Pandita Ramabai [1858-1922]
At a time when women were looked down upon and were given no social standing, Ramabai was a revolutionary woman. She stood for social reformation and the betterment of the lives of fellow women in India. She is the founder of the Mukti mission, “A home where destitute women and children irrespective of their background are accepted, cared for, transformed, and empowered to be salt and light in the society.” She was blessed with good parents, her father, Anant Dongre was a Hindu guru who strongly believed in truth & righteousness. Those days only men could read the ancient Hindu scriptures while women were not permitted to do so and were considered incapable of learning. He made up his mind that when he got married he would teach his wife to read. And, he did just that despite opposition from his own family which made him flee with his wife into the Gungamul forest. It was here that Ramabai was born.
Ramabai was taught Sanskrit at the age of 8 and by the time she was twenty, she could recite 18,000 verses. She was also proficient in various languages including Marathi, Bengali, and English, proving to the world that women were quite capable.
Anant, her father, was considered a holy man who many sought in their pursuit of wisdom. Despite this, he was unhappy and so he led his family on many pilgrimages in search of peace. They spent all their wealth in giving alms to the gods, and their days in seeking the sacred places where they could free themselves of sin, to the extent that it drove them down poverty lane.
A famine came and took Ramabai’s parents and sister. Strongly influenced by her father’s last words not to depart from the way of righteousness, Ramabai continued her quest for salvation.
It was in Calcutta, impressed by her knowledge that the Hindu scholars called her “Pandita”, which means – learned. And, it was here that Ramabai first heard about Christ, and the free gift of salvation she had been searching for all her life.
Did Ramabai struggle with Christianity being a “western religion”?
Ramabai initially thought that for one to be Christian she/he had to adopt European customs. And since she did not like European food or clothes, she joined a cult that mixed Christian and Hindu ideas. She escaped this only after a missionary explained that Christianity allows great freedom.
How is salvation a free gift?
Ephesians 2 uses the phrase “dead in your sins.” But what does that really mean? Dead means lifeless, powerless, inanimate. It means we were incapable of doing anything to change our situation. But God is loving and merciful, and He chose to give us new life. That’s the beauty of His grace—we’ve done nothing to deserve it. He simply gives it to us. And once we’re alive in Him, He gives us the privilege of walking in this new life and serving Him.
