Vaishya Hindu saints
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Himanshu Bhatt
As in the early Vedic times castes didn't exist, there were some pious people mentioned as 'Vaiśya' that had attained Brāhmanhood. For example, Nābha and his children were Ṛṣis that contributed to the Ṛgveda.
List of prominent saints[edit]
Mahatma Gandhi statue in London’s Parliament Square, London (Britain). His statues also exist in Bloomsbury, London (Britain), in Belgrave Road, Leicester (Britain), in Gandhi Square, in Ariana Parc European headquarters of the United Nations, Geneva (Switzerland), Johannesburg (South Africa), in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), and other places throughout the world.
| Name | Ethnicity | Caste | Sect | Compositions | Other significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abhayakara Gupta | Hindi | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | ||
| A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada | Bengali | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | He established the Hare Krishna sect which has attracted followers worldwide, without much need for encouraging converts. | |
| Amaraneedi Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | He is one of the 63 Nayanar saints. | ||
| Amrit Desai | Gujarati | Śaiva | His Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA, USA became a worldwide attraction for people top learn yoga Ayurvedic homeopathy. | ||
| Arivattaya Nayanar | Tamil | Vellalar | Śaiva | He is one of the 63 Nayanar saints. | |
| Bhagwan Goswami | Hindi | Ahir | Vaiṣnava (devotee of Kabirpanthi) | He was a disciple of Kabir. | |
| Bodhala Bawa | Marathi | Vaiṣnava (devotee of Vitthal) | |||
| Charan Das | Hindi | Vaiṣnava | He established the sect known as Charandasi. | ||
| Chekizhar | Tamil | Vellalar | Śaiva | He was a rich merchant. | |
| Churaman | Hindi | Vaiṣnava (Kabirpanthi) | He was the son of Dharamdas. He spread Kabirpanthi Vaishnavism throughout Central India. | ||
| Damodara Deva | Ahomi | Ekasarana Dharma | He was a disciple of Śankaradeva and preached the Ekasarana Dharma throughout Assam. | ||
| Dharamdas | Hindi | Vaiṣnava (Kabirpanthi) | Disciple of Kabir | ||
| Dharnidas | Hindi | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava (Dharnishwari) | He founded the Dharnishwari sect. | |
| Gadadhara Pandita (also Gadadhar Das) | Bengali | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | He was a disciple of Chaitanya and preached his message. | ||
| Gyaniji (also Jananiji) | |||||
| Iyarpagaiar | Tamil | Śaiva | He is one of the 63 Nayanar saints. | ||
| Jaydev | |||||
| Kalikkamba | Tamil | Śaiva | He is one of the 63 Nayanar saints. | ||
| Kalki Bhagavan | Tamil | Vaiṣnava | He founded the Oneness University. | ||
| Karaikkal Ammaiyar | Tamil | Śaiva | She is one of the 63 Nayanar saints. | ||
| Karsendas Mulji | Gujarati | Kapol | He was a social reformer and received much support. | ||
| Kasiram Das | Bengali | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava | ||
| Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Babaji Maharaja (also Batakṛṣṇa Kanango or Siddha Baba of Govardhana.) | Oriya | Karana | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | He was a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. | |
| Kṛṣṇadas | |||||
| Keshav Chandra Sen | Bengali | Vaidya | Brahmo Samaji | ||
| Kotpuliyar Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | |||
| Lala Bhagat (also Lalaji Maharaj) | |||||
| Lekhraj Khubchand Kripalani (also Dada Lekhraj or Brahma Baba) | Sindhi | Bhaiband | Śaiva (Brahma Kumari) | He founded the Brahma Kumari organization, which has followers worldwide. | |
| Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (also Mahesh Prasad Varma) | Hindi | Kāyastha | Transcendental Meditation | Some of his disciples were The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Ravi Shankar. | |
| Manakkanychaara Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | |||
| Mekan Dada | Kutchi | Ahir | Śaiva | Had several disciples of different castes, including Mayagarji, Mata Lirbai, Kandha Ahir, Vigha Ahir, Kanthad Suthar, Saraswat Brahmin Premji Ganpat, Sadhu Surdasji, Thakor Mokaji, Jada Khiyaranji Loria, Kadia Kanji, Prema bai | |
| Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | Gujarati | Vaiṣnava | He laid the foundation for freedom movements in the 20th century, which several prominent freedom fighters have followed and have achieved their goals of democracy and equality. | ||
| Muldas[1] | Gujarati | Vaiṣnava | |||
| Murti Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | |||
| Narottama Dasa Thakura (also Thakura Mahasaya) | Bengali | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | ||
| Padmanav | |||||
| Paltu Sahib Das | Hindi | Vaiṣnava | Paltu Sahib Ki Bani. | ||
| Pattinathar | Tamil | Śaiva | He was a wealthy merchant. | ||
| Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (also Shri Anandamurti or Baba) | Bengali | Śaiva (Ananda Margi) | He founded the Ananda Marga, which is a worldwide organization renouned for its spiritual thinking and for teaching yoga. | ||
| Raghunath Das (also Dasa Goswami) | Bengali | Kāyastha | Vaiṣnava (Gaudiya) | He was a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. | |
| Ram Prasad Sen | Bengali | Vaidya | Śakta | ||
| Ravi Saheb[2] | Gujarati | Vaiṣnava | |||
| Rupanarayan Ghosh | Bengali | ||||
| Saakkiya Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | |||
| Sadhu T. L. Vaswani | Sindhi | ||||
| Saththi Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva | |||
| Srikhanda | Vadya | ||||
| Sundardasji | He was the son of Churaman Das and disciple of Dharam Das. He became leader of the kuti (institute) of Ratanpur. | ||||
| Thayumanavar | Tamil | Vallalar | Śaiva | He was a renowned poet. | |
| Tirunavukkarasar (also Appar) | Tamil | ||||
| Trilochan | Hindi | ||||
| Vaayilaar | Tamil | ||||
| Viranminda Nayanar | Tamil | Śaiva |