Poem-songs (
padavalis) were very important to the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā tradition. Other key figures include
Vidyāpati, Caitanya-dāsa,
Rupa,
Sanatana, Vrndavana Dasa (author of
Chaitanya Bhagavata),
Krishnadasa Kaviraja,
Narahari Sarkar, and Mukundadasa.
Siddha Mukundadeva Along with short poems, longer Esoteric Manuals were also written. The most important of these were those of Siddha Mukundadeva ("The Perfected Divine one who Gives Liberation", c. 1600-1650). He composed a major work entitled "The Collection of Liberating Statements of Mukunda" (
Mukunda muktavali) in Sanskrit. This was later translated into Bengali.
The Necklace of Immortality is another key work of Mukundadeva or Mukundadasa. The text described the path of the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā tradition.
The Necklace of Immortality describes the initial steps of the path as beginning with finding a mantric guru: 13) Divine Love for Krishna is always pure, it is never stained. Get rid of the
Vedas and never perform any Vedic rituals! 14) The first step on the path is to seek refuge at the place of the mantra guru. Ordinary physical birth is from a womb, but this only results in old age and hell! 15) When you are accepted by the guru you will be sheltered by the power of the mantra. Keep the instructions of the guru close to your heart. 16) With great care, the guru who has initiated you with the mantra will guide your practices. You must continue to follow these instructions for as long as you practice. 17) One of those commands is that you associate with a special community of practitioners. Through following such instructions, you will reach the state of consciousness of the Divine Existence.
The Necklace then describes how the body is transformed through sexual sadhana:27) A Divine Body (devadeha) must be born within the physical body. So how many men and women come to know that they possess a Divine Body? 28) With effort, you will discover the Divine Body within the physical body... 29) By performing ritual practices with a woman, the Divine Body will be discovered within the physical body. A woman who has realized her divine inner nature should server as the passionate Female Partner. 34) The blessed Inner Damsel Body leads the adept to the
Vraja heaven. With her body of eternity, she helps the adept to master the passions. 35) Without her, you'll never taste the passion-filled Cosmic Substances of the Vraja heaven. For adepts seeking Vraja, she is the very essence of the way of passion. 37) The Female Partner who is imbued with Divine Love shimmers with erotic energies, and is herself a well of Divine Essence. Having a splendid body like Radha, she is the well of both Divine Essence and Cosmic Substance. == Manuscripts ==