BHAGAT BHAGVAN, recipient of one of the bakhshi`shs or seats of the Udasi sect, was a contemporary of Guru Har Rai (1630-61). His original name was Bhagvan Gir. Little is known about his early life except that, according to Udasi sources, he was born in a Brahman family at Bodh Gaya and that he was a Sannyasi sadhu roving in search of spiritual solace. Having heard about Guru Nanak, Bhagvan Gir came to Kiratpur to meet his living successor.
Discover Santokh Das, the Udasi saint behind Amritsar's sacred water channels, and his legacy in creating Udasian da Chhota Akhara. Learn more about his impact.
BHAI PHERU, GURDWARA (also called Gurdwara Sangat Sahib), named after its founder, the well known Udasi Sikh preacher Bhai Pherii (1640-1706), is located at Mien ki Maur, in Chuniari tahsil of Lahore district in Pakistan. During Sikh times, large endowments in land extending to about 2,750 acres were inscribed to the shrine which was administered by a line of priests belonging to Sangat Sahib Ke sect of Udasi Sikhs. As a campaign for bringing the Sikh places of worship under the management of a central body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, formed in 1920, negotiations were opened with the mahant or custodian for the transfer of the Bhai Pheru Gurdwara and the landed property attached to it.
Explore the life of Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak, founder of the Udasi sect, and revered ascetic who carried Guru Nanak's teachings far and wide.
Explore the rich history of the Udasi sect, founded by Sri Chand, dedicated to spreading Guru Nanak's teachings across the world.
DAKKHANI RAI (d. 1815), a sixth generation descendant of Baba Prithi Chand, the elder brother of Guru Arjan, who had founded an Udasi dera or preaching centre of the Udasi sect at Gharachon, a village in present day Sarigrur district of the Punjab. The rulers of Patiala granted him two villages, Kapial and Batariana, in freehold. Dakkhani Rai was a noncelibate Udasi sadhu, and his descendants are still living at Gharachon. In Bava Brahmanand, Guru L7dasm Matt Darpan, Baba Bishan Sarup and Baba Sarup Das are mentioned as the most respected and most active heads of this branch of Udasis. Baba Sarup Das lived and preached for some time at Shikarpur in Sindh province, and at Amritsar from 1898 till his death there on 22 Assu 1979 Bk / 7 October 1922.
DHUAN, Punjabi for smoke, is a term which is particularly used for seats of certain monkish orders where a fire is perennially kept alive. In the Sikh context it is employed for the four branches of Udasi Sikhs established by Baba Gurditta (1613-38), on whom the headship of the sect was conferred by Baba Sri Ghand, traditionally considered founder of the sect. The dhuans are generally known after their respective heads who were initially assigned to different regions in north India for preaching the tenets of Sikhism as laid down by Guru Nanak.
ETAWAH (26° 47`N, 78° 58`E), a district town of Uttar Pradesh, 127 km southeast of Agra, has two Udasi Ashrams commemorating the visits of Guru Nanak and Baba Sri Chand. Sikh chronicles have not recorded these visits, but they do mention that Guru Tegh Bahadur while travelling to the east in 1666 passed through Etawah. He is believed to have stayed at the Udasi Ashram inside the town. The ashram is now known as Gurdwara Purabi Tola, also referred to locally as Ban Sangat.
FARIDKOT TIKA, the earliest full scale exegesis or annotated version of the Guru Granth Sahib, was prepared under the patronage of the princely rulers of the state of Faridkot. Hence its popular name Faridkot Vala Tika or, for short, FaridkotTika. Its full title is Adi Sn Guru Granth Sahib ji Satik. Satik literally means with tika, annotation or commentary. The Guru Granth Sahib is an anthology of spiritual poetry of six of the Gurus and a number of medieval saints as well as of some of the followers contemporary with the first five Gurus.
