Rāmānandī Sampradāya

The Rāmānandī sampradāya is a Vaiṣṇava ascetic order composed of sādhus that follow various sādhanās (religious disciplines), devoting themselves to the bhakti (devotion) of Rām, avatār of the god Viṣṇu, in order to obtain mokṣa (freedom) or to remain in the state of bhakti itself. The order was supposedly established by Rāmānanda, possibly in the late fifteenth century, although it is also possible that Rāmānanda instead established a new branch of the Śrī Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. In effect, according to the Rāmānandī tradition, Rāmānanda was a follower of the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta of Rāmānūja, but he addressed his devotionalism toward Rām. Rāmānanda is said to have opened the bhakti path to everyone, irrespective of gender, caste, or religious belonging, since he was a supporter of prapatti (surrender), a form of religious path that completely relied on the grace of God. Teaching to ascetics and householders, his approach was characterized by yogic practices and devotion, both nirguṇa (without form) and saguṇa (with form), according to the devotee’s needs. His liberal approach for recruitment led to a widespread diffusion of the order among the grass roots of the Indian population, and various bhakti panths (cult) have been established by low-caste individuals that claim a certain legacy from him. Rāmānanda’s disciples (and subsequently their own disciples) likely followed these mixed teachings and, while passing them on, incorporated new theories or developed new interpretations. These traits resulted in a sampradāya highly differentiated in branches and sub-branches concerned with Rām bhakti. Within the sampradāya there are three different types of ascetics: tyāgī, rasik, and nāgā. Tyāgīs and nāgās perform practices of extreme physical austerity and wandering, while many Rāmānandī rasiks are more focused on the devotional cult of the image. However, all Rāmānandīs have a common theoretical substratum based on Rām bhakti and Rām mantra, prapatti, sevā (service), and vairāgya (detachment), although the ways in which these are achieved vary according to the particular religious discipline followed. With the construction of formal centers (around the seventeenth century), and thanks to the support of royals and locals alike, the sampradāya became organized. Historical centers (gaddī)—such as Galtā jī, Bālānanda Maṭh (both in Jaipur), Piṇḍorī Dham (Punjab), Hanumān Gaṛhī (Ayodhyā), and so on—witnessed the development of the order and are still central to its activities. Because of the internal distinctions and the presence of various important centers, Rāmānandīs have never had a single representative leader, and they were associated with the Śrī Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, though in a subordinate and sometimes vilified position. To change this condition and erase Rāmānūja’s legacy, at the beginning of the twentieth century a Rāmānandī reformist group led by Swāmī Bhagavadācārya was created. The main concrete outcome of Bhagavadācārya’s activity was a general recognition of the independence of the Rāmānandī sampradāya, a more precise portrait of Rāmānanda as founder of the sampradāya, and the bestowing of title of Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya to an ascetic meant to become the leader of the sampradāya representing it on a national level.