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Statement by RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale Ji on 650th birth Anniversary of Sant Shiromani Sadguru Shri Ravidas ji
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pays its reverential homage to Sant Shiromani Shri Ravidas ji on the occasion of his 650th birth anniversary year. Our great Sant tradition is a unique divine gift to Bharat. Throughout the course of our long history, this great Sant tradition not only awakened the spirit of devotion and worship to the God but also strived for strengthening social harmony of the society by eradicating social evils and discrimination. At the same time, they also awakened and prepared the society for the struggle against the oppression of foreign rulers.
Sant Shri Ravidas ji holds a distinct position in this illustrious tradition of Sants. His diligent life and work is a source of inspiration for all of us. His basic inclination was towards reverence to sages and seers and compassion towards the downtrodden. He remained aloof from worldly attachments, despite being a family man, perfectly in tune with spiritual perspective. He re-established the dignity of labour and pure, virtuous and transparent conduct in the society with his own life.
Sant Shri Ravidas ji was a great Sant immersed in the incessant flow of devotion who imbued a new consciousness in the society. While rejecting birth-based discrimination, he considered deeds as the only testimony of greatness. He played a historical role in shaping the social mind set for getting rid of dogmas and outdated customs, shedding the irrelevant traditions and accepting social transformations in tune with the changing times. Considering the importance of his thoughts, his 41 vanis (compositions) have been included in the Shri Guru Granth Sahib in the form of ‘Shabad’.
Coming from a humble family background, Sant Shri Ravidas ji’s greatness was accepted by all sections of the society including scholars from Kashi because of his supreme devotion, spirit of service and pure love for the society. Even the members of royal family like King of Kashi, Jhali Rani and Meerabai considered him as their Guru. The Guru Shishya relationship between Sant Shri Ravidas ji and Meerabai is a confluence of saguna and nirguna devotion and an imitable lesson to the believers of caste based discrimination.
During the difficult times of reign of terror by Muslim invaders, Sant Shri Ravidas ji, while channelizing the pure flow of Bhakti tradition, proclaimed pre-eminence of Dharma and called upon the people for righteous conduct. There were several attempts to convert Sant Ravidas ji to Islam but after witnessing Sant Ravidas ji’s devotion and spiritual prowess, those who wanted to convert him became his disciples.
In present times, when several divisive forces are trying to fracture the social psyche based on class and caste, all of us need to resolve to work towards the unity and integrity of the society and the nation by understanding the essence of Poojya Sant Ravidasji’s life message.
