43-582: Jatav , also known as Jatava / Jatan / Jatua / Jhusia / Jatia / Jatiya , is an Indian Dalit community that are considered to be a subcaste of the Chamar caste, who are classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of positive discrimination . According to the 2011 Census of India , the Jatav community of Uttar Pradesh comprised 54% of that state's total 22,496,047 Scheduled Caste population. Some Jatav authors have disputed being Scheduled. In
86-576: A change in the style of life and a rise in the Indian social system, now composed of both caste and class elements. Most of the Jatavs belongs to the Hindu Religion. Some Jatavs also became Buddhists in 1956, after B. R. Ambedkar converted him to Buddhism. On September 5, 1990, around a thousand members of the Jatav community from village Jaunpur near Agra converted to Sikhism in
129-571: A literate cadre of leaders, and they tried to change their position in the caste system through the emulation of upper-caste behavior. As a part of this process, they also claimed not to be Chamars and petitioned the government of the British Raj to be officially classified differently: disassociating themselves from the Chamar community would they felt, enhance their acceptance as Kshatriya. These claims were not accepted by other castes and, although
172-594: A mystical state where there is a union of the truths of the many and the one. Raidas says, what shall I sing? Singing, singing I am defeated. How long shall I consider and proclaim: absorb the self into the Self? This experience is such, that it defies all description. I have met the Lord, Who can cause me harm? Hari in everything, everything in Hari – For him who knows Hari and
215-548: A powerful effort (Lynch 1969) could result in nothing but the result in other fields were rewarding and exemplary. Jatav elites using cultural sentiments and striking the chord of psyche succeeded in pursuing several strategies in getting political successes. In the early part of the 20th century, the Jatavs attempted the process of sanskritisation , claiming themselves to be historical of the Kshatriya varna . They gained political expertise by forming associations and by developing
258-567: A protest against the upper caste people who halted the marriage procession taken out by Jatav Chamar Community. Along with the mainstream religious identity, the Jatav community follows Guru Ravidas as well and gathered in tens of thousands as protestors in Delhi against the demolition of Ravidas Temple . Jatavs are often combined with Chamar , Ahirwar , Ravidassia and other subcastes and are given Scheduled Caste in major North Indian states under India's positive reservation system . As of
301-427: A struggle within the Indian society, where Ravidas' life gives the means to express a variety of social and spiritual themes. At one level, it depicts a struggle between the then prevalent heterodox communities and the orthodox Brahminical tradition. At another level, the legends are an inter-communal, inter-religious struggle with an underlying search and desire for social unity. At yet another level, states Friedlander,
344-513: Is a spin-off religion from Sikhism, formed in the 21st century, by the followers of Ravidas's teachings. It was formed following a 2009 attack on a Ravidassia temple in Vienna by Sikh militants leading to the death of deputy head Ramanand Dass and 16 others injured, where after the movement declared itself to be a religion fully separated from Sikhism. The Ravidassia religion compiled a new holy book, Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji . Based entirely on
387-413: Is victorious because of divine intervention with miracles such as making a stone float in water, or making river Ganges to reverse course and flow upstream. David Lorenzen similarly states that poetry attributed to Ravidas, and championed by Ravidasi from the 17th- through the 20th-century, have a strong anti-Brahminical and anti-communal theme. The legends, suggests Lorenzen, cannot be separated from
430-597: The Adi Granth . These poems are one of the oldest attested source of his ideas and literary works. Another substantial source of legends and stories about the life of Ravidas is the hagiography in the Sikh tradition, the Premambodha . This text, composed over 170 years after Ravidas' death, in 1693, includes him as one of the seventeen saints of Indian religious tradition. The 17th-century Nabhadas's Bhaktamal , and
473-632: The Dadu Panthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas. He is also the central figure within the Ravidassia religious movement . The details of Ravidas's life are not well known. Some scholars state he was born in 1377 CE and died in 1528 CE in Banaras at the age of 151 years. Others, such as Amaresh Datta , claim he was born in 1267 and died in 1335. Ravidas
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#1732780389273516-567: The Himalayas . He abandoned saguna (with attributes, image) forms of supreme beings, and focused on the nirguna (without attributes, abstract) form of supreme beings. As his poetic hymns in regional languages inspired others, people from various background sought his teachings and guidance. Most scholars believe that Ravidas met Guru Nanak , the founder of Sikhism . He is revered in the Sikh scripture, and 41 of Ravidas' poems are included in
559-603: The Legislative Council . Under the leadership of Jatav Mahasabha in the 1931 census, he took an aggressive stand for his demand to include Jatavs in the Kshatriya class and to rename them as 'Jatav' from Chanwar Chamar. They were successful and in the new census of India the Tanners were called 'Jatav'. Earlier pressing for the Kshatriya status, the new issues emerged among Jatavs in 1944–45. The Jatavs formed
602-712: The Nirguna philosophy within the Bhakti movement. Multiple manuscripts found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh , dated to be from the 18th and 19th centuries, contain a debate between Kabir and Ravidas on the nature of the Absolute, more specifically whether the Brahman (Ultimate Reality, Eternal Truth) is monistic Oneness or a separate anthropomorphic incarnate. Kabir argues for the former. Ravidas, in contrast, argues from
645-644: The Parcais of Anantadas, both contain chapters on Ravidas. Other than these, the scriptures and texts of Sikh tradition and the Hindu Dadupanthi traditions, most other written sources about the life of Ravidas, including by the Ravidasi (followers of Ravidas), were composed in the early 20th century, or about 400 years after his death. This text, called the Parcaīs (or Parchais ), included Ravidas among
688-572: The Scheduled Caste Federation of Agra having ties with the Ambedkar -led All India Scheduled Caste Federation . They started recognizing themselves as Scheduled Caste and hence "Dalit". This acceptance is attributed to the protections available to the scheduled castes. According to Owen Lynch : The change is due to the fact that Sanskritisation is no longer as effective a means as is political participation for achieving
731-509: The Vedas and the Puranas , but doubt still persists. Skepticism continually dwells in the heart, so who can eradicate egotistical pride ? Outwardly, he washes with water, but deep within, his heart is tarnished by all sorts of vices. So how can he become pure? His method of purification is like that of an elephant, covering himself with dust right after his bath! His spiritual teacher Ramananda
774-476: The sants whose biography and poems were included. Over time new manuscripts of Parcais of Anantadas were reproduced, some in different local languages of India. Winnand Callewaert notes that some 30 manuscripts of Anantadas's hagiography on Ravidas have been found in different parts of India. Of these four manuscripts are complete, collated and have been dated to 1662, 1665, 1676 and 1687. The first three are close with some morphological variants without affecting
817-457: The 1920s, Jatavs claimed to be survivors of the ancient war between Parashuram , the legend of the Brahmins , and Kshatriyas , forced into hiding. Their proof of ancestry is a series of correspondences or status similarities between Jatav and other Kshatriya clans. According to Owen Lynch, "These included identical gotras , and such Kshatriya-like ceremonies as shooting a cannon at weddings and
860-548: The 2011 Census, there were 22,496,047 Jatav/Chamars in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, of whom 22,371,352 declared themselves as Hindu, 113,765 declared themselves as Buddhist, and 10,930 declared themselves as Sikh. According to this census, Jatavs make 11.25% of the State's population. Dalit Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
903-610: The 20th-century texts by Dalits provide another. According to Bhaktamal text, Ravidas was of pure speech, capable of resolving spiritual doubts of those who held discussions with him, was unafraid to state his humble origins and real caste. Further, the Bhaktamal text states that Ravidas' teachings agreed with Vedic and ancient scriptures, he subscribed to nondualism , discussed spiritual ideas and philosophy with everyone including Brahmins without gender or caste discrimination, and his abilities reflected an individual who had reached
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#1732780389273946-530: The Dalit community have believed Ravidas was an idol worshipper (saguni bhakti saint) while other 20th century texts assert that Ravidas rejected idolatry. For example, the following hymn of Ravidas, present in Guru Granth Sahib, support such claims where he rejects Vedas and the belief that taking a ritualistic bath can make someone pure. One may distinguish between good and evil actions, and listen to
989-561: The Hindu warrior-ascetic group Dadupanthi are the two oldest attested sources of the literary works of Ravidas. In the Adi Granth, forty one of Ravidas's poems are included, and he is one of thirty six contributors to this foremost canonical scripture of Sikhism. This compilation of poetry in Adi Granth responds to, among other things, issues of dealing with conflict and tyranny, war and resolution, and willingness to dedicate one's life to
1032-857: The birth of Ravidas. Medieval era texts, such as the Bhaktamal suggest that Ravidas was the disciple of the Brahmin bhakti -poet Ramananda . He is traditionally considered as Kabir 's younger contemporary. However, the medieval text Ratnavali says Ravidas gained his spiritual knowledge from Ramananda and was a follower of the Ramanandi Sampradaya tradition. His ideas and fame grew over his lifetime, and texts suggest Brahmins used to bow before him. He travelled extensively, visiting Hindu pilgrimage sites in Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra , Gujarat , Rajasthan , and those in
1075-463: The cleaner critical version of Anantadas's parcais suggests that there is more in common in the ideas of bhakti movement's Ravidas, Kabir and Sen than previously thought. Khare similarly has questioned the textual sources on Ravidas, and mentions there are few "readily available and reliable textual sources on the Hindu and Untouchable treatment of Ravidas." The Adi Granth and the Panchvani of
1118-407: The declaration that there is no Guru after Guru Granth Sahib. We respect Guru Granth Sahib because it has our guru Ji's teachings and teachings of other religious figures who have spoken against caste system, spread the message of NAAM and equality. As per our traditions, we give utmost respect to contemporary gurus also who are carrying forward the message of Guru Ravidass Ji. The Ravidassia religion
1161-573: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 215678359 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:53:09 GMT Guru Ravidas Ravidas or Raidas (1267–1335 ) was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a guru (spiritual teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Rajasthan , Gujarat , Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Punjab , and Haryana , he
1204-489: The full development of the Chamar community as a quam (separate religion and nation), as envisioned by the Ad Dharm (original people) movement. According to these separatist Ravidasias, the only way for Chamars to progress is to pursue an independent religious path focused exclusively on the figure of Guru Ravidas. Ravidas is revered as a saint and well respected by his believers. He is considered by his devotees as someone who
1247-558: The government was amenable, no official reclassification as a separate community occurred due to the onset of World War II. An organisation of young Jatavs, called the Jatav Vir, was formed in Agra in 1917, and a Jatav Pracharak Sangh was organised in 1924. They joined with local Banias to establish a front and thus one of them won the seat of the mayor in Agra, and another became a member of
1290-584: The inner content state of the highest ascetic . The 20th-century version, prevalent in the texts of Dalit community, concurs with the parts about pure speech and resolving spiritual doubts. However, they differ in the rest. The texts and the prevalent beliefs of the Dalit community hold that Ravidas rejected the Hindu Vedas, he was opposed by the Brahmins and resisted by the caste Hindus as well as Hindu ascetics throughout his life, and that some members of
1333-439: The latter premise to the effect that both are one. In these manuscripts, Kabir initially prevails, Ravidas accepts that Brahman is monistic, but till the end Kabir didn't accept worshipping a divine avatar ( sagun conception). Ravindra Khare states that there are two divergent versions that emerge from the study of texts relating to Ravidas's philosophy. The 17th century Bhaktamal text by Nabhadas provides one version, while
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1376-479: The meaning, but the 1687 version systematically inserts verses into the text, at various locations, with caste-related statements, new claims of Brahmins persecuting Ravidas, notes on the untouchability of Ravidas, claims of Kabir giving Ravidas ideas, ridicules of nirguni and saguni ideas, and such text corruption: Callewaert considers the 1676 version as the standard version, his critical edition of Ravidas's hagiography excludes all these insertions, and he remarks that
1419-468: The power and political situation of this era, and they reflect a strong element of social and religious dissent by groups marginalised during a period when Indian society was under the Islamic rule and later the colonial rule. The songs of Ravidas discuss Nirguna-Saguna themes, as well as ideas that are at the foundation of Nath Yoga philosophy of Hinduism. He frequently mentions the term Sahaj ,
1462-612: The right cause. Ravidas's poetry covers topics such as the definition of a just state where there are no second or third class unequal citizens, the need for dispassion, and who is a real Yogi . Jeffrey Ebbesen notes that, just like other Bhakti saint-poets of India and some cases of Western literature authorship, many poems composed by later era Indian poets have been attributed to Ravidas, as an act of reverence, even though Ravidas has had nothing to do with these poems or ideas expressed therein. Peter Friedlander states that Ravidas' hagiographies, though authored long after he died, depict
1505-535: The sense of self, no other testimony is needed: the knower is absorbed. David Lorenzen states Ravidas's poetry is imbued with themes of boundless loving devotion to God, wherein this divine is envisioned as Nirguna . In the Sikh tradition, the themes of Nanak 's poetry are very broadly similar to the Nirgun bhakti ideas of Ravidas and other leading north Indian saint-poets. Most postmodern scholars, states Karen Pechilis, consider Ravidas's ideas to belong to
1548-450: The stories describe the spiritual struggle of an individual unto self. There is no historical evidence to verify the historicity in these hagiographies, which range from Ravidas's struggle with Hindu Brahmins, to his struggle with Muslim Sultan Sikander Lodi . Friedlander states that the stories reflect the social dynamics that influenced the composers of the hagiographies during the 17th- to 20th-century. These are legends where Ravidas
1591-416: The use of the bow and arrow at the birth saṃskāra ". According to M. P. S. Chandel Jatavs pressed hard for their (Kshatriya) claim. But as is said many times earlier that in the caste federal system of India, changes seldom occur and in case of scheduled castes as also established by M. N. Shrinivas there are no chances at all. So the caste of Jatavs went to a predestined end. It is unfortunate that such
1634-405: The writings and teaching of Ravidas, it contains 240 hymns. Niranjan Dass is the head of Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Kathryn Lum summarises the dynamics behind the separation of Ravidassia and Sikhism, and its focus on Ravidas, as follows: Ravidasia believe that the best way forward for Chamars is to claim and assert their own identity. For this more independent camp, Sikhism is viewed as obstructing
1677-463: Was a Brahmin and his disciple Mirabai was a Rajput princess. The difference between the Ravidassia and Sikhism, as described by a post made by Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in Ontario is as follows: We, as Ravidassias have different traditions. We are not Sikhs. Even though, we give utmost respect to 10 gurus and Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Ravidass Ji is our supreme. There is no command for us to follow
1720-409: Was a poet, social reformer and spiritual figure. The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Some scholars believe he was born in 1433 CE. He taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedom. Ravidas's devotional verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib . The Panch Vani text of
1763-436: Was born in the village of Sir Gobardhanpur , near Varanasi in what is now Uttar Pradesh, India . His birthplace is now known as Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan . His birthday is celebrated as Ravidas Jayanti and important temple is Ravidas Temple . Mata Kalsi was his mother, and his father was Santokh Dass. His parents belonged to a leather-working Chamar community, an untouchable caste. While his original occupation
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1806-462: Was leather work, he began to spend most of his time in spiritual pursuits at the banks of the Ganges . Thereafter he spent most of his life in the company of Sufi saints, sadhus and ascetics. At the age of 12, Ravidas was married off to Lona Devi. They had a son, Vijay Dass. The text Anantadas Parcai is one of the earliest surviving biographies of various Bhakti movement poets which describes
1849-672: Was the living symbol of religious protest, and not as the spiritual symbol of any ultimate unifying cultural principle. A political party was founded in India in 2012 by the followers of Ravidass, with the word Begumpura ( Be-gam-pura , or "land without sorrow"), a term coined in a poem by Ravidas. The term means the city where there is no suffering or fear, and all are equal. There is a small chhatri (pavilion) in front of Meera's temple in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan which bears Ravidas' engraved foot print. Legends link him as
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