What is "rampal"

Rampal is an Indian religious leader of Kabir panth, often described as a self-styled godman. He is the founder of a Satlok Ashram, a socio-spiritual movement popular in Haryana state. His sect prohibits temple visits, idol worship, untouchability, adultery and "vulgar singing and dancing", among other things.

According to Rampal, the Hindu trinity along with their parents have misled people into illusion instead of the worship of Sat Purush (the ultimate god). He instead recommends worshipping Kabir as the supreme god. He claims that all the major religious scriptures — including Vedas, Gita, Quran, Bible and Guru Granth — name Kabir as the supreme god. He claims to be a spiritual successor of Kabir, and some of his followers consider him an incarnation of Kabir.

In 2006, Rampal criticised Arya Samaj. This resulted in violent clashes between the followers of two sects, in which an Arya Samaj follower was killed. Rampal was charged with murder, and arrested. After spending several months in jail, he was released on bail in 2008. In November 2014, after he failed to appear in the court multiple times, the court ordered his arrest. However, the presence of thousands of followers, allegedly confined by his aides, prevented the police from arresting him for a few days. He was finally arrested on 19 November 2014.

Rampal may refer to:

People

• Raja Rampal Singh (1849-1909), ruler of Kalakankar estate of Oudh in British India
• Joseph Rampal (1898-1983), French flautist
• Jean-Pierre Rampal (1922-2000), French flautist; son of Joseph Rampal
• Rampal Singh (b. 1930), Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh
• Rampal Singh (b. 1956), Indian politician from Madhya Pradesh
• Rampal (b. 1951), Indian religious leader; also known as Baba Rampal or Sant Rampal
• Arjun Rampal (b. 1972), Indian model and actor

Places

• Rampal Upazila, an upazila (sub-district) of Bagerhat District, Bangladesh
  • Rampal Power Station (Proposed), a proposed 1320 megawatt coal-fired power station in Rampal Upazilla