Sant Tukaram | 15 Jun 2022

Recently, Prime Minister inaugurated the Sant Tukaram Shila Mandir in the temple town of Dehu in the Pune district.

Shila Mandir is a temple dedicated to a slab of stone (shila) on which Sant Tukaram meditated for 13 days.
- Shila refers to a rock that is currently on the Dehu Sansthan temple premises, and that for centuries has been the starting point of Wari, the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
The rock where he sat for 13 days is considered pious and a place of pilgrimage for the wakari sect.

About:
- Sant Tukaram was a Warkari saint and poet.
  - The sect is spread across Maharashtra and Sant Tukaram and his works are central to it.
- He was famously known for Abhanga devotional poetry and community-oriented worship through spiritual songs known as Kirtans.
- Also, composed a Marathi genre of literature called Abhanga poetry which fused folk stories with spiritual themes.
His Philosophy:
- Tukaram mentions four more people in his Abhangas work who had a major influence on his spiritual development: the previous Bhakti Sants Namdev, Dnyaneshwar, Kabir, and Eknath.
- Tukaram’s teachings were regarded as Vedanta-based.
Social Reform:
- His message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement.
- His Abhangs became the strong weapon against the Brahmanical dominance of society.