Very little is known about the life of the Vaishnavite devotional poet-saint Sri Ramananda (mid-14th – mid-15th c. CE?). He appears to have been born in Allahabad, perhaps to a Brahman family, and became a student of the well known teacher Ramanuja. One story tells that Ramananda made a devotional pilgrimage to the south of India, and when he returned, he was shocked that his fellow disciples avoided him because they were not sure he had maintained ritual purity while travelling. He then withdrew from the group, and his own spirituality became more inclusive. He is quoted as saying : “Do not ask a sadhu [i.e. an ascetic or holy person] his caste; ask him about knowledge instead.” Among Ramananda’s students are included Ravidas and Kabir Das. The following, a response to someone who suggested he visit a temple, is enshrined in the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib.

O my brother,
where shall I go,
why should I wander?
The pleasure I seek
is in my very own home.
My mind will not stray,
for my heart
is now steadfast.

One day,
a yearning arose in my heart,
and I went with
sandal shavings and essence
and so many perfumes,
so I could worship Brahma
in the temple.
But then the guru told me
that the Brahma I sought
dwelt in my very own heart.

Wherever I went
I met only water and stone —
but You remain
all-pervasive
and forever unchanging.
I read and searched
all the Vedas
and the Puranas;
I go to them
if I do not find Him here.

O my true guru,
I am your handmaid,
your living sacrifice,
for you have cut away
all my hardened doubts,
all my great fears.
Ramananda’s lord
is the all-pervasive Brahma —
a guru’s word
can destroy a million sins.

Translation Nirmal Dass