Sant Mat translates from Hindi into English as The Religion of the Saints. Both words are translated rather loosely to provide the most correct meaning in lay terms. "Way" would perhaps be a more correct translation, although it wouldn't quite convey the same meaning. And "saints" here refers not to holy persons in general, but to the Sant Satgurus, the avatars, so to say, of the Supreme Being. So, the correct translation of this term should be "The Way of The Sants".

The Sant Mat movement, that was not homogenous, consisted mostly of these Sant's presentation of socio-religious attitudes based on bhakti (devotion) as described a thousand years early in the Bhagavad Gita ^[1]. Bhakti is a Tamil or Sanskrit term from Hinduism that means intense devotion expressed by action (service). ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ...

The boundaries of the movement were likely not sectarian and were devoid of Brahmin concepts of caste and liturgy. The poet-saints expressed their teaching in vernacular verse, addressing themselves to the common folk in oral style in Hindi and other dialects such as Marathi. They referred to the "Divine Name" as having saving power, and dismissed the religious rituals as having no value. They presented that true religion was a matter of surrendering to God "who dwells in the heart" ^[3]. A Brahmin (pronunciation is Brahmann) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... The vernacular is the native language of a country or locality. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ...

Some of these Sants, came from low castes, some of them were women and even untouchables (Atishudras). Some of the more notable Sants include Namdev (d.1350), Kabir (d.1518), Nanak (d.1539), Mirabai (d.1545), Surdas (d.1573) and Tulsidas (d.1623) . In South Asias caste system, a Dalit — formerly called untouchable or achuta — is a person outside the four castes, and considered below them. ... Namdev, Nam Dev, or Saint Namdev (1270-1350) born to a low-caste tailor named Damasheti and his wife, Gonabi in the village of Naras-Vamani, in the district of Maharashtra, India. ... Kabir (कबीर) (1440 - 1518)(better known as Kabira) was an Indian Mystic who preached an ideal of seeing all of humanity as one. ... Guru Nanak (गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. ... Mirabai (मीराबाई) (c. ... Surdas was a Hindu poet, saint and musician of India. ... Goswami Tulsidas (1532-1623; Hindi: तुलसीदास) was a medieval Hindi poet and philosopher. ...

The 'tradition of the Sants' (sant parampara) remained non-sectarian, though a number of Sant poets have been considered as the founders of sects, some which may bear their name, but have developed after them by later followers such as Kabir Panth, Dadu Panth, Dariya Panth, Advait Mat, and Radhasoami. ^[2] Nanak, one of most notable saint-poets, is the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, and considered the founder of the Sikh religion ^[1]. Parampara denotes a long succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Indian culture. ... Radha Soami (also Radhasoami Satsang or Radhaswami) is a faith that has followers among both Hindus and Sikhs. ... Guru Nanak (गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in the Punjab. ...

Formally, only a small minority of religious Hindus have followed Sant Mat, but the tradition has considerable influenced Hindus across sects and castes. Bhajans (devotional songs) attributed to past Saints such as Mirabai are widely listened to in India and in Hindu communities around the world. The Sant tradition is the only one in medieval and modern India which has successfully crossed some barriers between Hindu and Muslim blocks ^[3]. A Bhajan is a Hindu devotional song, often but not necessarily of ancient origin. ...

Medieval Sufi poets such as Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, as well as Sindhi poets, are considered to have many similarities with the poet-saints of Sant Mat.^[3] Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Mawlana Rumi Celâladin Mehmet Rumi or Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (Persian:مولانا جلال الدين محمد بلخى , Arabic: جلال الدين محمد رومي) (September 30, 1207 – December 17, 1273 CE) (also known as Mawlvi Mawlana, meaning our guide or our lord in Arabic and Persian, or Mevlana meaning our guide in Turkish) was a Sufi , Persian poet , jurist, theologian... Sindhi refers to an socio-ethnic group of people originating in Sindh which is part of present day Pakistan. ...

Sant's Poetry

Poem by Kabir

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.

My shoulder is against yours.

you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine

rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:

not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding

around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but

vegetables.

When you really look for me, you will see me

instantly —

you will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?

He is the breath inside the breath. ^[4]

Poem by Nanak

If you bestow your glance of grace, through grace we find the Guide [Satguru]

This soul first passes many births, at last the Guide is heard

No giver is greater that the Guide, all people make this well

The Guide once more imparts the Truth, to those who kill the Self

The Guide who makes us grasp reality.

Asa ki Var M1 4. AG456 ^[1]

Poem by Mirabai

I am true to my Lord,

O my companions, there is nothing to be ashamed of now

Since I have been seen dancing openly.

In the day I have no hunger

At night I am restless and cannot sleep.

Leaving these troubles behind, I go to the other side;

A hidden knowledge has taken hold of me.

My relations surround me like bees.

But Mira is the servant of her beloved Giridhar,

And she cares nothing that people mock her. ^[5]

Asa Ki Var is a collection of 24 pauris or stanzas written by Guru Nanak Devji (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, page 462-475). ...

See also

• Contemporary Sant Mat movement
• Sikhism
• Surat Shabd
• Hinduism
• Sufism

Contemporary Sant Mat movements are esoteric religious movemenst active in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and especially India. ... The Golden Temple is a sacred shrine for Sikhs Sikhism (Punjabi: ) is a religion based on the teachings of ten Gurus who lived primarily in 16th and 17th century India. ... Surat shabd yoga or surat shabda yoga is a form of yoga that is popular in the Sant Mat tradition. ... Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a mystic tradition of Islam based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as it is gradually revealed to the heart and mind of the Sufi (one who practices Sufism). ...

Sources

1. ^ ^a b  Woodhead, Linda & Fletcher, Paul. Religion in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations' (2001) pp.71-2, Routledge (UK). ISBN 0415217849
2. ^  Schomer, Karine, The Sant Tradition in Perspective, in in Sant Mat:Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod W.H. ISBN 0-961-22080-5
3. ^ ^a b Lipner, Julius J. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (1994). Routledge (United Kingdom), pp. 120-1 . ISBN 0415051819
4. ^ Vaudeville, Charlotte. Sant Mat: Santism as the Universal Path to Sanctity in Sant Mat:Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India in Schomer K. and McLeod W.H. ISBN 0-961-22080-5
5. ^  Alsani, Ali. Sindhi Literary Culture, in Pollock, Sheldon I (Ed.) Literary Culture in History (2003), p.637-8, University of California Press, ISBN 0520228219
6. ^ Mitchell, Stephen A. The Enlightened Heart (1993) p.72. HarperCollins. ISBN 006092053X
7. ^  Taru, Susie. Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, V : 600 B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century (1992). The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 1558610278