Santmat was the creed to be followed by sants or sages to attain peace. But in this case maharshi Mehi wanted all householders to reach that state of peace through simple methods. So he was considered as Guru Maharaj by his devotees.
Profile
Mehi was born as Ramanugrah Lal Das on 28th April 1885 at Khokhsi Shyam village in Bihar. His mother was Janawati Devi and father was Babujan Lal Das. His mother died when he was four years and Mehi was lovingly looked after by his sister and father. He got the nickname ‘Mehi’ because he was thin and that name stuck even when he took up the life of a sanyasa. He began to attend the village school when he was eight and he was a bright boy. His father used to read the ‘Ramacharitra Manas’ and would burst into tears; this left a big impact on the little boy’s mind. A little later he got around reading the Devanagiri script and soon mastered other languages like English, Persian and Urdu. He was good at soccer but soon lost interest in games and spent time in reading scriptures. He was taking class X half yearly exam, English paper in 1904. One was question was “Quote from memory the lines from the poem ‘Builders’“. He wrote four lines and wrote below it ‘Maharshi Mehi’ and as he continued he felt a strong urge for renunciation. He got up and asked the invigilator, “May I go out, Sir?” The invigilator gave him permission as he thought he was going out briefly. This exit was never to return. Baba Devi Sahab was Mehi’s spiritual so was Ramanand Swami who taught him ‘manas dhyan’, to concentrate on a form of deity internally. He went on to learn from many gurus. His name stayed with him and with his spiritual progress people began calling his Maharshi Mehi. At the age of 101 on 8th June, 1986, he left his body in meditation.
Philosophy Propounded
Santmat was the philosophy propounded by Maharshi Mehi. According to this philosophy, which was not very different from Advaita Vedanta, stable mind is a peaceful mind. The man who has attained peace is a Sant, a realized soul. To attain this peace there he felt one should gaze at an object outside and internalise the idol inside. This is easier said than done, as it needs complete concentration of the mind. Once this concentration is developed the mind is still and peaceful taking one to god realisations.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
After being initiated into Santmat he went back to his guru, father in his hometown. From then on he spoke to people about this simple way to peace. He has authored many books which are widely read. It is agreed that Maharshi Mehi took the philosophy of Santmat to zeniths of glory.
