• Welcome to all New Sikh Philosophy Network Forums!
    Explore Sikh Sikhi Sikhism...
    Sign up Log in

General Management Structure Of Sikh Religion And The Preaching Class

Chaan Pardesi

Writer
SPNer
Oct 4, 2008
428
772
London & Kuala Lumpur
Management structure of Sikh religion and the preaching class.

In the early days the Sikhs became dependent upon the Nirmala and Udasi sadhs for the upkeep, management of Gurduaras and parchar of the Sikh faith. This also included guidance on practice and actions within Gurduaras and Sikh rites. Here is absolutely no denial that this did NOT work in favor of the Sikh religion or the Sikh cause and people in the long run.

The Nirmalas and Udasi mostly got educated from within and by their own little groups or village-based schools. The more one could rant on Gurbani parrot fashion and the more books they read, often blessed from Hinduism, the more 'brahmgyani' they became, so the supporters of these sadhs claim.

It did not matter if the person had no etiquettes or ever properly understood the Gurbani. If anyone of them was lucky enough, then he went on for further education to Vindraban or Kaanshi or Varansi and got educated through the Vedic schools established there by Hindu groups. Most of these came to Damdama Sahib with their newly learnt education.

It must be made absolutely clear that NOT a single Sikh school was operating in Kanshi or Vindraban; it beggars me to try and understand what they were studying there Away from Sikh homeland of Punjab, their education was in Vedic Hindi. Hindu mythological Veds and upanishads were what they studied and sometimes they went on to study Vedant-ayurvedic type herbal healing and medicines.

So, they did NOT study anything about Sikhi. How in the world then did these people come back being authorities on Gurbani and ''brahm gyanis''? Name me one Sikh school where anyone like Kahn Singh Nabha etc. or any other Sikh vidhwaan of the early 20th century, went to study at Kan'shi?

It is no wonder we have become so heavily influenced by brahman rituals and practice and are so confused ourselves that we do not understand the difference between Sikh Gurbani and Hindu Brahmanism.

So how really did the word 'brahmgyani,' so loosely used, come into use? How did it originate? I have asked many to explain, and they have come up with many novel ideas but none makes sense. Some have even suggested that perhaps it is joined from studying Brahmanism and Sikhism, and resulted in Brahmgiani!!! Now that makes sense: that these students were coming out with dual loyalties, as it suited them.

It is claimed that among the Udasis and Nirmala only 'some' were depraved, while others continued Sikhi parchar. Surely continuous attendances at Kaanshi and other Vedic brahman centres must have brought some relative change to their understanding and outlook to life - both Sikh and Hindu. But as they were mostly returning to work within Sikh communities and Gurduaras, the Sikh religion and people were far more affected than the Hindus, who also had the advantage of being the major community, and thus exercise more of their influences over the minority communities, like Sikhs.

But I am not really sure that only 'some' were depraved from Sikhi. I believe a larger number was depraved from Sikhi; and were more influenced by Brahmanism and what ever they had learnt from kaanshi. Thus they adulterated the Sikhs faith with their non Sikh practices.

If only 'some' were depraved, then Sikhs would have no need to have reformist movements like SINGH SABHA or fight for control of their larger Gurduaras from these mahants of the Udasi or Nirmala faith.

These people being from the Brahmanism backed education certainly leaned towards their brahman educational changed practices and saw no harm in introducing these among the Sikhs. Thus we have the problem of the false book dasam potha among us, as they had no means to check it's authenticity nor its origins except by word of mouth and passing on what they had learnt.

But today, after more academic and serious scientific research, it has emerged that not all the contents can be attributed to Guru Gobind Singh ji.The SGPC has said this back in 1933 and so many times there after. But some of the younger generation that has been brain-washed, under the guise of fighting for Sikhi rights and idolising Bhindrawala with an anti India stance, believe that it was indeed written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The worry some issue is that these brahman-oriented groups have the backing of groups that see so much lost in their earnings and money-making machine, if they loose the credibility of this false book to mesmerize the Sikhs!

They have found fools readily available to be easily persuaded in the name of Bhindrawala and Khalistan to follow them blindly.Many of these young do not even understand proper Punjabi, but can rant on the Gurbani that they have been taught, without really understanding the tuks, let alone the language of the dasam potha.

Coming back to the earlier period, these sadhs through their brahmgiani 'knowledge' collected from unsubstantiated and oral-based tradition wrote books like Gur partap parkash, and Suraj parkash, the dasam potha [while they have periodically changed its contents and cover and title]; or from a book called Panth prakash, that was written by a person who was an alcoholic. These were disseminated to the sangats, who have easily become impressed as they do not understand the language anyway. The very few who understood were not able to challenge these so called brahmgyanis...as they only know the little they have learnt. Thus the brahmgiani sadhs prospered on this weakness of the sangat and built great bridges for themselves.

However in the late 50s some education came about the Sikhs, and they soon stopped the discourses of books like Panth prakash and Suraj prakash in the Gurduaras. The move was slowly also enlightening the sangat about the real contents of the next book dasam potha. People had begin to ask how can it be that bani, when most of it talks about Hindu demons, their heavenly fights, sex, lust and stories of love making etc, which cannot be read in the presence of females or family members, be part of the Guru's writings?

Seeing this happening, suddenly there was a movement by those, who wanted to keep this book, to make a determined effort to impose the book upon the sangats. They are utilisng all means, false claims to PHDs, false and blank copies of letter pads stolen from the Akal Takhat, other false letters said to be from Bhai Mani Singh, even though the book came into binding for the first time about 9 years after his shahidi. He had absolutely nothing to do with it except that he was trying to collect the rachna of Guru Gobind Singh ji. It is conceivable that during his collection or after his death, some one may have mischiekvously added some of the Hindu mythological stories to his collection.

Sikhs by large were very uneducated at that time, and dependent upon these Nirmala and Udasi sadhs. They accepted this book without realizing what in reality was in it. Over the years it has been called many names and changed constantly so as to give it the appearance that it was indeed written by Guru Gobind Singh ji.

A thought - the Guru Ji never ever called himself ..SACHE PATSHAH-- but everywhere this is the word used in the dasam potha ..that sache paatshah is now commencing his writings! Consider that none of the Gurus used this term to refer to themselves. They have used m'hala pahela or dooja...etc.It is plausible that someone has added this in such manner as they may have heard the Guru being referred to as sache patsha by the Sikhs and did not know how the Guru Granth was composed!

The other certain fact is many of the contents in the dasam potha are copied from Vedic books of mythology and others are written by poets ram and sham .This is actually claimed by the writers Ram and Sham, themselves; and in many lines they repeatedly say they are NOT Guru Gobind Singh ji writing this book.

The sadh chellas say these were poets in the Guru's court. If they were indeed poets in the Gurus court then how did their writings become bani when Guru Gobind Singh ji specifically asked his own writings to be kept out? He had added Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's ban. What was to stop him from adding his own?

According to factual Sikhl history a very large portion of Gurbani Granths and other historical matter was totally lost during the evacuation of Anandpur sahib; so how did his own survive? They cannot explain that.

The Udasi and Nirmala sadhs, through their worldly denunciatory mentality and saintly dress impressed the common Sikhs of old. People of every class were impressed by these recluses; ascetic persosn since ancient times. Thus they became an easy prey for their false brahman parchar mixed with sikhi.........and this was how the foundation of the structures of preaching laid down amidst confused, rites, rituals not necessarily our own, and sometimes contrary to Gurbani and Sikhi.Instead of the preaching being centred upon the Shabad Gurbani, they have given us false myhthological sakhi -katha bani and mythological stories have been added to the shabad bani, to portray their so called knowledge and slowly but surely to distance us from the Shabad Guru and bani.
 
Last edited:

❤️ CLICK HERE TO JOIN SPN MOBILE PLATFORM

Top