Ravidas vs Tulsidas

The ideologies of Sant Ravidas and Goswami Tulsidas stand in sharp contradiction, particularly in their views on caste, hierarchy, and the worth of an individual. While both are celebrated figures within the Bhakti movement, their teachings reflect two opposing approaches: Tulsidas reinforces caste-based hierarchy, while Ravidas radically challenges it.

Tulsidas in one of his controversial dohas writes:

"पूजहि विप्र सकल गुण हीना।
शुद्र न पूजहु वेद प्रवीणा ॥"

Translation:
"Even if a Brahmin is devoid of all virtues, he must still be worshipped;
A Shudra, though full of virtues and knowledge, should never be worshipped."

This doha clearly expresses the hierarchical worldview of Tulsidas: that birth, not merit, determines a person’s spiritual or social standing. His assertion is in line with the dominant Brahmanical thinking of his time, where caste was seen as divinely ordained and immutable. Even a "gun-heena" (virtue-less) Brahmin is worthy of respect simply because of his birth.

In direct contrast, Sant Ravidas (1450–1520), born into the oppressed Dalit Chamar community of Varanasi, rejected caste hierarchy entirely. He believed that true worth lies in a person’s qualities, actions, and devotion, not in their birth. His poetry and songs boldly challenged the social order and envisioned a world based on equality, justice, and love.

As a direct rebuttal to Tulsidas’s thinking, Ravidas writes:

"ब्राह्मण मत पूजिए, जो होवे गुणहीन।
पूजिए चरण चंडाल के, जो होवे गुन प्रवीन।।"

Translation:
"Do not worship a Brahmin who is devoid of merit;
Instead, bow at the feet of a Chandala (untouchable) who is full of virtues."

Here, Ravidas inverts the casteist logic upheld by Tulsidas. He centers merit, character, and knowledge as the true basis of respect—not one’s social category. His teachings were grounded in radical Bhakti, which rejected priestly authority and emphasized a direct, personal relationship with the divine, accessible to all regardless of caste.

In their juxtaposition, we see the tension between spiritual orthodoxy and spiritual equality—one echoing the privileges of birth, the other proclaiming the dignity of every soul.