A recent altercation (regarding the teachings and practices of Baba Sri Chand) in the North America's premier Sikh Temple at Dixie Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, has prompted me to write this brief article.

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In the last century Baba Dyal of Rawalpindi did commendable work to flourish the Sikh Religion, particularly in the Puthohar and Northwest Frontier area, now in Pakistan. His attempts to rid the Sikh Religion of the Brahmanical Ritualistic influences, and the promulgation of the present Sikh Marriage Ceremony, are credit worthy. One of Baba Dyal's ill-begotten and disowned disciple took advantage of his growing influence, camouflaged under the name Nirankari associated with Baba Dyal, and started to malign the Sikh ethic.

Although Baba Sri Chand had been exonerated by Guru Hargobind, and he had accepted spiritual and temporal supremacy of the house of Guru Nanak, the vested interests, same as Nirankaris, kept flouting anti-Sikh ethics on his name.

Baba Sri Chand had started his life in defiance to his father, Guru Nanak and his teachings. Consequently he was disowned. He `renounced the world and his disciples practised celibacy and asceticism. They professed to belong to Sikhism, but Guru Angad emphatically declared that there was no place for the passive recluse in Nanak's teachings.... He asserted that the followers of Sri Chand had no connection whatsoever with Sikhism.'

Baba Sri Chand `wore long hair, wandered a naked hermit and established the sect of Udasis. He would not go to see either Guru Angad or Guru Amar Das.' But now about forty years after the death of Guru Nanak Dev he `partially forgot his imaginary grievances' and went to see Guru Ram Das. Guru Ram Das himself went out to receive him, offered him sweets and presented him five hundred rupees. During the conversation Sri Chand remarked about the long beard grown by the Guruji. Guru Ram Das replied, "Yes, I have grown a long beard that I may wipe thy feet therewith." As the Guru went forward, Sri Chand stepped back and said, "O great king, thou art senior, thou art in my father's place. It is magic like this which hath made thee a Guru. I possess no such power and, therefore, I was superseded. I cannot express thy greatness. The Sikhs who come to behold thee shall be saved."

That was the turning point in the life philosophy of Baba Sri Chand. During his sojourns Guru Arjan Dev went to see the Baba Sri Chand at Barath in Gurdaspur District. Guruji narrated to him how he was distressed with the defiant behaviour of Prithia. At this Sri Chand `censured the conduct of Prithia, and said it would be the cause of his damnation.' Although Sri Chand still kept himself aloof, being the son of Guru Nanak, the Guru-household held him in high esteems. During his journey to Kartarpur and to Dehra Baba Nanak, Guru Hargobind met Dharam Chand, a Grand son of Guru Nanak, and desired to see Baba Sri Chand at his solitary place. Sri Chand complimented the Guruji on his bravery in war and said, "Thou hast killed Moslems and given peace to the poor." Guruji, then replied, "It was all the result of thy favour."

This touched the heart of Sri Chand further and, then, when he was nearly one hundred years of age, he wanted to attain spiritual emancipation by serving under the folds of Sikhism and he journeyed to Kiratpur where Guru Hargobind resided. Baba Sri Chand expressed his ambition to adopt Guru Hargobind's son (Baba) Gurditta. To mark the adoption he handed over his mitre to young (Baba) Gurditta and said to Guruji, "The Guruship was already with you. I had only the faqir's mitre, and now that too is given to your family"

`After this Guru Hargobind Sahib sent the Udasis into the hills to spread Sikhism. The Muslim Gujars and others became Sikhs...in those hills up to the borders of Tibet and Khotan the name of Musalman had disappeared... the ambassadors of the hill rajas waited upon Hargobind, and they did not know even the name of the King (at Delhi).'

The foregoing emphatically makes it apparent: -

1. Baba Sri Chand accepted the spiritual and temporal ethnicity of Sikhism.

2. His acceptance of the Sikhism's householdership is evident in his adopting (Baba) Gurditta as his son.

3. The handing over of the mitre shows that he abandoned the asceticism.

4. And, above all, not only he himself accepted the tenets of Sikhism, he, along with his disciples, willingly, proceeded towards the hills to flourish the Universal message of the Sikh Religion.

By the time Baba Sri Chand abandoned his temporal existence, in fact, the Udasi sect had nearly become extinct, except a few small pockets. Their contemporary upsurge is somewhat similar to the rise of latter-day Nirankaris; Baba Gurbachan Singh distorted the Sikh Scriptures and Hagiography, and tried to establish himself and his family as the reincarnation of Guru Nanak and Guru Nanak's kin (although the Nirankaris have forsaken this practice since the Baisakhi massacre at Amritsar).

In late 1800 or early 1900, an Udasi, Anand Ghan, wrote a Janam Sakhi (hagiographical account) of Guru Nanak. In his book, he significantly glorified Baba Sri Chand. In his `apotheoses of Sri Chand' Anand Ghan `states that he (Baba Sri Chand) was an incarnation of God, and the only true successor of Guru Nanak.' According to Anand Ghan, Baba Sri Chand never faced the death of a mortal but, instead, he proceeded to heaven along with all his luxurious belongings, and horses too.

The attempt to increase the influence of the Udasi Sect is quite in keeping with the activities of anti-Sikh agencies and other vested interests. Their augmentation, along with the amplification of the activities of Nirankaris, Nanaksarias, some Radha Soamis, and so-called Latter-day Saint organisations is much more dangerous than the works of McLeodians, Pashoras, Piaras and Oberois.

I sincerely hope that those, who earnestly profess Sikhism as enunciated in Guru Granth Sahib, and regularly take part in spreading the message of Gurbani, will stay away from such diverse splinter groups.

Pritpal Singh Bindra

Mississauga, Ontario

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This refers to my article on Baba Sri Chand published in the World Sikh News, Stockton and Sanjh Savera, Toronto dated November 24, 1995.

I have come across two rejoinders to the above; one in Punjabi is by a Mr. Gurbachan Singh and the other in English by Mr. Ralph Singh, both of New York. I feel sorry for the comprehension of both these gentlemen, particularly Gurbachan Singh. It should not be hard to understand the four inferences stipulated in my article. Both have vastly beaten about the bush to camouflage the real issue and confuse the Sikh Jagat.

In my article I have clearly established that Baba Sri Chand, steadily, after meeting Guru Ram Das, had absolutely reconciled to the Sikh ethos. In due course he became a Maha Gurmukh, a Maha Gursikh and a great protagonist of Sikhism. His missionary work has not only been blessed with appreciation by Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Hargobind Sahib, but also by almost all the Sikh scholars from Bhai Gurdas to Principal Satbir Singh.

I have no where equated Baba Sri Chand with the sectarian agents. The real culprits are the latter-day agents of diversity who, following the teachings of people like Anand Ghan, promote Baba Sri Chand as the `avtar daa puter avtar' (son of an incarnation is an incarnation), `God incarnation' and associate numerous Unsikh supernatural episodes with his life.

I sincerely request Mr. Gursharan Singh of Dashmesh Group (nucleus in the present altercation) not to play in the hands of the vested interests, and publicly declare that he believes in Baba Sri Chand as a Maha Gurmukh, a Maha Gursikh and a great preacher of Sikhism, but NOT AS AVTAAR DAA PUTER AVTAAR, and DENOUNCE ALL UNSIKH ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH BABAJI. (In this regard it is worth remembering that none of our Reverend Gurus had claimed avtaarhood, and Shri Guru Gobind Singh went far enough to reprimand any person who would call him Parmeshwar, the God Almighty)

Mr. Gurbachan Singh has claimed himself to be a seasoned journalist. He should be accustomed to the significance of `---'. All those lines (in respect of the first phase of Baba Sri Chand's life), he had associated with me as my assertions, were under quote. I will be too glad to provide the references as and when I am served with Mr. Ralph Singh's libel suit. In the meantime both the gentlemen can go back to attend the elementary classes in historical research on Sikh Chronicals and Hagiographies.