Introduction
Sant Rampal Ji was born on the 8th of September 1951 in village Dhanana, District Sonipat, Haryana, India. Sant Rampal ji was of very religious nature from childhood. After obtaining a diploma in engineering, He was appointed as a junior engineer in irrigation department in Haryana Government. One day Sant Rampal Ji met Swami Ramdevanand Ji, a 107 year old Kabir Panthi saint who gave Sant Rampal Ji the true knowledge about Supreme God and the way to salvation. Sant Rampal Ji took naam (initiation) on 17th of February 1988 and did worship of Satnam and Sarnam and as a result saw and met Supreme God Kabir Sahib. In 1994 Sant Rampal Ji was ordered by Swami Ramdevanand Ji to give naam (initiation).
Sant Rampal Ji thereafter started propagating the true knowledge of Kabir Sahib and the path of true worship. This duty was overwhelming and therefore in 1995, Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj resigned from his job after serving for 18 years. The propagation of true knowledge has led to a social and religious reform in the society, at least amongst his disciples.
Teachings
Sant Rampal Ji says that we are all children of One Supreme God and we should only worship Him, The Creator.
जीव हमारी जाती है, मानव धर्म हमारा।
हिन्दू मुस्लिम सीख ईसाई धर्म नहीं कोई न्यारा ॥
The knowledge that Sant Rampal Ji gives proves that Supreme God Kabir Sahib is the Creator. He is the Master of infinite universes. Brahm (ब्रह्म) is the son of Kabir Sahib and is the master of 21 brahmands. Brahm is also known as Kaal (काल), Jyoti Niranjan (ज्योति निरंजन) or Kshar Purush (क्षर पुरुष). God Brahm / Kaal is the father of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and Goddess Durga is their mother. Kaal has woven a web via Durga and his 3 sons (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) which has misled people into an illusion. As a result of this they do not worship the Supreme God. They worship various gods and goddesses and thus incur misery and cannot find eternal peace and are far far away from salvation. This is very clearly evident in the Bhagavad Gita but is not known to the masses.
Social Reform
The rules laid down by Sant Rampal Ji promote equality, better moral values, good conduct and denounce social evils like dowry and consuming intoxicants. All the disciples are required to follow a few rules to be able to take naam (initiation). If they do not follow the rules, they cease to be a disciple of Sant Rampal Ji and have to take naam again. Some of the rules laid down by Satguru Rampal Ji are as follows
- Consumption of intoxicating substances such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis etc is prohibited. Disciples are not even allowed to offer these things to anyone let alone consume them.
- Consumption of meat is prohibited. To kill a living being and then eat them is a sin and hence is prohibited.
- Untouchability is prohibited. All human beings are considered equal and disciples are required to refrain from practising untouchability.
- Men and Women are considered equal. Men and Women have equal privileges be it religious or social. Both men and women can take naam (initiation) and do worship without any restrictions.
- Giving and accepting dowry is prohibited.
- Adultery is prohibited. Adultery is considered a heinous sin.
- Gambling & playing cards is prohibited.
- Singing and dancing is prohibited. Dancing has got nothing to do with devotion and hence is prohibited. Likewise, singing vulgar songs is prohibited as it is derogatory to human values.
- Unnecessary charity is prohibited. It is better to feed a beggar than giving them money as alms, as it can be misused.
- To criticise and hear criticism is prohibited.
Religious Reform
Sant Rampal Ji has based all his teachings upon various Holy Scriptures such has the Vedas, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Quran Sharif, Bible, Purans etc. Apart from these, the spiritual teachings and worshipping practices are based upon texts of Kabir Sahib and Garib Das Ji Maharaj.
Mainstream religious practices prevalent currently among various religions and especially in Hinduism have digressed gradually overtime and differ a lot to what has been professed in the religious scriptures. Sant Rampal Ji has denounced some prevalent practices and shown the right way of worship based upon our holy scriptures. Some of the religious reforms that Sant Rampal Ji has propagated are as follows.
- Idol Worship is prohibited.
- Going to places of Pilgrimages is prohibited.
- Worship of deceased ancestors (Pitras) is prohibited.
- Worship of various Gods and Goddesses is prohibited. Only the worship of One Supreme God is professed.
- Arbitrary practices of worship are prohibited. Practices such as arbitrary worship on the arrival of a new born is prohibited. Likewise, going on a pilgrimage to the place of a deity to get a child’s head tonsured is prohibited.
- Arbitrary practices of worship on someone’s death and performing last rites is prohibited. This relates to immersing the ashes in river Ganga (Ganges) and doing unnecessary worships on someone’s death. All these practices are against the scriptures and arbitrary, and therefore prohibited.
- Superstitions are not to be followed.