Universe: What it means to be a saint

Saints are an integral part of all religions. They are conduits through whom the divine power reveals itself. A saint is one who has eliminated his base passions by diligent worship and altruistic deeds. He has a direct vision of God. The Jews call them Hasid or tsaddiq, the Zoroastrians call them fravashi, the Hindus sanyasi or sant, the Jainas and the Buddhists call them sadhu, arahant, or Bodhisattva. They are known as waily in Islam, in Taoism as sheng-jen, and in Shintoism as kami.

Being moral, intellectual and emotional are the characteristics of a saint. Discipline, asceticism, sacrifice, chastity and self-control are their moral qualities. Contemplation on the self, the phenomenal world, and ultimate reality are their intellectual qualities. Unqualified universal love that redeems and welfare of all without discrimination are their emotional attributes.

A saint readily and gladly helps devout seekers of the Supreme Being. Saints are extraordinary people with extraordinary powers. Their life extends to eccentric boundaries. They ignore the prevalent social conventions and traditions.

They ‘dwell eternally with God’. In fact, there is no difference between God and a saint. As Janabai says in her verse couplet, abhanga 250: “Santa is God/and god is santa/Jani says,/The difference is only in the name.”

All saints engage themselves in service to others, constant prayer, reading from scriptures, preaching sermons, alms-giving and ascetic practices, compassionate acts, self-denial, and generosity.

A saint is a jivanmukta, who, according to Bhagavadgita 6.3 and 6.4, neither desires nor hates anything... he is liberated from the bonds of material energy. He is neither attached to sense objects nor actions. He is the one who has renounced all cravings for all actions and their fruits. He accepts both positive and negative outcomes with equanimity.

A saint renunciates all kamya karmas — works related to acquisition of wealth, progeny, prestige, status, power, etc. However, he continues to perform the nitya karmas — the essential deeds for the maintenance of the body. According to Bhagavadgita, 6.1, a saint performs an action as his duty without caring for its result. He performs his action for its own sake. He is the one who has given up not only all his desires, but also all his expectations.

Baudhayayana Dharamsutra, II.10.17.2, prescribes major and minor vows that a saint ought to follow. The major vows are: abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, and abstention from sex and other worldly pleasures. The five minor vows are: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating.

The motivation, the guiding maxim of a saint, is his as well as everyone else’s spiritual growth. For him, there is no other. He is an ardent follower of the Upanishadic principle — I am Brahman, so are you.

As a consequence, his behaviour, as BG 18.27 asserts — he becomes non-covetous, non-violent, pure, unmoved by joy and sorrow. His actions are free from raga and dvesha — attachment and avarice, and his intention is invariably authentic.

A saint, according to Sant Kabir, is “truly brave” because true bravery does not lie in fighting with arrows and swords, but in renunciation and living an authentic life.

— The writer is former professor of philosophy, Delhi University