sikh

NAND LAL, BHAI (c. 1633-1713), poet famous in the Sikh tradition and favourite disciple of Guru Gobind Singh. His poetry, all in Persian except for Joti Bigds, which is in Punjabi, forms part of the approved Sikh canon and can be recited along with scriptural verse at Sikh religious divans. Nand Lal adopted the pet name of "Goya", though at places he has also subscribed himself as "Lal", the word being the last part of his name. He was a scholar, learned in the traditional disciplines of the time, and his image in Sikh history is that of a man loved and venerated.

NIRMALA, derived from Sanskrit nirmala meaning spotless, unsullied, pure, bright, etc.. is the name of a sect of Sikhs primarily engaged in religious study and preaching. The members of the sect are called Nirmala Sikhs or simply Nirmalas. The sect arose during the time of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), though some, on the authority of a line in the first iwof Bhai Gurdas (d. 1636), claim, like the Udasis, Guru Nanak (1469-1539) himself to be the founder. Guru Gobind Singh wanted his followers not only to train in soldierly arts but also to cultivate letters.

PANGAT, from Sanskrit pankti (lit. a row, line, series, or a group, assembly, company), stands in Sikh terminology for commensality or sitting together on the ground in a row to partake of food from a common kitchen regardless of caste, creed, sex, age or social status. Pangat is thus a synonym for Guru ka Langar, an institution of fundamental importance in Sikhism. It is customary for diners in the Guru ka Langar to sit side by side in a pangat or row when food is served to them by sevdddrs or volunteers. The institution of Guru ka Langar itself thereby came to be referred to as pangat.

PATIT, an adjective formed from patan meaning fall, decline or degradation, with its roots in Sanskrit pat which means, variously, "to fall, sink, descend; to fall in the moral sense; to lose caste, rank or position," usually denotes one who is morally fallen, wicked, degraded or out caste. It is slightly different from the English word `apostate`, which usually stands for one who abandons his religion for another voluntarily or under compulsion. A patit is one who commits a religious misdemeanour or transgression, yet does not forsake his professed faith. He may seek redemption and may be readmitted to the communion after due penitence.

PRATAP SINGH, MAHARAJA (1919-1995). Tall and handsome, His Highness Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh, Malvendra Bahadur, was the ruler of the princely state of Nabha. The state ceased to be in 1948 when a new and larger political unit called Patiala and East Punjab States Union, short PEPSU, came into existence. This new union comprised all of the Sikh states of the Punjab Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala, Faridkot and KalsTa, and two others. Pratap Singh was born on 21 September 1919, the son of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh. He began his education in Mussoorie, close to Dehra Dun, the summer home of the family.

RAHIT DARPAN, lit. a mirror or code of conduct, is one of the thirty-seven rahitndmds written by various authors and collected by Bhagvan Singh under the title Bar Bimal Bibekbdrdhi, popularly known as Bibekbdrdhi,. Rahit Darpan, written in Punjabi verse, is the work of Bhagvan Singh himself, which he completed on Phagun sudi 7, 1957 Bk/Fcbruary 1901.

RAMRAIAS, originally a splinter sect of the Sikhs, now comprise an independent group more akin to the Udasis. The sect owes its origin to Baba Ram Rai, whose name it bears. Ram Rai, who was the elder son of Guru Har Rai (1630-61), the seventh Guru, and who had been anathematized for deliberately misreading in the court of Emperor Aurarigzib a line from one of Guru Nanak`s hymns in order to avoid his displeasure, had shifted to a sub Himalayan dun (valley) where he established his derd or abode in a.jdgiror fief granted to him by the feudatory chief of Garhval under the orders of the Mughal court.

SADHARAN, BHAI, a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Nanak, was a resident of Pakkhoke, near Dera Baba Nanak. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, in serving the Guru, Sadharan was next only to Guru Angad. He waited on Guru Nanak during the latter`s last days. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash. Patiala, 1971 2. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth.

SAMADH BHAI, commonly called Bhai ki Samadh, a village 36 km south of Moga (30°48`.N, 75"10`.E) in Faridkot district, has a historical shrine dedicated to Guru Hargobind, who visited the place in the course of ajoumey across the Malva region. The Gurdwara is a large rectangular hall with the Guru Granth Sahib seated in a square sanctum inside it. Two storeys of square pavilions with a lotus dome on top rise above the sanctum.

SARDUL SINGH CAVEESHAR (1886-1963), politician, newspaper editor and author, was born at Amritsar in 1886, the son of Sardar Kirpal Singh. He studied up to M.A. level, but left college in 1909 without taking the degree. In 1913 he launched an English journal, Sikh Review, from Delhi. He came into prominence over the question of the restoration of a wall of Gurdwara Rikabgahj, which the government had demolished in 1913-14 as New Delhi was being built. Sikhs expressed strong resentment, but action was suspended owing to outbreak of World War I. After the War, Sardul Singh Caveeshar was among the leaders who resumed the agitation.