Peter Friedlander delivered the 8th C. R. Parekh Memorial Lecture on ‘Searching for Satguru Ravidas Traditions in the Twentieth Century’ on 11 September 2024 at Seminar Room and Zoom. It was chaired by Prabhat Kumar. The lecture was organized by Institute of Indian Thought, CSDS.
ZOOM ID: 89460864851 PASSCODE: csdsdelhi
This talk presents glimpses of what I have seen, heard and read about Satguru Ravidas and his traditions over the last forty years. I will highlight three initiatives in which Ravidassia communities were searching for different forms of Satguru traditions and paths. The first was the movement by Ravidassia followers of Jagjivan Ram to build a Ravidass temple at Rajghat in Banaras. In the second the Ravidassia communities from Manduadih in Banaras were seeking to assert the identity of the birthplace of Ravidass. The third was the initiative taken by Punjabi Ravidassia community members from Dera Sach Khand near Jalandhar to establish a temple at Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi. I will argue that each initiative was linked by a common desire for community construction and consolidation.
Peter Friedlander is honorary Associate Professor, School of Culture, History and Language, the Australian National University. His PhD was on The life works of Raidas (1992) and publications are on the relationship between religion and society and his current research is on Raidas. His most recent book is Kabir Poems in Transformation: A Fountain of Creativity (2023).
Prabhat Kumar is Assistant Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.
Wednesday, 11 September 2024, 4.30 pm, Seminar Room and Zoom https://bit.ly/4dOcnZH
