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SrI:¨
SrImatE rAmAnujAya nama:
SrI lakshmI narasimha parabrahmaNE nama:

dear vaishnavas,

Here is an article about swami ramananda from
saptagiri magazine of TTD.

dAsOham,
SrIperumbUdUru vEnkaTa vinOd.


SAINT RAMANANDA AND HIS SECT
D. Satyanarayana(sapthagiri magazine, TTD)
The Tirumala Temple was under the control of the
Mahants for more than 95 years. The Mahants were
Bairagis belonging to the Ramananda sect. Ramananda's
parents were Sushila and Punyasadana. About the place
of birth there is no unanimity among the scholars.
Macauliff maintains that he was born in Melkote in the
present Karnataka state whereas Bhandarkar opines he
was born in Prayag. Ramachandrasukla is of the opinion
that he came from the South.

Education : It is believed that he had his education
in Kasi under some saint belonging to Sankara's order.
He came into contact with Svami Raghavananda who
professed Ramanuja's order of Visistadvaita.
Raghavananda came to know that his life - span was
short and he therefore thought it fit and advisable to
initiate and train him into the yogic exercises. On
visulising his last moments very close Raghavananda
advised Ramananda to get into a samadhi stage and
remain in the same frame till the time of his death
passes away. Ramananda did as advised by his guru and
escaped death. Finally he became 'chela' of
Raghavananda and got initiated himself into
Visistadvaita order.

Field of Activity : Ramananda's field of activity was
north India though he was South Indian and a follower
of South Indian Srivaisnavism. Hindu Muslim
relationship in the South and the North was on
different basis. In the North they came as conquerors
and in the South they came as business men. Ramananda
was aware of the prevailing angularities of the two
religio social groups. He opened door to all. The
Sudras, the Muslims, the Pathans all were admitted
into his order.

Disciples : Bhavananda, Anantananda, Sukhananda
Naraharyananda, Pipa, Kabir, Dharna, Raidasa and a
great number of other prominent religious leaders were
his chelas. Kabir was the founder of Kabir panth which
accounts for a great following even to day
particularly among weaving class both the Hindus and
Musalmans. Tulasidas, famous saint poet of north India
and the author of Ramcharit-manas was also his
disciple. Among his chelas Dharna was a jat, Sain, a
barber and Raidas a cobbler. All are religious leaders
of fame.

Teacher - Pupil succession : In his book
Rama-chara-paddhati Ramananda has given a succession
list of his gurus. The South Indian saints such as a
Sathakopa, Nathamuni, Ramanuja are included.

Achievement : In his earlier days he was a neophyte of
Sankara's order. But subsequently he became a famous
teacher of the Ramanuja order. It is a known fact that
he spent a considerable period at Mt. Abu where he
practised yoga and succeeded in obtaining siddhis. As
a visistadvaitin he became very famous. His foot
prints are available at Mt. Abu and Junagarh hillocks.
Since he was thorough in Advaitic philosophy and later
converted to Visistadvait philosophy he could not
stick to one order firmly and ultemately he was
obliged to start his own new order named Ramaval
sampradaya. Sita - Rama jointly were the chief objects
of devotion in this (Ramanandi) sect.

He was of liberal views. Alvars have given way to
Acharyas. Language gradually adopted by the Acharyas
was Sanskrit and the common man's language was
relegated to an important place. Ramananda not only
wrote himself in Hindi but also propagated his views
in the language of the common people. All his sisyas
also wrote in Hindi.

He has to face diffeculties and strong opposition for
his views regarding permission to inter - dining. The
orthodox community objected to inter dine with lower
caste people and the Mohammadans who had become his
disciples.

He was of the view that in spiritual pursuit caste
system is redundant. The Lord is all powerful, the
devotees who resign themselves to his care lose their
caste identily and social status.

Miracles : A number of miracles are associated to his
name. Once a subedar of Faizabad got his Hindu
subjects converted into Islam, Ramananda reconverted
them into Hinduism. The Subedar became furious and
when the situation turned to be ugly all the converts
had Tulsi mala round their necks and sectarian marks
on their foreheads and others positions.

Date : There is no unanimity regarding his date.
According to Agastya samhita date of his birth is 1300
A.D. Ramanuja died in the year 1120 or 1137 AD. His
name is read on the list of predecessors During
Sikandar Lodi's (1498 - 1517 A.D.) period his
(Ramananda's) disciple had a religious dispute with
Sheik Taki who was a religious teacher and advisor of
Sikandar Lodi. So Ramananda's date can be fixed as
late as 15th century.

Philosophy : Both body and soul are important. The
soul does not belong to any particular community or
religion. Good conduct is a must. Jiva is under
bondage and one has to strive for liberation. Worship
of the Lord, aceptance of caranamrta and prasadams and
keeping constant company with a Vaisnava are essential
components of the Ramananda order. Keeping fast on
Ekadasi day is a must and pilgrimage to the holy
places sacred to Vaishnavas is recommended. Leading a
simple life brings bright future.

****



        
                
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