Songs of the Saints of India

by John Stratton Hawley, Mark Juergensmeyer

The verses of the great religious poets of north India stand at the fount of the Hindi language, and many would say that they also represent its greatest flowering. These poems are awash in universal themes--cruelty, loneliness, hope, infatuation, the weight of time--and are well known to
Indians in every walk of life today. Their authors are revered not only as poets but as saints through a hagiographical literature that extends to comic books, TV serials, and motion pictures. Songs of the Saints of India presents six of the best known of these poets--Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak,
Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas--with a biographical and interpretive essay on each and a selection of representative verses in original translations. The book provides a new way to be introduced to Hinduism as it is lived today.

Genres: Poetry, Religion, India, History, Hinduism

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 1988

About the author

John Stratton Hawley is Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Songs of the Saints of India for a college class. I really enjoyed the poems of the first three poets, especially Kubir. The introductions giving contexts to the poets were considerably less enjoyable, but they were informative.

[Rama Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Music and worship in the lives of six Indian saints

This book is a discussion of the life, legends and the spiritual work of six saints/poets in medieval India. Over the last 450 years, these poet-saints have been immortalized by singing bards, religious communities and the Bollywood film industry improvising their works and life. A devotee in a temple or school child can recite the poetry of Mirabai, Nanak, Tulsidas or Kabir Das. The compositions of Surdas, and Tulsidas form the basis for many dramatic performances that attract thousands of people every year. Their poems were religious and Hindu in context but universal in theme. They speak of the trials of life in society, pains and exaltation of love. The poets focused in this book are; Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai and Tulsidas.

A brief summary of the book is as follows: The work of Ravidas, Kabir and Nanak worship of god without attributes (Nirguna) and without form. This group would be critical of idolatry, and beliefs in icons and legends and hence referred to as Sants. But Surdas, Mirabai and Tulsidas worshiped gods with attributes (Saguna) with form, hence referred to as Bhaktas. They worshiped Vishnu and his avatars Krishna and Rama. Loyalties in India solidify each group. For example all three Sants were represented in Adi Granth, the poetic anthology created to serve as the scripture of Sikh faith. Despite some differences between these two groups, they were a single force in terms of massive bhakti movement that was gathering force over a millennia.

This book is very well organized, nicely written and topics discussed with historical accuracy of the life and legends. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend to anyone interested in medieval history of India, the bhakti movement and devotional songs in Hindu worship.

[YouMo Mi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've struggled with fully grasping the nuances and complexities of Dharmic / Indic religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism), but this selection of historical profiles was an accessible introduction to a range of beliefs and how academics organize and classify such belief systems.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was the distinction between nirguna brahman and saguna brahman, that is, "without form" and "with form" devotion, respectively. The former is a familiar concept to followers of e.g., Judaism and Islam where a universal image-less God is worshipped, and its no surprise Nanak is one profile whose focus on nirguna is a central theme of Sikhism, and Kabir, whose (likely) Muslim origins influenced his take on a monistic Hinduism.

However, I came to appreciate the merit of saguna poets such as Tulsidas and Mirabai who focus on a qualitative "god", a concept typically dismissed as idol worship. The author does a great job explaining how such saints, though fully understanding and accepting the logic of a formless universal God, nevertheless lamented the cold, distant, and unfathomable nature as denying the very real emotions devotion is meant to inspire. Even Islam, whose central dogma is a universal formless God, cannot escape using real world symbols such as the Kaaba to inspire love of a Divine Creator who is always near to the believer.

The translations weren't too inspiring to be honest so that wad the only downside as it came across more as an academic intro than a proper exploration of the poetry. Still a worthwhile read.

[Jeff Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Diana Eck at Harvard once said this was a great book for high schoolers and freshmen, as it combines short, clear biographies and historical information on the Saints with selections of their poetry. She's right, which leads to the obvious comment that it's a shame that virtually no one reads this in American high school. Beyond its value as an accessible introductory history of a fairly esoteric topic, this book has come under some criticism for Hawley and Juergensmeyer's translations, which are often viewed as fairly weak. Perhaps because I read this version of these incredible works of poetry first, Hawley and Juergensmeyer's versions have stuck fast in my brain. I love them despite their flaws and love this book.

[Neel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informed, accessible introduction to the life, work, and legacy of 6 legendary poet-saints, with excellent (better than most else I've seen, though certainly not comparable to the originals) translations of their poetry.

[Ananya]

experiencing love/hate feeling with Bhakti poetry. too soon to say...