Saints are recognized in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
although it does not require canonization or similar formal process to acknowledge a person as one. Generally a holy or saintly person is referred to as a
mahatmaMahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul" ; it is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jyotirao Phule...
,
paramahamsaParamahamsa , also spelled paramahansa or paramhansa, is a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honor applied to Hindu spiritual teachers of lofty status who are regarded as having attained enlightenment. The title may be translated as "supreme swan," and is based on the swan being equally at home...
, or
swamiSwami is primarily a Hindu honorific title, for either males or females. It is derived from Sanskrit and means "He who knows and is master of himself", "owner of oneself", or "free from the senses"...
, or given the prefix
SriSri is a Sanskrit word, with a primary meaning of radiance, or diffusing light It is often used as a title of veneration....
or Srila before their name.
The term "Sant" is derived from the
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
sat (सद) (truth, reality) has overlapping usages, its root meaning being "one who knows the truth" or "one who has experienced Ultimate Reality".
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Saints are recognized in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
although it does not require canonization or similar formal process to acknowledge a person as one. Generally a holy or saintly person is referred to as a
mahatmaMahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul" ; it is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jyotirao Phule...
,
paramahamsaParamahamsa , also spelled paramahansa or paramhansa, is a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honor applied to Hindu spiritual teachers of lofty status who are regarded as having attained enlightenment. The title may be translated as "supreme swan," and is based on the swan being equally at home...
, or
swamiSwami is primarily a Hindu honorific title, for either males or females. It is derived from Sanskrit and means "He who knows and is master of himself", "owner of oneself", or "free from the senses"...
, or given the prefix
SriSri is a Sanskrit word, with a primary meaning of radiance, or diffusing light It is often used as a title of veneration....
or Srila before their name.
The term "Sant" is derived from the
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
sat (सद) (truth, reality) has overlapping usages, its root meaning being "one who knows the truth" or "one who has experienced Ultimate Reality". It differs from the
false cognateFalse cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be or are sometimes considered cognates when in fact they are not...
"Saint" as it is often translated. The term Sant has taken on the more general ethical meaning of "good person", but is assigned specifically to the poet-sants of medieval India.
- Jagadguru Mahaprabhu Shri Vallabhacharya, a great saint who was the follower of Vishnuswami Sampradaya (Vaishnavism). He proved the principle of "Shuddha Adwaita Brahmavada" meaning pure adwaita Brahmavada based on Veda. He showed the path of devotion to the world and taught that in this time of "Kaliyuga" self-less surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna is the only thing a soul should do.
- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , was a monk and social reformer of eastern India in the 16th century...
(1486–1534), famous BengaliThe Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
Saint known for his ecstatic devotion to KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
. Original founder of the modern Hare KrishnaThe Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra , is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appears in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 16th century rises to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.According...
movement
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda , born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a...
(January 5, 1893 — March 7, 1952), a modern day saint who brought the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga to the west, successfully disseminating eastern wisdom all over North America and Europe, and personally initiating many thousands of spiritual aspirants. Disciple of Sri Yukteswar GiriSri Yukteswar Giri is the monastic name of Priyanath Karar , the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. Sri Yukteswar was a Jyotisha , a yogi, and an exponent of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible...
.
- Raghavendra Swami
Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy is an influential 16th century Hindu saint who advocated Vaishnavism and Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy...
, one of the most famous Hindu saints was believed to have performed miracles during his lifetime and continues to bless his devotees. He espoused VaishnavismVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
monotheismIn theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite...
(worship of VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
as Supreme God) and DvaitaDvaita , a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya, stresses a strict distinction between God and the individual souls...
philosophy.
- Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India...
- Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was an Indian sage. He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After having attained liberation at the age of 16, he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus, at Tiruvannamalai, and lived there for...
- Chandrashekarendra Saraswati (Sage of Kanchi)
Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal or the Sage of Kanchi was the 68th Jagadguru in the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam...
(1894–1994) Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Revered by many as an avatara of Adi Sankara http://www.srikanchimahaswami100.org/
- Akkalkot Niwasi Shree Swami Samarth
Akkalkot Niwasi Shri Swami Samartha also known as Swami Samartha Maharaj, Swami Maharaj is a household word in Maharashtra,karnataka and Andra Pradesh.He is believed to be from the tradition of several sages in the Dattatreya sampradaya....
(around 1275 A.D) considered to be the Guru of Great Saints, supposed to be the direct manifestation of the supreme power - God.
- Shirdi Sai Baba
Sai Baba may refer to:*Sai Baba of Shirdi , Indian saint*Sathya Sai Baba , guru who claims to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi...
(c. 1838 - October 15, 1918) was an IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n fakirA fakir or faqir is a Sufi, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic. Derived from faqr .In English, the term is often used to refer to Hindu ascetics as well as Sufi mystics. It can also be used pejoratively, to refer to a common street beggar who chants holy names,...
/guruA guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation from unreality to reality, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge...
who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim followers as a saint.
- Tukaram
Tukārām was a prominent Marathi Sant and religious poet in the Hindu tradition in India.-Early life and background:Tukaram was born and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune city in Mahārāshtra, India. He was born to a couple with the family name "Moray" - the descendent of the...
was a great saint who was believed to have performed miracles and was a devotee of KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
.
- Brahma Chaitanya
Shri Brahma Chaitanya , born on 'Maagha Shuddha Dwadashi' of 'Shake 1766' in Gondavale Budruk, Taluka Maan, District Satara.A...
, the saint of Gondawali who was a great devotee of RamaRama or Ramachandra is the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a legendary king of Ayodhya in ancient India...
.
- Sant Shiri Nunuram Sahib (1898–1973), a great saint whose aashram is situated in Islamkot city of Sindh Province in Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
.http://www.santnenuram.20m.com
- Tibbetibaba
Tibbetibaba , originally named Nabin Chattopadhhyaya or Nabin or Nabin Chandra, was a famous Bengali philosopher saint who lived till the early part of...
was a great saint whose life was based on both Advaita VedantaAdvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and . Advaita is a monistic system of thought...
and MahayanaMahayana is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. It was founded in India...
principles.
- Shri Siddheshwar Maharaj of Solapur
- Nisargdatta Maharaj
- Sant Dnyaneshwar
- Sant Ramdas
- Sant Tulsidas
- Sant Gora Kumbhar
- Sant Guru Nanak