ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>RAVID&#256S</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="RAVIDS"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279RAVID&#256S, poet and mystic, was born to Ragh&#363 and Ghurbini&#257, who lived near the city of V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299. Not much biographical information about him is available, but, from what can be made out of his own compositions, he belonged to a low-caste (<i>Cham&#257r</i>) family. He followed the family profession of tanning hides and making shoes. Gradually he started spending most of his time in the company of Saints and <i>s&#257dh&#363s</i> and built himself a thatched hut wherein he received and entertained wandering ascetics. Many stories became current about his simplicity and piety of nature. He became famous as a Vai&#7779&#7751ava saint in the tradition of R&#257m&#257nand. In the course of his spiritual quest, he reached a stage when he discarded images and idols and turned to the worship of the Supreme Being. He wrote deeply impassioned devotional verses and left his mark on Hindi literature for the fusion of religious sentiment with the vernacular medium. Forty of his hymns have been incorporated in the Sikh Scripture, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. He travelled fairly widely and visited R&#257jasth&#257n, Gujar&#257t, &#256ndhra Pradesh, Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789ra, besides a number of places in the northern India such as Pray&#257g, Mathur&#257, Vrind&#257van, Haridv&#257r. Gu&#7771g&#257o&#7749 and Mult&#257n. At most of these places, there are monuments honouring his memory. In his lifetime, he had thousands of followers, including members of the higher castes, among them being M&#299r&#257b&#257&#299, the R&#257jput princess. The hymns of Ravid&#257s included in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib fall under <i>r&#257ga</i> &#8212 Sir&#299 (1), Gau&#7771&#299 (5), &#256s&#257 (6), G&#363jar&#299 (1), Sora&#7789hi (7), Dhan&#257sar&#299 (3), Jaitsar&#299 (1), Suh&#299 (3), Bil&#257val (2), Gau&#7751&#7693 (2), R&#257mkal&#299 (1), M&#257r&#363 (2); Ked&#257r&#257 (1), Bhairau (1), Basant (1) and Malh&#257r (3). One of the hymns in <i>r&#257ga</i> M&#257r&#363 is the same (with a few minor changes) as included in <i>r&#257ga</i> Sora&#7789hi.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ravid&#257s acknowledged the unicity and omnipresence and omnipotence of God. According to him, the human soul is only a particle of the Divine : the difference between the two is like the difference between the gold and the ornament, the water and the wave (GG,93). He rejects distinctions between man and man on the basis of caste or creed, for, as he says, in the world beyond no such differentiations will be acknowledged (GG, 345). To realize God, which is the ultimate end of human life, man should concentrate on His Name, giving up mere forms and ritualism (GG, 658, 1106). Birth in a low caste is no hindrance in the way to spiritual development. The only condition required is freedom from duality; all else including pilgrimage to and bathing in the sixty-eight centres is in vain (GG, 875).</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Gurdit Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Itih&#257s Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. (Bh&#257gat B&#257&#7751&#299 Bh&#257g) </i>. Chandigarh, 1990<BR> <li class="C1"> Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Bhagat Darshan</i>. Amritsar, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> T&#257ran Si&#7749gh, ed., <i>Gur&#363 Granth Ratn&#257val&#299</i>. Patiala, n.d.<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Hardev B&#257hr&#299<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>