???????�(ravidaas)
Meaning:�noun:�A 15th Century saint-poet, whose 40 hymns are present in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Quote:
??????? ?????? ??? ???? � ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? � ??? ????? ?????�
ravidaas ?huva?taa ?hor neet ��tin tiaagee maaiaa.�
pargat hoaa saadhsa?g�� har darsan paaiaa.
Ravidas, who used to carry dead animals every day, renounced attachment to Maya. Through the association with the devout, he became renowned and attained realisation of the Divine. – Guru Arjan Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 487
Message:�Bhagat Ravidas is another great figure whose devotional writings made a lasting impact upon the bhakti movement. He was born to a cobbler family in Northern India. Like his ancestors, he used to live by lifting and carrying animal carcasses and working as a skinner and shoemaker. Imbued with humane values, he used money from his business on the welfare of saints and helping the needy. His simple and pious nature led him to spend time in the company of saints. In the course of his spiritual quest, he gave up idol worship for the worship of the One Supreme Being.
He abandoned attachment to Maya and worldly trappings and attuned himself to love and devotion of the Divine. He wrote deeply impassioned devotional verses and people loved to hear him and tap on his wisdom. His 41 devotional hymns in 16 different raags came to be compiled in the Guru Granth Sahib.
An individual is faced with countless distractions in life. The company we keep will determine the journey we embark on, towards the wisdom of the Divine or away from it. If we, like Bhagat Ravidas, can walk in the company of the righteous, divine grace would surely fall upon us. His simplicity, piety, and kindness to fellow humans are goals we can try to work towards. By yielding to the Divine, we can open our minds to divine wisdom and gradually gain freedom from our attachments to this world.
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness? -Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author, 1712 – 1778
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