valli singh

Vikramjit, Akali Nihang Baba Kaladhari is not part of the Niddar Singh sect, in fact he effectualy pre-dated the formation of this sect by many decades. The Niddar Singh sect is the only group I've ever heard who called Guru Nanak, Akal Nihang Guru Nanak, and while it may not be wrong, I can understand why it is unsettling to some. Sanatan Sikhism whether we like it or not is what existed before the British loyalists started the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha, this is unequivocal and has been verified by objective scholars of the past and present. Akali Nihang Singhs are not a sect--they are the original form of the Khalsa as created by Guru Gobind Singh--read Pracheen Panth Prakash when the Baisaki ceremony is described, the form given to the Khalsa is that of Nihangs consisted of chakra discs on the turban with miniature kirpans and dastar boongas etc, or listen to the kathas of Baba Nihal Singh ji, he explains it very well. The Sanatan Singh Sabha was established in 1873--it's leaders were all amritdharis, they did alot of good to counter Arya Samajist propaganda and to curb the Christian conversions of Sikhs as well as to print Sikh Literature on a wide scale using new technologies, some Nihangs did support this Sabha, but if you have a problem with them I don't know who to tell you to talk to, because this Singh Sabha has been defunct since the 1890's--it no longer exists, and Baba Kaladhari had no connection to it, and since it's origin is 1873--'Akali Nihang' as an expression of reverence pre-dates it by more than a century as this term was even used in the times of Dasam Pitaji, 'Akali' was used to refer to the soldiers of Guru Hargobind Sahib ji also. It seems to me that you have unknowingly conflated the ideologies of the Niddar Singh sect which has it's origins in the 1990s with earlier dogmas that were once prevalent but are now largely defunct.

Brother there is no such maryada anywhere--this is a complete Neo-Sikh, SGPC innovation, In real Sikhi prem is what's important, The same thing actually happened here, what happened was a mona Sikh was doing chor seva and a granthi came and told him to stop, well there was a sant there just getting off the stage and he saw what was going on and he said to the granthi "why are you stopping him from doing chor seva?" the granthi said "he is a mona, he doesn't keep the rehit, he has no right to do anything here" the sant responded "well then why didn't you stop him from mahatekking money then? It's the same love with which he bowed the money is the same love with which he is waving the chor, who are you to try and quantify his love?"

Vikramjit, You are obviously mistaken, The prefixes 'Akali Nihang Baba' were used long before Niddar Singh, was Akali Phoola Singh ji Hindu-influenced? In Gurbilas Pathshiah Dasvin Guru Gobind Singh refers to himself as a Nihang. In the early 1900's Akali Nihang Baba Mitt Singh ji had his name written down as such and he had nothing to do with Hinduism other then saving them from Muslims.

Unfortunately not yet, But if you go to Hazur Sahib you might be able to get a small booklet on Baba Mitt Singh ji/Baba Dharam Singh ji.

I agree Traveller, As I stated before, the only organization I have seen where this is an issue has been with the AKJ at Gurdwaras where they have a sizeable majority, I have never seen this elsewhere, if people are making such problems that is un-Sikh and not right, if it gets too bad just go to a Nanaksar Gurdwara, I know they don't care about people's appearences on the stage. a patit is an Amritdhari Sikh who commits a Bujjhar Kuriet i.e he breaks his Amrit by cutting his hair and he does not rejoin the Panth by doing pesh, such a person is basically an outcaste, but if they do pesh and accept the tankyia seva given to them and re-take their vows, they can again become Amritdhari.

When I wrote that I knew someone would question it, Bhaji, In Chaupa Singh Rehitnama under the Guru Granth Sahib protocal section, the last line reads: "a woman should never read the Granth Sahib in any Sikh assembly". No self-respecting purataan jathebandi would disregard this.

LOL, we do, and there seem to be many in our generation who have risen above the petty squabbles of our elders and the golak-gorging of many so-called 'parbandaks'

Eternal Glory of Baba Nand Singh ji Partap Singh Lifestories of Great Sikh Saints Hakam Singh

Interesting! I'd love to know more about them, though I'm sure information would be scarce.

Anyways, We seem to have gone way off topic, the 'Seli Topi' question was only brought up to show that early Sikhs did not have as distinctive a dress as they do today and thus they would not have been incessantly squabbling over who can sit on the stage and who cannot. The only 'group' I have seen that absolutely opposses anyone who is not Amritdhari on stage is the AKJ and more radical elements like the Kala Afghanists etc. But even then, these are post-Sigh Sabha institutions and not Sampardais with lineages from the Gurus and so this discrepancy is understandable.

Yes it is a touchy and controversial topic, my personal belief is that the early Gurus wore a mixture of Seli Topis and different style Dastaars, this can be evidenced from early paintings, artwork etc. Guru Hargobind Sahib seems to have been the first to unequivocally rejected the Seli Topi in favor for a Dastaar, the Bedi Sampardai originally kept the original form of Guru Nanak until the time of the Tenth Master, and again, it seems to be a matter of revisionism to reject that Seli Topis were worn by the first five Gurus from time to time. After all it was the SGPC who effectively banned and destroyed Sobha Singh's painting of Sri Guru Nanak Dev wearing a Seli Topi.

The other great question raised by Aparadheeji regarded the dufferences between doing kirtan and Akhand Paaths in Maharaj's Darbar; I see these as being two different things, historically there was no maryada for kirtan, I have read accounts in Asiatic Research journals which pre-date the Singh Sabha movement and they do record instances or travelling groups of Muslim singers, Sufis, etc performing songs at historical Gurdwaras, this is also true of Guru Gobind Singh's Darbar. Kirtan is devotional singing, I'd say anyone who has love for God should be able to perform as long as they are an upstanding citizen, religious, respectful and don't have a subversive agenda--regardless of whether they are sehajdhari, non-Sikh etc. Akhand Paaths are the most sacred practise in our religion, in Khalsa institutions there are strict restrictions on who can perform them, in puratan maryada--rehitnamas etc, even a Sikh woman is not permitted to sit on the throne with Guru Granth Sahib ji, so I don't see why a non-Sikh would be able to, as I said I am unsure of the practises in Nirmala Sampardai etc, though I suspect that a Keshdhari/Amritdhari (one who has taken khande pahul or charan pahul) alone would be allowed, because I have seen this at Johlan, Hoti Mardan, Nanaksaar and Rara Sahib but I don't know about elsewhere.

Good points Aparadheeji, and Sunny Bond Singhji though I don't think that the dastaar/dhari appearence was really a prevalent marker in the Panth before Dasam Pita, one can look at the story of the Ninth Guru's shaheedi and how the Sikh told Guruji that he couldn't tell who was a Sikh and who was not. Also in my researches I have found that the first five Gurus seem to have worn Seli Topis and thus the dastar would have been unlikely for their followers. The points I would like to address are the excelent questions Aparadheeji brought up about an Akhand Paath, Now my position is that in any Khalsa institution i.e Nihang Singh Dals, Sachkhand Hazur Sahib, Damdami Taksal--ONLY Amritdhari men can perform an Akhand Paath, I think that that should be unequivocal and fair. My question to the sangat is what is the maryada in other institutions i.e Nanaksaar, Nirmalay Sampardai, Udasi Sampardai regarding who may perform Akhand Paaths?

True, I'd say a non-amritdhari Sikh who has love for God, believes in SGGS and the Ten Gurus, and abstains from bad practises should be allowed to do kirtan as they have not become patits by reason of their not yet having chakked amrit, they have not formally been administered the laws of bujjar kuriets--but they should be Sikhs in good standing in the community, and if they are non-Sikhs they should be high-caliber religious folks, not just anyone. And as regards the Bhagats, whether or not they or someone had charan amrit, I just can't see Guru Nanak or any of the other Gurus denying people access to the stage on that basis alone--because there wouldn't have been an appearence-based signifier as there is now to differentiate between people. Which brings me back to my main point that this discrimination against non-amritdharis is largely a recent phenomenon i.e an SGPC-related construction and not a Guru-Ordained ordinance.

Babaji was a great Leader of the Sikh Nation, After the death of Jathedar Baba Teja Singh, it was uncertain who the next Jathedar would be and the Punj Pyare of Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa travelled to Hazur Sahib and went to the holy feet of Sriman Baba Mitt Singh ji--who was the greatest Nihang Saint of all time. The God-Conscious Baba Mitt Singh ji smiled and stated to the Five Beloved Ones that "If Baba Kaladhari agrees to uphold the tradition of Dusshera--Sri Akal Purakh will preserve him by crowning him our next Jathedar" Upon hearing this the sangat broke out in jaikaras and Baba Kaladhari duly accepted the mantle of leadership and agreed to reinstate the tradition of Dusshera. Babaji was also the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, (as it was the tradition since the Guru's time that Buddha Dal be given the seva of Akal Takht) The British however, were frightened by the control and authority held by the Nihangs at Darbar Sahib, they sought to overthrow this stranglehold of power and thus they created the SGPC to wrest control of the gurdwaras from Buddha Dal, Babaji was attacked by a band of SGPC/British and the Nihangs were removed from power (at this time there were hardly any Nihangs in the Punjab due to British policy). In around 1929, Babaji refused the British law of the land that no Sikh could bear arms, he and his jatha were imprisoned for years by the British and he fought in court for the Sikh right to wear kirpans and follow their traditions. Under Babaji's leadership Buddha Dal grew very greatly as the Singhs began to return to the Punjab, Baba Chet Singh and Baba Santa Singh succeded him followed by Jathedar Joginder Singh and Jathedar Surjit Singh today.

I agree completely Brother, Of course only an Amritdhari can do Akhand Paaths, and a patit--Amritdhari who breaks Amrit--cannot do kirtan, though I cannot see any precedent from Sikh History that would infringe upon sehajdharis or even non-Sikhs from doing kirtan and voicing their love for God, I mean that would be like saying if the Bhagats were alive today--we would not allow them to sit on the stage and do kirtan!

DSH ji, There are four offical Dals as has been described already, I think you are more interested in the various subdivisions which exist in widespread formations across the Punjab and Maharastra. For example, Tarna Dal has many 'chaunnis' or cantonments in different places, each such encampment has it's own sub-jathedar or regional leader, and thus there is Baba Bakala which was under Baba Kirtan Singh, Harianvela under Baba Nihal Singh, Baba Sangat Singh chaunni, Kyala Wale cantonment and another chaunni under Baba Ram Singh, plus many other smaller groups--all of these are within Tarna Dal, I think there are now as many as thirteen such divisions in Tarna Dal if my memory serves me correctly. There are also other smaller groups like the Rangretta Nihangs, there are many chaunnis around Hazur Sahib as well.

Excellent posts by Traveller and Sunny Bond Singh ji, The SGPC 'maryada' is a contrivance of the 1920's-40's under British rule, it has no bearing or binding upon Sikhs whatsoever, how can a British-created political body have any justification to say that they are formulating a Code of Conduct for the Sikhs thereby over-riding centuries of Guru-Ordained Tradition. Even objective Western scholars like Mcleod have scoffed at the SGPC's revisionistic gall as evidenced in their expurgation of Rehitnamas and arbitrary insertions of Bhasauria-speak into their codified effort. And before anybody says "but Sri Akal Takht Sahib said..." Please don't be so gullible as to accept the present day's condition as being indicative of history. Kindly read the pre-British history of Akal Takht and who controlled it since it's inception (Baba Buddha Dal Akalis). If the SGPC passes a Code of Conduct and the SGPC-Controlled Akal Takht approves and promotes it is there any real valid authenticity to such a sham proceeding? Even Vedanti has publically stated that politics have embezelled Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and more importantly that the SGPC cannot be seen to unbiasedly represent Sikhs--meaning it is compromised by its rampant politicization and corruption.

The body has nine doors or openings into the outer world i.e eyes, ears, nose, mouth etc... when these are 'open', meaning when we are immersed in the outer perceptions of physical reality, our bodies have a constant flow of mental/physical energy outwards and inwards. now through meditation, we close our eyes, still our minds and bodies because we are trying to keep that mental/physical energy inside, we are trying to close those nine doors, because by doing so the 'tenth door' shall open. the tenth door is the breath gate, it is the highest chakra or energy center in the body it is also called the third eye and is in the area of the pineal gland in the brain at the point above and between the two eyebrows, it is the point that the soul leaves the body at death and thus it leads to heavenly vision. Sikhism forbids meditation on the lower chakras, the tenth gate is the starting point for Sikhs, it is the final goal for Hindus. the shabd-dhun or spiritual sound vibrates from Sach Khand, directly from Akal Purukh, this spiritual sound can be heard in meditation at the tenth gate when one reaches that high stage and at that point, the soul envisions the light of God within and tastes the nectar of the Lord--this is the begining of brahmgyan.

From www.nihangsingh.org: Baba Sohan Singh ji (1904-1975) From the times of the great Guru Hargobind Sahib who raised the Timeless Temple (Akal Takht) and formally began the sentry of the Knights of God much prominence was given to his brave disciple Baba Bidhi Chand who would come to head his own spiritual lineage of enlightened seers for untold centuries. Thus it is with great pleasure that we present the spiritual biography of one noble successor to that royal seat of Bidhi Chand ji—in Baba Sohan Singh ji. Baba Sohan Singh ji was born at Sur Singh, Amritsar in 1904 to Baba Natha Singh who was the 9th head of the Bidhi Chand Sampardai and his pious wife Mata Chand Kaur . From an early age Babaji possessed a finely developed sense of spiritual intuition and was drawn strongly towards the Sikh religious assembly. In fact he spent much of his time infatuated with reciting the Words of God and in serving the holy congregation with body, mind and spirit. As Baba Sohan Singh ji developed into a young man he impressed all who beheld him with his gracious manner and truthful mien, and, after taking the baptism of the double-edged sword he strictly upheld the Sikh code of conduct (rehit) and greatly progressed in his daily meditations to the point that his great father was thoroughly content with bestowing the prestige of the royal seat of the Bidhi Chand Sampardai upon him as well as entrusting all of its responsibilities unto him, and thus Baba Sohan Singh ji was formally appointed as the 10th abbot of this illustrious lineage of saintly warriors. Indeed it was the maintenance and progression of this warrior tradition within the Sampardai's lineage which was especially dear to Babaji's heart, and it was thus that he instructed his fellows to bear arms and practice horsemanship so as to uphold the valorous ways of Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj. To further this cherished aim, Babaji submitted his request to the Jathedar of Buddha Dal so as to formalize the Bidhi Chand Sampardai, which was then mainly a devotional institution into a full-fledged battalion. This appeal was fully accepted by Buddha Dal and thus it was in 1929 at the divine anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Maharaj at Nanakana Sahib that Jathedar Baba Sohan Singh ji lead his troupe of spiritual warriors into the festivities shining in full martial glory with battle drums thundering and blue standards waving while knights mounted on stately steeds promenaded and spread the soldierly spirit amongst the gathering throngs. It was here during this warlike spectacle that the Baba Bidhi Chand Sampardai formally became The Baba Bidhi Chand Dal—a divine battalion of the Knights of God. Baba Sohan Singh ji further requested at the holy feet of Guru Nanak Sahib ji that his battalion would remain nomadic (chakarvatee) throughout India and the Punjab so as to do missionary work and preach the gospel of the gurus in areas previously untrodden by Sikh preachers, thus the Dal sent many priests on horseback far and wide to do martial displays of swordsmanship, to sing holy hymns and to teach the reading of the guru's words to the village people across India. Indeed many people would flock to the battalion's basecamp to be administered the baptismal rites of the sword. The daily routine in the battalion at Bidhi Chand would begin with the thundering of the battle drums at two o'clock in the morning after which the Singhs would arise, have a bath and read their daily liturgy, and following the five compositions of the Nitnem, Sukhmani Sahib, Akal Ustat and Asa Di // singing would be performed followed by a continuous explication on the Guru Granth Sahib after which ardas would take place. During the day the langar would remain available for all to take their meals and in the evenings more communal singing of hymns, Rehras Sahib and Arti Arta would be performed and ardas followed by teachings from the Suraj Partap Granth. This daily ritual of spiritual cleansing continues to this day within Bidhi Chand Dal. Whenever any traditional celebration arose such as Dusshera at Hazur Sahib or, Hola Mohalla at Anandpur, Babaji and his Dal would arrive in high spirits and all royal splendor to display their swordsmanship and horsemanship in mock battles and demonstrations. Afterwards they would return to their basecamp and resume their spiritual devotions and recitations of scriptures with such fervor that many locals would flock to the campsite so inspired that they accepted baptism from the Dal. In 1934 Baba Sahib Singh Kaladhari, the Jathedar of Buddha Dal was wrongfully imprisoned by the authoritarian British regime due to his insistence on a strict reliance on the Khalsa rehit regarding kirpan size. When his Dal also refused to comply with the foreigners they too were imprisoned much to the chagrin of true patriots like Baba Sohan Singh ji. For, word reached Bidhi Chand Dal that Baba Sahib Singh and his Dal would not eat because the British refused them a bibeki langar, thus, Baba Sohan Singh ji took it upon himself to travel to the prison and there provide a full bibeki langar for the Singhs. His devotion was so great that even when his brother traveled to inform him that his own wife had passed away during his exodus, Baba Sohan Singh ji was unmoved and he firmly told his brother that he would not leave until he had fully performed the service of the Khalsa Panth. True to his word,Babaji remained with Baba Kaladhari the whole time the Singhs were imprisoned. In 1942 Babaji and his Dal traveled to Harimandir Sahib and after immersion themselves in ishnaan, they did ardaas at Sri Akal Takht that their impending trip to Hazur Sahib would be successful, after which they embarked—walking the whole way. On this excursion Bidhi Chand Dal did much parchar and seva in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Mudh Pradesh and Hyderabad as well as many untrodden villages of the Punjab. Meeting many loyal Singhs in these places and inspiring many more they arrived with blazing glory in Hazur Sahib with their battle drums thundering and fluttering standards, here they did ardaas, after which Babaji had two gigantic iron vessels filled with Sukhnidhan and distributed amongst the sangat. The Hazoori Sikhs displayed much heartfelt affection towards Babaji and his Dal due to their frugal and spirited ways which caused them to remain at Hazur Sahib for a whole year before returning to the Punjab. Many years later Babaji and his Dal would again embark on a trek from the Punjab to Hazur Sahib on foot. In the reformational times that Babaji lived, he tried his utmost to uphold the ancient traditions in the face of obliterative change in the Panth by negative elements. His saintly radiance was so far-reachingly recognized that many great Mahapurukhs flocked to his standard to stand firm on issues affecting the Panth such as the changing of mangals and the raagmala issue. Some of the sants who enjoyed warm relations with Babaji were Baba Mitt Singh ji Nihang, Baba Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale, Baba Ishar Singh, Baba Nand Singh ji and Baba Jawala Singh ji amongst many others. As the year 1975 approached, Babaji's health was marred by a sharp decline though he was always in high spirits. Many prominent Sikhs traveled from far and wide to pay their respects to the ailing chieftain such as Sant Kartar Singh ji who flew in from Bombay. One day when it was clear that his end was imminent, Babaji formally proclaimed that his son Daya Singh would head the Dal as it's 11th chieftain in his absence. And on the 21st of March 1975 he passed away, but not before performing his daily schedule as an inspiration to others of arising at 2 am, bathing and immersing his consciousness in the divine. As his final moments approached, Babaji recited the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji to the sangat, that they must meditate on the primal spirit, live righteously and share their wealth with others, and with his last breaths he exclaimed "Wahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Wahiguru ji ki Fateh" before departing his mortal frame for the heavenly abode. Talk to 'Akali Nihang Baba Wadbhag Singh' he is a Bidhi Chand farladhari who lives in Sursingh, I believe he has a Youtube account and he speaks English. He is of Indo-Chinese descent and does great Raag kirtan.

Achaji bhaji, You are right, Macauliffe has mentioned this sakhi at the end of his book, It's great to see topics like this where we are all united to denounce anti-panthic scum such as this.

How could he say such a shameful thing about Sahib Ajit Singh ji, that he was disgraced in such a way? There is no precedent whatsoever for such mindless talk.

Maya comes from Kal and not Akal, This notion comes from Kabir Sahib's Anurag Sagar which explains quite clearly the mythological origins of Maya, and it's affinity to Kal or 'the Devil' for lack of a better word.

There are many, many Indian people, especially Sikhs who intuitively possess such capabilities through meditation and such; but by and large and in accordance with our faith they would never display such capacities to others for research or any other distinction as it is completely against Sikhism to display miraculous powers, in our Religion occult powers and psychism are seen to be obstacles to attaining divine knowledge--and thus they are things to be shunned and discarded by true seekers of God. If you go to India you will undoutably find many such showoffish people who will display such abilities openly.

Brother, these false 'facts' you have labelled to be blasphemies all have one source, it is a now defunct publication of the 1800's called 'Khalsa Akhbar', and guess what, it was started by a disgruntled former employee of Baba Khem Singh Bedi and thus, one of it's chief aims was to spread rumors and innuendo against Baba Khem Singh Bedi, Baba Khem Singh Bedi actually successfully sued this newspaper for libel and slander. And thus all you've written is mere impassioned hearsay which is just about as hollow as both your weak arguments and moral resolve have proven to be thus far. How could there be a link between Baba Khen Singh Bedi and Arya Samaj when he not only vehemently wrote against them, campaigned against them, preached against them, academically refuted them, and pubically bankrolled a pulpet body to oppose them through the circulation of leaflets, flyers and pamphleteering? Even objective Western sources have confirmed this. And by the way, I must remind you of the one cardinal blasphemy you failed to include and for which you will answer for in the hereafter: slandering a saint and descendent of Guru Nanak,