these even gold and silver fail as measure of things and the royal sign then becomes the proper measure of things; and a piece of leather bearing such royal insignia, is enough to buy all things. Even so does perfect virtue blossom into eternal life and infinite knowledge ripened into fulfilment. Only then, and not till then, entire soul and mind is filled with love for Me. Purity of race, family and caste is then all false and empty. Oh Arjuna, life’s real meaning and vital essence lies in being possessed of My love and devotion. Take whatever path for your devotion, once the mind is filled with such devotion, the devotee enters into Me, and all his past sins and imperfections are wiped off. The brooks and streams run their impure, separate courses only till they meet the Ganges: and once they have joined the Ganges, they become one with the Ganges. Sandal wood and Khair (catachu) are differently named so long as they are not consumed by fire. Even so, men are separate in caste, race, family and sex till they are absorbed into My infinite eternal being. This feeling (of separation) of single man from caste and class becomes null and void, when caste and class are all merged into My essential being, like salt in the sea. Rivers and streams, large and small, are seen to flow eastwards and westwards, so long as they have not flown into the sea. Whichsoever be the path by which the soul is drawn to My being, once it enters into My divine life eternal, it of its own accord becomes one with Me. Iron changes into gold, the moment it touches the Paris-stone, even if it be to break it. And did not the Gopis seeking to win Me for amorous passion become united with Me in My divine life? And did not Kamsa out of fear, Shishupala and others seeking to be at feud with Me, become one with Me? The Yadavas were bound to Me by blood ties, and Vasudeva and others by filial love,, they reached My eternal abode. Narada, Dhruva, Akrura, Shuka, Sanantkumara all won eternal life through their deep devotion for Me. In the same way the Gopis won My divine love through their amorous passion for Me, and Kamsa through the delusive passion of terror, while Shishupala and others through their wickedness and enmity towards Me. Verily I am the eternal abode of Peace to all those that seek it, whatever be the channel of their feelings towards Me, be it devotion, renunciation, love, hatred. Therefore see, Oh Partha, pathvays to enter into My divine home are manifold indeed. May be, the caste into which thou art born is the lowest, and may be, thy ruling passion be love or hatred; the love or hatred should turn to Me. Whichever then is the pathvay by which thou seekest Me, being one with Me is the goal within thy reach. Therefore, Arjuna, all alike, men and women of whatever caste,, whether Vaishya or Shudra, or the meanest shall enter into My divine home as soon as they love and worship Me.Sant Jnaneshwar
in their fuller words
Sant Jnaneshwar's 13th-century Marathi Bhavartha-dipika (Jnaneshwari), in the 1954 English translation by Ramchandra Keshav Bhagwat (Samata Books, public domain). Verse 12.13-14: “Not conceiving hatred towards any being, with a friendly disposition, and ever compassionate; rid of all “My”-ness and rid of all “I”-ness, even-poised in weal and woe, full of forbearance: Verse 12.14: “Ever content, the Yogin possessing self-control and a firm resolve: having dedicated unto Me all mind and intellect, he that is (thus) devoted to Me, is dear unto Me; (144) One (who) never bears any hatred towards any living being, and one who never harbours differential feelings in his mind between his possessions and those of others, like the all-pervading sentience: just as the earth never knows to sustain only the superior, and to reject the inferior, or just as the life-wind does not know to abide only in the king’s body to the exclusion of the plebeian ones, or just as the water never thinks of quenching the thirst of the kine only, turning itself into poison to kill tigers, in that way one who befriends the entire class of living beings, and is kind evenly to all: one to whom the thought of myself and mine is ever foreign or who is never affected by happiness or sorrow: or one who, in point of forgiveness, is like the earth which has made itself the abode of happiness for all: one who is thoroughly saturated with contentment without any device (), just as the ocean is ever full of water even in the absence of rains: one who controls his heart, taking a vow to do so, and whose firmness lasts uninterruptedly: one in whose heart dwell in perfect unison both the individual and the supreme soul, occupying the common seat, and getting steadied in Yoga, he who dedicates devoutly to me his mind and intellect, and being in this way full of Yoga internally and externally, remains ever pleased in my affectionate devotion. Oh Arjuna, such a devotee alone is a real Yogin, an emancipated one, and I become so fond of him, as if he were the wife and I the husband. But nay I am not content with the simile that “he is dearer to me than my own wife.” It falls short of the sense (it does not accurately represent the real state). But this account of affection is a sort of magical infatuation and should not have been uttered in words (because words fail here). Whatever short description of it is, however, given, is solely on the strength of the strong faith. This simile (of husband and wife) came out from my lips only in exuberance. Otherwise can it be suitably described in words? Let this alone now. My affection (for my devotees) is doubly increased whenever the subject of such dear ones is broached. And if a loving hearer happens by chance to be near, where could be found a pair of scales to weigh the mellifluent eloquence that flows? Therefore, O Son of Pandu, you are the loving one as also the hearer, and there besides having arisen an occasion for describing a loving devotion, I naturally got, in the course of our talk, immersed in the happiness (I felt) in giving the description. With these words, the God began happily to sway backwards and forwards, and said, “Know now the indications of that devotee, to whom I offer a seat in my heart.”Sant Jnaneshwar
Of the seven hundred one verses of the Gītā, Varkari’s commentators on this site comment on 701 in their own words.
These are chosen passages. To sit with every verse where Varkari reads in its own way, follow it through the Gītā.
Varkari through the Gītā →This school’s reading is the commentary of Sant Jnaneshwar, shown on every verse page and gathered in Varkari through the Gītā.
- Sant Jnaneshwar on 9.32the charter of the path: devotion opens the supreme goal to all, the lowly-born, women, none a whit inferior to the Lord
- Sant Jnaneshwar on 4.34knowledge through the grace of guru and saints: service at the feet of the saints is the threshold of the temple of knowledge
- Sant Jnaneshwar on 2.12the non-dual self: the jīva as a ripple on water over the indestructible Brahman, birth and death mere appearances of Māyā