Songs of the saints of India Book

Music and worship in the lives of six Indian saints

This book is a discussion of the life, legends and the spiritual work of six saints/poets in medieval India. Over the last 450 years, these poet-saints have been immortalized by singing bards, religious communities and the Bollywood film industry improvising their works and life. A devotee in a temple or school child can recite the poetry of Mirabai, Nanak, Tulsidas or Kabir Das. The compositions of Surdas, and Tulsidas form the basis for many dramatic performances that attract thousands of people every year. Their poems were religious and Hindu in context but universal in theme. They speak of the trials of life in society, pains and exaltation of love. The poets focused in this book are; Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai and Tulsidas.

A brief summary of the book is as follows: The work of Ravidas, Kabir and Nanak worship of god without attributes (Nirguna) and without form. This group would be critical of idolatry, and beliefs in icons and legends and hence referred to as Sants. But Surdas, Mirabai and Tulsidas worshiped gods with attributes (Saguna) with form, hence referred to as Bhaktas. They worshiped Vishnu and his avatars Krishna and Rama. Loyalties in India solidify each group. For example all three Sants were represented in Adi Granth, the poetic anthology created to serve as the scripture of Sikh faith. Despite some differences between these two groups, they were a single force in terms of massive bhakti movement that was gathering force over a millennia.

This book is very well organized, nicely written and topics discussed with historical accuracy of the life and legends. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend to anyone interested in medieval history of India, the bhakti movement and devotional songs in Hindu worship.