SAINT RABIDAS A SILENCE MOVEMENT: A CASE STUDY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF BOTH LOCAL & GLOBAL ISSUES

Abstract

In the first time of Indian history by choosing Bhakti as a path of social protest saint Ravidas (Shri Guru Ravidass Ji was born in the year 1377 CE. i.e. Bikrami Samvat 1433 (widely accepted by most scholars & institutions) to father Shri Santokh Dass Ji and Mother Kalsa Devi Ji in Chamar caste, also known as Kutbandhla, one of the Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh) did not only challenge the Brahmanical tradition caste-based system of social exclusion and untouchability practiced for ages in India. Bhakti is considered to be a privilege of the upper castes only In the Brahmanical social order but how & What made him distinct from his contemporaries was his low caste birth and the unique method of Bhakti that he deployed to challenge the oppressive structures of social dominations. Saint Ravidass became prominent because he unleashed a frontal attack on the long tradition of social oppression and untouchability in the Hindu society. Though born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh province of North India, Saint Ravidass came to command large followings among Dalits of the state of Punjab, which he believed to have visited during his journeys towards Rajasthan. Another factor that made him further popular in Punjab is the inclusion of his Bani (spiritual poetry) in Granth Sahib, sacred scriptures of Sikh faith. His stature grew still further when the Ad Dharm movement made him its patron Saint and a political rallying point. His fellow low caste followers, who consider him Guru, dedicated to him temples, memorial halls, educational institutions/chairs, cultural organizations, and hospitals. They founded several missions to accurately establish facts about his life and works and to disseminate his message of compassion, equality, and brotherhood in India and abroad (Hawley 1988:270).[1]