Sant Dnyaneshwar also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva,
Dnyandev or Mauli (1275–1296)[2][3] was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint,
poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath Vaishnava tradition. In his short life of 21 years, he authored
Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) and Amrutanubhav. These are the oldest surviving literary works in the
Marathi language, under the patronage of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, and these are considered to be milestones in Marathi
literature.
Blavatsky calls the
Dnyaneswari ‘’that king of mystical works’’. A wonderfully profound, poetic and
lyrical commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, in the western world, the work
probably does not have the exalted stature that is has in India or that of the
Bhagavad Gita in the west, although it has been translated into English several times. I think it would be seriously neglectful if a post
on the Dnyaneswari was not part of the Theosophical Project, and so we give you
the wonderful poem on Self-realisation that prefaces chapter 16, translated by M.R.
Yardi.
1-Hail to the Guru, that resplendent sun which has risen, dispelling the
illusion of the universe and causing the lotus of non-duality to unfold its
petals!
2- He swallows up the night of ignorance, removes the illusion of
knowledge and ignorance, and brings in the day of enlightenment for the wise.
3- At the dawning of the day, the eyes of Self-knowledge are opened, and
birds in the form of individual souls leave their nests of identification with
the body.
4-As he rises, the bee of Consciousness, held in the lotus of the subtle
body, gains its freedom.
5- On the opposite banks of the river of duality, which springs from
conflicting teachings of the scriptures, intellect and understanding cry out
like a pair of geese in the distress of their separation.
6- The light of the world, set in the firmament of Consciousness, brings
to them the consolation of union.
7- At the rising of the sun, the dark night of thieves passes away, and
travelling yogis set out on the path of spiritual experience.
8- Touched by its rays of discrimination, the sparks of the sun-crystal
of intellect burst into flames and consume the forests of worldly existence.
9- His scorching rays settle in the desert of the Self, and the mirage
of psychic powers arises.
10- When the sun reaches its zenith of Self-knowledge and shines in the
noontide of union with God, it hides itself in the shadow of delusion
concerning the nature of the individual soul.
11- When the night of illusion has faded away, who will remember the
sleep of wrong understanding, with its dreamlike delusions of the universe?
12- In the city of unity-awareness, the marker is surfeited with bliss,
and then dealings in worldly pleasure fall away.
13- His glory gives perpetual light to the experience of the highest
bliss of a liberated being.
14- When this great sovereign of the sky rises forever, the cycle of
rising and setting disappears along with the four quarters of the earth.
15- Both appearance and disappearance vanish, and God, who was concealed
beneath outer forms, is revealed. What more is there to say? This dawn is
beyond description.
16- Who can see that sun of knowledge which is beyond day and night,
which is self-illumined and sheds abundant light?
17- To Nivritti, that sun of Consciousness, I bow again and again. There
are no words which can express his praises.
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