1799 - A Hindu Perspective

1799

 

A HINDU PERSPECTIVE

 

Jalaram Bapa, a Hindu saint, was born.

 

Saint Shri Jalaram, popularly known as Shri (Mr.) Jalaram Bapa was a Hindu saint from Gujarat, India. He was born in Virpur, Rajkot district, Gujarat, India in 1799, on the seventh day of the Kaartika month.  He was the son of Shri Pradhan Thakkar and Smt. Rajbai Thakkar, who belonged to Thakkar sub-group of the Lohana clan of the Hindu community. Shri Jalaram Bapa was a devotee of Lord Ram.

Jalaram Bapa was known for serving pilgrims, sadhus and saints. At the age of 18, Jalaram Bapa accepted Shri Bhojalram from Fatehpur as guru and was given a "Guru Malaa and Mantra" in the name of Shri Ram. With blessings of his guru, he started "Sadavrat" a feeding center, a place where all sadhus and saints as well as the needy could have food any time during the day. No one returned from that place without having food. All this Jalaram Bapa did with only his wife, Virbaima, assisting him. Soon his fame spread as an incarnation of the divine. Whoever came to his hometown of Virpur, whether Hindu, Muslim or of another faith was fed by Bapa. This tradition of feeding people continues to this day in Virpur, Gujarat.

 

Today Jalaram Bapa's birthday (the seventh day of Kartik month) is celebrated as Jalaram Jayanti. On this day various groups of Jalaram devotees feed the poor as prasad. This happens at the Jalaram temples throughout India and abroad as well. Jalaram Jayanti is observed on the seventh day after Diwali.

Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba [Bhagya Chandra] (1748-1799), a Manipuri monarch who invented the Ras Lila dance – the “Dance of Divine Love”, died.

 

Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba (also known as Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, Jai Singh Maharaja) (1748–1799) was a Manipuri monarch. The inventor of the Ras Lila dance, he is a legendary figure in Manipur, and much of his actions as King have been mythologized. He is also credited with spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur after his grandfather Pamheiba made Hinduism the official religion and for creating a unified Manipur.

Maharaja Bhagya Chandra ascended to the throne of Manipur in 1759, a few years after the death of his grandfather Pamheiba and his father Samjai Khurai-Lakpa at the hands of his uncle Chitsai. In 1762, Manipur was attacked by the Burmese, assisted by the Chitsai. Bhagya Chandra, along with the Rani and a few loyal attendants fled to Assam (Ahom), where they lived under the protection of the Ahom ruler, King Rajeshvara.

Bhagya Chandra’s crafty uncle wrote a letter to King Rajeshvara saying that the person taking refuge at his court was not the true Bhagya Chandra. The uncle advised Rajeshvara to get rid of the refugee (Bhagya Chandra). King Rajeshvara was somewhat persuaded by this letter and began treating Bhagya Chandra with suspicion.

In Manipuri legends, the real Bhagya Chandra was said to have supernatural powers. To see whether the usurper was correct, King Rajeshvara designed a test at the behest of his court. In a public arena, Bhagya Chandra, while unarmed, was to catch and tame a wild elephant.

Confronted with insurmountable odds, King Bhagya Chandra prayed to Lord Govinda for guidance. Krishna appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to enter the arena donning a garland while holding japa beads (usually a string of 108 beads somewhat akin to a rosary). At the end of the instructions, Govinda assured him of victory.

The dream also stated that Bhagya Chandra would be the sole king of Manipur. Upon regaining the kingdom, he should install a Krishna murti – a stone or wood representation of a deity. The Deity, Govinda, was to be carved from a certain old jackfruit tree growing on the slopes of Kaina hill.

After installing the Deity, Lord Govinda said, the king should arrange for the performance of a Rasa-Lila  -- “Divine Love” , in which Krishna would be worshiped with song and dance. Bhagya Chandra also received in this vision a complete plan on how to execute the Ras Lila (dance).

Bhagya Chandra entered the arena, donning the garland and japa as he was instructed to do in the vision. In the ensuing fight, the spectators noted that the elephant seemed to recoil as if struck by a ghost. King Bhagya Chandra said that he saw "Lord Krishna as the mahout".

After winning the duel with the elephant, Bhagya Chandra appealed to King Rajeshvara for military assistance. King Rajeshvara agreed to send an army to overthrow Chitsai and reinstate Bhagya Chandra. The expedition hit many snags in Nagaland where they were attacked by Naga tribesmen and poisonous snakes. King Rajeshvara called off the unsuccessful venture in 1767.

In November of 1768, Bhagya Chandra and King Rajeshvara decided to make another attempt to invade Manipur. This time Bhagya Chandra led 10,000 Ahom troops across the Kachari kingdom to the Mirap river. Many battles ensued between the Ahoms and Manipuris on one side, and the Naga, Chitsai and the Burmese on the other. In 1773, Bhagya Chandra was reinstated as Ningthou (King) of Manipur.

In 1762, the British and Manipur signed a bilateral treaty with Gaurisiam, in which spelled the British and Manipuris agreed to encourage trade and commerce. The British gave necessary help for protection against the Burmese and Nagas. Manipur gave up a village for an East India Company post. The name "Manipur" (assigned by the British for Ching-Thang's [Bhagya Chandra’s] kingdom) for what was called "Meitrabak" came into being in 1774 when the Governor General of India, Mr. Rendel, surveyed the area westward from Ningthi to Cachar and Northward from Chittagong to the Brahmaputra and renamed it.

In 1775, Bhagya Chandra established his capital at Bishenpur and carved the Govinda murti at the hill of Kaina. On January 11, 1779 he was "re-crowned" amid many performances of his popular Rasa Lila.

During Bhagya Chandra’s reign, the Manipuris repelled the Burmese from Manipur. Though his exploits, did not equal Pamheiba's, his reign was characterized by security. He was a great patron of the arts and religion, and his strong Vaishnavism reflected on the Manipuris. He was an ardent devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and during his reign a statue of Nityananda was created.

In 1796, Bhagya Chandra moved his capital to Kangla and a year later he abdicated the throne to his eldest son Labeinya Chandra. His last few years were spent on pilgrimage to various Vaisnavite holy sites, including Nabadwip. He died in 1799 in Murshidabad.

Bhagya Chandra (Ching-Thang Khomba) was son to Samjai Khurai-Lakpa, who had two brothers Mantri Ananda Shai and Chitsai. Bhagya Chandra had many siblings, the most famous of whom was Gaurisiam, King of Manipur until his death in 1763.

The tradition of Rasa Lila in Manipur is attributed to Bhagya Chandra (Ching-Thang Khomba). The first Manipur Maha Rasleela was performed in 1777. Under the influence of Bengali missionaries, Bhagya Chandra also started the tradition of Sankirtan (call and response chanting in devotional settings) in Manipur.

Ram Charan Maharaj (1720-1799), the founder of a unique religious tradition called Ram Snehi Sampradaya, died.

 

Ram Charan Maharaj (February 24, 1720 – 1799 or Māgha Shukla 14, 1776 - Vaisakha Krishna 5, 1855 Bikram Samwat) is the founder of a unique religious tradition in India 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 misrepresentations existing in the Hindu religion and preferred to worship the 'Name of god' over god and to not get involved in false "show" activities.

Ram Charan Maharaj was born in Sodha on February 24, 1720 (Māgh Shukla 14, 1776 Bikram Samwat [Vikram Samwat – a Hindu calendar established by the Indian emperor Vikramaditya]). His father's name was Bakhat Ram Vijayvergia and his mother's name was Devhuti Devi. His parents were living in Banwara village near Malpura, Rajasthan. His childhood name was "Ram Kishan".

Ram Charan Maharaj started having interest in God and religious things in his childhood. He obtained good knowledge of different languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, Pharsi [Farsi] and Sanskrit during his studies. He studied all main Hindu scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharat and Bhagavad Gita with the help of others.

The parents of Ram Charan Maharaj had recognized his inclination towards spiritual matters at 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 [land record officer] after marriage and worked with diligence and intelligence. After some time, the contemporary king of Jaipur (Amber, India) Jai Singh II of Amber got to know about the good work of Ram Charan Ji and offered him the post of Divan of Jaipur of the Malpura Branch

Ram Charan Maharaj started to lose interest in materialism after his father's death in 1743.  He got to know about the forecast of Bhringi Saint 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. The 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 in 1808 Bikram Samwat (1752 C.C.).

Ram Charan Maharaj 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 Datra village near Shahpura, Bhilwara. He became disciple of Kripa Ram Maharaj and started to follow him. He did 9 years of tapasya [spiritual austerity] by living in the command of Shri Kripa Ram. During those 9 years, Ram Charan Maharaj did many miracles which are still commonly known among the local people. He also became very popular for his unique nirguna Bhakti. He visited many places and explained his experience and advised people to eliminate "show", blind faith, hypocrisy and the misrepresentations that were present in the Hindu religion.

He came to Bhilwara in 1817 Bikram Samwat (1761 C.C.) and selected one lonely place for tapasya. By this time, he had reached the extreme level of tapasya and was on the way to Nirvana.

Ram Charan Ji advocated saying Raam Raam as the way of reaching the ultimate. He preached selfless devotion as a means to realize God. He promoted Bhakti 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 – the Guru -- 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 huge texts and to 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 school of thoughts.  Accordingly, 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.

Swami Ram Charan 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.

Ram Charan Ji Maharaj also emphasized that instead of going to various places and searching for God, one must look inside oneself. Following Maharaj Ji, it is only necessary to engage in spiritual practices, at one's own place, with proper and essential guidance of one's Guru.

Ram Charan Ji's works are collected in Vaani Ji consisting of 36,250 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. 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 1981 (1925 C.C.), the complete Vaani Ji was published for the first time under the title: Swami Ji Ram Charan Ji Maharaj ki Anubhav Vaani, from Shahpura. The latest edition has published by Ram Niwas Dham, Shahpura (Bhilwara), in 2005 C.C.

Due to its large size, the 1925 compilation of the Vaani Ji was found to be difficult for an individual to use. Subsequently, various smaller ones were released, with at least one being published, by Sant LakshyaRam in Bikram Samwat 2015 (1949 C.C.), on Vijayadashami day, as Ram Rahasya Darshan.

Vaani Ji contains Swamiji's teachings in the form of poetry of various types (meters). There are also Bhajans with indications of the Raaga which should be preferably used for them.

In the same year (1817 Bikram Samwat – 1761 C.C.), disciple Ram Jan Ji of Ram Charan Maharaj formed Ram Snehi Sampradaya (Ram Snehi Spiritual Tradition).