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Vaishnav Chatuh Sampradaya Sri Mahanta Sri Sri Swami 108 Ramdas Kathia Baba(early 19th century - 1909) was a revered saint of the Hindu Dwaitadwaitavaadi Nimbarka Sampradaya() and one of the principal spiritual figureheads associated with the propagation of Nimbarka Vaishnavism in Bengal. He was one of the main preachers involved in the mass propagation of Nimbarka Vaishnavism in Bengal in the late 19th century. He belonged to the sect of Nimbarka ascetics descending from the spiritual lineage of Sri Nagaji Maharaj who initiated the practice of circumambulation of Vraj(also called Vraj parikrama). The term "Kathiababa" has arisen from the usage of wooden(Kath means wood in Hindi and Bengali) chastity belts by the saints of this sect which are donned with the aim of subduing the lustful tendencies of the human body. ==Life== Shri Ramdas Kathiababa was born in early 19th century(), the month of July is usually considered to be his month of birth. He was born in the village of Lona Chamari which is situated about 20 miles from the city of Amritsar in Punjab to a prosperous Punjabi Brahmin family; his father, a pious Brahmin priest, was an expert at the performance of religious rites and rituals. From a very early age the young Ramdas possessed a devout disposition, a renunciate who lived in the vicinity of his village caught his attention when he used take his buffaloes to nearby fields for grazing. The noble-hearted young lad once approached the renunciate who was a reverential figure in that locality and put questions to him about the path to attainment of greatness, the renunciate replied that chanting the name of Lord Ram with fervent devotion has earned him respect in the eyes of the people and that he(Ramdas) shall also attain the same if he does so(). The youth was deeply moved by the renunciate's devotion and he started chanting the name of Lord Ram ceaselessy from that day. Gradually his whole mind became gripped by the realization that his purpose in life was to attain nirvana by becoming a Yogi. His Guru had gifted him a copy of the Bhagavad Gita which he read and deeply pondered over. One of the verses(verse 6.41) in Srimad Bhagavat Gita says : "The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous Brahmins", this caught his attention especially and he decided to make further advancements in his spiritual accomplishments, after thwarting an attempt by his parents to get him married off he set out for a nearby place where he sat under a banyan tree at a desolate spot and started chanting the Gayatri Mantra with the intention of repeating the Mantra a hundred thousand times()(one hundred and twenty five thousand according to some sources()). But before reaching his goal of a hundred thousand repetitions of the Mantra a divine voice spoke out to him and commanded him to complete the rest of his chanting at Jwalamukhi. After hearing the divine command Ramdas decided to renounce the life of a householder and take sannyas(renunciation), accordingly he left his house and left for Jwalamukhi, which was situated at a distance of 45 miles from his native place. The hardships endured during this journey further strengthened his resolve to attain the glimpse of God. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ramdas Kathiababa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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