Ramdwara (Devanagari रामद्वारा) means "the doorway to the ''Ram''" (i.e., to the name of God). It is a place of worship for the people who believe in Ramsnehi Sampradaya, which advocates chanting of "Ram" (राम). Ramsnehi means "People who love God". Their way of worshipping God is simple. People of all faiths, castes, sections etc. visit at the Ramdwaras. This concept of ''Ram'' or ''Rama'' is distinct from the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deity

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Origin of Ramsnehi

Ramsnehi Sampradaya is a spiritual and religious tradition originating in 1817 Vikram Samwat in Bhilwara city of Rajasthan by the

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Swami Shri Ram Charan Maharaj who provided the spiritual and philosophical basis for the sect. In present time, ''Ramsnehi Sampradaya'' has four major

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

. All are in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India. They are in the following cities: *Shahpura, Rajasthan * Banwara, Rajasthan *Sodha, Rajasthan *Bhilwara, Rajasthan Smaller Ramdwara centres are located at various places in states of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. Swami Ji Shree Ram Charan Ji Maharaj came to Shahpura from

Bhilwara Bhilwara () is a city and administrative headquarters in Bhilwara district of the Mewar region of Rajasthan, India. It has been termed as 'Textile city'. History Stone Age tools dating from 5,012 to 200,000 years were found in Bundi and ...

and did

Tapasya Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्, romanized: tapas) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices includin ...

(deep meditation). At the place where Swami Ram Charan Ji Maharaj's body was cremated, a giant Ramdwara has been built. This is now the chief Ramdwara of ''Ramsnehi Sampradaya''. This Ramdwara is also called Ram Niwas Dhaam or Ram Niwas Baikunth Dhaam.

Construction

The Shahpura Ramdwara was sponsored by the then King of Shahpura, Maharaja Amar Singh, and his brother Chattra Singh. It was built by constructors named Jarror Khan and Kushal Khan. This is also a great example of the brotherhood of

s and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

in India. All the marble stones used in construction were sourced from a place near the north border of nearby village named ''Kanti''. There is a speciality in all used marble stones that each marble stone has a picture and stone mark on it as of Hindi (Devnagari) alphabets of the construction of word "Ram" (Lord Ram), bow, saint, India's map, sword, lion, monkey and other natural pictures. The main (and base) structure of Shahpura Ramdwara is an octagon shaped shiny marble pillar which is about 12 feet long. This pillar is situated at the cremation place of Ram Charan Maharaj. This pillar is called the

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

Stambh. The floor above the pillar is called Baradari (a kind of summer house with several open marble gates). A rectangular stone is placed in the center of Baradari which is just over the main pillar. The Baradari has 108 small pillars which make 84 open gates. The construction was done in different phases.

Monks of Ramdwara

The

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s of ''RamSnehi Sampradaya'' are identical by their dressing code. They wear a robe coloured a very light pink. After taking oaths, monks can not return to their family and must treat the whole world equally and fairly, without any prejudices. They are supposed to follow all the defined rules strictly.

Way of worship and belief

Ramsnehis believe in the name of God (Ram राम) and do not believe in idolatry. A Ramsnehi only follows the simple and easily defined rules. Ramsnehis just do Darśana, Darshan of the chair of current Acharya and monks. They pay respects to all the previous (departed) acharyas and saints as well. Ramsnehis remember the name राम (Ram, a name of the Lord). Three main pillars of the ideology are: *Have the Name of God (राम) in your Heart *Have mercy for every living being *Be ready to serve any needy person

Spiritual succession (leaders) in Ramsnehi Sampradaya

The following are the Acharyas who successively led the Ramsnehi Sampradaya after Ram Charan: #Ram Jan #Dulhe Ram #Chhatra Das #Narayan Das #Hari Das #Himmat Ram #Dilshudh Ram #Dharam Das #Daya Ram #Jagram Das #Nirbhay Ram #Darshan Ram #Ram Kishor #Ram Dayal (present) Ram Dayal is the present Acharya.

Gallery

file:frontbaradari.JPG, Baradari Picture From Front file:ramdwara2.JPG, Another View of Ramdwara file:doorwaytoSS.jpg, Door Way to ''Samadhi Stambh'' file:SamadhiStambh.JPG, ''Samadhi Stambh''

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Sant LakshyaRam ( Vikram Samwat 2015). Preface of ''Ram Rahasya Darshan'', Ram Niwas Dham Trust, Bhilwara ''Ram Rahasya Darshan'' is a small compilation of Swami Ram Charan Ji's works, prepared by the late Sant Shree LakshyaRamJi. *Capt. G. E. Westmacott, ''Some account of a sect of Hindu Schismatics in Western India, calling themselves Ramsanehis or friends of God'', Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, February, 1835 (pages 65–82

*http://vijayvargia.com/maharaj.pdf *Svāmī Rāmacaraṇa, jīvanī evaṃ kr̥tiyoṃ kā adhyayana, Mādhavaprasāda Pāṇḍeya, Hindī Sāhitya Sammelana, 1982 - On the life and works of Swami RamCharan, 1719-1798, founder of the Ram Snehi sect in Vaishnavism. A few prayers of Ramsnehis: *http://vijayvargia.com/aartishrimaharajji.pdf *Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume 9, Part 1, Government Central Press 1901 *Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ahmedabad, Government Central Press 1879 Anti-caste movements Bhakti movement Hindu denominations Hindu monasteries in India Hindu new religious movements Hindu religious orders Nirguna worship traditions Tourist attractions in Bhilwara district Vaishnava sects 1817 establishments in British India