Spiritual Heritage

The longing for supernal beings is as old as humankind itself. Ancient people worshipped the forces of nature to propitiate them or invoke their power. The Vedas are replete with prayers to Indra, Varuna, Agni, and other such gods. After the decline of the Vedic and Buddhist thought, the bhakti movement was ushered in by a host of saints. Sri Ramanujacharya (1017?1137), who gave bhakti a firm philosophic base and also popularized it, was one of them. Following in his footsteps were a large number of saints from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. Swami Ramanand (c.1400-c.1470), born in Prayag, played a great role in paving the way for bhakti in North India during this period. Many saints, who ignited and spread the conflagration of bhakti across the land, appeared in the wake of Ramanand?s advent.

These included Kabir, the weaver, Dhanna the peasant, Sena the barber, Pipa the king, Raidas the cobbler, and through Raidas, Mirabai. The great Tulsidas too may be counted as belonging to this tradition. Ramanand is reputed to have been the fifth spiritual descendant of Sri Ramanujacharya. We have no record of the sayings of Ramanand, who perhaps preferred to spread the immortal message of bhakti through the radiant and glowing example of his own life. However, one of his songs, included in the Guru Granth Sahib, is evidence of his insight.