Man Changa To Kathoti Mein Ganga
In his Bani, Guru Ravidass said – Man Changa To Kathoti Mein Ganga – There is no need to go anywhere for worship or pilgrimage, It can be done while sitting at home, if one is pious and clean from within. These days, social media and political circles in Punjab and UP are over-flowing with Guru Ravidass with regard to his 650th
But my immediate motivation to write about this emanates from the ongoing political connotations being imparted to the solemn occasion by the political parties to carry forward their political agenda. BJP has taken the matter to new heights by unleashing its IT machinery and ‘Money Power’ as if they have found a ‘Vote Catching’ net in the
Guru and his legacy. No one should, prima facie, object to it. But the modus oprandi being adopted seems suspect and fishy. I thought of sharing my take on the subject for the benefit of both the political enthusiasts and the followers of Guru Ravidass including the Ravidassia Deras which have been dragged into the machinations of the vested interests.
Guru Ravidass was a non-conformist who did not believe in excessive Hindu rituals as depicted in his Bani and personal conduct. The followers of Guru Ravidass were expecting the ruling elite to announce a roadmap of the celebrations of the great guru in a befitting manner and some of them put forward various suggestions too in this regard. But instead of the GOI announcing something substantive to celebrate the 650th Gurpurab left the initiative to BJP with a view to encash the occsin at the ‘Vote Banks’ to strengthen
their hold in the forthcoming elections in Punjab and UP – Samrasta Sankalap Abhian - Kalsh Yatra etc. With the explicit or hidden blessings of Dera Sachkhand Ballan, the Abhian started on July 29, 2026 from Seer Goverdhanpur (Kashi-Banaras) and will conclude on February 20, 2027 at Seer Goverdhanpur itself. The whole media is agog with the visuals of mighty CMs and BJP bigwigs carrying Kalshas on their heads and reaching out to the Ravidassia Mandirs/Gurdawaras/Dhams and other public places. I being a proponent of Samrasta myself, I will be failing in my duty, if I don’t share here the negative fallout of the so called Samrasta Sankalap Abhian and the Kalsha Yatra – first, it does not commensurate well with the teachings and philosophy of Guru Ravidass. The Kalsh
Yatras are better taken to Hindu Mandirs and other spiritual destinations and not to Guru Ravidass Mandirs alone as rightly suggested by one of my friends, Manohar Mahey, a prominent community activist and others in an informal brainstorming sitting the other day. Moreover, the mindset of Ravidassias and the community at large do not conform to the Hindu rituals as a rebellion against the oppressive conduct of the so called Upper castes due to historical background of centuries. One may or may not agree with this but it is the ground reality. The Gen – Z of the Ravidassias is not interested in Samrasta in the caste based hierarchy. They are the claimants of ‘Equality’ as stakeholders with their own identity. The need of the day is that we should reconcile Samrasta with Samanta. The sooner we understand is better. The socio-political leadership of the country
must see the writings on the wall and come up with a concrete roadmap to celebrate the Gurpurab as a befitting tribute to the great Guru. Guru Ravidass Mandir at Tuglakabad in Delhi is an emotive issue for the community and must be resolved to empower the community. The adjoining lands of Seer Goverdhanpur Mandir – birthplace of Guru Ravidass and the lands in the vicinity should be acquired and used to preserve the legacy of the Guru. Some of the other suggestions made and submitted to GOI and BJP are again listed below for ready reference with the hope that these are considered and decided instead of harping on the optics of the ongoing Samrasta Sankalap Abhian before it gets late. -
The following suggestions may be considered and made with
regard to the programme –
· National Function on the Guru Ravidass Jyanti in 2027 at
Seer Goverdhanpur, the birth place of the great Guru at Varanasi.
· Functions at important places pertaining to Guru Ravidass
and his legacy like – Dera Sachkhand Ballan at Jalandhar and Charan Cho-Ganga
at Khuralgarh in Hoshiarpur in Punjab, Guru Ravidass Temple at Tuglakabad in
Delhi, Ravidass Chattri at Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, Sarnath/Budh Gaya in
Bihar, Ahmedabad in Gujrat, Chennai in Tamil Nadu among others
· Issuing of Commemorative Postal Stamp and Coins.
· Inclusion of Guru’s Vani and socio-cultural message of Guru
Ravidass in the syllabus and curricula of Schools and Colleges.
· All Universities should host functions to celebrate the
650th year of Guru’s Parkash Utsav appropriately.
· All schools and colleges should be advised to celebrate the
occasion suitably.
· Establish Guru Ravidass Study Chairs at Banaras Hindu
University at Varanasi, Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar, Panjab
University at Chandigarh among others.
· Discussions and Debates on Guru Ravidass on Doordarshan
· Advise and direct all Indian Diplomatic Missions in the
countries where members of the Ravidassia community are concentrated like the
UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Germany, and Italy among
others.
· Special programmes on Guru Ravidass by the socio-cultural
outfits like RSS, SGPC, Beas Satsang, Nirankari Satsang, Swaminarayan
(Akshardham) among others, Chaitanya Prabhu outfits among others.
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| Brainstorming on matters of interest and concern |
बिछड़ों को फिर मिला दें नक़्श-ए-दुई मिटा दें
दुनिया के तीरथों से ऊँचा हो अपना तीरथ
दामान-ए-आसमाँ से इस का कलस मिला दें
हर सुब्ह उठ के गाएँ मंतर वो मीठे मीठे
सारे पुजारियों को मय पीत की पिला दें
शक्ति भी शांति भी भगतों के गीत में है
धरती के बासीयों की मुक्ती प्रीत में है
Ur suggestions are good and worth ful
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