13-17 ғасырлардағы Сант Мат қозғалысы

Hindu spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th century. the medieval Sant Mat origins in the 13th century
Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i. e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following sants and their teachings, a movement was formed. Theologically, the teachings are distinguished by inward, loving devotion by the individual soul (atma) to the Divine Principal God (Parmatma). Socially, its egalitarianism distinguishes it from the caste system, and from Hindus and Muslims. Sant Mat is not to be confused with the 19th century Radha Soami, also known as contemporary "Sant Mat movement". The lineage of sants can be divided into two main groups: a northern group from the provinces of Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, who expressed themselves mainly in vernacular Hindi; and a southern group, whose language is Marathi, represented by Namdev and other sants of Maharashtra.

The Sant Mat movement was heterogeneous, and consisted mostly of the sants own socio religious attitudes, which were based on bhakti (devotion) as described in the Bhagavad Gita. Sharing as few conventions with each other as with the followers of the traditions they challenged, the sants appear more as a diverse collection of spiritual personalities than a specific religious tradition, although they acknowledged a common spiritual root. The poet sants expressed their teaching in vernacular verse, addressing themselves to the common folk in oral style in Hindi and other dialects and other languages such as Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi. They referred to the "Divine Name" as having saving power, and dismissed the religious rituals as having no value. They presented the idea that true religion was a matter of surrendering to God "who dwells in the heart". Sants developed a culture of concern for marginalized in the society. Some of the more notable sants include Namdev (d. 1350), Kabir (d. 1518), Nanak (d. 1539), Mira Bai (d. 1545), Surdas (d. 1573), Dadu Dayal (d. 1603), Tulsidas (d. 1623), and Tukaram (d. 1650). The tradition of the sants (sant parampara) remained non sectarian, although a number of sant poets have been considered as the founders of sects. Some of these may bear the sant's name, but were developed after them by later followers such as Kabir Panth, Dadu Panth, Dariya Panth, Advait Mat, Science of Spirituality and Radhasoami. Only a small minority of religious Hindus have formally followed Sant Mat, but the tradition has considerably influenced Hindus across sects and castes. Bhajans (devotional songs) attributed to past sants such as Mira Bai are widely listened to in India and in Hindu communities around the world. The sant tradition is the only one in medieval and modern India that has successfully crossed some barriers between Hindu and Muslim faiths. Julius J. Lipner asserts that the lives of many Hindus have been leavened by the religious teachings of the sants, which he describes as liberating.