Bøger af Umesh Nagarkatte

Jnaneshwar (1275-1297) is a favorite saint of Maharashtra, India wroteover a thousand abhangs, or unbreakable devotional poems.Twenty-eight of his abhangs were written as a collection calledHaripath (meaning "Sing Hari, study Hari [God]").Jnaneshwar, his siblings, and many others started on the twenty-eightday journey from Alandi to Paithan to obtain the shuddhi patra("purification document") from the Paithan pandits. Each day,Jnaneshwar wrote an abhang about the importance of singing Hari'sname.The Haripath has been popular in Maharashtra for seven centuries, andits daily recitation is considered a complete spiritual practice. Mostof the poems consist of four lines; they have a theme, Each abhang hasits own character and unique flavor. Their messages are simple,direct, sublime, and even implosive. The most subtle, lofty teachingsof the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Bhakti Sutras are offered to usfreely-as Jnanadev says, "like fruit in the palm of our hand."He extols devotion as the most essential quality in spiritual life,and perhaps, most importantly, he sings to us about the importance andthe impact of the company of the saints. In every verse, like a lovingmother, he encourages us to take up the repetition of God's name andhold God close to us. He says, "As one repeats the name of God,millions of sins drop away. Hold onto the thought of Rama Krishna.Extricate all your negative tendencies, cut off all attachments. Don'thide behind the senses. Have faith in the holy places and rituals andalways cultivate tenderness, peace, and compassion. In this way, youwill make Hari your guest" (abhang 27).This book contains the 28 abhangs of the Haripath in Marathi with transliteration as well as English and Hindi translations.The English translation has been made as literal as possible by Umeshand Chitra Nagarkatte, and was edited by Dana Wilkinson. The Hinditranslation was jointly composed by Umesh Nagarkatte and Ashok Vyas.