Raidas

Guru Ravidas, also spelt as Raidas, was an Indian saint and poet of 15th century. He belonged to a family of leather workers, he even claimed to be an achhoot or untouchable. Some of his verses found place in Guru Granth Sahib, the main text of Sikhism.

Mirabai, a Rajput lady of a royal family of Rajasthan, was one of the followers of Guru Ravidas. They follow his teachings and consider him their Guru, the teacher. 

Guru Raidas wrote poems in Braj Bhasha. A few of his poems are "ab kaise chutey ram nam", "aasi Lal tujh binu".

Guru Raidas refuted the prevalent Caste System of the time and stated that all people were equally cared upon by god. He also, like many contemporary Bhakti saints, refuted complex Brahminical Rituals and Sacrifices, in favour of true and complete devotion to god by means of song, dance, or japa (simple chanting of god's name).

 Related pages 
BR Ambedkar

Category:Buddhism
Category:Indian poets
Category:15th-century people