Dasbodh - Spiritual Instruction for the Servant

Book excerpt: Highly revered by hundreds of millions of Indian devotees over that past three centuries, Dasbodh is truly a "Grantharaj," a King among spiritual books. The great Saint Samartha Ramdas has many literary works attributed to him, of which, Dasbodh and Manache Shlok are the two most well-known. Dasbodh is very highly revered and commonly studied, even in many business and management courses. The sound principles contained within its pages help people from all walks of life to be successful not only in spiritual life, but in business, politics, society, and family life as well. Saint Samartha Ramdas is considered to be somewhat unique when compared to other previous or contemporary Maharashtran saints such as Jnanadev, Eknath, and Tukaram, in that their teachings for the most part focused exclusively on the topics Vedanta, devotion, mysticism, and spiritual practice. The teachings of Samartha Ramdas not only includes these topics, but in them, we also find messages of the importance of the wise use of positive effort, discrimination, determination, and practical shrewdness in daily life and politics. Samartha is recognized as having been a great leader and an advocate for socio-political and religious reforms, regeneration, and reorganization. He is well-known for promoting the ideal of establishing and maintaining a harmonious, happy, and morally healthy society supported by a solid foundation of deep spirituality.