Guru Ravidas Jayanti 2022: Date, History And Significance Of The Day

Guru Ravidas Jayanti is marked to celebrate the birth of Guru Ravidas, a Bhakti movement saint during the 15th to 16th century. Guru Ravidas is said to have written several hymns and some of them were embraced by Sikhism's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The saint-poet worked religiously towards reforming the society and removing biases of the caste system. The day is celebrated mostly in north India, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Date

The exact date of the birth of Guru Ravidas is not known but it is widely believed that he was born in 1377 C.E in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. His birth anniversary is celebrated on Magh Poornima (the full moon day in the month of Magh). This year, it falls on February 16.

History and Significance

Guru Ravidas advocated for equality and dignity for all, irrespective of their caste. He promoted gender parity and opposed the division of society based on gender or caste. Some say he was also the spiritual guide of another prominent Bhakti movement poet -- Meera Bai.

Celebration

His followers perform aarti in Guru Ravidas' honour. A grand celebration is organised at Shri Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan Mandir, built at his birthplace in Varanasi. Some of his followers also take a dip in a holy river.

On humanism, Guru Ravidas had said, “If God actually resides in every human being, then it's quite futile to segregate persons on the basis of castes, creeds and other such hierarchical social orders.”