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<p class="C1">&#65279PARM&#256NAND, a Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789rian saint-poet, one of whose hymns is included in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Born probably in 1483, he is believed to have resided at B&#257rs&#299, situated to the north of Pa&#7751&#7693harpur, in present-day Shol&#257pur district of Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789ra. Parm&#257nand was a devotee of Vi&#7779&#7751u and used in his songs the <i>nom de plume</i> S&#257ra&#7749g, the name of a bird ever thirsty for the raindrop. He always longed for God whom he worshipped in the Vai&#7779&#7751avite manifestation of K&#7771&#7779&#7751a. He used to make, it is said, seven hundred genuflexions daily to God on his uncovered, often bleeding, knees. He believed for a long time that God could be worshipped as an image only, but later he had the realization  that the <i>nirgu&#7751a</i> Supreme, God unmanifest, could also be loved and prayed to. Parm&#257nand's one hymn incorporated in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib (p. 1253) subscribes to this view. In this hymn, he disapproves of the ritualistic  reading and hearing of the sacred books if that has not disposed one to the service of fellow beings. He commends sincere devotion which could be imbibed from the company of holy saints. Lust, wrath, avarice, slander have to be expunged for they render all <i>sev&#257</i>, i.e. service, fruitless.</p>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Bhagat B&#257&#7751&#299 Sat&#299k</i>. Amritsar, 1959<BR>
<li class="C1"> Gurdit Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Itih&#257s Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib (Bh&#257gat B&#257&#7751&#299 Bh&#257g)</i>. Chandigarh, 1990<BR>
</ol><p class="CONT">T&#257ran Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR>
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