HOME





Bhai Almast
Bhai Almast (26 August 1553 – 1643) was a Sikh preacher, leader of a branch of the Udasi ''Sampradaya'', and the elder brother of Bhai Balu Hasna, another prominent preacher of the Udasi sect. Early life Almast was born on August 26, 1553, in a Gaur Brahmin family of Srinagar ( Kashmir) to Bhai Hardatt and Mai Prabha. His birth name was Alu, but due to his inclination towards mysticism and disinterest in worldly affairs, he became known as Almast, which means "in a state of ecstasy." He was also referred to as Kambalia or Godaria because of his simple clothing made from a kambal or godari. At a young age, Alu left home to seek spiritual knowledge and eventually ended up in Dera Baba Nanak in 1574, where he became a follower of Baba Shri Chand, the founder of the Udasi sect and the son of Guru Nanak. Almast served at the mausoleum of Guru Nanak and tended to goats for a living. Baba Gurditta, the eldest son of Guru Hargobind, later appointed Bhai Almast to spread the message ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit= Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes from the Sanskrit root ' meaning "disciple", or ' meaning "instruction". Singh, Khushwant. 2006. ''The Illustrated History of the Sikhs''. Oxford University Press. . p. 15.Kosh, Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahan. https://web.archive.org/web/20050318143533/http://www.ik13.com/online_library.htm is an Indian religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent,"Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikh originated in India." around the end of the 15th century CE. It is the most recently founded major organized faith and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents (known as Sikhs) .McLeod, William Hewat. 2019 998 Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal Lake, Dal and Anchar Lake, Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natural environment, gardens, waterfronts and houseboats. It is known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts like the Kashmir shawl (made of Pashmina (material), pashmina and cashmere wool), and also dried fruits. It is the List of cities in India by population, 31st-most populous city in India, the northernmost city in India to have over one million people, and the second-largest metropolitan area in the Himalayas (after Kathmandu, Nepal). Origin of name The earliest records, such as Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'', mentions the Sanskrit name ''shri-nagara'' which have been interpreted distinctively by scholars in two ways: one being ''sūrya-nagar'', meaning "''City of the Surya''" (trans ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Bhatra Sikhs
The Bhatra Sikhs (also known as Bhat Sikhs) are a sub-group within the Sikhs who originated from the bards of the time of Guru Nanak. In the 20th century publication A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Sir Denzil Ibbetson remarks that the Bhats claimed descent from the Brahmins. Eleanor Nesbitt and William Hewat McLeod suggested that they are a caste. Origins Many academics suggests that the word Bhatra is a diminutive form of the word Bhat which comes from Sanskrit meaning a "bard or panegyrist". Dharam Singh writes that in the Sikh tradition Bhatts are poets with the personal experience and vision of the spirituality of the Sikh Gurus whom they eulogize and celebrate in their verses, he suggests that Bhat is not an epithet for a learned Brahman". However the late Giani Gurdit Singh confirmed that the Bhat bards who contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib were descended from the Brahmins in his book, Bhatt Te Uhnah Di Rachna. In th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sikhism In Bangladesh
Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947. Among the eighteen historical ''gurdwaras'' (Sikh places of worship) in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest ''gurdwara'' in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Natha: Indian religious sect
Encyclopedia Britannica (2007)
The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider , as their first lord or , with varying lists of additional gurus. Of these, the 9th or 10th century Matsyendranath and the ideas and org ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jagannath Temple, Puri
The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt from the tenth century onwards, on the site of pre existing temples in the compound but not the main Jagannatha temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars. Unlike the stone and metal icons found in most Hindu temples, the image of Jagannath (which gave its name to the English term 'juggernaut') is made of wood and is ceremoniously replaced every twelve or 19 years by an exact replica. It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. The temple is sacred to all Hindus, and especially in those of the Vaishnava traditions. Many great ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Guru Hargobind
Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.HS Syan (2013), Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century, IB Tauris, , pages 48–55 Guru Hargobind introduced the process of militarization to Sikhism, likely as a response to his father's execution and to protect the Sikh community.Hargobind: Sikh Guru
Encyclopedia Britannica, Quote: "Hargobind, sixth Sikh Guru, who developed a strong Sikh army and gave the Sikh religion its military character, in accord with the instructions of his father, Guru Arjan (1563–1606), the first Sikh martyr, who ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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 worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on '' Katak Pooranmashi'' ('full-moon of Kattak'), i.e. October–November. Nanak is said to have travelled far and wide across Asia teaching people the message of '' ik onkar'' (), who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. With this concept, he would set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue. Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn . ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sri Chand
Sri Chand (8 September 1494–13 January 1629, Gurmukhi: ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ), also referred to as Baba Sri Chandra or Bhagwan Sri Chandra, was the founder of the Udasi sect of ascetic Sadhus. Early life He was the eldest son of Guru Nanak, the first Guru and founder of Sikhism. He was born to Mata Sulakhani on Bhadra sudi 9, 1551 Bikrami (i.e. 8 September 1494). Sikh sources give his life the impressive dates of 8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629, which would have made him 134 years old upon his death. Relationship with Sikh Gurus It is believed that Sri Chand rejected Angad as the successor to his father. When the Sikh guruship passed from Nanak to Angad, the sons of Nanak, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, made a legal claim to their father's properties in Kartarpur, forcing Guru Angad to reestablish the early Sikh community's centre at his native village of Khadur instead. Guru Amardas declared active and domestic Sikhs to be separate from passive and recluse Udasins ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompasses a larger area that includes the Indian-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract. Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gaur Brahmins
Gaur Brahmins (spelling variations: Gor or Gour), also Gauda Brahmins (spelling variations: Gaud, or God), also known as Adi Gauda/Gaur, is a group of Brahmin communities in India. The Gauda Brahmins are one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities that lives in the north of the Vindhyas. Gaur Brahmins likely originated from Kurukshetra region. Initially inhabiting tracts of land between the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers. Today they are most numerous in the western half of Northern India, particularly in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan as well as in the western parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and a significant amount are present in other northern states of India as well. The Gaurs claim that the other four main divisions of North Indian Brahmins were originally Gaur, and have acquired their present designations of Saraswat Brahmins, Kanyakubja Brahmins, Maithil Brahmins and Utkala Brahmins by immigrating to the provinces where they are now domiciled. In Sir ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Udasi
Udasi (Gurmukhi: ਉਦਾਸੀ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; ''udāsī saparadā'') is a religious sect of ascetic ''sadhus'' centred in northern India. Becoming custodians of Sikh shrines in the 18th century, they were notable interpreters and spreaders of the Sikh philosophy during that time. However, their religious practices border on a syncretism of Sikhism and Hinduism, including idolatry, and they did not conform to the Khalsa standards as ordained by Guru Gobind Singh. When the Lahore Singh Sabha reformers, dominated by Tat Khalsa Sikhs, would hold them responsible for indulging in ritual practices antithetical to Sikhism, as well as personal vices and corruption, the Udasi mahants were expelled from the Sikh shrines. Etymology Udasi is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Udāsīn'', which means one who is indifferent to or disregardful of worldly attachments, a stoic, or a mendicant. The word ''Udasi'' is derived from the Sanskrit word , meaning 'detached, journey', reflecting ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]