The History Of The Udaseen Samparda

[Singh559]

umm.. Where does sikhitothemax say kirpal dal is "ex" udasi?

This Shabad is by Guru Gobind Singh in Dasam Granth on Pannaa 138

ikRpwl koipXM kuqko sMBwrI ] hTI Kwn h~Xwq ky sIs JwrI ]

au~TI iC~C ie~CM kFw myJ jorM ] mno mwKnM m~tkI kwnH PorM ] 7]

Kirpal Das (an Udasi Prior) held his staff in his hand in a rage, And struck it on the head of the tenacious Hayat Khan.

The blow made the worth watching droplets of the marrow gush out from his skull. It looked like the butter oozing out from the pitcher broken by Lord Krishna.(7)

~~~

Obviously it doesn't say that in Gurmukhi, but they added a note meaning they must have reason to believe Kirpal Das wasn't an Udasi when he fought under Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

[N30S1NGH]

Obviously it doesn't say that in Gurmukhi, but they added a note meaning they must have reason to believe Kirpal Das wasn't an Udasi when he fought under Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

If we soley rely on sikhitothemax for sikhi then god help us..but to tell you truth i am not all that surprised what you expect from ultra tat khalsa revisionist mindset- change history, gurbani meanings to suit their protestant/bhausaria type sikhi..what a joke..!!

[PAL 07]

Sikhi to the max has got a terrible amount of mistakes in

Born 1494 and died 1643 AD at the age of 149 years. Sri Chand studied Sanskrit and himself wrote two books namely

Aarta and Matra Sahib. Aarti has the nature of Aarti which is a special prayer also done in Kirtan form in evenings At temples across India. Here Sri Chand has praised Akal Purakh and his father Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Sri Chand had full respect for Guru Angad Dev Ji and saw in him the light of his father. He would address Guru Angad Dev Ji as "swaroop ji" (Professor Vishan Das, Tawareek Punjab P.105)

Matra Sahib is a very short book of only 78 sentences in which Sri Chand gives his teaching to the world.

[Jonny101]

I don't know if Kirpal Das Jee was an Udasin when he fought under the 10th master, but what a sight it must have been to see him strike Hayat Khan like this that even Guru Jee wrote about this in his Pavitar Bani.

What type of weapon did Kirpal Das Jee use here? was it a mace?

[Singh559]

[PAL 07]

I don't know if Kirpal Das Jee was an Udasin when he fought under the 10th master, but what a sight it must have been to see him strike Hayat Khan like this that even Guru Jee wrote about this in his Pavitar Bani.

What type of weapon did Kirpal Das Jee use here? was it a mace?

No he used a large wooden staff he used to make sukha - since he had no knowledge of shastar vidiya. It is important to note that because he had so much bhagti and introspection (from meditation) he was able to fight in the battle with great valour.

singh559 - i dont know what to say about you, i think you would do great on tapoban forum

[Singh559]

No he used a large wooden staff he used to make sukha - since he had no knowledge of shastar vidiya. It is important to note that because he had so much bhagti and introspection (from meditation) he was able to fight in the battle with great valour.

singh559 - i dont know what to say about you, i think you would do great on tapoban forum

Teeek-yaaaaah I will check it out. Tension aali ki gall a, check karlenee aahhhh.

:lol2:

edit- It seems the mentioned tapoban forum has died. Rest in peace, PAL 07 remembers you and misses you very much.

Source:

http://www.tapoban.o...bforum/list.php

[Singh559]

This isn't from Tapoban.org, but instead is a 3rd person balanced analytic and historical view based on Sikh history and literature on the Udasis and Nirmalas.

In my next post I will attach some interesting ithihaasic pictures contrasting the changing of the Udasis.

The Udasis by Hugh Mcleod

The Earliest of these sects is unquestionably that of the Udasis, though its importance is historic rather than contemporary. Modern sikhism is generally opposed to asceticism and for that reason alone it has little place for the Udasis. This was not always the case. Prior to the period of the Singh Sabha movement (the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries), the Udasi way enjoyed considerable prestige, and under the Sikh rulers of the Punjab its practitioners were recipients of substantial land grants. The eclipse of asceticism in general and of the Udasis in particular reflects the convictions of the Tat Khalsa.

Today one finds few Udasi centres, the yogis of the Udasi way being banished to the outer fringes of the Sikh Panth. Many Sikhs refuse to accept them as their co-religionists.

The Udasis were an ascetic group, claiming descent from Siri Chand (one of Guru Nanak's two sons) and following the path of renunciation (udas). Their austerities, their celibacy and their refusal to acknowledge such practices as keeping their hair uncut made them very different from the Khalsa, but they nevertheless maintained they were Sikhs. Although they recognized the line of ten Gurus from Nanak to Gobind Singh the Udasis were much more interested in the chain of succession, which descended from Siri Chand down to the reigning Mahant (Superior)of the branch they followed. They revered the Adi Granth, imparting to its teachings a distinctly Hindu twist. Like other Sikhs they wrote commentaries on particular portions of the Sikh scripture, together with janam-sakhis and gur-bilas works.

Never uniform in terms of organization or doctrine, the Udasis numbered more than a dozen orders by the end of Sikh rule in 1849. By this tirne they had more than 250 akharas or centres. They were respected by the early Panth, particularly as Gurditta (the eldest son of Guru Hargobind) evidently favoured them. During the eighteenth century they were not targeted by the rulers, as were the orthodox Khalsa, with the result that many gurdwaras evldently passed into their care. Certainly the mahants of the late nineteenth century frequently claimed an Udasi descent, though their lifestyle was by this time very different from that of the traditional Udasis.

Khalsa Sikhs, as we have seen, became increasingly uneasy about Udasi authority over gurdwaras, and during the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the early 1920s all the so-called Udasis were summarily ejected from positions of control.' The turning-point of the campaign came in 1921 when the Mahant of Nankana Sahib (who had declared himself to be an Udasi) caused the massacre of a large group of Akalis, an event that branded all Udasis as the enemies of the true Khalsa. During Singh Sabha days they had been targeted by the Tat Khalsa as prime examples of Hindu influence and are now but the palest shadow of their earlier wealth and power.

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Mahant Anantanad Maharaj of the Udasin Akhara, Amritsar. (Photo courtesy Raghu Rai - "The Sikhs")

The following detailed account of the Udasis has been taken from the book by H.A.Rose - "A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province." written around 1892 AD

Udasi.-Syn. Nanak-putra: the principal religions order of the Sikhs. The Udasis are almost certainly the oldest of the Sikh orders, and trace their foundation to Sri Chand,1 the elder son cf Guru Nanak. 'The term 'Udasi' means a sorrow' or sadness, from Sanskrit Udas, 'sad' and their separation, which has sometimes been wrongly termed excommunication, by the 3rd Guru', Amar Das, is described in Vol.1 under Sikhism. 'this separation is sometimes ascribed to Guru' Arjan.

The Udasi tenets, though largely tinctured with Hindu asceticism, found many proselytes among the descendants and followers of the orthodox Guru's, and Har Gobind,the 6th Guru, bestowed Gurditta,2 his eldest son on Sri Chand. Gurditta had four disciples who founded as many chapters (dhuan) of the order. These were Baba3 Hasan, PhuI4, Gonda5 and Almast 6, whose followers constitute the bara akhara, or senior assembly. Pheru, a disciple of Har Rai, the 7th Guru', established another chapter, called the chhota akhara 7

The Uddasis are celibate, at least in theory, and when so in practice are called Udasi Nanga or' naked.' But Maclagan gives a different explanation of this term as will - be seen from the following extract from his account of the order -" The Udasi's are recruited from all castes and will eat food from any Hindu. They are almost always celibates, and are sometimes,though not usually, congregated in monasteries. They are generally found wandering to and from their sacred p laces, such as Amritsar, Dera Nanak, Kartarpur, and the like. They are said to be numerous in Malwa and in Benares. In our Census returns they appear strongest in Jullundur, Rohtak, and Ferozepnr. It is a mistake to say that they are not generally recognised. as Sikhs ; they pay special reverence to the Adi-granth, but also respect the Granth of Gobind Singh, and attend the same shrines as the Sikhs generally. Their service consists of a ringing of bells and blare of instruments and chanting of hymns and waving of lights before the Adi granth and the picture of Baba Nanak. They are, however, by no means uniform in their customs. Some wear long hair, some wear matted locks, and others cut their hair. Some wear tilaks or caste-marks; others do not. Some burn the dead in the ordinary Hindu way; some after burning erect samadhs or monuments; other, apparently bury the dead. They are for the most part ascetics, but some are said to be engaged in ordinary secular pursuits. The ordinary dress of the ascetics is of a red colour, but a large section of them go entirely naked, except for the waistcloth, and rub ashes over their bodies. These, like the naked sections of other orders1 are known as Nange; they pay special reverence to the ashes with which they smear their bodies, and which are said to protect them equally from either extreme of temperature. Their most binding oath is on a ball of ashes.

In Ludhiana the Udasis are described as mostly Jats by origin, the chela or disciple and successor, being usually chosen from this tribe and are found to be in possession of the dharamsalas in Hindu villages, where they distribute food to such as come for it and read the granth both of Baba Nanak and of Guru Gobind Singh although they do not attach much importance to the latter. The head of the college is called a mahant and the disciples chelas. They live in Sikh as well as in Hindu villages, and it is probably on this account that they do not quite neglect Guru Gobind Singh. They rarely marry; and if they do so, generally lose all influence, for the dharmsala soon becomes a private residence closed to strangers. But in some few families, such as that. of Jaspal Bangar, which keeps a large langar or almshouse going, it has always been the custom to marry, the endowments being large enough to support the family and maintain the institutions; but the eldest son does not in this case succeed as a matter of course. A chela is chosen by the Mahant, or by the family. If a mahant whose predecessors have not married should do so, he would lose all his weight with the people.

The great shrine at Dera Baba Nanak, in the Gurdaspur district is in the custody of a community of Udasi Sadhs, whose mahant used to be appointed with the consent of the Bedis Another shrine at the same place, known as Tahli Sahib, froom a large Tahli or Shisham tree, which grew close to it, was founded by Sri Chand, and is also looked after by mahants of the Udasi order."

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Baba Dharam Chand Ji with his 2 sons Baba Manak Chand and Baba Mehar Chand

Another chapter of the Udasi order, said sometimes to be one of the four dhua'n, is called the Bhagat Bhagwan. Once Bhagatgir, a Sanni-asi going on a pilgrimage to Hinglaj, with a band of disciplea, and visited Baba Nanak's dera on his way. Nanak's grandson, Dharm Chand, poured food into the howl of Bhagatgir, who had asked to be served first, but it was not filled. A pinch of karah prasad, however, given with the words, 'Sri Waheguru', filled the bowl at once. The visitors kept a vigil before the dera and the goddess Hinglaj appeared to them, so that the object of their pilgrimage was attained. Bhagatgir then became Dharm Chand's convert, as did all his followers, under the name of Bhagat Bhagwan. The great akhara of the sect is by the Bibiksar tank at Amritsar, but it also has akharas at Ladda, Bareily, Magla, Rajgiri, Patna and Bihar, with 870 gaddis in Eastern India. The Bhagat Bhagwans wear the Jatta or matted hair, with a chain round the waist, and smear themselves with ashes like Sanniassis. In their belief, and in their rules as to eating and the like they follow Nanak's precepts.

The Sangat Sahib also appears to be a chapter of the Udasi order, though it is not one of the four dhuans. In Sambat 1697 a son was born to Binna, an Uppal Khatri of Ambmari in the pargana of Miske Naur,* between Lahore and Multan. The boy was named Pheru, and in 1713 he became cook to Guru' Har Rai, who taught him and invested him with the seli and topi and sent him as a masand to the Lamma (his native country - simply means WEST) and the Nakka (towards Shahpur) where he made converts. When Guru Govind Singh destroyed the masands, by pouring hot oil on their heads, Sikhs were sent to seize Pheru, but non-dared do so, though he made no resistance. Seizing his own beard Pheru came of his own accord to the Guru' who, seeing his righteousness, gave him half his pagri and seated him by himself, promising that his sect should prosper. The Guru also gave him the title of Sangat Sahib or 'companion of the Guru and sent him back as mesand to the Lamma and Nakka where he made more converts. In 1896: the Sangat Sahib made a travelling akhara like the Udasis. One of their most noted disciples. Santokh Das, worked many miracles, and became an ascetic. This order is also said to be called Bakhahish Sangat Sahib in Patiala, where it is said to pay special reverence to the Adi Granth and to have an akhara of its own, separate from the four dhuans. Other accounts say that the Sangat Sahibia sub-order was founded by one Bhai Bhalu who was a Jat 'merchant' of the Malwa or a carpenter of Amritsar. When unregenerate he was a follower of Sultan Sakhi Sarwar, but was persuaded by Guru Govind Singh to abandon that cult. A large number of Jats, carpenters and Lohars are said to belong to this suborder. Besides a Gurdwara in Lahore it holds the Brahmbhut akhara at Amritsar.

Another Udasi suborder is that of the Ramdas Udasis. Its founda-tion is ascribed to Gurditta (not the eldest son of Guru Hargobind but a grandson of Baba Bandha, one of Baba Nanak's converts ?). Gurditta was established by Guru Amardeo (?Amardas) on a gaddi at Ramdas, in the Ajnala tehsil of Amritsar, where there is a fine temple. The suborder also has deras at Nawekot, Muradabad and elsewhere.

The Hiradasis of our Censas returns appear to be either named after a Mochi who joined the order or after a Bairagi saint of the Muzaffar-garh district.

Each subdivision of the Udasis has a complete organisation for collect-ing and spending money, and is presided over by a principal mahant called Sri Mahant, with subordinate mahants under him.

1. Malcolm says Dharm Chand, clearly an error.

2. On a hill near Rawalpindi lived Budhan Shah, a Muhammadan faqir, to whom Baba Nanak had entrusted some milk till his successor should come to claim it. Seeing Gurditta approaching Budhan Shah begged him to assume Nanak's form. This Gurditta did and thereby earned the title and dignity of Baba: Maclagan, . He lived mainly at Kartarpur but died at Kiratpur where he has a handsome shrine. From another shrine there, called the Manji Sahib he is said to have shot an arrow which fell in the plain below at a place called Patalpuri., long used as a burning ground for the Sodhi Khatris.

3. Baba Hasna's shrine is at Charankaul, near Anandpur.

4. Phul Sahib's shrines are at Bahdurpur and Chinighat in Hoshiarpur.

5. Gonda Sahib is represented at Shikarpur in Sind and at the Sangalwala Gurdwara in Amritsar.

6, Almast Sahib is represented at Jagannath and Naini Tal: Maclagan, § 90.

7. This appears to be the Sangat Sahib.

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Sri 108 Mahant Bhagat Ram of dera Dharam Das Ji Maharaj - village Bara Pind, Jalandhar. He installed this sculptor of Baba Siri Chand (BELOW)in 1921. This sculptor is over 112 years old.

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Baba Sri Chand

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Sri 108 Mahant Baba Ghanshyam Das Ji

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Sri 1008 Nirban Pritam Das Ji Maharaj of Akhara Sangal Wala, Amritsar

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Mahan Kavi Sant Rein who wrote 'Guru Nanak Vijay Granth', the 3rd edition has been printed by Bhasha Vibhag, Punjab.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article is given with courtesy of H. McLeod

The Nirmalasa, like the Udasis, commanded considerable influence under the Sikh rulers of the Punjab, but unlike them they have been able to preserve at least a measure of that earlier respect. By tradition the Nirmala order was founded by Guru Gobind Singh, who dispatched five Sikhs to learn Sanskrit. This is highly improbable, and the Nirmala order is scarcely mentioned in Sikh literature until the late eighteenth century. At that time the references rapidly multiply, largely in land grants and religious endowments made by Sikh rulers.

During the first four decades of the nineteenth century, the Nirmalas continued to prosper under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. As with the Udasis their centres were known as 'akharas', each headed by a mahant. Each akhara would accommodate varying numbers of celibate Nirmalas initiated by the mahant. Within it their time would be occupied in meditation, yoga and scriptural study. The books they were required to study would obviously include the Adi Granth, but they also spent much time on such Hindu works as the Vedas, the Shastras, Puranas and the Epics.

Although the Nirmalas are accepted as a part of the Panth, ascetic discipline and the strongly Hindu nature of their study deviate sharply from the teachings of the Tat Khalsa. Members of the order wear saffron robes and observe celibacy, and the teachings they receive and impart are strongly Vedantic. As itinerant preachers, they did much to commend Sikh teachings beyond the Punjab (particularly in such centres of Hindu pilgrimage as Hardwar and Allahabad), and although some of their doctrines met with strong disapproval from Khalsa, they were regarded cordially by Sanatan Sikhs. In the controversies that enlivened Singh Sabha days, their fortunes declined with those of the Sanatan Sikhs, but never to the point of being totally eclipsed. They still exercise some influence within the Panth particularly in the Patiala area.

Prominent writers like Bhai Santokh Singh, Tara Singh Narottam and Giani Gian Singh Ji were from this sect (Kanwal)

[Only five]

REHAT

sMinAwsI bYrwgI jyvY AOr audwsI XogI qyvY jMgm vwmI Avr ju koeI qW kw jUTw kbI n lyeI ]

sa(n)niaasee bairaagee jaevai aar oudhaasee yogee thaevai ja(n)gam vaamee avar j koee thaa(n) kaa joot(h)aa kabee n laeee ||

Hermits, renouncers, Udhasis and Yogis; Celibates and other sects and faiths; never eat from the same plate.

Rehatnama Bhai Nand Laal Jee

http://sikhitothemax.com/Rehat.asp?ID=33

[Singh559]

(2) Dharam Chand, son of Baba Sri Chand and grandson of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji

(1)/(3) 1862 photograph of Udasees signifying the cutting of/shaving and the clothing sense that McLeod is probably referring to that they became highly unpopular and even more alienated from Sikhs.

(4)Modern day mahant udasis

(5)Modern day mahant udasis

(6) Modern day mahant udasis.

Interesting evolution and devolution or whatever you want to call it of the Udasees. After the Singhs in the early 20th century kicked out the mahants from the Gurudwaras for bringing dancing girls and alcohol into Gurudwaras, it is interesting to see how they evolved into adopting the Sikh saroop. Why is this?

It's very evident that many "Sants" and Sikh leaders with close ties to Badal have very sanatan Sikh views that Sant Singh Ji Maskeen mentions many times in his katha.