Haripath

<p>Jnaneshwar (1275-1297) is a favorite saint of Maharashtra India wrote<br />over a thousand abhangs or unbreakable devotional poems.<br />Twenty-eight of his abhangs were written as a collection called<br /><em>Haripath</em> (meaning “Sing Hari study Hari [God]”).<br /><br />Jnaneshwar his siblings and many others started on the twenty-eight<br />day journey from Alandi to Paithan to obtain the shuddhi patra<br />(“purification document”) from the Paithan pandits. Each day<br />Jnaneshwar wrote an abhang about the importance of singing Hari’s<br />name.<br /><br />The<em> Haripath</em> has been popular in Maharashtra for seven centuries and<br />its daily recitation is considered a complete spiritual practice. Most<br />of the poems consist of four lines; they have a theme Each abhang has<br />its own character and unique flavor. Their messages are simple<br />direct sublime and even implosive. The most subtle lofty teachings<br />of the<em> Upanishads Bhagavad Gita</em> and <em>Bhakti Sutras</em> are offered to us<br />freely–as Jnanadev says “like fruit in the palm of our hand.”<br /><br />He extols devotion as the most essential quality in spiritual life<br />and perhaps most importantly he sings to us about the importance and<br />the impact of the company of the saints. In every verse like a loving<br />mother he encourages us to take up the repetition of God’s name and<br />hold God close to us. He says “As one repeats the name of God<br />millions of sins drop away. Hold onto the thought of Rama Krishna.<br />Extricate all your negative tendencies cut off all attachments. Don’t<br />hide behind the senses. Have faith in the holy places and rituals and<br />always cultivate tenderness peace and compassion. In this way you<br />will make Hari your guest” (abhang 27).</p><p>This book contains the 28 abhangs of the <em>Haripath</em> in Marathi with transliteration as well as English and Hindi translations.</p><p>The English translation has been made as literal as possible by Umesh<br />and Chitra Nagarkatte and was edited by Dana Wilkinson. The Hindi<br />translation was jointly composed by Umesh Nagarkatte and Ashok Vyas.</p>