Guest guest Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 It gives me great pleasure to introduce to this Audience a great saint by the name of Raidas or Ravidas . (c 1398- c.1448) Raidas was initiated by Guru Ramananda ( guru of Kabir das ji ) and Raidas in turn, initiated Saint Mirabhai , a prema bhaktin of Lord Krishna Raidas was a cobbler by caste and was a great devotee of the Lord. He is remembered by his stedafast challenge to the caste system: "A family that has true followers of the Lord is neither high caste, nor low caste, lordly or poor". Here is one of Ravidas's soulful poems ! Upon seeing poverty people laugh and jeer, and such was my plight. But now I hold the powers of creation in the palm of my hand -- all because of Your mercy. You know I am nothing, O Ram, Destroyer of fear. All creatures seek Your refuge, O Prabhu, Fulfiller of desires. Those who find Your refuge suffer no more afflictions. Because of You, the high and the low -- all have gone across, escaping from the prison of this world. Ravi Dass says, The tale cannot be told, so why speak further? You are what You are. What metaphor can I possibly use to describe You? - from Songs and Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/R/Ravidas My Fellow Advaints ? Who really is a saint ? Please tell me ! i am all ears ! Saint Gora was a potter, Raidas was a cobbler, Kabir a weaver, Narahari a Goldsmith, Chokamela an untouchable, Kanhopatra a dancing girl, Janabai a maid and so on. Saints have been born in different castes but have transcended the manmade barriers in their search for God. Please read this book on 77 saints Rosary of Saints by Meera S. Sashital With warmest regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 therewas an article in the Hindu about this saint. Only devotion matters Devotion to God matures through different stages in the life of a devotee. To begin with devotion will be influenced by one's faith and predisposition but in the course of time it will mature into unalloyed devotion for His own sake, which can be seen in the lives of mystics. Often such devotion will go even unnoticed until God Himself chooses to proclaim His devotees greatness to the world, for such true devotees do not like to draw attention to themselves. Only true devotion mattered to God and not any other social identity like birth, occupation or status, was demonstrated in the case of the mystic Raidas. Raidas devotion was well known to the people of Allahabad where he was a cobbler eking out this humble livelihood. One day, two men belonging to a high caste came to Raidas to buy sandals from him and then asked for directions to the Ganga. He said he did not know the way to its bank. They exclaimed how he who dwelt in that holy place did not have knowledge about its whereabouts not realising his spiritual stature. Raidas without taking any offence then gave them a coin to be offered to the river Goddess. They accepted it and went to the river, and offered their ablutions. Just before leaving they remembered the coin in their possession and threw it into the water nonchalantly reflecting their attitude of superiority to one so lowborn. And, to their wonder a pair of divine hands emerged from the river and accepted the coin, and in turn gave a golden bracelet studded with gems to be given to Raidas attesting his devotion. The sight of gold tempted them and instead of heading back to Raidas and handing it over as a gift of the Goddess, they sold it to the king. The king presented the bracelet to his daughter, and stuck by its unusual beauty she desired another one to be worn as a pair. The men were traced and questioned. They apologised and blurred out the truth, and led the king to Raidas. When he heard the story Raidas prayed and without much ado put his hand into his water pot and materialised many bracelets similar to the one the Goddess had given thereby proving that if there was devotion in the heart even the Ganga would flow into a devotee's cup. copy right: The Hindu- daily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Thank you sri Vaiiidyanatha iyer for sharing this great story . YOu write : (Only true devotion mattered to God and not any other social identity like birth, occupation or status, was demonstrated in the case of the mystic Raidas) PL READ THIS : Rucham no dhehi brahmaneshu Rucham rajasu naskridhi | Rucham vishveshu shudreshu Mayi dhehi rucha rucham || –Taittiriya Samhita V 7.6 3-4 Put light in our brahmanas, put it in our chiefs (kings), (put) light in vaishyas and shudras, put light in me by your light. YES ! This 'light' is universal and all human beings have a right to this Divine light . may i please this Kabir poem with you all ? It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs; For the priest, the warrior. the tradesman, and all the thirty-six castes, alike are seeking for God. It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be; The barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter-- Even Raidas was a seeker after God. The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste. Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End, where remains no mark of distinction. with warm regards advaitin, "B VAIDYANATHAN" <vaidyanathiyer wrote: > > therewas an article in the Hindu about this saint. > > Only devotion matters > > Devotion to God matures through different stages in the life of a > devotee. To begin with devotion will be influenced by one's faith and > predisposition but in the course of time it will mature into > unalloyed devotion for His own sake, which can be seen in the lives > of mystics. Often such devotion will go even unnoticed until God > Himself chooses to proclaim His devotees greatness to the world, for > such true devotees do not like to draw attention to themselves. > > Only true devotion mattered to God and not any other social identity > like birth, occupation or status, was demonstrated in the case of the > mystic Raidas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 advaitin, "dhyanasaraswati" <dhyanasaraswati wrote: > > It gives me great pleasure to introduce to this Audience a great > saint by the name of Raidas or Ravidas . (c 1398- c.1448) > > Raidas was initiated by Guru Ramananda ( guru of Kabir das ji ) > and Raidas in turn, initiated Saint Mirabhai , a prema bhaktin of > Lord Krishna > Here is one of Ravidas's soulful poems ! > > Upon seeing poverty > people laugh and jeer, > and such was my plight. > But now I hold the powers > of creation > in the palm of my hand -- > all because of Your mercy. > > You know I am nothing, > O Ram, Destroyer of fear. > All creatures seek Your refuge, > O Prabhu, Fulfiller of desires. > > Those who find Your refuge > suffer no more afflictions. > Because of You, > the high and the low -- > all have gone across, > escaping from the prison > of this world. > > Ravi Dass says, > The tale cannot be told, > so why speak further? > You are what You are. > What metaphor > can I possibly use > to describe You? > > - from Songs and Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal > Dass > > http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/R/Ravidas Soulful poems by Kabir and Mirabai: These poems are translated by Ravi Kopra posted at: http://www.intentblog.com/archives/2006/12/open_thread_53.html *** Be Gentle and Slow (Kabir) Be gentle and slow, O my mind Everything happens slowly A gardener might squander A hundred buckets of water But the plants will bear Fruit, only in the season. Note: The original is in Hindi *** Krishna Appears Darker (Mirabai) I hear a note from a flute coming down the river. O my enchanted heart! what doubts the flute player has not yet calmed in your mind? In dark trousers near the dark Jamuna waters, Krishna appears darker forever. A single note from his flute makes me lose my mind. I stumble and ask to be free of these torments of mine. Note: The original song is in Hindi. *** Chandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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