Nanaksar Sampraday (school) of Sikhism ----Origin, past and present---part 1
Nanaksar Sampraday (School) of Sikhism
Baba Nand Singh (Punjabi ਬਾਬਾ ਨੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ (1870-1943) was an
ascetic Sikh sage. He was born in village Sherpur in the district of Ludhiana
in Indian state of Punjab in the year 1870. He remained immersed in Lord’s name
since his child hood. As a young man he
for some time engaged in his hereditary profession of carpentry but soon he
realised that this was not his calling and God had willed him to engage in the
noblest job of preaching his name, as the Gurubani (Sikh Hymns from Sri Guru
Granth Sahib (SGGS)) says “Aap japahu avrahi nam japavahu” meaning Meditate on
His name and persuade others to do the same. He started on the path of God
realisation in all earnestness thereafter. He had immense faith in Sri Guru
Granhth Sahib which is not only a holy book of the Sikhs but was ordained to be
the living Guru after Guru Gobind Singh the tenth Guru of the Sikhs
discontinued the system of corporal gurus that had existed uninterrupted for
239 years producing in all ten Gurus. Guru ordained thus in the year 1708 as he
prepared to depart to his heavenly abode.
ਆਗਿਆ ਭਈ ਅਕਾਲ ਕੀ ਤਬੈ ਚਲਾਯੋ ਪੰਥ
ਸਬ ਸਿਖਨ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਿਓ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ
ਗ਼ੁਰੁ ਗ਼੍ਰੰਥ ਜੀ ਮਾਨਿਓ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਗੁਰੂ ਕੀ ਦੇਹ
ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਕੋ ਮਿਲਬੋ ਚਹੈ ਖੋਜ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਮੈ ਲੇ
The Panth was created as ordained
by the Lord
Accept Granth as Guru, this is my
command
Treat Granth as Guru’s living
body
Those who want to merge with the
almighty
Shall find the path
In the Guru’s word and thought.
Baba Nand Singh meditated
intensely and once while praying and meditating
in the presence of SGGS at Gurudwara Saragarhi in Ferozepur, he was blessed with the holy sight of Guru Nanak Dev the
founder of Sikh faith. After attaining self –realization, he established his
abode at Nanaksar Kaleran in Punab and proceeded to preach the message of
Sikhism as contained in SGGS and toured many places and baptized thousands of
Sikhs initiating them in the order of Khalsa. What made him stand apart was his
emphasis on worship of SGGS as a living Guru as ordained by the tenth master.
He supervised the preparation of beautiful paintings of Guru Nanak Dev. He also
reintroduced the tradition of samput path (repetition of a hymn or name of the
Lord at given intervals while reading scriptures) among the Sikhs perhaps
influenced by the Nirmala saints, the ascendants of a Sikh sect blessed by the
Guru Gobind Singh himself which initially consisted of people sent to Kashi by
him to learn Sanskrit for translating old classics into Bhasha or modern
languages. Over time they developed into a separate sect and established their
own asharms to follow the pursuits as ordained by the Guru .Baba Nand Singh’s
spiritual guide, Baba Harnam Singh of Bhuchho belonged to the said sect.
Further, he introduced the system
of Bhog or offering of food to the Guru as well as some changes in the usual language
used in Ardas or the Sikh prayer except the first stanza which considered
sacrosanct as it was written by Guru Gobind Singh himself while other parts
were introduced only later. Besides, he advocated celibacy as a virtue, forbade
cash offerings before SGGS. There was no community kitchen established. Precooked
food as received from the nearby villages was served at Nanaksar. He had taken
a vow not to build a pucca structure during his lifetime and refused to meet a
woman unless she was accompanied by a man. Once, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of
Patiala offered him Rs 100000/- for building a Gurudwara which was a huge
amount of money in those days but Baba ji refused flatly. Being miffed, the Maharaja
retorted that Babaji will not find another ‘Daani’ (philanthropist) like
Bhupinder Singh. To which Babaji is said to have replied, “Tell the Maharaja
that he will also not find a ‘Tyagi ’(who practices renunciation) like Nand
Singh.” The Maharaja realised his mistake in all humbleness
Some of the above practices were however seen
to be in sharp contrast to the interpretation of Sikhism by the Singh Sabha reformists and largely accepted
by the SGPC, the statutory body formed in 1925 to manage the historical Sikh
shrines. But oblivious of criticism, Baba Nand Singh held his ground and stuck
to his principles.
.
Over the time, based on the interpretation of
Sikhism by Baba Nand Singh, his school of thought became known as Nanaksar
samprday or sect. Though he preferred a life of seclusion ever immersed in the
name of lord, his name and fame spread all over and he soon commanded a large following
not only among Sikhs but also among a section of both the Punjabi as well as
non-Punjabi Hindus.
Baba Nand Singh was held in such
a high respect by a his followers that many legends developed around his
persona .One of the most common belief is that on his prayers SGGS transformed
into Guru Nanak Dev and accepted the food offered by him. Second legend was
that a white lion stood guard outside whenever he was meditating .Some of the
people indeed claimed to have encountered the sight of the lion when they tried
to get near his place of meditation at odd hours without permission. Legends apart,
he reemphasized the three golden principles of Sikhism as originally pronounced
by Guru Nanak Dev i.e. Meditation , hard work with honesty and Daswandh or giving
one tenth of one’s hard earned money in charity. He took further the concept of
daswandh to include the time besides money. He said that every Sikh must rise
early in the morning take a bath and devote two and half hours daily in
meditating on the name of Lord if he wants to walk on the path of
God-realisation which is the real purpose of human life as stated in Gurubani.
Baba Nand Singh left for sachkhand (Heavenly abode) in the year 1943.
During his lifetime, Baba Nand Singh
specially nurtured his two disciples. One of them was (sant) Sujan Singh a great
musicians and hymns singer. As he was a Grihasthi or houseolder, Baba Nand
Singh asked him to shun the two forms of Maya i.e money and woman which may
distract a man from the pursuit of his ultimate goal if he wished to succeed him.
The other close associate was (Baba) Ishar Singh, who was deeply devoted to him
serving as his personal attendant for a long time and had taken the vow of
celibacy ever since he met him at the age of 18 years and with whom also he often
used to discuss the plans to take forward his mission. As the former dithered
in accepting the conditions, he virtually ruled himself out. Baba Nand Singh
however did not formally announce any successor though according to some
accounts he had given enough indication about Baba Ishar Singh being his successor.
After he departed for his heavenly abode in the year 1943, there were many
claimants to his legacy and situation remained fluid till 1950 when Baba Ishar
Singh finally took over while Sant Sujan Singh moved to Delhi in 1949 where he
established his Ashram in the Karol Bagh area of the capital. A somewhat uneasy
truce followed and held till Baba Ishar Singh departed for his heavenly abode
in 1963. Among other notable disciples of Baba Nand Singh were Baba Narinder
Singh, an ex-police officer whose son Retd Brig Pratap Singh has been preaching
the message of Baba Nand Singh through modern techniques. Another follower Baba
Harinam Singh established his abode at Zira in Punjab and established a
gurudwara Nanaksar there which is being managed by Baba Hari Singh at present.
Baba Ishar Singh took the
Nanaksar Sampraday to great heights. He built a 13 feet deep sarowar or holy
water tank at Nanaksar in a short period
of just 28 days followed by a seven storied beautiful building of the Gurudwara
at Nanaksar besides a thirteen storied Gurudwara at his place of birth called
Jhordan not far from the Nanaksar headquarter. This was a great feat to achieve
as Baba Ishar Singh had taken a vow to not touch any money. The feat was
achieved with the grace of Guru Nanak Dev and cooperation of devotees who
immensely contributed in kind to build the unique structure comprising a
Sachkhand (abode for SGGS) Sheesh Mahal, a building with glass ceiling
and Bhora or Basement preserving the Tap Asthan (place of meditation) of Baba
Nand Singh. He travelled far and wide for propagation of Sikhism. He baptized
more than seven hundred thousand persons including the writer of this piece and
his parents.
As
stated, Baba Ishar Singh,( 1913-1963) was the most favourite disciple of Baba
Nand Singh ever since he joined him
after taking a wow of celibacy at the age of just 18. After he succeeded him, he carried on the
job of Gurubani preaching following in the footsteps of Baba Nand Singh. Baba
Ishar Singh was not only was popular among Sikhs, the people from of other
religions also frequently visited him which included some leading personalities
of his time. One of such persons was Goswami Ganesh Dutt chief priest of Laxmi
Narayan Mandir , populary called Birla Mandir with whom he used to engage in
long spiritual discussions.. Baba Ishar Singh usually stayed in the ridge area
behind Birla Mandir when he visited Delhi. Seth Ghanshyam Dass Birla, the
well-known capitalist and builder of the Mandir had particular respect for Baba
Nand Singh whom he had visited during his travel to Punjab and was greatly
impressed by him. Later, he is also believed to have offered to contribute a
large amount for building the Nanaksar Gurudwara but Baba Ishar Singh declined the offer as he
preferred small contribution by the community at large. Doctor BL Kapur, a well
known physician, was another such visitor.
Amidst the one of his meeting with Goswami
Gansh Dutt, the Goswami ji got a call from Jawahar Lal Nehru the Prime minister
of India, who revered Goswami ji as a guru, asking him to call on him at
Teenmurti house, his official residence. Goswami ji pleaded his inability to do
so immediately citing his engagement with Baba Ishar Singh. Why don’t you bring
him along? Nehru asked. However, when told to do so, Baba ji expressing his reservations,
declined politely. The conversation ended but on the very next day Nehru came
to see Babaji personally with some of his ministers at Birla Mandir.
On
another occasion Babu Rajendra Prasad the President of India invited him to
Rashtrapati Bhawan. He agreed on the condition that Keertan (singing of divine
hymns of Gurubani) will be performed at Rashtrapati Bhawan.The arrangements
were quickly made.S hardit Singh, the fatherof the author, was also present in
the congregation who told him this anecdote.
Baba Ishar Singh left for his heavenly abode
rather young in the year 1963 but by then he had firmly established the
Nanaksar school of Sikhism which continues to serve the community with
increased fervour
Baba Ishar Singh also did not
name any successor but nurtured a large number of disciples to carry on the
mission of Nanaksar. Some of his leading disciples were Baba Sadhu Singh, Baba
Kundan Singh, Baba Narain Singh and Baba Gurdev Singh among others.
Baba Gurdev Singh (born 1934)
After Baba Ishar Singh left for
his heavenly abode, Baba Gurdev Singh moved out of Nanaksar Kaleran and
established his abode at a village named Bhai ki samadh (later he also
established Nanaksar in the ridge area of Delhi behind Birla Mandir, where Baba
Nand Singh and Baba Ishar Singh used to hold congregations during their stay in
Delhi besides many more in India and abroad.) A website dedicated to him
(gurdwarananaksar.com) on the internet claims that Baba Ishar Singh had indeed
nominated him as his successor by putting a tilak on his forehead though no
independent corroboration of claim is available. However, to his credit he
remained largely out of the factional struggle. I had the occasion to meet him
a few times and found his personality calming and serene.
Baba Narayan Singh (? to1998)
Baba Narayan Singh, a former Nihang (member of a Sikh
warrior- mendicant sect) met Baba Ishar Singh for the first time in 1950 and
later joined him as his personal attendant responsible for his daily bath. He
was also one of the claimants for succession. He finally occupied the 13
storied Nanaksar at Jhoradan the birth place of Baba Ishar Singh. He encouraged
his followers to collect money at the gurudwaras under his control as also at
maNanaksar Kaleran, which according to many, was a clear departure from
Maryada- Code of conduct- established by Baba Nand Singh. He came into lime
light when he collaborated with the Indira Gandhi led Congress Government for
repair of the Akal Takhat damaged during Operation Blue Star of 1984 for which
he faced expulsion from Panth. He later apologized to the Akal Takhat and was
rehabilitated after pardon. He departed in 1998. Baba Ghala Singh succeeded him
and is the present head of the faction.
Baba Kundan Singh (1929-2002)
Baba Kundan Singh was a direct
disciple of Baba Nand Singh and a close associate of Baba Ishar Singh. He kept
his company even during the period from 1943 to 1950 when Baba Ishar Singh
stayed away from Nanaksar Kaleran engaged in deep meditation. When Babaji
decided to take over the sewa at Nanaksar, Baba Kundan Singh assisted him in
Kar Sewa -Construction activities- and served him as his personal attendant.
After Baba Ishar Singh left for sachkhand (heavenly abode) Baba Kundan Singh
was a strong contender for succession and continued to put up at Nanaksar
Kaleran inspite of opposition. He is said to have baptized a record number of
13000 persons in a single day. He departed for sachkhand in 2002. At present
one of his disciples Baba Harbhajan Singh heads the faction while another of
his disciples, Baba Sukhdev Singh Is present chief of Dera Baba Harnam Singhji at
Bhuchho. His another distinguished disciple is Bhai Guriqbal Singh who heads
Mata Kaula Bhalai Kendra Trust and is actively engaged in Propagation of
Sikhism and is also at the helm of many social welfare schemes.
The writer had no occasion to
meet Baba Narain Singh and Baba Kundan Singh Personally but listened to their discourses
on the occasion of Barasi of Baba Nand Singh, one of the few occasions when all
factional heads shared the stage at Nanaksar Kaleran HQ of the sect.
Baba Sadhu Singh (1912-2009)
Baba Sadhu Singh was also a
direct disciple of Baba Nand Singh. He was baptized by Baba Nand Singh around
the year 1935 and served him as Bihangam (Literally meaning bird but refers to
a celebate inmate of Nanaksar) till his departure for sachkhand in 1943.
Thereafter, he joined Baba Ishar Singh and served him as chief personal
attendant till Baba ji’s sachkhand departure in 1963. I first met Baba Sadhu
Singh in the year 1972 at Nanaksar. I along with one of my classmate had gone
to Nanaksar on the occasion for Puranmashi (monthly celebration on full moon
day considered auspicious as Guru Nanak Dev was born on Puran mashi ) We reached there two days in
advance. In those days Congregations were held only on Pooranmashi and there
were very few visitors on other days. We went to see Babaji in the evening. At
the same time a small time journalist from Delhi also came to see him. During
the talks he referred to Late Sant Sujan Singh and how he was cremated in the compound
of Gurudwara established by him and a Samadhi had been erected which he found
unacceptable as per Sikh tenets. Baba ji replied that though Sujan Singh
performed Keertan (singing of hymns) for Baba Nand Singh he could not match the
standard for “Jeevan” or a life lived as
per Babaji’s Maryada. To me Babaji came across as a straightforward person who
did not mince words. Next day he called us in the evening and asked both of us
to do sewa by sprinkling water on the dusty surroundings to settle the dust
which we did enthusiastically.
Though our family has long
association with Nanaksar since the days of Baba Nand Singh and my parents used
to visit Nanaksar every year on the occasion of Barasi of Baba Nand Singh, they
usually kept a low profile like ordinary devotees and were too shy to talk to
either Baba Ishar Singh or incumbents thereafter. I accompanied them on many
occasions as a child. However, after 1972, I could not visit Nanaksar for many
years. But sometimes when Baba Sadhu Singh visited Delhi I did join the
congregation. After I was well settled in life and had my own family, I thought
it incumbent on me to introduce my children to the ethos of Nanaksar so that
the longtime relationship is carried forward . So I took my family –my wife and
three children- to Nanaksar . Since it was their first visit to Nanaksar I also
thought of showing them Jhordan, the birth place of Baba Ishar Singh. Though I
had not visited this place earlier I had heard a lot about this place from my
parents who were present at Jhordan when at one time, a Nagar Keertan
(procession) was taken out in the area led by Baba Ishar Singh who was wearing
a black dress with a sword in his hand. My mother told that she had for a
moment seen Babaji transformed into Guru Gobind Singh on that occasion. We
chalked out the program in advance and hired a jeep for the tour after
alighting from train at Ludhiana. We reached Nanaksar in the evening and had
darshan of Baba Sadhu Singh ji. Next day we again went to him to seek his leave
and told him thattwe are going to Jhordan before returning to Delhi. To this
Babaji said in his unique tone. “ਅਸੀ ਤਾ ਭਾਈ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂ ਮਨਾ ਨਹੀ ਕਰਦੇ “(I don’t tell anyone not to go )
Though I took his leave, his words did not seem reassuring. I thought to myself
why did he say so? As we proceeded towards Jhordan suddenly after a few
kilometers we were engulfed in thick dark smoke emitting out of burning of
straws left in the field after harvest. It was so dense that we could hardly breathe.
To make the things worse, very little petrol was left in the jeep’s fuel tank.
We all got frightened and started
praying. The driver also could not see anything due to the dark smoke. However
he pressed the accelerator very hard and thankfully within a few minutes we
were out of that area safely. On reaching Jhordan it took me no time to
understand the reluctance in Babaji’s voice. The place was being managed by the
faction led by Baba Narain Singh, the fact I was not aware at the time of
chalking out the tour. As soon as we entered the Gurudwara a sewadar came to us
and offered to take us round the building. He told us about the history of the
place and then took us to the basement.
There he told us to shell out some money. Feeling being trapped I gave
in to his demand. Had I known about the fact beforehand that the place is under
control of Baba Narain Singh I might have decided otherwise about my visit
there. As once, earlier, I had seen his man collecting money from devotees at
the main Sachkhand of Nanaksar to my great chagrin and dismay.
Since then my visits to Nanaksar
were few and far between but whenever Baba Sadhu Singh visited Delhi I did try
to be in the congregation.
Babaji left for his heavenly
abode on 15th May 2009. His close associate and sewak Baba Lakha
Singh succeeded him. Baba Lakha Singh is taking the legacy of Nanaksar further
with great fervor and ability. He is an embodiment of Sewa (service) and Simran
(Meditation) He has been instrumental in establishing a hospital, an old age
home and a school in Nanaksar.
Conclusion
Since Baba Ishar Singh left for
his heavenly abode in 1963, the Nanaksar smpraday has been flourishing. At
present there are a few hundred Nanaksar Gurudwaras spread all over India and
abroad. However, deviation from Nanaksar Maryada in some quarters and
factionalism is a matter of great concern. Many claiming to be sants and babas
should not be seen merely as srine managers but worthy of the lofty titles by
leading exemplary life immersed in sewa and simran keeping the tentacles of
Maya at bay as had been the maryada of Nanaksar since the times of Baba Nand
Singh.
At this hour of crisis for Sikh
identity
At this hour of crisis when
Sikh identity is under attack, it is required all the more to close ranks and
fight the rising evil of patitism (apostasy) and drug abuse among sikh youths,
for the benefit of our coming generations.
Let us all pray to Akal Purukh, the all mighty god for his blessings and guidance for at least a working unity in the samparday in the interest of the larger Sikh society and for spreading the message of our gurus.
Disclaimer
the views expressed above are personal. Inconvenience or hurt caused, if any to any one is totally unintentional and is sincerely regretted.
Let us all pray to Akal Purukh, the all mighty god for his blessings and guidance for at least a working unity in the samparday in the interest of the larger Sikh society and for spreading the message of our gurus.
Disclaimer
the views expressed above are personal. Inconvenience or hurt caused, if any to any one is totally unintentional and is sincerely regretted.
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