Sanjay K Bhasin
There are very few examples in the Indian history when there was revolt against the inhumane caste system prevalent in India since antiquity. This is beyond doubt that Guru Ravidass ji along with Sadguru Kabir ji was probably the first one after Gautam Buddha who dared to revolt against the inhuman system of social exclusion and untouchability practiced for ages in India. However, what made him different was his method of revolt. Bhakti or religious practices dominated in his mode of expression against the system of social exclusion. In other words we can say that he adopted religious methods for social revolution. His Bhakti-based method was not only unique but also a befitting reply to the subtle mechanizations deployed by so called upper class to keep the downtrodden out of the mainstream. Bhakti or worshipping God and entering temple was a privilege reserved for the upper castes, especially the priests. Whereas, untouchables were not allowed to practice Bhakti, they were being considered as polluted. It is in this context that that the adoption of Bhakti by Guru Ravidass as a method of social protest assumes special importance.
Guru Ravidass ji’s movement was neither in the form of conventional prayers & petitions nor a violent revolt. It was a revolt through poetry for making caste ridden Indian society an egalitarian society with concept of Liberty! Equality!!Fraternity!!!. It was both novel and daring. Novel in the sense that Guru ji put emphasis on compassion for all and absolute faith in God. The principle of compassion for all reflected the egalitarian traits of his social philosophy and struggle. His concept of the absolute faith in the formless God showed the apathy of the elites of his times towards the plights of the downtrodden for whose emancipation he had to seek refuge in no one else but God. He vehemently opposed the hero worship/symbol worship. Couplet spoken by Guru ji, “Mero Ram Dasrath Ka Suut Nahi”, reveals that Guru ji was not a symbol worshipper. His method was daring in the sense that he chooses to imitate the Brahmins in order to symbolize his revolt which was not only highly objectionable but was equally deadly for an outcaste of his times. Guru ji wore Dhoti (cloth wrapped around the waist), Janeue (sacred thread) and Tilak (sacred red mark on forehead) that were forbidden for the outcaste people, and thus challenged the tyranny/hegemony of the Brahmins. But it does not mean that Guru ji ever tried to hide his own caste. Guru ji repeatedly used the word, “Kahye Ravidass Khalsa Chamara” in his couplets, Shabds, Vansi etc. there is a school of thought that Guru ji continued with his hereditary occupation of making/mending shoes. So Guru ji at the same time adopted the prohibited life style as well as kept the identity of his cult/caste intact. Thus Guru Ravidass provided an alternative model for the emancipation of the Dalits much (six centuries) before the articulation of the concept of sanskritisation – a model of Dalit social mobility based on an emulation of the cultural world of upper castes.
Guru ji’s couplet speaks volumes of his vision and peaceful revolt against inequality prevalent in the Indian society, “Aaisee lal tujh binu kaunu karai; Gareeb niwaaju guseea meraa maathai chhatar dharai… neecho uooch karai meraa govind kaahoo te na darai.” If we go into depth of the line it appears as if Guru ji wants to rectify this menace of inequality through god only. Because it was a concept prevalent in the Indian society that Brahmins took birth from the mouth of the God, Kshtriyas from the Chest, Vashya from the Abdomen and Shudras from the feet. Guru Ravidass ji tried to prove that his God was not humble at all in the typical sense of the term. He was graceful. He was not indifferent to the downtrodden. His God was rather bold who was not afraid of anyone that is why he elevated and purified the so-called untouchable (Guru Ravidass). In fact, Guru Ravidass’s life and poetry not only provided a vision to the downtrodden to struggle for their human rights and civic liberties but to the whole society. The concept of Liberty! Equality!!Fraternity!!! reflected in the poetry very well justify this opinion.
Guru Ravidass envisioned an egalitarian model of state for ensuring human rights and civil liberties for all alike. He called his ideal state as Begumpura (free from sorrows). In his ideal state no one would be discriminated against on the basis of caste and religion and everyone would be free from the burden of taxes and worries of food. His ideal state would be free from the graded system of caste hierarchy. There would be no segregated colonies for the downtrodden and they would be free to move around without caste prejudice. In other words, in Begumpura the evil of untouchability would cease to exist. Though Begumpura was an ideal state as visualized by Ravidass, it was not a mere figment of his mind. In fact, its articulation was based on in-depth understanding of the socio-economic and political conditions prevailing during his lifetime. He lived during the period when Shudras were doubly oppressed by their political masters along with the members of higher castes; and by the Brahmins, the custodians of Hindu religion.
Guru Ravidass ji had no hope from any quarter regarding the improvement of the conditions of the downtrodden. In one of his hymns he thus articulated “Dardu dekh sab ko hasai, aaisee dasaa hamaaree-Ast dasaa sidi kar talai, sab kirpa tumhari”. In fact, his entire poetry echoed a loud protest against slavery on the one hand and boundless love and devotion to the formless God on the other. He believed that God created all human beings and resided in all of them. If the same God pervaded the entire humanity, then it is foolish to divide the society on the basis of caste. He thus condemned the division of mankind on the basis of caste. Guru ji advocated the philosophy of fraternity/universal brotherhood when he said, “Jo ham shehri so meetu hamara”. It is in this context that the egalitarian social philosophy of Ravidass expressed in the mode of poetry became the manifesto of the Dalit consciousness not only in his birth place but whole of North, Central and Western part of India.
Another couplet of Guru ji is the master piece and describes concept of Liberty! Equality!! Fraternity!!! in one line, “Aaysa Chaun Raaj main Jahan Milaye Saban ko Aan-Shoot Bado Saab Sam Basaye Ravidass Rahaye Prasan.” After reading Buddha and Guru Ravidass ji’s concepts of society based on Liberty, Equality & Fraternity, the Father of Indian Constitution Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar enshrined these three principles of humanity into the Pre-emble to constitution of India. Hence Guru Ravidass ji’s socio-religious revolt in the Bhakti Period not only showed its impact in the post-Independence but his methods of making India an egalitarian society became beacon of light through constitutional provisions.
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel