Pasaydan (Sant Jnaneshwar) — Benefits & How to Chant
पसायदान (संत ज्ञानेश्वर)
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Pasaydan (Sant Jnaneshwar)
A supreme prayer of universal welfare
cultivates love and goodwill for all beings
Lifts the heart beyond selfish asking into wishing happiness for the whole world
Invokes peace, harmony and the friendship of all souls ('maitra jeevanche')
Prays for the wicked to turn virtuous and for evil's darkness to depart
Brings deep inner peace and devotion through Jnaneshwar's grace
Sung daily in Maharashtra in homes, schools and Varkari satsangs
A perfect concluding prayer after study, kirtan or any auspicious gathering
How to Chant Pasaydan (Sant Jnaneshwar)
Instructions
Recite the Pasaydan slowly and feelingly, ideally as a concluding prayer after reading, meditation or kirtan, holding in the heart the wish for the welfare of all beings. It is traditionally sung in the Varkari tradition and in Marathi schools. Reciting it daily — even once — cultivates a heart of universal goodwill; conclude by silently offering the prayer's blessings to the whole world.
Spiritual Significance
Sant Jnaneshwar's life was itself a marvel — it is told that he made a buffalo recite the Vedas and walked a moving wall to humble the proud, yet his greatest wonder is the Pasaydan itself, whose selfless prayer for the whole world has, for over seven centuries, kindled compassion and peace in countless hearts that sing it.
Origin & History
Source: Jnaneshwari (Bhavartha Dipika) — the closing prayer of the 18th chapter; Marathi Varkari literature
Author: Sant Jnaneshwar (Jnanadeva), 1275–1296
Sant Jnaneshwar composed the Jnaneshwari, a profound and poetic Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, when he was only a teenager. Having completed this vast 'sacrifice of words', he closes it not with a request for personal reward but with the Pasaydan — a prayer that the Soul of the universe, pleased by his offering, grant grace to all creation: that the wicked be reformed, that all beings be united in love, that righteousness shine like the sun, and that every soul attain its heart's desire and worship the Primal Being forever. The Lord of the Universe (his guru-deity Vishweshwara) grants the boon, and Jnaneshwar declares himself wholly fulfilled. The Pasaydan has since become the most beloved universal prayer of the Marathi people.