Surdas (1478/1479 - 1581/1584 in Braj near Mathura), was an Indian saint and composer.
What little knowledge we have of Surdas's life comes from Ain-e-Akbari and Munshiat-e-Abul-Fazl, both written during the time of Akbar[1

Biography

Early life and background

Surdas was born blind and hence received harsh treatment from his family during his early childhood. One day at age 6, when he heard a group of devotional singers passing by his home, he simply followed them, and left home forever. [2]
At age eighteen, Surdas met his future guru, the sant Sri Vallabhacharya on the banks of river Yamuna. Vallabhacharya took him under his tutelage and thus began Surdas's teaching in prevalent Bhakti Shuddha advaita (Non-dualism philosophy), as Vallabhacharya was the founder of the Pushti sect (Pushtimarg) in India.
Soon Surdas memorized the entire Shrimad Bhagvat lkdlkadlaskdjlasclaskja nlklkdflaskjdklajdaland started reciting it to throngs of people, and immersed himself into deep devotion to Krishna.[3] Subsequently he went on to write some of greatest works in Hindu philosophy and Bhakti literature, the "Sur Sagar" (Ocean of Melody), Sur Saravali and Sahitya Lahiri.
Surdas was never married, and made a living by singing bhajans and giving discourses on religious subjects, and lived all these years in Braj. [4]

Surviving poems in current editions

A different view of Sur's career appears in some recent scholarly publications. In this interpretation, the "ocean" of poetry attributed to the name "Surdas" continued to grow after the poet's death, with contributions honoring his name made by many anonymous poets of later centuries. All of these poems appear in countless different variations in manuscripts from different regions and different eras, with the differences resulting from the embellishments and elaborations made by many different singer-poets. Manuscripts are seen in this view as representing singers' repertoires, collected haphazardly by many devotees in different times and places. Some 1500 poems bearing his name appear in manuscripts dating within a century of the poet's death. Scholars find a core of some 400 poems appearing so widely distributed through this corpus that they may convincingly be said to have dated from his lifetime. In this scholarly perspective, the facts of his life, or of the "original" composition of any given verse, are simply unknowable. All we have for certain is a "Sur tradition", reflecting a vibrant and dynamic effort by many oral poets over a period of centuries.

Prolific composition

Surdas was a very prolific composer. He is best known for his "Sur Sagar" (Ocean of Melody). This magnum opus is said to originally contain 100,000 poems or songs; however, today only 8,000 have survived. These songs on the life and adventures of Krishna were dictated by him to an assistant, who had to write faster than the poet could dictate. Endowed with an inner vision, the poet dictates as if he is seeing the exploits of Krishna directly.

Influence

On Bhakti movement

The philosophy of Surdas is a reflection of the times. He was very much immersed in the Bhakti movement that was sweeping North India. This movement represented a grass roots spiritual empowerment of the masses. The corresponding spiritual movement of the masses happened in South India in the first millennium A.D.

On the status of Brij Bhasha

Surdas' poetry was a dialect of Hindi language, Brij Bhasha, until then considered to be a very plebeian language, as the prevalent literary languages were either Persian or Sanskrit. The works of Surdas immediately raised the status of Brij Bhasha from a crude language to that of a literary language of great repute.

Philosophy

Shuddhadvaita

Due to the training he received from his spiritual guru, Surdas was a proponent of the Shuddhadvaita school of Vaishnavism (also known as Pushti Marg). This philosophy is based upon the spiritual metaphor of the Radha-Krishna Rasleela (The celestial dance between Radha and Lord Krishna). It propagates the path of Grace of God rather than of merging in Him, which seems an extension of the belief of earlier saints like Kabir Das.

Surdas in Guru Granth Sahib

Surdas is considered as a Bhagat in Sikhism and his works, 'Surdas bani' are inserted in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. One of his composition are as follows:
ਛਾਡਿ ਮਨ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਮੁਖਨ ਕੋ ਸੰਗੁ ॥
 
Everything in Guru Granth Sahib has been compiled together to bring an understanding and a dialogue with the Eternal so that we may understand the 'True' essence of Ek Onkar (The One all existing forever continually creating Lord.). Bhagat Surdas Ji is an example of this very principle
Guru Arjan Dev - The fifth Guru of Sikhism also created a Shabad keeping in view the Soordas's poetry
Bhagat Surdas was another influential Bhagat in the Bhagti Movement of India. Bhagat Surdas has also been incorporated in Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Many argue that some shabads in Guru Granth Sahib are of more importance then others. However, an important understanding one must have is that no shabad is greater than the other. Everything in Guru Granth Sahib has been compiled together to bring an understanding and a dialogue with the Eternal so that we may understand the 'True' essence of Ek Onkar (The One all existing forever continually creating Lord.)
Bhagat Surdas Ji is an example of this very principle. Bhagat Surdas only has one line in Guru Granth Sahib. He provides the following revelation.
shhaadd man har bimukhan ko sa(n)g || O mind, do not even associate with those who have turned their backs on the Almighty.
To this Guru Arjan Dev Ji composed a Shabad in Bhagat Surdas Jis name on page 1253 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Guru Ji writes.
  • The people of the Almighty dwell with Him.
  • They dedicate their minds and bodies to Him; they dedicate everything to Him. *They are intoxicated with the celestial melody of intuitive ecstasy. ||1||Pause||
  • Gazing upon the Blessed Vision of the Almighty's Darshan, they are cleansed of corruption. They obtain absolutely everything.
  • They have nothing to do with anything else; they gaze on the beauteous Face of God. ||1||
  • But one who forsakes the elegantly beautiful Lord, and harbors desire for anything else, is like a leech on the body of a leper.
  • Says Sur Daas, God has taken my mind in His Hands. He has blessed me with the world beyond. ||2||1||8||

Popular culture

Surdas is the subject of a key question in the film Slumdog Millionaire that Jamal Malik is expected to miss by the show's producers, after which he becomes a serious threat to go all the way.