guru

AMAR KATHA, of unknown authorship, comprises a mixture of diverse hagiographic traditions bearing on the life of Guru Nanak. The work remains unpublished, but several manuscripts are known to exist: for instance, two of them, dated AD 1818 and 1872, respectively, are preserved in the Guru Nanak Dev University Library at Amritsar, one, dated 1877, in the Punjabi University Museum, Patiala, one, dated 1870, at the Panjabi Sahitya Akademi, Ludhiana, and one, dated 1825, in the Sikh Reference Library until it perished in the Army attack in 1984. Compiled probably towards the end of the eighteenth century, Amar Katha draws upon all the prevalent janam sakhi cycles such as Puratan, Miharban and BaJa along with the interpolations introduced by the Handalias (q.v.).This miscellany narrates Guru Nanak`s life in terms of the usual legend, myth and miracle.

ANANDGHANA, SVAMI, an Udasi sadhii known for the commentaries he wrote on some of the Sikh scriptural texts. Not much biographical detail is available about him, but references in his own works indicate that he was a disciple of Baba Ram Dayal, an Udasi ascetic; also, that he was born into the family of Guru Nanak, tenth in descent from him. Since his first tika, a commentary on the Japu, was completed in 1852 Bk/AD 1795, it may be presumed that he was born around the middle of the eighteenth century. He spent the early years of his life at Dera Baba Nanak where he was born.

ARJAN SINGH, BHAYEE (1875-1946), of Bagarian, titled chief much honoured in Sikh piety, was a descendant of Bhai Rup Chand, a devoted disciple of Guru Hargobind, who had bestowed on him the title `Bhai` (also written as Bhayee) or holy brother. Rup Chand belonged to the village of Vadda Ghar, in Amritsar district, but upon receiving Guru Hargobind`s blessing he founded (1631) a village in the Malva region of the Punjab which he named Bhai Rupa. Rup Chand`s sons, Bhai Param Singh and Bhai Dharam Singh, received the rites of Khalsa baptism at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh.

ARTI is a form of worship of an idol or deity in which candles or earthen lamps are waved as a token of devotion; sometimes during the Arti, incense.jossticks, pieces of sandalwood are burnt and flowers showered on the object of worship. When Guru Nanak went to Jagannath Temple in Puri, he found the priests performing Arti facing the idol. The Guru offered a new kind of Arti by ,singing a song (in Rag Dhansri) in praise of God emphasising how Nature adores God.

AVATARS OF VISHNU (Incarnations of Vishnu) There are millions of incarnating Vishnus. (Bhairo M. 5, p. 1156) Under the Will of the Lord, ten incarnations (of Vishnu) were created. (Mani M. l, f,. 1037) Krishan (It connotes Vishnu here) is always busy in incarnating himself; whom should then the world follow? (Wadhans M. 3, p. 559) The number of Avatars of Vishnu have not always remained the same. In Mahabharata, the following ten, in order have been mentioned: 1. The Hansa (Swan) 2. Kachh or Kurma (Tortoise) 3. Machh or Matsya (Fish) 4. Varaha (Boar) 5. Narsingh (Man-Lion) 6. Vamana (DwarQ 7. Parashurama 8. Rama 9. Satvata 10. Kaiki In Bhagavata Purana, twenty-two have been described, including Prithu, Dhanwantari and Kapila.

BALA, BHAI (1466-1544), who, according to popular belief, was a lifelong companion of Guru Nanak, was the son of Chandar Bhan, a Sandhu Jatt of Talvandi Rai Bhoi, now Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. Three years senior in age to Guru Nanak, he was his childhood playmate in Talvandi. From Talvandi, he accompanied Guru Nanak to Sultanpur where he stayed with him a considerable period of time before returning to his village. According to BalaJanam Sakhi, Bhai Bala at the instance of Rai Bular set out from Talvandi to join Guru Nanak who had already left Sultanpur on his travels abroad and met him in Bhai Lalo`s home at Saidpur.

BANI BIRDH PRATAP is a collection of religious and devotional poetry in a mixture of Braj and Punjabi, written in Gurmukhi script by Baba Ram Das, a Divana sadhu. The volume is preserved with reverence due to a religious scripture in the dera or monastery of the Divana sect established by Baba Ram Das himself when he arrived in 1800 Bk/AD 1743 at the head of a group of sadhus and settled on the eastern outskirts of the town of Patiala. According to the Divana tradition, Ram Das blessed Maharaja Sahib Singh that a very lucky son will be born to him, and accordingly when a son was born to him in 1855 Bk/AD 1798, the Maharaja named him Karam (karam = luck or fortune) Singh, and donated to the dera 500 bighas of land further eastwards of the town.

BASANT SINGH, BHAI (d. 1900), one of the founder members of Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Lahore, established on 2 November 1879, worked as its accountant and later became its vice president. Differences between Bhai Basant Singh and other leaders of the Khalsa Diwan, Lahore, originating in the expulsion in April 1886 of Bava Nihal Singh and Diwan Buta Singh in April 1886 for their advocacy of the restoration of Maharaja Duleep Singh to the throne of the Punjab, came to a head when, on 31 October 1887, the Nanak Panth Prakash Sabha, celebrating its seventh anniversary at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Lahore, displayed a garlanded portrait of the Maharaja by the side of the Guru Granth Sahib.

BHADRA (29°10`N, 750151E) in Ganganagar district in Rajasthan, was, according to Sikh chronicles, visited by Guru Gobind Singh in 1706. There is however no historical shrine there. There are very few Punjabi Sikhs in the town but a number of Sindhi families, who though shaven are followers of the Sikh faith, setded here after 1947. Sikhs of Punjabi and Sindhi origin have a small Panchayati Gurdwara in Sindhi Mohalla.

BHAGRANA, village 20 km from Rajpura (30° 28`N, 76° 37`E), in Patiala district, is celebrated for its Gurdwara Nauvin Patshahi. Some old accounts assign this shrine to the neighbouring village of Dadu Majra, but it falls now within the revenue limits of Bhagrana. Guru Tegh Bahadur halted here in the course of one of his journeys through this region. Two Sikhs, Bhai Amaru and Bhai Diala, served him with devotion.