Sant

Sant denotes a spiritually prominent figure in Hinduism or in other Indian religions.

Etymology

(German saint) is Sant in English usually rendered as this apparently etymologically close to each other is with " saint ". Properly, however, that " saint " comes from the Latin sanctus, while Sant is a variant of the Sanskrit sat, what both " truth " and " reality " means. A Sant is so etymologically a person who knows the absolute truth of religious opinion.

Use

In the 15th and 16th centuries, particularly North Indian poets and songwriters are called Sant, which God worshiped in the sense of bhakti. They spoke out against any institutionalized religiosity and were most revered over time as gurus. It should be emphasized that they responded to both Hindus and Muslims and they performed no strict separation between these populations, although such a distinction was familiar. More recently, the term is also used to refer to the founder of the Hindu movement Sant Mat, in Punjab also generally for holy men who lead a eremitisches life.

Representative

As Sants are, inter alia, referred to:

• Nanak Dev
• Kabir
• Ravidas Nagar