RAMANANDI TILAK

RAMANANDI TILAK

 Ramanandi, also called Ramavat, in Hinduism, a Vaishnavite (devotee of the God Vishnu) follower of Ramananda, a religious and social reformer of the 15th century. Ramanandis worship Vishnu’s avatar (incarnation) in Rama as the one true god. Although Ramananda had no particular wish to found a sect, he continues to inspire a great number of sectarian adherents, including ascetics ho have numerous North Indian monasteries. The Ramanandi movement owes its popularity to the saint Ramananda who lived in Varanasi in the 14th century and influenced such popular Indian saints like Tulsidas and Kabir among others. Ramanandis wear ‘tilak’ as a two-pronged white fork with a red upward tapering stroke in the middle.