Ramananda

Sri Ramanandacharya (IAST: Rāmānanda) was a 14th-century

Ramananda
Vaishnava devotional poet saint, who lived in the Gangetic basin
of northern India.[3] The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the
founder[2] of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic
Hindu renunciant community in modern times.[4][5]

Born in a Gaur Brahmin family,[6] Ramananda for the most part of

his life lived in the holy city of Varanasi.[1][7] His date of birth is
December 30 but death is uncertain, but historical evidence
suggests he was one of the earliest saints and a pioneering figure of
the Bhakti movement as it rapidly grew in North India, sometime
between the 14th and mid-15th century during its Islamic rule
period.[2][3] Tradition asserts that Ramananda developed his
philosophy and devotional themes inspired by the south Indian
Vedanta philosopher Ramanuja, however, evidence also suggests
that Ramananda was influenced by Nathpanthi ascetics of the Personal
Yoga school of Hindu philosophy.[5] Born December 30, ~1300-
1380 CE[1][2]l
An early social reformer, Ramananda accepted disciples without
Prayagraj, present day
discriminating anyone by gender, class. Traditional scholarship
holds that his disciples included later Bhakti movement poet-sants Uttar Pradesh, India
such as Kabir, Ravidas, Bhagat Pipa and others,[5][7] however, Died uncertain date, ~1400-
some postmodern scholars have questioned some of this spiritual 1475 CE[2]
lineage while others have supported this lineage with historical Varanasi, Uttar
evidence.[8][9] His verse is mentioned in the Sikh holy scripture Pradesh
Guru Granth Sahib.[5][10]
Religion Hinduism
Ramananda was known for composing his works and discussing Sect Sri Vaishnavism (deity
spiritual themes in vernacular Hindi, stating that this makes Rama), Hinduism
knowledge accessible to the masses.[3]
Known for Founder of Bairagi
Sampradaya
Biography (Ramanandi
Sampradaya),
Little is known with certainty about the life of Ramananda, Guru of Major Poet-
including year of birth and death[5][11] His biography has been saints,
derived from mentions of him in secondary literature and a Pioneer of Bhakti
inconsistent Hagiographies.[2][3][9] movement in north
The most accepted version holds that Ramananda was born in a India, Social Reformer.
Brahmin family,[12] about mid 14th-century, and died about mid Religious career
15th-century.[13][14][15] Although few people hold him to be of Disciples
southern origin, there's no evidence to support such a claim. In 2 poetess-sants and 10 poet-sants
fact, all genuinely Indian sources agree in stating that Ramananda including Kabir, Ravidas, Bhagat
was born at Prayaga (Allahabad).[16] Pipa

"Not one word is said as to his southern origin, and

the fact that he was stated to be a Kanyakubja
Brahmin is decisively against such a theory" –George
A. Greirson (1920).[16]

According to the medieval era Bhaktamala text by Nabhadas, Ramananda studied under Raghavananda, a
guru (teacher) in Vedanta-based Vatakalai (northern, Rama-avatar) school of Vaishnavism.[17]

"It was Ramananda's teacher, Raghavananda, who came from the South, and after much
wandering had settled at Benares. There, and not in the South, he had Ramananda as his
disciple." –George A. Greirson (1920).[16]

Other scholars state that Ramananda's education started in Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta school, before
he met Raghavananda and began his studies in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta school.[18]

Literary works
Ramananda is credited as the author of many devotional poems, but like most Bhakti movement poets,
whether he actually was the author of these poems is unclear. Two treatises in Hindi, Gyan-lila and Yog-
cintamani are also attributed to Ramanand, as are the Sanskrit works Vaisnava Mata Bhajabhaskara and
Ramarcana paddhati.[11] However, poems found in the original and well-preserved manuscripts of
Sikhism and handwritten Nagari-pracarini Sabha are considered authentic and highlight the Nirguna
(attributeless god) stream of thought in Ramananda.[11]

Philosophy
Ramananda developed his philosophy and devotional themes inspired by the south Indian Vedanta
philosopher Ramanuja, however, evidence also suggests that Ramananda was influenced by Nathpanthi
ascetics of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy.[5]

Antonio Rigopoulos states Ramananda's teachings were "an attempt towards a synthesis between Advaita
Vedanta and Vaishnava bhakti".[19] He adds that the same link can be found in the 15th-century text of
Adhyatma Ramayana, but there is no historical proof that Ramananda's teachings inspired that text.[19]

Shastri has proposed the theory that Ramananda's complex theological schooling in two distinct Hindu
philosophies explains why he accepted both Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman, or god with
attributes and god without attributes, respectively. Shastri suggests his theory offers an explanation why
Ramananda's disciples co-developed saguna and nirguna as the two parallel currents in the Bhakti
movement.[20] However, this theory lacks historical evidence and has not gained wide acceptance by
scholars.[20]
The Ramananda literature that is considered authentic, states Enzo Turbiani, suggest a milestone
development in metaphysical principles of the Bhakti movement.[21] Ramananda asserts that austerity and
penances through asceticism are meaningless, if an individual does not realize Hari (Vishnu) as their inner
self. He criticizes fasting and rituals, stating that the mechanics are not important, and that these are useless
if the individual does not take the opportunity to reflect and introspect on the nature of Brahman (supreme
being).[21] Ramananda states that rote reading of a sacred text is of no benefit, if the person fails to
understand what the text is trying to communicate.[21]

Legacy
Ramananda is often honored as the founder of Sant-parampara (literally, the tradition of bhakti sants) in
north India.[22] His efforts, in a time when Ganges river plains of north India was under Islamic rule,
helped revive and refocus Hindus to a personalized, direct devotional form of Rama worship, his liberalism
and focus on the devotee's commitment rather than birth or gender set a precedent that attracted people to
spirituality from various walks of life, and his use of vernacular language instead of Sanskrit for spiritual
ideas made sharing and reflection easier for the masses.[23]

Fourteen disciples of Ramananda

Fourteen influential disciples of Ramananda included 12 men and 2 women poet-sants. According to
Bhaktamal, these were:[24]

Men scholars:

1. Anantananda
2. Sursurananda
3. Sukhanand
4. Naraharidāsa
5. Bhavanand
6. Vitthalpant Kulkarni
7. Bhagat Pipa
8. Kabir
9. Ravidas
10. Sen
11. Dhanna
12. Sadhana

Women scholars:

1. Sursuri
2. Padyawati

Postmodern scholars have questioned some of the above guru-disciple lineage while others have supported
this lineage with historical evidence.[8][9]

Largest ascetic community in India: Ramanandi Sampraday

Ramananda is the founder of the eponymous Ramanandi Sampraday (Shri Ramavat or Shri Sampraday or
Vairagi Sampradaya). This is the largest ascetic community in India, and their members are known as
Ramanandis, Vairagis or Bairagis.[25][26] They are known for their self-imposed highly disciplined,
austere, structured and simple lifestyle.[4] Richard Burghart acknowledges that Ramananda is revered as the
founder in the Ramanandi Sampraday's tradition, but adds that historical evidence about its origin is meager
and India's largest monastic community may have gathered strength a few centuries after Ramananda's
death.[27]

Social reforms

Ramananda was an influential social reformer of Northern India. He championed the pursuit of knowledge
and direct devotional spirituality, and did not discriminate based on birth family, gender or religion.[25]

Swami Ramanand poem

One poem of Ramananda, originally written in Hindi, is a response to an invitation to go to a temple,[28]

and the answer states there is no need to visit a temple because God is within a person, all pervasive in
everything and everyone.[15]

Where should I go?

I am happy at home.
My heart will not go with me,
My mind has become crippled.

One day, a desire welled up in my mind,

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
I went to the temple, to worship Him there,
Then my Guru showed me Brahman [Ultimate Reality, God], within my heart.

Wherever I go, I find only water and stones,

But Brahman is in everything.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puranas,
You go there, only if Brahman were not here.

I am a sacrifice to You, O True Guru.

You have dispelled all my confusion and doubt.
Ramanand's Lord is the all-pervading Brahman,
The word of the Guru ends millions of karma.

— Ramananda in Raag Basant, Adi Granth 1995[15][28]

See also
Bhakti movement
Ramanandi Sampradaya
Goswami Nabha Das
Bhaktamala
Galtaji dham peeth
 Thakurdwara Bhagwan Narainji

Further reading
JS Hawley (2015), A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement, Harvard
University Press, Chapter 3
William Pinch (1996), Peasants and Monks in British India, University of California Press
David Lorenzen (1995), Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political
Action, State University of New York Press
Richard Burghard (1978), The Founding of the Ramanandi Sect, London: London School of
Economics and Political Science

External links
Saint Ramananda (http://www.kamat.com/indica/faiths/bhakti/ramanand.htm) Jyotsna Kamat
(2008)
Kanakadasa: The Golden Servant (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23340362), Basavaraj Naikar
(2007), Indian Literature, Vol. 51, No. 5, pages 88–100

References
1. Ronald McGregor (1984), Hindi literature from its beginnings to the nineteenth century, Otto
Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447024136, pages 42-44
2. Schomer and McLeod (1987), The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 9788120802773, pages 4-6
3. William Pinch (1996), Peasants and Monks in British India, University of California Press,
ISBN 978-0520200616, pages 53-89
4. Selva Raj and William Harman (2007), Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia,
State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791467084, pages 165-166
5. James G Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z, Rosen
Publishing, ISBN 978-0823931804, pages 553-554
6. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (28 March 2013). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and
Authors (https://books.google.com/books?id=5B0JEN2ct94C&dq=gaur+brahman&pg=PA10
0). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-05548-2.
7. David Lorenzen, Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History, ISBN 978-
8190227261, pages 104-106
8. Schomer and McLeod (1987), The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 9788120802773, page 54
9. Julia Leslie (1996), Myth and Mythmaking: Continuous Evolution in Indian Tradition,
Routledge, ISBN 978-0700703036, pages 117-119
10. Winnand Callewaert (2015), The Hagiographies of Anantadas: The Bhakti Poets of North
India, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138862463, pages 405-407
11. Enzo Turbiani (Editor: RS McGregor, 1992), Devotional Literature in South Asia, Cambridge
University Press, ISBN 978-0521413114, page 51
12. Max Arthur Macauliffe (2013 Reprint), The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and
Authors, Volume 6, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1108055482, pages 100-101
13. Charlotte Vaudeville (1974), Kabir, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198265269,
pages 110-117
14. Selva Raj and William Harman (2007), Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia,
State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791467084, pages 165-185
15. Nirmal Dass (2000), Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, State University of New York
Press, ISBN 978-0791446843, page 160-164
16. Grierson, George A. (1920). "The Home of Saint Ramananda". Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society of Great Britain and Ireland (4): 593. ISSN 0035-869X (https://www.worldcat.org/iss
n/0035-869X). JSTOR 25209662 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25209662).
17. Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-
0195351903, page 36
18. Edmour J Babineau (2008), Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120823990, pages 65-66
19. Antonio Rigopoulos (1993), The Life And Teachings Of Sai Baba Of Shirdi, State University
of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791412671, page 264
20. Edmour J Babineau (2008), Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120823990, pages 66-67
21. Enzo Turbiani (Editor: RS McGregor, 1992), Devotional Literature in South Asia, Cambridge
University Press, ISBN 978-0521413114, pages 52-54
22. Antonio Rigopoulos (1993), The Life And Teachings Of Sai Baba Of Shirdi, State University
of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791412671, page 37
23. Edmour J Babineau (2008), Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120823990, pages 65-68
24. Rekha Pande (2014), Divine Sounds from the Heart—Singing Unfettered in their Own
Voices, Cambridge Scholars, ISBN 978-1443825252, page 77
25. Gerald James Larson (1995), India's Agony Over Religion, State University of New York
Press, ISBN 978-0791424124, page 116
26. Ramdas Lamb (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut A Jacobsen), Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 317-330
27. Richard Burghart (1978), The Founding of the Ramanandi Sect (https://www.jstor.org/stable/
481036), Ethnohistory, Vol. 25, No. 2, pages 121-139
28. Max Arthur Macauliffe (2013 Reprint), The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and
Authors, Volume 6, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1108055482, pages 105-106

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