Earning God through the "One-Hundred Rupee Note": Nirguna Bhakti and Religious Experience among Hindu Renouncers in North India

Abstract

This article examines the everyday religious phenomenon of nirguna bhakti as it is experienced by Hindu renouncers (sadhus) in North India. As an Indian language concept, nirguna bhakti characterizes a type of devotion (bhakti) that is expressed in relation to a divinity who is said to be without (nir) the worldly characteristics and attributes of sex and gender, name and form, race and ethnicity, class and caste. Although bhakti requires a relationship between the devotee and the deity, the nirguna kind transcends the boundaries of relational experience, dissolving concepts of "self" and "other", and, in effect, accentuating the experience of union in the divine absolute. In comparison to saguna bhakti (devotion to a deity with attributes), nirguna bhakti is considered to be difficult to realize in human birth. Yet, the poetry, songs, and practices of uncommon humans who have not only left behind social norms, but also, devoting their lives to the worship of the divine, achieved forms of divine realization, people like the mystics, saints and sadhus of Hindu traditions, laud the liberating power and insights of nirguna bhakti. The Hindu sadhus featured in this article describe their experiences of nirguna bhakti through the use of the idiom of a "one-hundred rupee note" to distinguish its superior value and, as significantly, to indicate that humans "earn" God (Brahman) through the practice of nirguna devotion. As a "precious" spiritual asset on the path of liberation, nirguna bhakti establishes the religious authority and authenticity of sadhus, while setting them apart from other sadhus and holy figures in a vibrant North Indian religious landscape.