Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is constructing the temple, has also decided that the daily services, festivals and rituals dedicated to Ramlala will also be performed according to the worship method of Ramanandi sect. In this regard, ‘Shri Ram Seva Vidhi-Vidhaan Samiti’ has been formed consisting of General Secretary Champat Rai and two other members Nripendra Mishra and Dr. Anil Mishra. In it, Mahant Kamalnayan Das, Ramanand Das and Maithili Kishori Sharan of Ayodhya’s Ramanandi sect have been made invited members. This committee will get the puja rituals transcribed under its supervision, then it will be published in book form, so that there is no confusion. Recently, as soon as the news of this decision of the Trust came, people were curious to know about the Ramanandi sect, which is known for establishing coordination between different streams and branches of Rambhakti, defying casteism and nurturing pluralism. Reached the extreme. If we go to satisfy their curiosity, then we find that this sect was started in the medieval period by Swami Ramanand (whom his followers respectfully call Swami Jagatguru Shri Ramanandacharya).
This sect accepts the Vishishtadvaita doctrine of ‘mukti’ (which is defined as the essence of the world of Rama) and is one of the four oldest sects of Bairagi sadhus. It also has names like Bairagi, Ramavat and Shri Sampradaya and in this, Paramopasya Dwibhujram is considered as Brahma and ‘Om Ramay Namah’ is considered as the basic mantra. Along with various incarnations of Vishnu, Sita and Hanuman etc. are also worshipped, but the grace of both Ram and Vishnu is considered indispensable for salvation. It is believed that apart from these two there is no other savior. Therefore, much importance is not given to rituals and emphasis is laid on the followers being generous, understanding and coordinated.
Many followers of the sect also consider Ramanand to be an incarnation of Ram and say – “Ramanand: Swayam Ram: Pradurbhuto Mahitale”. However, there are serious differences of opinion among scholars regarding the date and time of Ramanand’s birth. It is said that he was born in Prayagraj, and as soon as he regained consciousness, his devout parents sent him to the Shrimath located at Panchgangaghat of Swami Raghvanand of Kashi to study the scriptures. After completing the cycle of study and meditation there under the discipleship of Saint Raghavananda, he went on pilgrimage. But when he returned to Shrimath after gaining more knowledge and experience from various pilgrimages in the country, he faced a very unpleasant situation. Many of his guru brothers refused to eat food with him or in his group, saying that who knows who he may have touched or cooked, edible or inedible food, during the pilgrimage and returned after eating it. When the matter escalated, Guru Raghvanand ordered Ramanand to start a new sect as per his opinion. According to some dignitaries, this order of the Guru was a punishment for Ramanand, otherwise he would have persuaded the Guru brothers and agreed to have food with them. But this does not seem right, because in many ways Saint Raghvanand was also an egalitarian saint and taught students of all castes.
Whatever be the case, Ramanand accepted the Guru’s orders and never looked back. When he started the Ramanandi sect, he opened the doors of devotion for everyone, both special and common, as a protest against the untouchability meted out to them by the Guru brothers. He said, ‘Nobody cares about caste or creed, if you send food to Hari, it belongs to Hari’. The path of surrender to God is open to everyone and a person of any caste or varna can take Ram-mantra from him. We all know how Kabir took this mantra from him in a unique way. Later, Ramanand included Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, women and Muslims among his disciples. Almost all caste based hatreds were eliminated by calling them ignorant and efforts were made to bridge the gap of hatreds with the messages of love and equality. These efforts later played a big role in dealing with Hindu-Muslim animosity, Shaiva-Vaishnav dispute, caste hatred, differences of opinion and the social bitterness arising from them.
Major disciples of Ramananda included Kabirdas, Raidas (Ravidas), Narharyananda (Narharidas), Anantananda, Bhavananda, Surasari, Padmavati, Nabhadas, Dhanna (Jat), Sena (barber), Pipasen (Rajput) and Sadna (butcher). Among them, Narharyanand became Narharidas after taking initiation from him and he is considered the guru of Saint Tulsidas. Not only was he a devout poet and saint, he also had good knowledge of Sanskrit and Persian along with Braj language. But the biggest thing that made Ramanand included among the greatest saints of the Bhakti movement was that he worked tirelessly to take Rambhakti from the sacred heights of the Himalayas to the huts of the poor. Also, to fulfill the duty of protecting him, he equipped the Bairagi Sadhus with weapons and organized them as Ani i.e. army and got many of their Akharas established.
He was the first Acharya who brought the Bhakti that originated in the Dravidian region i.e. South India to North India and spread it to the common people. An example of his wide acceptance is that among his disciples, there were both nirgunopasakas and sagunopasakas of Ram. Disciples like Kabir and Raidas took a different path, especially Kabir went to the extent of saying ‘Ek Ram is the son of Dasharatha, Ek Ram lies in the ghat, Ek Ram is the spreader of the world, Ek Ram is separate from the world’, yet they considered him as their Guru. Keep accepting. In the sixteenth century, Saint Agradas, the fourth generation of Ramanand’s disciple tradition, started the Rasik sect, and many saints and mahants of Lord Rama’s Ayodhya got influenced by it.
Guptar Ghat witnesses Ram’s departure to Vaikuntha Dham
in ayodhya Ramjanmabhoomi But the construction of the grand temple is in full swing and if it is opened for the common devotees after January 22, it is quite possible that there will be such a huge crowd of people there that it will become difficult to handle. In view of this, many other faith centers of this religious city have also been decorated so that they also attract the visiting devotees. In this context, the Uttar Pradesh government’s biggest emphasis is on the renovation and beautification of Guptarghat. It is noteworthy that Guptarghat, situated on the banks of Saryu, a few kilometers away from the new Ram temple, is the mythological place from where it is believed that Lord Ram had left for Baikunthdham after the end of his long Narleela. A section of the devotees believe that he descended into Saryu from this very ghat and took water samadhi, while other sections believe that he ascended to heaven secretly in a supernatural manner.
Experts say that since then this ghat started being called Guptarghat. Earlier its name was Go-Prataranghat. That is, the ghat from where cows used to cross Saryu. Whatever be the case, this place associated with Lord Ram has been satisfying the faith of devotees for centuries. They believe that by coming here for darshan, worship and bathing, one not only attains eternal virtues but also fulfills one’s wishes. It is believed that when Lord Ram came to this ghat, even the insects and pests of Ayodhya went to his divine abode, due to which Ayodhya was ruined. Later his son Kush inhabited him and this ghat. Many people also give credit to Maharaj Vikramaditya for this. At present, many small temples are situated on this ghat, among which Ramjanaki Temple, Charan Paduka Temple, Narasimha Temple and Hanuman Temple are prominent. The specialty of the Hanuman temple here is that Hanuman, who is the servant and devotee of Ram in Ayodhya, sits here as the king. The devotees who come to this ghat, first worship Hanuman and then go to see Ram.