Aijaz Ahmad Bhat

Women Saints and Mystics in Medieval India Aijaz Ahmad Bhat

Bhakti to God is found in every religion and is considered to be a way to attain God realization. From ancient times onwards Bhakti is considered as a way of God- realization along with good actions and knowledge. The life and work of women saint and mystics was shrouded in mystery unlike that of men saint. This is partly due to the fact that none of them established Guru Parampara, where there disciples might have preserved the composition of the saints. There were few exceptions like Lal Ded, Mira bai, who constituted a minor following. Even lesser number of women saints received recognition for their spiritual greatness during their lifetime. They were scolded by their contemporaries as mad and shameless. Akka Devi were greatly revered in south India. infact Akka Devi was the leading member of a council of saints. Akka Mahadevi was a medieval Kannada poet, mystic and saint in the 12th century Karnataka and was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement. Her greatest contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature was her Vachanas which were in the form of didactic poetry meaning which were informative and educative having moral instruction as the ulterior motive. She is said to have been the first woman in Kannada literature to write Vachanas. The Historical facts passed on from generation to generation that a legendary personality one who is named as Lal Ded lived in 14th century was a great, acknowledged and renounced women saint and mystic from Kashmir. History bears witness to the fact that Lal Ded was a controversial figure right from the beginning, because everyone has different interpretations regarding different aspects of her personality. Contribution of Lal Ded to transcendental mysticism which was unique as it cut across all the barriers of time and space and particular religious structure, caste and creed. Therefore leading up to the universalism in religion. Mirabai was a great saint and devotee of Sri Krishna. Despite facing criticism and hostility from her own family, she lived an exemplary saintly life and composed many devotional bhajans. Historical information about the life of Mirabai is a matter of some scholarly debate.