Sanatana Dharma says that worshipers are freed from the disease of birth and death by taking refuge in a true saint or Sant. You might have heard the term Saints in different religions also.
It is used for the person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God.
In Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism, Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called gurus, sadhus, rishis, devarishis, rajarshis, saptarishis, brahmarshis, swamis, pundits, purohits, pujaris, acharyas, pravaras, yogis, yoginis, and other names.
In this article you will read about the Famous Saints of India.
Famous Shiva Temple of Uttarakhand
Ramanuja
Ramanuja also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. Ramanuja who was appointed the successor of his teacher Yamunamuni. He traveled all over India and ultimately settled down at Srirangam.
Ramanuja established Vaishnavism on a sound foundation. He founded Visistadvaita Siddhanta or qualified monism and according to him, the way to salvation lies through Karma, Gyan and Bhakti. He wrote Sribasya and Gitabhasya.
Nimbarka
Nimbarka also known as Nimbarkacharya Nimbaditya or Niyamananda, was a Hindu philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the theology of Dvaitadvaita or dualistic–non-dualistic. He played a major role in spreading the worship of the divine couple Radha and Krishna. Nimbarka founded Nimbarka Sampradaya, one of four main traditions of Hindu sect Vaishnavism.
He wrote Vedanta Parijata-saurabha, a commentary on Brahma Sutras. He settled in Mathura.
Madhvacharya
Madhvacharya also known as Purna Prajna and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. Madhva studied the classics of Hindu philosophy, and wrote commentaries on the Principal Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras (Prasthanatrayi), and is credited with thirty seven works in Sanskrit. His writing style was of extreme brevity and condensed expression. His greatest work is considered to be the Anuvyakhyana, a philosophical supplement to his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure
According to him, the final aim of man is the direct perception of Hari which leads to Moksha or eternal bliss.
Vallabhacharya
Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj), and the Vedanta philosophy of Shuddha Advaita .
He is the Jagadguru Acharya and Guru of the Pushti Marg bhakti tradition and Suddhadwait Brahmavad, which he founded after his own interpretation of the Vedanta philosophy.
He was the author of a number of scholarly works in Sanskrit and Braj Bhasha, the important being Subodhini and Siddhant Rahasya.
Ramananda
Sri Ramanandacharya was a 14th-century Vaishnava devotional poet saint. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic Hindu renunciation community in modern times.
Ramananda was known for composing his works and discussing spiritual themes in vernacular Hindi, stating that this makes knowledge accessible to the masses. He opened the door of Bhakti to all without any distinction of birth, caste, creed or sex. He was a worshiper of Rama and believed in two great principles, namely as perfect love for god and human brotherhood.
Namdev
Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj was a Marathi Vaishnav saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism.
He lived as a devotee of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur. He is widely regarded as the founder of Varkari tradition. His philosophy contains both nirguna brahman and saguna brahman elements, with monistic themes.
Namdev’s legacy is remembered in modern times in the Varkari tradition, along with those of other gurus, with masses of people walking together in biannual pilgrimages to Pandharpur in Maharashtra.
He is also recognised in the North Indian traditions of the Dadu Panthis, Kabir Panthis and Sikhs.
Some hymns of Shri Sant Namdev are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Chaitanya
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a 15th-century Indian saint. He is considered to have been combined the avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. He was also the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda Tattva. Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Chaitanya was the greatest saint of the Bhakti movement. He was responsible for the popularity of Vaishnavism in Bengal through his Kirtans. Chaitanya began the Chintaya Bhedabheda Vaada School of theology. He preached the religion of intense faith in one Supreme Being whom he called Krishna or Hari.
Mirabai
Meera, widely known as Mirabai and also called Sant Mirabai was one of the biggest devotees of Lord Krishna. Her way of devotion was different from other devotees as she considered Lord Krishna as her husband. Millions of devotional hymns in passionate praise of Krishna are attributed to Meerabai in the Indian tradition.
Hindu temples, such as in Chittorgarh fort, are dedicated to Mirabai’s memory. Legends about Mirabai’s life, of contested authenticity, have been the subject of movies, films, comic strips and other popular literature in modern times.
Tulsidas
Tulsidas was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit. His best known as the author of the Hanuman Chalisa and of the epic Ramcharitmanas. Ramcharitmanas is a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana. Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi and Ayodhya.
The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi is named after him. He founded the Sankatmochan Temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Varanasi. It is believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of the deity.
He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and world literature. The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread. It is seen to date in vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.
Surdas
Surdas was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer. He was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a revered poet and singer.
His compositions glorified and captured his devotion towards lord Krishna. Most of his poems were written in the Braj language, while some were also written in other dialects of medieval Hindi, like Awadhi.
Surdas is best known for his composition the Sur Sagar. Most of the poems in the composition, although attributed to him, seem to be composed by later poets in his name.
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