Category: The Jewelled Garden

Milan Mohanta Janabai (late 13th c. – 1350 CE) was a poet from Maharashtra whose works are highly revered by Maharathi speaking Hindus. She came from a poor, lower caste Continue Reading →

Lalleshwari or Lal Ded was a 14th c. Kashmiri yogini in the Shaivite tradition. She is deeply loved in Kashmir, both by Hindus and Muslims, and it is said that Continue Reading →

Allama Prabhu was a 12th c. mystic and poet in Karnataka, a key figure in the Shiv Bhakta movement that put devotion to Shiva above rituals and formalities. He appears Continue Reading →

Sheikh Ruzbihan Baqli (1128 -1208 CE) was a Persian poet, mystic and Sufi master who, after travelling through the middle east, settled in Shiraz, where he taught for fifty years. Continue Reading →

Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol (1781 – 1851 CE), born in northeastern Tibet, entered monastic studies at the age of eight, took full ordination at the age of 21, and became a Continue Reading →

Marguerite Porete (13th century – 1 June 1310), also known as Marguerite of Hainault, was a mystic and author of The Mirror of Simple Souls. Nothing is known of her life Continue Reading →

Mechthild of Magdeburg (ca. 1207 – ca. 1282/1294 CE) was a Christian mystic who had her first deep vision of unity when she was twelve. In her early twenties she Continue Reading →

Seyh Galib (1757 – 1799 CE) is considered to be the last of the classical Ottoman poets. He was born in Istanbul, and following family tradition, established a career for Continue Reading →

This poem by Shankaracharya or Adi Shankara, the mystic who reformed and unified yogic practice in India, expresses a thought very similar to the recently posted tale about King Janaka. Continue Reading →

Sivavakiyar (ca. 9th c. CE) was a Tamil poet and Siddha yogi who rebelled against the caste system and ritualised worship, as may be seen from this verse. In bricks Continue Reading →