The Ramanandis
RENUKA NARAYANAN
This is not about upholding agendas but about our right to know.
Thus, when Swami Nritya Gopal, who succeeded Swami Paramahans as
head of the Ramanandi sect in Ayodhya, says, "Hindus and Muslims
will build the temple together", it may not necessarily be a "Hindu
extremist" remark. Over five centuries of composite Bhakti culture
back it. The mahant heads one of the largest sampradayas, the
Ramanandis. Their history has ramifications that leave you
breathless. Ramananda (1360?-1470) of Prayag, was a devotee of the
12th century Srivaishnava philosopher Ramanuja of Sriperumbudur,
conceiver of `vishishtadvaita' philosophy. (Among his followers in
South India are the Iyengars. Sri Ramanuja was the first to coin the
term `Harijan' later picked up by Bapu).
After his studies in South India, Ramananda settled in Kashi. Kabir
lay on the steps of the ghat that Ramananda descended daily to the
Ganga. Unseeingly, he trod on Kabir and said "Ram Ram", which Kabir
took as his initiation before he undertook reconciling Islam
and `Hinduism'.
Ramananda eventually founded the `Srisampradaya' and his 12
disciples founded sub-sects called `dvara'. The umbrella sect of
Ramanandis thumbed its nose at orthodoxy by accepting women and
members of all castes and religions. Their core principle was love
for "Sitaram", reflecting Srivaishnavism, where Sri stands for
Mahalakshmi.
Ramananda's disciples led the reformist Bhakti phase in North India:
Kabir the weaver, Meerabai the princess, Tulsidas the priest (whose
Ramcharitmanas changed the face of Hinduism forever in the Ganga
basin), Malukdas the basket-maker and Nabhaji the merchant's son,
all of whose bhajans are still recorded on CD and taught in graduate
programs of music at universities.
Now look at the outreach. Kabir, who founded the `Santmat' or
tradition of teachers who reconcile sagun (avatar) and nirgun
(formless God) bhakti and uphold the salvatory concepts of Satnam
and Sadguru, is known to have inspired Guru Nanak. Guru Gobind
Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, who died in Nanded in 1708, initiated a
runaway Peshwa. He thus re-linked an older Bhakti chain that began
with Oriya poet Jayadev, author of the Gita Govinda (whose writ runs
from Meghalaya to Kerala in 16 languages). This chain, I'm told,
included both Sant Sadna, an early 14th century butcher of Sindh and
Sant Namdeo, the calico printer who is one of the five great saints
of Maharashtra. In a wild loop, the late `Aftab-e-Mausiqi' (Sun of
Music) Ustad Faiyyaz Khan of the Agra gharana was of descent from
Malukdas, while the powerful Radhasoami sect is in spiritual lineage
from both Guru Nanak and Tulsidas. Given that only a religious
solution might work for Ayodhya, why can't our "intellectuals" tell
us these important nuances?
source http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?
content_id=30220
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/.itolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ramanuja/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ramanuja-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
ramanuja-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |