HERITAGE
Udasi Sampardaya : Torch-bearers of Sikhism
The ascetic order of the Udasis’s was founded by Baba Sri Chand,@ the elder of the two sons of the Jagat-guru, Guru Nanak Devji. Recognising his other-worldly nature, Guru Nanak blessed him and helped him in the development of his personality as per his inborn tendencies, for according to legend, he had been born with natural flesh ‘Mundra’ in his right ear, and Jatas on his head - indications of Tapasya and Tyag. Guru Nanak while leaving for his first Udasi entrusted Baba Sri Chand to his sister Bibi Nanaki and said, “Look sister, I tell you the secret of my heart. This child has the divine spark, and he has come on this earth because of our love. He has a distinct personality. His ‘religious sect’ will be popular all over the world. And then Guru Nanak Devji initiated Baba Sri Chand, a child of seven with the mystic symbol ‘Satnam’ and advised him to do ‘Jap’.
When Baba Sri Chand was about twenty-four years old, Guru Nanak Dev advised him to study the ancient religions texts which would help him in understanding the Gurubani hymns. Baba Sri Chand obeyed his father’s command and went to Kashmir to study the ancient texts under the guidance of Pandit Purushottam Das.
Baba Sri Chand lived to be a centenarian right up to the time of sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind.
When Babaji asked Guru Amar Das to give him his son, Mohan, his words were duly honoured. Baba Sri Chand initiated Baba Mohan in the Jap of ‘Ek Onkar Satnam’. Before leaving this physical body, Baba Sri Chand bestowed his Gadi, or succession, upon Baba Gurdita, a householder and son of the sixth Guru Hargobind, thereby conceding that Asceticism can be practised without renunciation.
But the Udasis are usually celibate. Some wear ochre or Bhagwa robes, others go naked except for a loin cloth and rub ashes on their body. They congregate in monastries/deras. Baba Gurdita had four disciples who established four dhunis. They are (1) Balu Hasna, (2) Phul Sahib, or Mian Sahib, (3) Almast, and (4) Bhagat Bhagwan. They constitute the ‘Bara Akhara’ or senior assembly. There is also a “Bakshis Sangat" which was founded by Bhai Pheru supposedly with the permission of Guru Gobind Singh. They have established another chapter called, the Chhota Akhara’. They all pay special reverence to Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Udasis proved a helpful adjunct to the Sikhs. Being ascetic and unbaptised, they escaped persecution at the hands of the Mughal authorities, and when Sikhs were hunted down in tyrannical genocide, and many had withdrawn into deep forest to reorganise for gurrilla war, the Udasis kept the torch burning as custodians of their Gurdwaras and kept the spirit of Sikhism alive. The Nirmala Sadhus also helped the Sikhs in their missionary activities in the Malwa region. The Order of the Nirmalas had been created by Guru Gobind Singh ji.
According to Max A. Macauliffe : “There are two great division of Sikhs, Sahijdhari and Singhs. The latter are they who accept the baptism inaugurated by Guru Gobind Singh. The Singhs after the time of Guru Gobind Singh were all warriors. The Sahijdhari are those who lived at ease and practised trade and agriculture. In the Singhs are included the ‘Nirmalas’ and ‘Nihangs’. The Sahijdharis include ‘Udasis’ founded by Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak, Sewapanthis founded by the water carrier of Guru Gobind Singh, the Ramraiyas, the followers of Ram Rai, son of Guru Har Rai...[1] He further says, “The first schism of the Sikhs began immediately after the demise of Guru Nanak. Some of his followers adopted Sri Chand, his elder son, as his successor. The followers of Sri Chand were termed Udasis, or the solitary: and they now constitute a large body of devout and earnest men. Anandghan, one of their number, has in recent times written the life of Guru Nanak. It contains an apotheosis of Sri Chand, and states that he was an incarnation of God and the only successor of Guru Nanak.[2] In the biography of Baba Sri Chand, K.M. Munshi writes that at the birth of Sri Chand, the astrologers predicted his great future and the wise believed that Bhagwan Shankar had appeared.[3]
Guru Nanak was the father as well as Guru of Baba Sri Chand. The latter has composed ‘Arati’ in the praise of Guru Nanak Devji addressing him as the ‘Lord of Lords.’[4]
Udasis are also known at Nanakputras: the principal religious order of the Sikhs. As per Ibbetson and Maclagen, Nanakputra (1) a synonym for Udasi, (2) a descendant of Nanak. This is the literal meaning of the term. The Nanakputras were employed in the later Sikh period as escorts of caravans and their sacred character as descendants of Guru Nanak, ensuring their security from attack’[.5]
The Udasis are celibate - at least in theory, and when so in practice are called Udasi, ‘nanga’, or naked. But Maclagen gives, a different explanation of this term: “The Udasis are recruited from all castes and will eat food from any Hindu. They are almost always celibate and are sometimes though not usually congregate in monasteries. They are generally found wandering to and from their sacred places, such as Amritsar, Dera Baba Nanak, Kartarpur and the like. They are said to be numerous in Malwa and Benaras. In our Census Return, they appear strongest in Jullundur, Rohtak and Ferozepur. 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....[6].
“Udasis may be regarded as the genuine disciples of Nanak, professing as the name denotes indifference to worldly vicissitudes. They are purely religious characters devoting themselves to prayer and meditation, usually collected in Sangats, colleges or convents. Though usually practising celibacy, it does not appear to be a necessary condition amongst the Sikhs to be found in Gangetic provinces. Many of the Udasis are well read in Sanskrit and are expounders of Vedanta philosophy....”[7]
“A hymn (extract) from their service prayer solemnized at the Sikh Sangat at Benaras indicate the importance of ‘Name’ e.g. “Meditate on the Sahib of the Book (Sri Guru Granth Sahib) and exclaim Wah-Guru". The people accordingly repeat : “Wah-Guru, Wah-Guru ki Fateh.”
The priest : Meditating on Sri Chandra exclaim Wah-Guru.
The people : Wah-Guru, Wah-Guru ki Fateh.
Love and fix thy
whole heart upon Him
The world is bound to thee by prosperity
No one is another’s
Whilst prosperity endures many will come;
And sit with thee and surround thee;
But in adversely they will fly,
And not one will be near thee."[8]
These lines indicate Guru Nanak’s philosophy of repeating the Name of the Lord and remaining indifferent to the attractions of the world, i.e. to maintain Udasis in the heart.
Guru Nanak is believed to have had communion with the Supreme Lord when he disappeared in “Vaini Nadi" at Sultanpur. After three days when he reappeared, he declared God gave him the commandment to preach His Name. Guru Nanak had humbly responded : It may not be within my power to do so. But the Supreme Lord said, “I will be thy Guru (teacher), and thou shall be the Guru to all mankind. Thy way shall be great in the world, and thy world Puri Puri, the word of the Bairagi is Ram! Ram! that of the Sanyasi, Om, Nama Narayan, and the word of the Yogis Ades! Ades ! and salutations of the Mohammedans is Salam Alikam! and that of the Hindus Ram! Ram!, but the word of thy sect shall be Guru. Whatever I am, thou art, for between us there is no difference. It is a blessing, that thou art sent into Kali-Yug. After this, ‘Wah-Guru’ or ‘Well done, teacher! I was pronounced from the most High Guru or teacher (God) and Nanak came to give light and freedom to the universe.”[9]
The followers of Guru Nanak are known as Guru-Sikhs or Nanak Panthis. Panth is a Sanskrit word which means path. It literally means devotees/disciples of Nanak. Rev. Swami Prabhananda Ji Maharaj, Assistant Secretary of the Rama Krishna Math and Mission, Belur Math, Howrah, has written an exhaustive and beautiful article on “Sri Ramakrishna’s Interaction with Sikhism,” which appeared in Prabuddha Bharata (Magazine of R.K. Mission) in January, 1991. There he has quoted numerous incidents of the Nanak Shahis’ and Nanak Panthis’ meeting with Sri Ramakrishna.
G.B. Singh has similarly analysed the political and social situation in the Bengal in his article, “Sikh Relics in Eastern Bengal. So far removed is East Bengal from the centre of activity of Sikhism that it may sound rather strange to mention it in connection with that religion. And yet there was a time when Sikhism was quietly and steadily making a headway here. There flourished quite a network of prosperous Sikh Sangats and monasteries all over the province from Rajmahal in the West to Sylhet in the East and from Dhubri in the North to Fatikcherri and Bansthali in the South; there was hardly a place of importance during the days of Mughal viceroy where some Sikh temple did not exist or some Sikh ascetic had not established himself and gathered a number of followers around him....” Encouragement from government officials, along with the Bairagi Sangats and Mohammadan shrines, Sikhism was then in its vigour and it would have been a wonder indeed if it had remained unrepresented. These Sangats were not only the places of worship but as usual served the useful purpose of wayside inns where food and shelter was given free to the indigent wayfairer...... Dacca was the Hazur Sangat, or the provincial head Sangat, with a number of others under it and, in turn, was controlled by the pontifical throne at Anandpur in Guru Gobind Singh’s time and later was attached to the archbishopric of Patna.....[10] (Because of the shortage of space, more details cannot be given here).
After having a bird’s eye-view of the Nanak Panthis in Bengal, let’s have a close look at one particular event which calls for serious attention of the scholars and seekers of the Truth. Swami Prabhananda, quoting S. Kapur Singh’s Introduction to Vol. II of Dr. Gopal Singh’s English translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib has written that ‘a Sikhs ascetic Udasi Totapuri imparted to Sri Ramakrishna the Sikh esoteric instruction efficacious for removing impediments on the spiritual path."[11] But Rev. Swamiji has not endorsed this idea and commented, “For want of supportive evidence, however, this claim cannot be much entertained. The philosophy of Udasi ascetics being the same monistic Vedanta as that of the Dasnamis might have given rise to this confusion"[.12]
But in the same paragraph at page no. 2, S. Kapur Singh continues “... and that is why the most illustrious Chela of the Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda so often uttered and introduced into his writings the Sikh mystic formula, Vaheguru" (And in the next few lines, S. Kapur Singh, quoting from Pothi Punjab Sakhian (Khalsa College Library, Amritsar, 1780 Circa) also refers to the impact of Sikhism on Ramdas Samarth, the spiritual guide of Shivaji, when he met the Sikh Guru Har Gobind in Kashmir in 1634. In the same manner, Swami Vrihanand, the founder of Arya Samaj was influenced by the Sikh philosophy of the Name, which is the true essence of Veda....."[13]
No wonder that Dr. Gopal Singh in his religion of the Sikhs (page 56) says, “According to the Gurus, the doctrine of the Name is the essence of the Vedas, Puranas, Smritis, Sastras. Udasi Totapuri, a Sikh ascetic, imparted the same instruction to the most well known Hindu savant of modern times, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, in the final phase of the latter’s spiritual quest....” One must die and merge in the Word (Which is synonymous with the Name) that one purgeth oneself of all the inner soil... (Ramkali, M.3).
Now referring to Sri Totapuriji, Swami Saradanand, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna writes, “Totapuri was born at some place in or near the Punjab. The monastery of his spiritual teacher was at a place near Kurukshetra. His teacher was also a famous Yogi and a monastery was established there. It is not clearly known whether that monastery was founded by him or any of his predecessors....”[14]
Referring to Sri Totapuri, Satish K. Kapoor in his article, which appeared in The Tribune on August 14, 1988, (pp. IV and V) writes, “The Naga Monk (Sri Totapuri) lies buried in his dera at Ladana.” Prior to this, he says, “Ladana is not to be confused with Ludhiana, as do some biographers of Sri Ramakrishna. Ladana is now in Haryana and can be reached from Kurukshetra in about two hours.” But I think, Ludhiana (district) too would take about two hours time from Kurukshetra.
Referring to this article, Mewa Singh from Sundernagar (Himachal Pradesh) writes in his letter which also appeared in The Tribune under the heading Totapuri :
Shri Satish K. Kapoor says that there is no record of Totapuri’s original abode except to the effect that he was born somewhere in Punjab.
According to some of the followers of Totapuri who live in Jogimajra and Rampur villages in Ludhiana district, the monk was born at Jogimajra village where his Samadhi is still in existence. Thousands of devotees all over the country visit the Samadhi every year and participate in functions which are organised to remember the saint.
Gaju Bhagat, an ardent follower of the saint, lives in Rampur village, and makes genuine effort to keep Totapuri’s mission alive. In this context, laudable efforts have been made by S. Maghar Singh, Principal, Govt. Secondary School, Kangalwal, Dist. Sangrur and his cousin, Karnail Singh but no substantial results have come out so far.
So Sri Totapuri has been called an Udasi ascetic and with equal claim declared as follower of the Sankara School of thought. The following questions arise :
Who was this Sri Totapuri? Where did he come from? What is his lineage with the Puri cult? Would any scholars interested in the subject explore and trace out the truth?
So far as the Puri lineage is concerned, Ghurye comes to our help. “Totapuri was the spiritual preceptor of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. And Ramakrishna who was Paramhansa was never known as a Puri. But he was the spiritual preceptor of Vivekananda. Vivekananda was thus a Puri. But hardly ever has this ascetic surname been used in his case. The alignment of Bengal ascetics with Puri Order appears to have been as old as asceticism in Bengal"[15]
1994 is being celebrated the Birth Quincentenary year of Baba Sri Chand, the pioneer of the Udasi cult. We suggest all seekers of truth are invited on this auspicious occasion to contribute their mite to discover the truth about this Udasi ascetic Sri Totapuri.
I am grateful to Dr. Himadri Banerjee of the Department of History, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, who has very kindly offered to help in the wider interest of historical research. He has long been working on how Sikhism and the Sikhs have been depicted in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Oriya languages over the last 125 years. He writes in his letter dated 12 June, 1994, “I have gathered that the Udasis were active in the Gangetic belt even in the eighteenth century. They had already set up their akharas/dhunis in Barh, Monghyr, Bhagalpur, Rajmahal, Nalhati, Chittagong and Cuttack. Many of these Akharas have, however, been converted into Hindu temples and some of them have been taken over by the Sikhs. At Kaliaboda, Cuttack, it is believed that the present Sikh Gurdwara was originally a place of the Udasis. I have got from different sources that in Eastern India, Sikhism was first propagated by the Udasis/Nanak Panthis. They had their schools and places of worship. But their role is very little known to common people. It requires investigations. Further, he mentions that Captain Bhag Singh (founder Editor, The Sikh Review) once told him that Sri Totapuri had initiated Sri Ramakrishna.
In conclusion, I quote extracts from letters in the praise of the Udasis, which appeared in the introduction of Ishar Singh Nara’s Punjabi book :
a) Letter dated 24.12.1972, Dr. Kala Singh Bedi from Delhi University writes : “It is true that Baba Sri Chand was a religious leader and founder of Udasi sect, but really he was the sincere follower of Guru Nanak Bani.....”
b) S. Kapoor Singh in his letter dated 12th March, 1959, says that Udasi Samparday is an ‘advance Battalion of the Sikhs."
It seems that invaluable work has been done by the Udasis, but very little has come to be celebrated, and still less people know about it. It needs the serious attention of researchers to unearth the services of Udasis, because they preached the Holy Message of Guru Nanak as followers of Baba Sri Chand.
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