Sundardas

Sundardas (1596-1689) was a disciple of Dadu Dayal, and perhaps the best known of the early Dadu-panth.

He was sent to live in Dadu's household at the age of six. Although Dadu died soon after, he most probably gave realisation to the young child before his death.

Sundardas clearly experienced Sahaja:

Rare is the person who feels thirsty for drinking the juice of meditation on the name 'Rama'.
We then become the residents of the supreme region which is at the top of the brain.
There exists the lake of ambrosial juice.
As for the ambrosial juice it is exceedingly dear, though it can be available throughout the year.
One who drinks that becomes immortal.
Even kings like Bharthari have totally left to enjoy the kingly pleasure;
and after besmearing the body with ashes have become unconcerned like Goraknatha and Kabira.
Sundardasa says that he too was benefitted spiritually by the grace of his Guru, Dadu Dayal


In one song Sundardas recorded his Sahaja lineage:

That perfectly pure Sahaja is in everything and with that Sahaja all religious people gather together.
Sankara began his sadhana in this Sahaja,
Sukdeva, Sanaka and others also followed this Sahaja way.
Devotees like Soja, Pipa, Sena and Dhana all have drunk of this Sahaja-bliss in the natural way.
Raidas was also a sadhaka of Sahaja, and Guru Dadu also realised infinite bliss in this Sahaja path.

Bibliography

Further reading on Dadu and the Dadu-Panth:

Winand M.CALLEWAERT
Dadu and the Dadu-panth: the sources
In: The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India. Edited by K.Schomer & W.H.McLeod (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987):181-189

Winand M.CALLEWAERT (ed)
The Hindi biography of Dadu Dayal (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988)

V.H.DATE
A rosary from the Saints of Rajasthan (Jodhpur: Laxmi Devi Vyas, 1982)

Daniel GOLD
The Dadu-panth: a religious order in its Rajasthan context
In: The idea of Rajasthan. Vol.2: institutions. Edited by K.Schomer et al (Manohar: Anerican Institute of Indian Studies, 1994):242-264

S.D.GUPTA
Obscure religious cults (Calcutta: Mukhopadhyay, 1969. 3rd ed) esp. pp362-363

R.L.HANDA
History of Hindi language and literature (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1978) esp. pp95-99

Shahabuddin IRAQI
Historical and religious dimensions of Dadupanthi sources
Islamic Culture (Hyderabad) 1997;71(3):37-66

David N.LORENZEN
Praise to a formless God: Nirguni texts from North India (Albany: SUNY Press, 1996)

W.G.ORR
A sixteenth-century Indian mystic (London: Lutterworth Press, 1947)

Karine SCHOMER
The doha as a vehicle of sant teachings
In: The Sants (see above)

S.C.SHOBA
Social life and concepts in medieval Hindi bhakti poetry (Delhi: Chandrayan, 1983)

S.G.SIDDONS
Extract and translation of one of the Granthas, or sacred books, of the Dadu-panthi sect
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1837;v6:481-487,751-756

Monika THIEL-HORSTMANN
Crossing the ocean of existence: Braj Bhasa religious poetry from Rajasthan: a reader (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983)