Saint Ramananda UPSC Notes for Bhakti Movement in North India

Saint Ramananda was a luminary figure of the Bhakti Movement in North India. His simple teachings and spiritual ideas gave a new impetus to the Bhakti Movement in that age. It is a widely-accepted fact that he was born in 1299 AD in Prayag in a reputed Brahmin family. Historians like R.G. Bhandarkar accepted 1299 AD as his birth year and 1411 AD as the year of his departure from this world. He received his religious and philosophical education in Prayag and Banaras (now Varanasi). He earned the profound knowledge of Advaita (Non-dual) at Varanasi.

Nabhaji's Bhaktamala claims that Ramananda had ideological and philosophical relations with Ramanuja, another great spiritual figure of medieval India. Saint Ramananda is considered as the bridge between the Bhakti Movement of South India and that of North India.

Some Important Points

No:1. Ramananda employed vernacular language instead of Sanskrit to ensure a wide range and easy access of his simple teachings and sublime ideas among the common masses.

No:2. He popularized the Bhakti of Lord Rama and Sita through his spiritual ideas. He claimed the total devotion to and pure Bhakti of Lord Rama is the only way of attaining salvation. He even rejected the Karma marga (way of action) and Jnan marga (way of knowledge) and gave emphasis to Bhakti of Lord Rama only.

No:3. He rejected the barriers of caste and creed in Bhakti of God. He threw the gates of his spiritual world wide open for all. He once uttered, “Let no man ask a man's caste or sect. Whoever adores God, he is God's own." He accepted people of various castes and sections as his disciples and he used to live with them to show his vehement opposition to the caste system. Kabir (weaver), Ravidas (Harijan), Dhanna (Jat) and Bhagat Pipa were his great disciples from different sections of society.

No:4. Saint Ramananda's teachings have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.