Parmanand was an intensively spiritual 19th century poet, who had left a lasting legacy. He believed that true spirituality lay in rising above the illusion of ‘maya’ and not merely being other-worldly.
Born in a village near Mattan in 1790, Parmanand succeeded his father at an age of twenty five as a patwari (revenue collector). Fed up by the excesses perpetrated by the Sikh rule coupled with an unhappy married life, he took refuge in penning philosophic verses. He resigned from the revenue department after fifteen years of service and took to the studying of Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads. He came into contact with Sufism and realized that the ‘Rasa Lila’ of life is incomplete until a man dives deep into the ocean of joy and emerges triumphant over the distinction of ‘sour’ and ‘sweet’ and soaks his self in the spirit. He believed that the conventional yoga practiced without devotion and faith is futile and sang the ‘yoga of love’ in his famous works, Radha-Swayamvara and Sudama Charita. Shivalagun is his most popular composition, which is popular to this day.
The verses of Parmanand still create ripples in the mind of his readers. He died at the age of eighty eight.
