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Jnaneshvara(1) and his philosophy have proved to be a landmark in Indian Vedic philosophy. The Vedanta in its pure and puritan form is more akin to
principles of science than dogmatic beliefs. The philosophy that lends foundations to the Hindu religious scriptures claims its origin in the Vedas, further culminating into Upanishads and critically commented upon
and supplemented to by the Smritis had nevertheless remained a treasure accessible to only the very learned and those having special learning in Sanskrit which common men were never supposed to learn. Bhagwat Gita
is perhaps the only scripture of this system which in a nutshell or in a capsulised form presents the essence of total Vedantic philosophy and hence has for millenniums continued to be considered the sheet anchor of
the Hindu philosophy and religion alike. The Marathi Saint Jnaneshvara at an early age of eighteen had undertaken the task of explaining and commnenting upon the Bhagwat Gita in Marathi. Jnaneshvara's exemplary
personal life was full of traumatic experiences and social indignities meted out to him by others but Jnaneshvara with his philosophical determination and supreme knowledge converted these into an opportunity of
social reform. The dogmatic stigma offensively attached to Jnaneshvara and his sister and two brothers was that they were outcast Brahmins being the children of an ascetic who was not supposcd to resume household
once having renounced this world. It is a matter of common experience that such unjust treatment is meted out to the innocent ones and particularly the knowledgeable ones cause sometimes revolt and most of the times
extreme bitterness in the outlook of the subject. However surprisingly enough in the case of Jnaneshvara his depth of understanding, generosity and the divine approach had instead made him more concerned about those
who attacked him. World knows of Jesus Christ who instead of cursing was praying for the well-being of his killers knowing that they did not know what they were doing and similar is the reaction of Saint Jnaneshvara.
Saint Jnaneshvara was for certain perfectly seized of the subject matter of Bhagwat Gita and the transcendent Vedic philosophy underlying it when he
embarked upon the task of writing the commentary. The Vedic scriptures perhaps in the most scientific manner deal with the religious philosophy. The personification of the Almighty is something unknown to the pure
theory of Hindu philosophy and Jnaneshvara very meticulously takes care not to deviate from it. Jnaneshvari (2), the treatise written by Jnaneshvara, is not only a running commentary or clause-by-clause commentary
on Bhagwat Gita but also a self-realisation by Jnaneshvara of the Vedic at large and it is for this reason that time and again in Jnaneshvari one finds that Jnaneshvara's commentary takes the subject matter much the
Bhagwat Gita. The dogmatism of religion had never restricted Jnaneshvara's philosophical approach to the religion as was practised and understood at the time. One does really wonder when one considers the generous
approach of Jnaneshvara in condoning the wrongs done by others but this surprise subsides when one studies in right perspective the mind of Jnaneshvara. Jnaneshvara was not only a great poet, a great lyricist, a
great literary master, a great pandit or a scholar of religious philosophy but also a great social reformer, a great sociologist, a great logician and above all a great divine soul. As is customary for religious
authorities to start any discourse or writing of scriptures with various prayers of Gods and Goddesses, Jnaneshvara, too, proceeds with prayers of Almighty, however, right from the beginning of Jnaneshvari one
starts noting the marked difference in approach. Jnaneshvara starts with prayer of Shree Ganesha, the God of learning and wisdom. However, his Ganesha is not an idol of a particular size or shape. He considers
Ganesha to be a nomenclature or a common description describing the whole Vedantic knowledge and in the first chapter of Jnaneshvari first part makes it clear that the Aum is the Brahman and it is also the Atman and
Adwait or the monism of Vedanta is personified here by Shree Jnaneshvara. He considers the Vedas to be the body or trunk of Shree Ganesha while the Smritis to be the limbs and the Puranas to be the jewellery; the
Vedantic literature is the costume and the learning of the various jewels put on by Shree Ganesha; the six sciences are considered to be the hands and the differences of opinions the weapons in the hands and so on.
He also refers with respect to the philosophy of Buddhism instead of attacking the Shunjavad propounded by the Buddhism. Likewise, he refers
with respect to the theism of Sankhyas. Jnaneshvara making it all inclusive, considers that even the branches of Hinduism put into the mainstream together make the total knowledge of the system and this total system
when personifed becomes Shree Ganesha and this Shree Ganesha is represented by Aum which in a sense is representing all that human beings can express and speak, since it is a combination of the human voice in
its all the three forms i.e. Kanthya, Talya, and Osthya.
Dealing with the never changing basic principles governing the universe Jnaneshvara all along also kept in mind that the universe of animate beings was
ever changing and hence very skilfully and wisely struck a golden mean between these never changing basic principles of Vedanta and their application to the ever changing needs of day-to-day human life.
Jnaneshvara's approach to life is not one of asceticism or retirement. He doesn't propagate or preach shunning the worldly affairs, nor does even desire one to be an impractical being. On the contrary he does
propound the theory of being a practical man taking care of day-to-day life and day-to-day duties.
His is philosophy that doesn't preach the concept of retirement and concept of detachment in an absolute sense. His is a relative detachment, his is an
approach that aims at equipping the common than in his ordinary pursuit of life. He very ably makes one understand the vainness in the mad struggle for materialism and deprecates the addiction to the aggrandisement
of self by exploiting others at the same time. His religion is practical and real. Jnaneshvara's exhilarating learning, erudition and literary mastery is evident all throughout the Jnaneshvari. He wrought poetry in
silver and gold studded with the symphony of jewels, the maze of marble wonders and hued with the mosaic of colours and woven with the fine fabrics which belong to the fairy lands. Jnaneshvara carves with a mass of
poetical conceptions not only the arts and sciences but also, the realities of domestic life. And this his poetic conception is pressed forward till the sensuous touches the super-sensuous and the real gets the
rose-hue of the unreal.
His observations of nature and human nature are of exceptionally high order and exceedingly incongruent with his age. Jnaneshvari teaches a man to lead
a good and successful social life by living in and interacting with society. Not seclusion but society and not only sacrifices but the worldly adjustments are underlying his treatise. Jnaneshvara looks at Dharma as social ethics and instrumentality for establishing the society at peace and harmony. The samatvam or equanimity are the rock bottom of his philosophy. Considering the concept of Atman Jnaneshvara's
emphasis is mainly on self-realisation through knowledge and it is this quality of this philosopher-saint that has made it easy for him to combine the concepts of pleasure and pain, evil and good and spiritual and
secular knowledge and metaphysical entities.
But to him the knowledge was not the mere information put into one's brain and allowed to run riot there, without being digested. Nor did his
philosophy give place to imbecility, superstition, pettiness of mind, infights or bickering about trivial things. The all-knowing or omniscient Atman is really the subject matter of human knowledge all along
and this understanding of Atman and its correlation with Brahman was so perfect with Jnaneshvara that not only that he preached it but also that he practised it.
At the time of the Dharma Peethas or the seats of Religious Authority was at Paithan and these children of an ascetic were told to obtain a Shuddi Patra from
the Dharma Peetha, to obtain which they had gone to Paithan. There too the congregation of the religious head men presiding over the Dharma Peetha, in a very mean manner, insulted them, tried to belittle them.
However Jnaneshvara did not lose his calm, temper and sobriety and dealt with the situation in such graceful manner that the so-called religious scholars realised their own hollowness and mistake and were sorry for
what they did. Though now they were at his feet, Jnaneshvara did not dethrone them. Jnaneshvara perhaps knew that to regulate a society a system is a must and you can improve, purify, modify or better a system but
you can never do away with the system itself simply because it happens to be spoilt with the wrong approach of the persons manning the system. Jnaneshvara didn't allow the social bond to weaken at any time.
Jnaneshvara is a strange combination of humility and self-assertiveness, decency and aggressiveness and simplicity and learning. In a very humble way
he gives all the credit of his achievements to the Almighty and to his preceptor, elder brother, Nivruttinath. He respects tradition, he acknowledges his indebtedness to Bhagwat Gita and at the same the asserts that
having studied the things properly he won't go wrong and very confidently assures his readers and followers that the treatise he is presenting would be effective and of a very high order. Nay he goes to the extent
of saying that his words would win even against the nectar. This jurisprudential approach of Saint Jnaneshvara is in consonance with the very approach of Vedic system. It may be noted that Vedic system was more akin
to the modern theories of jurisprudence. Even the sovereigns at war did respect the rules of war which are quite analogous to the ones today to be found in the Public International Law or the or rules concerning
diplomatic relations were also likewise advanced and even the wars were fought as per the rules of war. The war-fields on which the wars were fought were Dharma Kshetras (3) and the warriors who fought there were
going by Kshatra Niti or War Ethics (4) and these rules though difficult to explain Jnaneshvara makes them very simple and self evident.
It is rather the very merit of Jnaneshvara. He is speaking about very serious philosophy with inapt depth and yet when one reads his treatise one
simply wonders as to how he could make it so simple, self revealing and self explanatory. It may also be noted that the ancient Indian scholars had made a lot of progress in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology,
physics, mathematics, chemistry and medicine and other sciences and Jnaneshvara was a scholar in these very sciences too. His similes every now and then make it evident that he knew the scientific truths underlying
his facts. The scientific approach though requires respect for truth does not necessarily demand arriving at the eternal truth. If the system is open to logical corrections then even if its findings of the day are
falsified in future its claim to be a science cannot be taken away. Therefore, though thus like all other eastern and western scholars and scientists Jnaneshvara, too, was wrongly considering the earth to be at the
centre of the universe yet his observations regarding universe are otherwise near perfection (5).
He describes the hydrogen in water in such poetic way that his conception of the fire residing in water gives us a new approach to the whole thing (6).
Saint Jnaneshvara recognises the need for change in Dharma with the passage of time and growing complexity of life that the old doctrine of factum valet is better stated by him when he says that whatever is done by
forefathers and allowed by tradition is Dharma. This makes it possible for the system to adjust itself to changing times (7). Jnaneshvara considers human life in a wider or cosmic perspective. The order and the
cosmic or the entropy arc nicely explained by him. Yet it must be seen that the cosmic entropy could very well be considered to be the order of making the existence of animate beings possible.
Normally philosophers abhor spiritual experiences holding that those retain outside the logical enquiry. Philosophers further believe only in
dispassionate analysis of principles and that too only at the touchstone of knowledge and logic. Therefore, ordinarily self consciousness and logical thinking may not be considered to be likely to go together.
However, such is not the case with Saint Jnaneshvara. His spiritual experiences remain within the domain of logic and his self consciousness does not conflict with the logical thinking. His analytical keenness
covered in a velvet sheath uncovers the true philosophy of life laid in a flower-bed of poetic image(7).
Though basically Jnaneshvara adopts Adwait philosophy or Monism. His Monism is not declaring philosophy of his own religion as the only valid
philosophy. On the contrary, his Adwait or monism is all inclusive and all pervading and with equal affection his philosophy is ready to include Gond Padiya, Shankariya and the philosophy of the Nath sect. He
himself belonged to the Nath Sect and he himself claims that he got all the knowledge he possessed from his brother-preceptor Nivrutti and the tradition of the Sect. However, once we pierce this veil of humility we
find that the abundant quantum of knowledge that Jnaneshvara had possessed had gone beyond all the traditional boundaries of the Nath Sect. He was a philosopher of highest order and was not actuated by the motives
of dogmatic insistence in believing and preaching only what one's sect believes in. Though the Nath Sect goes more by Raja Yoga and though Jnaneshvara's strength is basically to be found in Jnana Yoga here he is
mainly advocating the Kharma Yoga. He treats the shunyavad of Buddhism and the ajneyavad of Jainism with respect. He also doesn't abuse the atheism and grants due respect to extreme realism of the
great realist Charvak. He doesn't allow himself to be lost in the mysticism, a pitfall in which most of the religious scholars are prone to fall, and the realism always remains to be the sheet anchor of his
philosophy.
Jnaneshvara is at his best in explaining the relation between knowledge, ignorance, wisdom, sciences and learning. His God is universal and yet
universe is not the God to him. He would not like the God to be limited by the materialism or the Jadatva of the universe rather he would like the God to be the universe. Though Eshwar or Brahman is the
sole foundation of the universe yet Eshwar or the Brahman and Shristhi or the universe are two parallel things simultaneously and independently co-existing (8).
His passion for truth and human welfare would really compel me to call him a scientist though his thinking is rooted in Vedic and Upanishadic
traditions. His inferences and reason is self searching. When Saint Jnaneshvara expresses it, the religion becomes science. And is it not true that even a science would note its own religion? It is an all round
expression of human genius prompted by total contentment of fulfilment. Jnaneshvara with simplicity very nicely goes into the spirit, temper and the objective of Vedanta. The Brahman as presented by him gives
us not only the manifestation or creation of the Almighty but also a spiritual experience in the scientific world-picture.
To him the 'Vedant within' (Pratyak rupa) and the 'Vedanta without' (Parak rupa) do not mean two extremely divergent things but he can
with ease and masterly convenience unify them. His comments of samyak-jnana or comprehensive knowledge of total reality are unfailingly exhibiting Saint Jnaneshvara's spiritual orientation. When Jnaneshvara explains Karma Yoga it is really a treat and perhaps his comnentary on that famous Shloka of Gita Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phaleshu kudachan ismore sweet and more deep that the shloka commented upon (9). His way of explaining the Nishkama Karma Yoga is such
that with ease and effectiveness it reaches the common man. Jnaneshvaras writings were basically meant for common man. The religious scholars hither to fore always addressed themselves to the scholars and men of
authority while Jnaneshvara though challenging these scholars had never allowed to be alienated from his target group, i.e. the common man.
When Jnaneshvara comments upon the indestructibility of the matter his explanation about the form that matter takes and the change of the form reveal
amazing scientific knowledge of Saint Jnaneshvara (10). It will have to be borne in mind that Jnaneshvara was a very young man in his twenties when he was writing this treatise. It may also be taken into account
that even in those days a scholar respecting a scholar would be a rare thing and this arrogance of knowledge could be even more with the other saints and religious scholars. Jnaneshvara used to give his religious
discourses at various places and all the religious scholars, saints, learned people and the people in authority of the day, without exception, followed Jnaneshvara. That is the real test of his greatness. His very
cordial relationship with them and though they were quite elder to him their regarding Jnaneshvara as the supreme authority itself goes a long way in telling us about the learning, decency, love and affection that
marked Jnaneshvara distinctly from others.
Jnaneshvara ends Jnaneshvari in a befitting unique manner. Those were the days when the spiritual and religious rites and ceremonies would be
considered to be necessary for initiating any religious project and also for marking the end or conclusion of the project. We have seen that the prayers in the beginning offered by Jnaneshvara were most
philosophical while equally good or even better philosophy is to be found at the end in the epilogue what is popularly known as Pasayadana(12).For pleasing the universal or cosmic God Jnaneshvara does not
need performing of a Yajna and doesn't believe in making offerings in the said Yajna to the Brahman. Rather he knows that his offerings of knowledge which he has made in the treatise Jnaneshvari are the best
form of offerings that can be made to the Almighty and his is the Yajna of words and knowledge. Thus he offers Jnaneshvari as an offering in the yajna to the cosmic God and being sure that this should be
sufficient to please the Almighty in return he asks for a Pasayadana or the Prasadam. In the Pasayadana too Saint Jnaneshvara doesn't stoop down to the level of asking for personal gains like
multi or salvation or even gains of religion. He in fact claims nothing for himself, on the contrary he prays for all and his all include not only the human beings but also the lower animals and other forms of life.
When claims or prays that the evilness or the wickedness of the wicked people be lost and the man out of them be salvaged the jurist in him guides our present day theories of punishment. He further prays that each
one of the animate beings should become knowledgeable and should be free from the unholy elements. On this earth the good people should frequent everywhere and they should make others to be good. He prays that let
the good people, who are better than moon as they are spotless and better than sun as their brightness does not scorch, become beloved on the earth and he further prays that this universe he filled up with happiness
and joy. He ends his prayer with a confidence that he would get the Pasayadana prayed for by him.
The very task of composing Jnaneshvari had been undertaken by Jnaneshvara with determination to make available the Vedic philosophy to the common man
in his language and in this his task Jnaneshvara succeeds to such an extent that a competing similar commentary cannot be found in any other Indian language to this date. Jnaneshvari has become a treatise equally
charming and attracting the philosophers, the scientists and the religious people alike over seven hundred years and the passage of time has only revealed its growing strength. And this is so because his heart
expanded to include not only the human but the birds, beasts and plants and his total concern for ecology, and the orderly existence of all the Cosmic Objects aims at establishing and ensuring Universal Harmony.
Notes
- , 2. In Marathi 'Jnana' is also spelt as 'Dnyana'. However their phonetic spelling has been retained for consistency.
- Jnaneshvari 1/1, 2/63
- Ibid., 1/86,1/96,1/1 1 3
- Ibid., 4/99
- Ibid., 1/90
- Ibid., 1/57
- Ibid., 2/95
- Ibid., 3/71
- Ibid., 2/105
- Ibid., 3/159
- Ibid., 18/1792 to 18/1801
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