Life and Bani
Bhagat Ramanand is a famous Bhagat of South Asia of the 14th and 15th centuries. He was born in 1366 CE in the Kankubaj Brahmin family of Prayag. His father, Bhuri Karma, and mother, Sushila, were virtuous and religious. Due to his parents’ guidance, he adopted religious interests early in childhood. His childhood name was Ramdut. He used to find happiness in the service of saintly beings. In such desire, he met Acharya Raghava Nand, who belonged to the sect of Sri Ramanuja (1017-1137 CE). Sri Ramanuja preached non-dualist ‘Vishisht Advaita,’ which considered Vishnu and creation as one. He emphasized the worship of Vishnu and Lakshmi in the temples. Bhagat Ramanand adopted Raghava Nand as his guru, who changed his name from Ramdut to Ramanand.

Max Arthur McAuliffe has given a story about Ramanand’s meeting with Raghava Nand. McAuliffe states that Ramanand met Raghava Nand while plucking flowers from the garden for worship. Raghava Nand asked Ramanand if he knew anything about his state, and before Ramanand could answer, Raghava Nand said that Ramanand’s end was near. Therefore, he should spend the last moments of his life in devotion to the Divine. After hearing this, Ramanand went to his previous guru (whose name is not given) and told him everything. Ramanand’s guru took Ramanand with him, went to Raghava Nand, and pleaded with him for divine help. Raghava Nanda, by his skill in Hatha Yog, suspended Ramanand’s life breath in the tenth gate and gave him the boon of long life.

Bhagat Ramanand took training in the Yogic discipline from Raghava Nand. McAuliffe may have narrated the above story based on this. But it is a fact… that because of his knowledge and devotional spirit, Bhagat Ramanand gained more fame than his Guru (Raghava Nand).

In his earlier life, he traveled to places of pilgrimage. According to Max Arthur McAuliffe, Ramanand came in contact with Muslim scholars in Benares (Varanasi). At that time, Muslims had established themselves as the victors in India. Therefore, it is possible that Hindu and Muslim scholars must have regularly had dialogues at Benares. Apart from this, many wise sections of Hindus also had a special interest in monotheism. In Benares, some disciples of Bhagat Ramanand rejected the priesthood of Brahmins and Maulanas based on monotheism.

Being a Gaud (one of the five major castes of Brahmins) and Vaishnav (worshippers of Vishnu’s incarnations Radha-Krishan, Ram, etc.) saint, initially, he believed in the discrimination between high and low and preached only to the upper castes. But eventually, when he experienced the pervasiveness of IkOankar, he gave up caste considerations. Consequently, he preached the path of devotion in Kashi to the common people instead of any particular caste, and many became his devotees there.

In Bhagatmala, there is mention of twelve devotees of Bhagat Ramanand, which includes Bhagat Pipa, Sain, Dhanna, Ravidas, and Kabir. Bhagat Sain also mentions Bhagat Ramanand in his composition:
rāmā bhagati rāmānandu jānai.
pūran parmānandu bakhānai.3. -Guru Granth Sahib 695.

Bhai Gurdas mentions an incident between Bhagat Ramanand and Bhagat Kabir in the fifteenth pauri of his tenth var. He says Ramanand used to stay at Kashi after becoming free of worldly attachment. It was his routine to wake up in the morning and bathe in the Ganga. Bhagat Kabir wanted to adopt Bhagat Ramanand as his Guru. But, since Bhagat Kabir belonged to the julaha (weaver) caste, which was considered low, he was afraid that Bhagat Ramanand might not guide him as a guru. Bhagat Kabir thought of a way around this. Bhagat Kabir went and laid down on the path Bhagat Ramanand used to take to the river Ganga. Bhagat Ramanand nudged Kabir with his foot and said, ‘chant the name of the Supreme Being’ (implying leave the way, ‘chant Ram,’ these were the words in Ramanand’s mouth). Kabir understood this as guru’s teaching:
hoi birkatu banārasī rahindā rāmānandu gusāīṁ.
ammritu vele uṭhi kai jāṁdā gaṅgā nhāvaṇ tāīṁ.
ago hī de jāi kai lammā piā kabīr tithāīṁ.
pairī ṭumb uṭhāliā ‘bolahu rām’ sikh samjhāī… .15. -Bhai Gurdas Var 10, Pauri 15.

Bhagat Ramanand’s disciples came from the castes, which are considered to be ‘low’ as per the Hindu caste system. Bhagat Sain was associated with the barber class, Bhagat Ravidas with the chamar class, and Bhagat Kabir with the weaver class. From this, it becomes clear that Bhagat Ramanand did not believe in or practice caste discrimination. The Bhakti movement before Bhagat Ramanand, especially Vaishnavism, kept Shudras (lower castes) away. A new movement arose in the form of the Nirgun Bhakti movement after Ramanand adopted the lower caste devotees. Nirgun devotees, especially Kabir, have vehemently opposed the recognition of Vedas, belief in incarnations, recognition of caste and idolatrous Vaishnavism.

After the pilgrimage, Ramanand returned to his guru with his new thoughts. By that time, a big difference between the thoughts of Ramanuj, Raghava Nand, and the thoughts of Ramanand had arisen. According to Ramanuj’s ideology, priests covered the idol and prasad while placing the prasad in front of the idol. Later it became necessary to cover the food from other people also, except the one who prepares it. Ramanand disagreed with these things. Because of this, his companions decided to excommunicate him from their religion. But Ramanands’ guru allowed him to practice a new religion. Ramanand popularized the worship of Sita and Ram, in contrast, to the worship of Lakshmi Narayan as done in the sect of Ramanuj. Ramanand also relaxed several culinary rules.

Bhagat Ramanand was a Sanskrit scholar of high caliber. His two compositions, ‘Sri Vaishnav Matambuj Bhaskar’ and ‘Sri Ramacharan Padhati,’ are popular. In the Guru Granth Sahib, only one Sabad of Bhagat Ramanand is recorded under Rag Basant:
kat jāīai re ghar lāgo raṅgu. -Guru Granth Sahib 1195.

Utterance of the Sabad
Regarding the utterance of this Sabad, Max Arthur McAuliffe writes that once Bhagat Ramanand was invited to a function for the worship of Vishnu, to which he responded through this Sabad. Sant Kirpal Singh writes that once Bhagat Ramanand went to Kashi. Outside Kashi, there is a temple called ‘Brahm Than’ (many people say that Brahma meditated here), where a fair is held every year. When the time for the fair arrived, the devotees came and said to Bhagat Ramanand, “Master! Let’s go to ‘Brahm Than.’” In response, Bhagat Ramanand uttered this Sabad.

Ideology of Bhagat Ramanand
The references in this Sabad represents the ideology of Bhagat Ramanand. Of course, these references seem contrary to his earlier life and could confuse many. While referring to an unnamed person, Prof. Sahib Singh has discussed the ideology of Bhagat Ramanand. In this discussion, Prof. Sahib objects to the following four thoughts of the said person:
(1) There is a hint of Vedant in this Sabad by Bhagat Ramanand.
(2) The mention of temple worship is surprising, as it contradicts Bhagat Ramanand’s ideology.
(3) Bhagat Ramanand has addressed himself as master (swami). Therefore, it is possible that this Sabad may have been uttered by one of his disciples.
(4) Did Bhagat Ramanand utter only one Sabad his entire life?

Regarding these objections, Prof. Sahib Singh writes:

1. If there’s a hint of Vedant in this Sabad, it can only be in the following lines:
(a) so brahamu batāio gur man hī māhi.
(b) tū pūri rahio hai sabh samān.
(c) rāmānand suāmī ramat braham.
But there is no idea that is against the Guru’s thought (Gurmat). In fact, all these conform to Gurmat.
2. Bhagat Ramanand states in this Sabad that the illusions of the mind cannot be removed by bathing at pilgrimage sites and worshipping idols. The teachings of Guru’s Sabad can only remove such illusions.
3. The person objecting to the line ‘rāmānand suāmī ramat braham’ thinks that Bhagat Ramanand has called himself the master (suāmī). Then he assumes that this Sabad is written by one of Bhagat Ramanand’s disciples. But the meaning of this line is that: the Supreme Being (Braham), the Master of Ramanand, is all-pervading. From this, it is clear that Bhagat Ramanand is not being called the master (suāmī); the word has been used for the Divine (Supreme Being).
4. The fourth objection does not seem to carry any weight. Even if Bhagat Ramanand uttered only one Sabad throughout his life, the truth of this Sabad does not diminish under any circumstance. It is possible that all his life, he emphasized only what is mentioned in this Sabad. The three stanzas of the Sabad may seem small, but they carry a lot of truth: (a) There is no need to go to a temple and worship a stone idol by applying perfume and sandalwood. (b) The delusions of the mind cannot be removed by bathing at pilgrimage sites. (c) Come into the shelter of the Guru. Guru says that (d) IkOankar dwells in the heart-temple. (e) IkOankar is dwelling everywhere. (f) The Wisdom (Guru) alone can destroy the influence of millions of transgressions of past births.

If we make the utterance of composition the only measure of the spiritual greatness of a person, we will be greatly disappointed. Guru Harigobind Sahib, Guru Harirai Sahib, and Guru Harikrishan Sahib did not utter a single Sabad. During his Guruship of about thirteen years, Guru Angad Sahib uttered only sixty-three saloks. But even if he composed less Bani, we do not see any difference between him and Guru Nanak Sahib.

The person objecting to the Sabad could not find any objectionable point, which is why he emphasized that Bhagat Ramanand was an ascetic, wore a paste-mark on his forehead and a sacred thread, supported untouchability, and wore yellow clothes, etc.

But according to Sikh history, Bhai Lahina was a devotee of the goddess. Every year he used to go to see the goddess while wearing ankle bells on his feet. Baba Amardas earlier went on pilgrimages every year for nineteen years. He also used to perform other rituals prescribed by Brahmins. In conclusion, we can say that there may be similar stories told by people about the contributors of the Guru Granth Sahib; however, we should only rely on the internal evidence available in the Guru Granth Sahib regarding their thought and teachings.

At some point in his life, Bhagat Ramanand would have been an ascetic, would have used a mark on the forehead, would have worn a sacred thread, and would have supported untouchability. Many other things can also be ascribed. But we have to see what Bhagat Ramanand became after entering the Guru’s court: (a) so brahamu batāio gur man hī māhi. (b) jini sakal bikal bhram kāṭe mor. (c) gur kā sabadu kāṭai koṭi karam.

So, just as the lives of Bhai Lahina and Baba Amardas changed as per the Guru’s thought after meeting the Guru, so did Bhagat Ramanand’s life after coming to the Guru.”