Ram Charan Maharaj
Encyclopedia
Maagha
Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....
Shukla 14, 1776 - Vaisakha
Vaisakha
Vaishakha or Baisakha is a month of the Hindu calendar. It is the first month of the Nepalese calendar and the Bengali calendar . In the Indian national calendar Vaisakha is the second month of the year, beginning on April 21 and ending on May 20.In the Hindu solar calendar, Vaisakha begins in...
Krishna 5,1855 Bikram Samwat
Bikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
) is the founder of a unique religious tradition in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
called Ram Snehi Sampradaya. He initiated,illustrated and preferred the Nirguna (Absolute) Bhakti, although he was not against Saguna Bhakti. He initiated and tried to eliminate "show", blind faith, hypocrisy and misled existing in the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Religion and preferred to worship 'Name of god' that is "RAMA" over god, to not get involved in false "show" activities.
Birth and Childhood of Ram Charan Maharaj
Swami Ram Charan Maharaj born in Sodha, a village in Tonk district of Rajasthan on February 24, 1720 A.D.(MāghMaagha
Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....
Shukla 14, 1776 Bikram Samwat
Bikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
). His father's name was BakhatRam Vijayvergia and his mother's name was Devhuti Devi. His parents were living in Banwara village near Malpura
Malpura
Malpura is a city and a municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Malpura is known for its Dadabadi, built by the Khartargach Sect of Shewtambar Jain in memory of 3rd Dada Gurudev Shri Jinkushalsurishwarji.-Geography:...
, Rajasthan. His childhood name was "Ram Kishan".
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Pharsi and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
during his studies. He studied all main Hindu scriptures like Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Mahabharat and Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
with the help of others.
Working as a Divan of Jaipur
Parents of Ram Charan Maharaj had identified his inclination towards god in his early age but they wanted him to get married and live a normal life. His parents forced him to get married. He got married to Gulab Kanwar . He became Patwari after marriage and worked with dedication, character and calibration. After some time, the contemporary king of Jaipur(Amber, India) Jai Singh II of AmberJai Singh II of Amber
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh was ruler of the kingdom of Amber . He was born at Amber, the capital of the Kachwahas. He became ruler of Amber at the age of 11 after his father Maharaja Bishan Singh died on 31 December 1699...
got to know about the good work of Ram Charan Ji and offered him the post of Divan
Divan
A divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...
of Jaipur of Malpura
Malpura
Malpura is a city and a municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Malpura is known for its Dadabadi, built by the Khartargach Sect of Shewtambar Jain in memory of 3rd Dada Gurudev Shri Jinkushalsurishwarji.-Geography:...
Branch
Leaving Home Forever
Ram Charan Maharaj started to lose interest in materialismMaterialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
after his father's death in 1743 AD and got to know about the forecast of Bhringi
Bhringi
According to Hindu mythology, Parangi was an ancient sage , and a great devotee of Shiva,the Hindu God of destruction and rejuvenation. The legend states that he had Two legs. According to mythology, all the rishis once paid homage to both Shiva and Parvati, the second consort of Shiva, but...
Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
about his destiny. He also had a dream on the same night, in which he saw that one saint saved him from drowning in a river. Next day, he got permission from his family indirectly to leave Home forever and started his journey towards the way to know god and to find a perfect spiritual Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
in 1808 Bikram Samwat
Bikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
. Some believed that he left his house leaving his wife and a daughter behind.
Finding Spiritual Guru Near Shahpura And Afterwards
He started his journey southwards by asking the people about the saint he saw in his dream by explaining what he would be looking like. At last he found the saint "Shri Kripa Ram" in Dantra village near Shahpura in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. He became discipleApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
of Kripa Ram Maharaj and started to follow him. He did 9 years of tapasya by living in the command of saint Kripa Ram.
Kripa Ram Maharaj was a disciple of Sant Das Ji Maharaj.
During those 9 years, Ram Charan Maharaj did many miracles which are still commonly known among the local people and "Ram Snehi Samprday". He also became very popular for his unique nirguna Bhakti. He used to visit many places and used to explain his experience and advised people to
eliminate "show", blind faith, hypocrisy and misled existing in the Hindu Religion.
Formation or Ram Snehi Spiritual Tradition
He came to BhilwaraBhilwara
Bhilwara is the city in Mewar region of Rajasthan, India. The Cloth & Industrial city has its own uniqueness which makes it as a special district in Rajasthan.Bhilwara "The City of Cloth Culture & Calmness"- History :...
in 1817 (Bikram Samwat
Bikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
)and selected one lonely place named Miya Chand's bawri ( Step Well) for tapasya. By this time, he had reached the extreme level of Tapasya and reaching on the way to Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
.
Philosophy
Swami Ram Charan Ji advocated saying राम राम (Raam Raam) as the way of reaching the ultimate. He preached selfless devotion as a means to realise God. He promoted BhaktiBhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
in general, trying to eliminate conflicts between Saguna and Nirguna types. Vaani Ji, the collection of works composed by him, focuses on knowledge, devotion and detachment.
The spiritual master, Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
has been given the highest status by Swamiji in his own life, as is said in his shlokas. Often, the Guru is equated with 'Raam'.
The student or seeker is told to avoid reading up huge texts and instead focus on chanting Raam Raam as the simplest means to self realization. The supreme being is present everywhere, in every living being.
Swamiji followed the Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy...
school of thoughts.
Non violence to any living being, including insects is a central tenet.
The Bhagvatam is referred to most frequently, compared to other ancient Indian texts.
Social Reform
Swami RamCharan Ji was against blind idolatry, which was in prevalence during his time. His philosophy was that we must love God, and not merely create a show. He taught people to treat equally, a king as well as a poor person. Also, he said that we must not discriminate on the basis caste/creed of people.
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
.
Works
Swami Ram Charan Ji's works are collected in 'Vaani Ji'(वाणी जी) consisting of 36250 compositions. Each of these was spoken by him to his disciples.The first 8,000 were noted by his disciple from Bhilwara, Naval Ram Ji. His collection in "Anubhav Vaani" is considered to be biggest religious book written on the teaching of any saint.
The remaining ones were noted, collected and edited by his disciple Ram Jan Ji Maharaj (who also succeeded him as the head of the 'Ramsnehi Sampradaya' after his death).
In Bikram Samwat
Bikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
1981 (1925 CE), the complete Vaani Ji was published for the first time under the title :'Swami Ji Ram Charan Ji Maharaj ki Anubhav Vaani', from Shahpura
Shahpura
See Shahpura for disambiguationShahpura is a city and a municipality in Bhilwara district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.- Geography :Shahpura is located at . It has an average elevation of 364 metres .- Demographics :...
.
The latest edition has been published by Ram Niwas Dham, Shahpura (Bhilwara), in 2005 CE.
Since this compilation, due to its large size, was found to be difficult for an individual to use, various smaller one were released, with at least one being published, by Sant LakshyaRam in Bikram Samwat 2015, on Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami also known as Dasara, is one of the most important festivals celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal and Bangladesh...
day, from 'Chhatribagh' Ramdwara
Ramdwara
Ramdwara means "the doorway to the RAM". It is a place of worship for the people who believe in Ramsnehi sampradaya, which advocates chanting of 'Ram' . Ramsnehi means "People who love God"...
at Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
as 'Ram Rahasya Darshan'.
Vaani Ji contains Swamiji's teachings in the form of poetry of various types(metres). There are also 'Bhajans' with indications of the Raaga which should be preferably used for them.
Formation of Ramsnehi Sampradaya
In same year (1817 Bikram SamwatBikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
), disciple
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
Ram Jan Ji of Ram Charan Maharaj formed "Ram Snehi Sampradaya" ( Ram Snehi Spiritual Tradition).
Ramdwara
Ramdwara means "the doorway to the RAM". It is a place of worship for the people who believe in Ramsnehi sampradaya, which advocates chanting of 'Ram' . Ramsnehi means "People who love God"...
.
Since Swamiji's times, the organisation has headquarters at Shahpura in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.
The Ramsnehi Sampradaya is currently led by Swami Ji Shri Ram Dayal Ji Maharaj.
Swamy Ram Dayal ji is 13th Acharya (Head) of the Ram Snehi Samrday since Jan, 1994. He has devoted his time in renovation of birth place of Swamy Ram Charan Maharaj at Sodha. The main headquarters of Ram Snehi Samrday at Shahpura is also renovated. The second most sacred place is Ramdwara at Bhilwara. This Ramdwara has also undergone renovation. Besides, he established a super specialized hospital at Bhilwara know as Ram Snehi Chikitsalaya. He has just completed his chaturmas for the year 2011 at Pushkar (Ajmer).