SAINTS OF INDIA

Sakhu Bai, an ardent devotee of Vitthal, lives with her husband and a cruel mother-in-law. The mother thinks that her daughter-in-law will spoil her only son and then he will start neglecting his mother. Her husband also does not say anything to his mother because he thinks that since he is her only son, people will disrespect him and his wife if he takes his wife's side. So Sakhu has to bear all the ill-treatment silently. She worships Vitthala with all her heart and forgets her daily sufferings. A sad Sakhu sees a group of Vitthala devotees doing Naam-Kirtan. She joins the group and starts doing Naam-Kirtan. Her husband's sister finds her and tells her mother about that. The mother-in-law arrives and drags her to her home and ties her to a pole. Sakhu starts crying and worships Vitthala and after some time, things take a different turn.  People get dumbfounded by seeing two Sakhus and start thinking that she is a ghost. Rest are divine. Listen to the podcast to know more. If you would like to support this cause, kindly contribute through www.patreon.com/SriramIyer. All proceeds will be utilised on hundreds of children who are learning the vedas to keep Sanatana Dharma up; in veda patashalas and tols.  Namaste.

Purandara Dasa (c. 1484 – c. 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-proponents of Carnatic Music (South Indian classical music). In honor of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha (lit. "father" or "grandfather") of Carnatic music. If you would like to support this cause, kindly contribute through www.patreon.com/SriramIyer. All proceeds will be utilised on hundreds of children who are learning the vedas to keep Sanatana Dharma up; in veda patashalas and tols.  Namaste.

Ganapati Muni was born in Kalavarayai near Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh on 17 November 1878. His parents, Narasimha Sastri and Narasamamba had three sons, Muni being the second. Ganapati, when 18 years old, set out and wandered from one place to another, residing in places like Bhuvaneshwar, where he performed his tapas. When Ganapati was staying in Varanasi he learned of an assembly of Sanskrit scholars in the city of Nabadwip in Bengal. He participated in it and on passing the tests in extempore Sanskrit prose and poetry, was conferred the title 'Kavyakantha'. He was then 22 years old. He returned home at the age of 25. From Kanchipuram he came to Arunachala (Tiruvannamalai) in 1903 to perform tapas. At that time he visited Ramana Maharshi, who was then known as Brahmanaswami, before he accepted a teaching post in Vellore in 1904. He wrote his devotional epic hymn "Uma Sahasram," One Thousand Verses on Uma (goddess Parvathi), after accepting Ramana Maharshi as his Guru on 18 November 1907. He also met Sri Aurobindo on 15 August 1928. Ganapati Muni died at Kharagpur on 25 July 1936. If you would like to support this cause, kindly contribute through www.patreon.com/SriramIyer. All proceeds will be utilised on hundreds of children who are learning the vedas to keep Sanatana Dharma up; in veda patashalas and tols.  Namaste.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar (1 December 1918 – 20 February 2001) was an Indian saint and mystic. He was also referred to as "Visiri samiyar" and spent most of his post enlightenment period in Tiruvannamalai,  a small town in Tamil Nadu which is famous for attracting spiritual seekers worldwide and has had a continuous lineage of enlightened souls. He acknowledges the contribution of three of the most well known saints of his time in his evolution to enlightenment. These individuals were Sri Aurobindo, the founder of Integral yoga, Ramana Maharishi Ramana Maharshi, one of the "spiritual supermen" of his time, and Swami Ramdas, Yogi's eventual guru. If you would like to support this cause, kindly contribute through www.patreon.com/SriramIyer.  All proceeds will be utilised on hundreds of children who are learning the vedas to keep Sanatana Dharma up; in veda patashalas and tols.  Namaste.

His Holiness, Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavananda ji Maharaj was born in 1896, in the village Bajitpur (Bangladesh) of undivided India. ‘BINOD’, as was called in his childhood days, was often found to be immersed in serious thoughts that culminated into deep meditation, aimed at ‘Self Emancipation’ and ‘Upliftment of Human Beings’, through spiritual development and selfless Services. As a brahmachari, he spent countless hours in meditation, spiritual trances and Seva (service to people).  More in the podcast. If you would like to support this cause, kindly contribute through www.patreon.com/SriramIyer.  All proceeds will be utilised on hundreds of children who are learning the vedas to keep Sanatana Dharma up; in veda patashalas and tols.  Namaste.

Shyama Charan Lahiri, best known as Lahiri Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi, guru and a disciple of the Kriya Yoga master Mahavatar Babaji. In 1861, he was chosen by his guru to revive the yogic science of Kriya Yoga to the public after centuries of its guarding by masters. Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder  www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant (saint) Ramdas or Ramdas Swami or simply Ramdas was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. His earlier name was Narayan. He was a devotee of the  Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman.  Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder  www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

Kabir Das was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti Movement and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib. His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda.. Kabir was born in the Indian city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder  www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

Soordas, the blind bard of Brij, occupies a very eminent position in Hindi Literature.  Being blind to the world, he was blessed with Divine Vision, with which he was able to see Lord Krishna.  This soul is happy to share with you the Life of Sant Soordas in this episode. Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder. www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

Namaste. This soul is blessed to share with you the Life of Shirdi Shri Sai Baba.  A saint whose birth is still a mystery for many of his followers and biographers alike.  The fact is that he leads his devotees lying in samadhi at Shirdi. Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder. www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

In the podcast this soul is pleased to share the Life of Shri Guru Gobind Singhji, the tenth and the last Guru of the Sikhs.  The birth of Khalsa and the presentation to the World of the Granth Sahib are discussed in brief in this podcast. Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast.  If you would like to support this project of mine, you may contribute at patreon.com, the link for which is provided hereunder. www.patreon.com/SriramIyer

The Saint from Virpur, Gujarats life is presented to you by this soul in a nutshell through this episode. How a single person was able to feed all those who came to his doors is still a surprise to many considering the magnitude at which he served sadhus, sants and common man alike. Hope you enjoy listening to the podcast. If you would like to support this series, please consider contributing through the link that appears hereunder. Thank You! www.patreon.com/SriramIyer