A Healthy Mind, a Path to Salvation – Lessons from the Life of Saint Ravidas

A Healthy Mind, a Path to Salvation
Lessons from the Life of Saint Ravidas

There was once a cobbler who lived in the holy city of Kashi, who not only cobbled shoes but also guided people in cobbling their life together onto the path of salvation. Saint Ravidas. Born in the 15th century to Santokh Dass and mother Karma Devi, a poor family of cobblers, Saint Ravidas had a very humble beginning. As he grew up, he mastered the craft and started helping his father in the business. This made his parents very happy as they hoped their son would help create a better life and future for himself and the whole family. However, in time, they also observed that Saint Ravidas had a strong inclination to serve people, including the numerous pilgrims passing through the holy city of Kashi. He would often repair their shoes for free and sometimes even give away new shoes if their old ones were beyond repair. These acts of generosity and impersonal service barely left money to make their ends meet, leaving his parents worried about their future.

Hoping that the responsibility of married life might teach Ravidas to become pragmatic about money matters, his parents arranged for him to be married. Unhappily for them, his wife Lonadevi turned out to be equally kind and devotional and joined Ravidas in his generous service. Both husband and wife were happy in this minimal existence. His parents impelled to teach Ravidas responsibility, used their last resort of forcing the couple to move out and find shelter of their own. Ravidas and his wife began living in the corner of a street while continuing their generous ways of serving people. Despite not having a roof over their head and barely enough to bring home two meals a day, Ravidas and his wife were happy and content. Just as Lord Ram and Sita happily embraced their fate of exile to the forest and viewed it as a blessed opportunity to be in the company of hermits and sages. Saint Ravidas and his wife saw their fate as a blessing to serve people through their love and devotion.

Saint Ravidas’s life shows us that one does not become superior by influence or by birth but by one’s actions. Our actions offer us the path to salvation rather than birth into an influential or spiritual family. Saint Ravidas showed us that we can make our life loving, devotional, and of impersonal service to others irrespective of our age, profession, or marital status. People often believe that the time for spiritual quest is after completing one’s professional career, but Saint Ravidas showed us that our progression in devotion to Self and God can begin right now. This is a clear message for us and especially for the younger generation. There is another common belief that one must renounce everything, wear ochre clothes, and live in a particular way on one’s spiritual journey. However, the true journey is the one that’s within and can begin irrespective of one’s age or profession. The sweetness of devotion and impersonal service brings a delightful harmony to life. It was this harmony that was established and reflected in Saint Ravidas’s actions. He said, “If your mind is healed and healthy, then the water in your bowl will be as pure and clean as the water from the holy river Ganga, you don’t need any external pilgrimage.”

What does the mind need to be healed from? The mind needs to be healed from its illness—the illness of the constant urge to gratify what it likes and constant aversion to what it dislikes. The mind battles to get rid of what it does not like. For example, when one eats something delicious, and even if the stomach says enough, the mind says – “let me have some more.” And this happens unconsciously. This is an example of the unhealthiness in the mind as it continually vacillates between craving and aversion. This becomes even worse due to a lack of awareness. Therefore, the first step is to become aware. One has to examine the mind with utmost honesty, just like we would check the temperature of the body. We check it thoroughly and leave no room for error. Once we become aware of the state of this illness, we have to sanitize the mind and help it settle down through meditation. Meditation, even for a short duration, is like a healing quarantine treatment. We must bring a clear and unwavering understanding to our mind about this game of craving and aversion, especially for objects, people, and experiences that are ever fleeting. Why must so much energy be invested in something that is short-lived? Can we remain present with the experiences that unfold in our lives? If we are able to stay in the present with what is, we restore health to the mind. Otherwise, we risk being endlessly stuck in an unhealthy state.

This is an internal journey as we help our subconscious mind understand the reality of this unhealthy state. Saint Ravidas’s life shows us the magic of a healthy mind’s actions through the incidents of his life. We can use these incidents of his life as a yardstick to examine our lives and become aware of the state of our minds. Allow your mind to heal with the following understanding: “I am prepared to let go of things and accept the present as it is.” Are we ready to approve the present and give ourselves acceptance and love? This allows the mind to heal. Can we carefully examine the question – what will we lose by letting go of this craving and aversion? As the mind becomes healthy, we allow the mind’s full power to manifest in our daily exp

Saint Ravidas worked with a healthy mind while carrying out his simple profession as a cobbler. What does it mean for us to carry out our daily activities, personally and professionally with a healthy mind? Firstly, we must understand that no work is menial or too simple, whether mending shoes or sweeping a floor. The question for us is, what attitude do we maintain as we go about any activity? If it is a simple activity such as sweeping the floor, can we do it as an impersonal service, such that people who cross the floor can progress smoothly and enjoyably? In this way, we provide meaning to that action. Personal thoughts such as, “Is this too menial for me, or will I be stuck in doing such menial things in life?” can leave the mind in an unhealthy state. In every activity, can we honestly assess if we were able to do our very best with an attitude of selfless service?

Someone may think I am only a clerk and my work is just menial paperwork. Viewing the same work as an act of impersonal service can bring meaning to that work. Somebody may be a barber, cobbler, or a cleaner, professions that may be considered menial, but this new perspective can bring meaning to the work. Saint Ravidas did not forgo the work of mending shoes; instead, he used his profession to serve people to achieve their highest goal of salvation. This is an immensely valuable lesson for all of us. History is replete with numerous examples of different saints from different castes, professions and disabilities, where this was not an impediment to achieving the highest goal of salvation and guiding others.

An external dip in the sacred Ganges is not the goal; rather, an internal dip of the mind in this understanding is the real goal. The people who were touched by Saint Ravidas became firmly established in the path to salvation. They came to get their shoes repaired by Saint Ravidas, but were themselves repaired as their minds were healed. Such was the influence of this great Saint Ravidas, the disciple of Maha Guru Ramanand.

The lives of Saints provide us with clear and simple messages and inspire us on our own journey to heal our minds. Sirshree’s book, “Gyan Ganga ke Bhagirath – Sant Ravidas,” highlights many incidents from Saint Ravidas’s life journey along with their true message and meaning. Born into a family involved in the menial profession of cobbling shoes, Saint Ravidas became the epitome and ideal of Karma Yoga and a life guide to humanity. Queen Meera herself was his disciple, who went on to heal many societal ills related to casteism and superstition. We can now learn and read this book as we learn the full meaning of Saint Ravidas’s life and use it to transform our minds to its ideal and healthy state.