Namadeva

Introduction

Namadeva, who lived during the end of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th in Western Bharat, is one of the country's known saint poets. A contemporary and associate of Jnanadeva and other great mystics, Namadeva lived in constant communion with Lord Panduranga. Hundreds of 'abhangs' (devotional songs) composed by him are lovingly sung by devout people to this day.

Author - Simpi Linganna

Namadeva

The man with a saintly appearance was having a roti and a little gee for his lunch. A dog came by, snatched the roti from his hand, and ran away. He at once jumped to his feet, and taking the bowl of gee in his hand, he ran behind the dog.

"0, my friend, why do you eat that dry roti? Have some gee also" - shouting like this, he pursued the dog. At long last, he was able to catch it. He smeared the roti with gee and fed the dog.

Many marveled at this sight. Some called him mad. Some laughed at him. Some praised his goodness. Neither their derisive laughter nor their praise caught his attention. All that he was interested in was feeding the dog.

This compassionate man was Namadeva the saint. (Saint means a great man who, with his mind set on God, desiring nothing for himself, leads a pure and good life.) What he saw even in a dog was the element of divinity. He was a great soul. He lived, throughout his life, with the conviction that there is divinity in every living being.

No wonder then, that he who treated a dog with such love preached and practiced that all mankind is one.

Son of Pious Parents

Pandharapur is a place of pilgrimage in Maharashtra. There lived in that town a person called Damashet, a tailor by profession. So his family got the surname 'Simpi' (tailor). Damashet was a devotee of God Vitthala. His wife Gonayi was a very good lady, highly devotional. Both had spent their life in the service of Vitthala. They did not have children for a long time. This had made them very sad.

Namadeva was no other than the son of this good-natured couple. There is an interesting story about his birth. It goes like this: Gonayi one day suggested to her husband, to go to the temple of Panduranga and pray for a son.He agreed. The next day he went to the temple and prayed to Panduranga, "0 Lord, please give us a son and relieve us of this sorrow."

The same night Damashet had a dream. God Panduranga appeared in' the dream and said, "Tomorrow morning you go to river Bheema for bathing, don't you? Keep this in mind. There will come floating in the river, a closed shell in which you will find a baby. You may take it home."

The dream ended and Dama woke up.

His heart was filled with joy. He recounted the dream to his wife. She too was beside herself with joy. As the day dawned Damashet went to the river Bheema for bathing. A shelf came floating. He took it into his hands. He heard a voice chanting the name of Vitthala within the shell. Damashet opened the shell and found in it a bright-looking sweet baby - boy.

He took it home. He called out to his wife and placing the baby in her hands said, "Here is the baby that God has given you. Take it."

Gonayi took the baby in her arms charmingly. Both husband and wife felt supremely happy. They named the child as 'Nama'. This incident happened in the year 1270 A. D.

The province where Namadeva's parents lived was at that time under Muslim rule. The Muslim officers behaved like tyrants. They used to harass the people of other religions. Hindus were divided among themselves. Moreover, the wicked wielded power.

Namadeva was born in such times. As he grew up, his remarkable personality unfolded itself clearly. He led a clean life. So everyone respected him. His devotion to Panduranga was boundless. So much so that many other devotees firmly believed he was the re-incubation of Uddhava who was a friend and counselor to Lord Sri Krishna.

A Born Devotee

Namadeva was a devotee with a pure heart even from his tender age. The parents were devotees of Panduranga. So the son's heart also was given away to Vitthala. Many stories about his wonderful devotion are in vogue. They are very interesting.

It was customary for Damashet to carry every day to the temple the offering of food for Vitthala. After the ritual of the offering was made he would bring it back home as 'prasad.' Then all of them would have their food.

One day Damashet did not return home from the bazaar for a long time. Thinking that he might be very late, his wife told the boy Nama, "My dear, you had better go to the temple today to offer this food to God."

In obedience to his mother, the boy went to the temple. He worshipped Panduranga and then placed before Him the food he had carried. He believed that God would actually Oat it. So he stood modestly with bowed head and folded hands.

"Your lunch is ready, my Lord, you may kindly begin," he requested.

But there were no signs of God's eating the food. The boy became sad.

"My father was not at home. So my mother sent me this offering. It you don't eat, the mother will take me to task when I return. Have I made any mistakes in the ritual of worship? But I don't know these rituals. I am still young. Please don't be angry with me" lie entreated cajolingly.

Moved by these sweet words of the innocent boy that day God actually ate the food and told the boy, "Look here! Don't tell anyone about this."

The boy felt very happy. He bowed again to Vitthala and went home. His father also by that time had come home.

"Where is prasad' offered to God?" asked his mother.

"God ate it," said the boy.

"What do you mean by that? God ate it! Is it ever possible?" Said the father with surprise.

"Yes, God came and ate the food," the boy repeated.

The father could not believe it. But the innocent face of the boy indicated that he was speaking the truth. He was too young to know a lie.

At last the father said, "Can you show me God eating the food?"

"0, Yes, I can show it tomorrow," replied the boy.

The next day Damashet went to the temple with his son. The pooja was performed as usual. The offering was placed before God. But Vitthala did not eat. Namadeva was disconcerted. If God does not take food, what would his parents think about him? Do they not infer that he himself might have eaten the food the previous day? Will they not get angry?

"Vitthala, please take food," he implored.

Vitthala remained motionless. The boy felt deeply hurt. "0 Lord, please don't be hard like this. Will not my father and mother misunderstand me? Will they not be angry with me thinking that I must have eaten the food and uttered a lie? Well, indeed you ate the offering yesterday. But now is it right to be like this?" the boy went on pleading.

Deeply moved with this prayer, God Vitthala opened his mouth. The little devotee started feeding Him. Seeing this, the father was amazed. As soon as he returned home he told his wife about this. Both were filled with joy. They began loving Namadeva all the more.

Thus goes a beautiful story.

The boy Namadeva grew up cheerfully. His mind was bent upon God right from his childhood. As he grew older he began to spend more and more time in the temple of Vitthala meditating always on Him. His father was not so poor. So, as soon as the son came of age his marriage was celebrated. Namadeva's wife was Rajayi; she was also called Radha Bai. Namadeva got four children, namely Narayana, Vitthala, Govinda, and Mahadeva.

The Unseen Hand of God

Namadeva used to spend most of his time in his devotion to Vitthala. Therefore he paid little attention to his domestic affairs. Father was aged. Both Damaji and his wife were hoping that their son, being a youth now, would help the father in his tailoring. Namadeva, of course, used to treat his father and mother with utmost love and respect. He loved his wife and children too. But he did nothing to help and support his family. All the time he was absorbed in the thoughts of Vitthala. He would spend more time in the temple than at home. What help could the family expect from such a son? Thus the family had to face many hardships. When his mother was not able to bear this, she became ill-tempered in her behavior. One day Namadeva got disgusted with this. He left his house, went and sat in the temple. Rajayi, the wife of Namadeva, went to her neighbors and began to bemoan the difficulties of her family before them.

"Rajayi!" someone called her.

She came out hurriedly and asked, "Who is it that called me?"

"It is me, Keshavashet. Namadeva is my bosom friend. Here is some money to be given to him. Please take it" - so saying, he gave her the money and went away. Rajayi took the money and went to the market. She bought all the required provisions, came home, prepared food and sat down waiting. At that time Gonayi was not at home. She had gone to someone's house to borrow some grain. When she was returning home with the bag of grain, she stepped into the temple. Advising her son who was sitting there, she brought him home.

By the time the mother and son came home, there was a big change. Rajayi had bought nice clothes. Food was cooked and kept ready. Both were taken aback. "What is all this? Where did you get these things?" the son asked his mother. She too did not know it. Namadeva came to know that one Keshavashet who claimed to be his intimate friend had given money and was gone. He was astonished, as he knew for certain that he did not have any such friend and nobody owed him any money.

That the family got money was a fact. How else could all those new things be there? Who was it really that had come to give this money? Who else but Vitthala would give money to him? So he thought. He felt thrilled at the thought that Vitthala had told him that he was a close friend of Namadeva. And at the same time he was moved to tears because for his sake Vitthala had to take such pains.

He did not want that money. He was afraid that it might distract his devotion from Vitthala. So he called all the Brahmins and poor beggars of the town and gave away all the money the unseen hand of God had given him. Once again he became penniless. A number of stories like this are there to illustrate Namadeva's devotion, austerity, and Vitthala's appreciation of that devotion. In addition to his family consisting of father, mother, wife, and children, Namadeva had a wide circle of devotees as his kinsfolk. They belonged to various castes. But all of them were soldiers of one and the same God. Jnanadeva was a Brahmin, Namadeva was a tailor, Narahari, a goldsmith, and Sawanta a gardener, Gora was a potter and Chokhamela, a pariah. In their daily personal life they followed their respective professions. But in their devotion to Vitthala they were collectively one.