India was under Islamic rule, helped revive and refocus Hindus to a personalized, direct devotional form of Rama worship, his liberalism and focus on the devotee's commitment rather than birth or gender set a precedent that attracted people to spirituality from various walks of life, and his use of vernacular language instead of Sanskrit for spiritual ideas made sharing and reflection easier for the masses. Fourteen disciples of Ramananda Fourteen influential disciples of Ramananda included 12 men and 2 women poet-sants. According to Bhaktamal, these were: Men scholars: Anantananda Sursurananda Sukhanand Naraharidāsa Bhavanand Vitthalpant Kulkarni Bhagat Pipa Kabir Ravidas Sen Dhanna Sadhana Women scholars: Sursuri Padyawati Postmodern scholars have questioned some of the above guru-disciple lineage while others have supported this lineage with historical evidence. Largest ascetic community in India: Ramanandi Sampraday Ramananda is the founder of the eponymous Ramanandi Sampraday (Shri Ramavat or Shri Sampraday or Vairagi Sampradaya). This is the largest ascetic community in India, and their members are known as Ramanandis, Vairagis or Bairagis. They are known for their self-imposed highly disciplined, austere, structured and simple lifestyle. Richard Burghart acknowledges that Ramananda is revered as the founder in the Ramanandi Sampraday's tradition, but adds that historical evidence about its origin is meager and India's largest monastic community may have gathered strength a few centuries after Ramananda's death. Social reforms Ramananda was an influential social reformer of Northern India. He championed the pursuit of knowledge and direct devotional spirituality, and did not discriminate based on birth family, gender or religion. Swami Ramanand poem One poem of Ramananda, originally written in Hindi, is a response to an invitation to go to a temple, and the answer states there is no need to visit a temple because God is within a person, all pervasive in everything and everyone. See also Bhakti movement Sant Mat Further reading JS Hawley (2015), A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement, Harvard University Press, Chapter 3 William Pinch (1996), Peasants and Monks in British India, University of California Press David Lorenzen (1995), Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action, State University of New York Press Richard Burghard (1978), The Founding of the Ramanandi Sect, London: London School of Economics and Political Science External links Saint Ramananda Jyotsna Kamat (2008) Kanakadasa: The Golden Servant, Basavaraj Naikar (2007), Indian Literature, Vol. 51, No. 5, pages 88–100 References Indian Hindu