Oldest Surviving Rehat Manuscript (1718/1719 Ad)

[Guest Akirtghan]

ਮਿਟੇਂ ਵੇਦ ਸ਼ਾਸਤ੍ਰ ਅਠਾਰਾਂ ਪੁਰਾਨਾ । ਮਿਟੇਂ ਬਾਂਗ ਸਲਵਾਤ ਸੁੰਨਤ ਕੁਰਾਨਾਂ ।

That all Vedas, Shashtras and Puranas to be destroyed. Destroy prayer call, circumcision and Quran.

there is a bindi on ਮਿਟੇਂ . now, i maybe totally off here, but doesn't that mean that the shastaras and puranaas etc, will be destroyed. the translation seems to say something else.

[jassa]

They are clearly mentioned in Bhatt Vahis and account written by Bhai Jeevan Singh. Both were written before 1718. Vaar 41 of Bhai Gurdas Singh Ji also mentions rehat and kakkars.

first of all bhai gurdas ji had only 40 vaars !!!! secondly why reference from only bhatt vahids is acceptable as reference and not others !!!!

u need a broad mind to study sikh history and rehat mareyada .... ....

[dalsingh101]

Bhai Gurdas passed away during the time of Guru Hargobind I'm sure. how could he write anything about the Khalsa rahit?

[Guest Akirtghan]

there were 2 bhai gurdaas jee. during time of guru guru gobind singh jee, one was called bhai gurdaas singh.

[dalsingh101]

How did his writings get mixed up in the original Bhai Gurdas's vars?

[Guest Akirtghan]

i dont think they did. bijla singh might be able to put more light on the issue.

the original bhai gurdaas sahib jee, wrote 40 vaars i believe.

[B4ND4]

They are clearly mentioned in Bhatt Vahis and account written by Bhai Jeevan Singh. Both were written before 1718. Vaar 41 of Bhai Gurdas Singh Ji also mentions rehat and kakkars.

Bijla Singh veer this is the 2nd time you have mentioned Vaar 41. Could you please explain more about Vaar 41 and is it available online somewhere?

Just googled vaar 41 and got this >>> http://www.sikhreview.org/june2002/scripture.htm

[dalsingh101]

Most of the above rehat contains nothing surprising given the situation at the time (Banda period). Of all the rehats translations I have read, the above is the least controversial one.

I think Bilja mentioned the Chaupa Singh rehat. This was written by a Bahman and has all sorts of weird stuff in it. The earliest one is dated to the middle part of the 1700s..a good 50 years after pita jis passing. This original was lost in 1984 (in was in the reference library) but thankfully a copy had been made before. The rehat really pushes for special considerations for Brahmans.

[Bijla Singh]

I have already stated that Vaar 41 is by Bhai Gurdas Singh Ji. I don't know why some people are not reading the word "Singh". This Vaar is the one with "Wah Wah Gobind Singh..." and starts with "Har Sachay Takhat..". Even Vaars of Bhai Gurdas Ji mention much of the rehat practiced before 1699 such as keeping kes, waking up at Amrit vela, doing naam abhiyaas, going to sangat, and taking charan amrit etc. Vaars have not been tampered with but rehatnamas have been such as Chaupa Singh, Desa Singh etc but my point was that we can easily distinguish what is gurmat and what is not. Sooraj Parkash also has anti-Sikhi elements but the entire granth cannot be rejected. In the say way rehatnamas cannot be rejected entirely. Tankhanama of Bhai Nand Singh also exists today.

The reason I mention Bhatt Vahis is because they are from the time of Guru Sahib and make it clear that Guru Sahib used to give charan amrit and hukam to keep kes before 1699. I have also mentioned account of Bhai Jeevan Singh Ji which not only illustrates how Amrit was prepared but what banis were recited. It also mentions five kakkars. There also exists Soochak Parsang Guru Ka written by Bhai Behlo Ji during Guru Arjan Sahib's time and a Tawareekh written during Guru Gobind Singh Ji's time. I have not read these two granths myself but have read that Tawareekh talks about Amrit, rehat, kakkars and even women taking Khanday Ki Pahul. These are widely available to Sikhs today.

I am not rejecting the manuscript as not every document has all the details but it has not been mentioned by any scholar nor do we have any information on its authenticity, original writer and history. We need to have more details and original text available so we all can study it and get some knowledge. Not mentioning kakkars doesn't mean there were no kakkars or rehat we have today did not exist back then. We have many books available that predate 1718 so this on should be available also. I don't know why this was missed out by Ganda Singh, Karam Singh, Ashok and other scholars.

[dalsingh101]

Bilja

I'm not surprised that scholars have missed various documents. I mean look at how many there were in the reference library that were never studied or analysed. Our people have only started serious historic studies relatively recently (I consider Ganda Singh to be the father of modern Sikh history studies).

But don't get me wrong I am not making any assumption on the kakkars, Sikhs were probably wearing them all from the beginning but they may not have had the specific name "panj kakkar". I know the oldest picture of Singhs painted by some french man has the Singh looking like we would expect them including a katchera, kara and weapons.

Those sources you have mentioned, bhatt vahis, the bhai Jeevan thing etc. are also manuscripts that have yet to be seriously studied and analysed. If they are provable then one wonders why they haven't been used openly to counter arguments against kakkars.

But you are right, in that the document I posted does need further research. One wonders why Sikh scholars are so slow at this. The manuscript has now been known for at least 6 years and no Sikhs have produced anything about it!! For your information it is called MS770.

Plus I don't think there are loads of documents for the immediate post 1699 period. As far as i know the main ones known are Sainpati's Gursobha and Parchian Sewa Das Ki. On top there are various hukum namas from the period but mainly these contain requests for resources such as animals, weapons and gold from various sangats. If this manuscript (MS770) is verified then it adds to the little material available from the period. Also one should be careful of forgeries and fakes which simply reinforce that what we wish to believe. The simple fact is that post Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the majority of the Khalsa were uneducated warriors from agricultural backgrounds who wouldn't really be concerned with written works as most aren't to this day (in the villages back home).