RAVIDASSIA DERA

RAVIDASSIA DERA

TOPIC: Art & Culture

Context- The Punjab Assembly poll was postponed to accommodate Guru RavidasJayanti which underlines the importance of the Ravidassia community in the state.

Concept-

About Ravidassias:

• The Ravidassias are a Dalit community of whom the bulk — nearly 12 lakh — live in the Doaba region.
• The DeraSachkhand Ballan, their largest dera with 20 lakh followers worldwide, was founded in the early 20th century by Baba SantPipal Das.
• The Ravidassia religion, also called the RavidasPanth is a religious sect of the Sikhism, founded in the 14th century.
• It is based on the teachings of the 14th-century guru Ravidass, revered as a Satguru by the Ravidassia tradition.
• Ravidassias believe that Ravidas is their Guru (saint) whereas the Sikhs have traditionally considered him one of many bhagats (holy person).
• Prior to their break from Sikhism, the Dera Ballan revered and recited the Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism in DeraBhallan.
  • However, following their split from mainstream Sikhism, the DeraBhallan compiled their own holy book based exclusively on Ravidas’s teachings, the Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji, and these DeraBhallanRavidassia temples now use this book in place of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Ravidas:

• Guru Ravidas was a mystic poet saint of the Bhakti Movement from the 15th and 16th centuries, and founded the Ravidassia religion.
• It is believed that he was born in Varanasi in a cobbler’s family.
• Medieval era texts, such as the Bhaktamal suggest that Guru Ravidas was the disciple of the Brahmin bhakti-poet Ramananda. He is traditionally considered as Kabir’s younger contemporary.
• He dedicated his whole life to the abolition of the caste system and openly despised the notion of a Brahminical society.
• His devotional songs made an instant impact on the Bhakti Movement and around 41 of his poems were included in ‘Guru Granth Sahib’, the religious text of the Sikhs.