Bhagat is a term used in the Indian subcontinent to describe religious personalities who have obtain high acclaim in their community for their services and devoutness.It is also one of the clan in

Mahar Mahar, meaning "original inhabitants of Maharashtra" (in various languages), is an Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism i ...

caste with clan totem as King Cobrahttp://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2806/1/41944_1961_ETH.pdf and also a surname found among Marathas, Bania communities and Punjabi Brahmins.

Definition

''Bhagat'' is a Punjabi word derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word ''Bhagavata'', which means: a devotee of the Lord ('' Bhagvan''). It usually defines the relationship between a lord and his devotee and the pure offering from a bhagat to his bhagvaan. Many such

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

devotees are followers of the '' bhakti'' tradition, who adhere to a prayer-led path of realization. ''Bhagat'' is also a Hindu,

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

surname, found in various communities though it is most prevalent in the northern states of India.

Sikhism

Sikhism's central scriptural

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

, has teachings of 15 ''Bhagats'', along with ''

bani Bani may refer to: Places Africa *Bani Department, a department in the Séno Province of Burkina Faso *Bani, Bani, Séno, Burkina Faso * Bani, Bourzanga, Bam, Burkina Faso *Bani, Gnagna, Burkina Faso * Bani, The Gambia *Bani River, a tributary ...

'' of

Sikh Gurus The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founde ...

, ''Bhats'' and ''Gursikhs''. Because Sikhism believes in one human creed (no one belongs to a higher or a lower social status or caste) and that accounts to adding ''Bani'' of various authors, a total of 36, in

irrespective of many belonging to religions other than Sikhism. Religious writings of those ''Bhagats'' were collected by

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of ...

. Some of them lived before

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

, but came to have a monotheistic as opposed to a

polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...

doctrine. Broadly speaking, therefore, a ''Bhagat'' is a holy person or a member of a community whose objectives involve leading humanity towards

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and highlighting injustices in the world. Below is a list of the ''Bhagats'' who contributed towards

Sri Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

: *

Bhagat Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, ...

* Bhagat Ravidas *

Bhagat Farid Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as Bā ...

* Bhagat Ramanand *

Bhagat Beni Bhagat Beni ( pa, ਭਗਤ ਬੈਣੀ) is one of the fifteen saints and Sufis, whose teachings have been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy r ...

Bhagat Namdev Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Bahujan saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He lived ...

* Bhagat Sadhana * Bhagat Bhikhan * Bhagat Parmanand * Bhagat Sain * Bhagat Dhanna *

Bhagat Pipa Bhagat Pipa, also known as Pratap Singh Raja Pipaji, Rao Pipa, Sardar Pipa, Sant Pipaji, or Pipa Bairagi was a Rajput King of Gagaraungarh who abdicated the throne to become a Hindu mystic poet and saint of the Bhakti movement.John Stratton Haw ...

* Bhagat Surdas * Bhagat Jaidev * Bhagat Trilochan

Notes

External links

* Titles and occupations in Hinduism {{Sikhism-stub

Definition

Sikhism

See also

Notes

External links