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Ostracised By The Guru
 350 Years Earlier,
Now A Sect Wants To Return To Sikhism's Mainfold

S P Singh

Kartarpur:

"thou shall not have any social relation with dhirmalias… as such ties render a Sikh as tankhahyia."

 -- Words uttered at the baptising ceremony of every Sikh in order to initiate him into the khalsa panth.

Now, about 350 years after their ostracisation from the Sikh panth, the head of the dhirmal sect, descendant of sixth Sikh guru, has for the first time declared that he no more considers himself a ‘guru’ and "only Guru Granth Sahib" is the real guru of Sikhs.

Notional owners of the entire city of Kartarpur in Jalandhar district, thanks to the generosity of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, and custodians of the original copy of Guru Granth Sahib (Adi Granth), hand scripted by Bhai Gurdas under direct supervision of fifth Sikh guru Arjan Dev, the Sodhi-Dhirmals have stayed outside the Sikh mainstream for over three centuries now but have maintained their Sikh identity and managed to stay largely out of any controversy.

The sect is now headed by 49-year-old Karamjit Singh, a bachelor, who says they have assimilated the fact of ostracisation but adds that "it was something that the community did. They expelled us from the Panth. If any overture for weaving us back into the Sikh mainstream is to happen, it has to come from the other side."

He said his father Amarjit Singh, who headed the Dhirmalia sect till his death on November 4, 1998, tried in the 1960s for such a move but found no response from the community.

But how will they respond to such an overture now? "We’ll cross the bridge when we reach it,"says Karamjit's younger brother Charanjit Singh but sources in the sect said nothing better can happen than the Akal Takht or the SGPC taking the initiative for such a move.

"We have no interaction with the SGPC. Nor do we have any dispute with them," says Charanjit. The family is embroiled in a number of court cases related to property running into crores of rupees. The ostracisation also poses a security risk and the members of the family move under private security.

The gaddi of the sect is inherited by the elder son of the incumbent, or if that is not possible, by elder son of the younger brother.

The Sikhs' antipathy towards the sect has to do with the doings of Dhirmal, the only brother of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru of the Sikhs who was anointed Guru by his grandfather, sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, ignoring the claim of elder brother Dhirmal.

During Guru Hargobind's battles with the Mughal army, Dhirmal had written a letter to Painde Khan, a Mughal general, promising help in case of an assault. Painde Khan was eventually killed by Guru Hargobind with a scimitar.

The family of Dhirmals, proud custodians of Adi Granth, also has this scimitar, another scimitar belonging to Guru Har Rai Sahib, a 'gutka' of Guru Arjun Dev and a number of other relics.

The latest declaration of the Dhirmal sect head about his not being the Guru, and that only Guru Granth Sahib can be the guru, comes close on the heels of a controversy over the Namdharis' stand vis-a-vis the Sikh holy book.

The namdharis' considered view is that only an individual can be a Guru and a book can never be the guru, a view that goes against the very fundamental precepts of the Sikh religion. The namdharis do not undergo baptism either.

The Dhirmal sect head comes out as very polite and erudite person even though the The Indian Express team was warned by his younger brother about his being a man of short temper.

"I am not a guru. Guru Granth Sahib is the only guru…One can only be a teacher. My role is that of a teacher. Actual Guru is in your heart, actual guru is God…Every soul is divine. We are basically teachers. The Granth is the way. I can only teach. Not preach. Preaching is the worst sin. Who am I to preach? Those who have attained communion with God, only they have the right to preach," says Karamjit, referred to as Baba ji by members of his household.

He says he was once "going to commit a sin by preaching as a Guru but then wisdom dawned upon him. "For Sikhs, the Guru is Granth Sahib," he takes off again, quoting profusely from the hymns. Karamjit is a man of learning and gives examples from the Bible, the Ramayana and several other religious works to buttress his arguments.

"The japuji (composition of Guru Nanak) is the preamble of the whole Guru Granth Sahib. All your interpretations must pass muster it. That is why the Guru kept it as the first bani," he says.

Asked what he thinks of various Sikh issues, the descendant of the sixth guru replies, “The community is now facing a big question. Where to go from here? I think the best way in such a dilemma is to go in the direction shown by the Gurus -- the sadh-sangat. It will not take a wrong decision.

"Leadership of the Sikhs, and that includes me also, can have some vested interest. But the sadh-sangat cannot have any vested interest."

The  Dhirmal sect head has more advice to offer, and this time a specific one."There should be bold decisions like maintaining high transparency. All books of accounts of SGPC, gurudwaras, all SGPC forums should be kept open for sadh-sangat. Look at me. All my income is liable to tax. Anyone can check it. I think not more than 10 per cent should be spent on administrative infrastructure. Rest should go towards development. But who listens?"

The Dhirmalias, in contemporary times, have not been accused of any anti-Sikh activity. "We have even stopped the practice of enacting the battle between Painde Khan and Guru Hargobind where the head of the sect used to sit in bir-asan with his knee touching the ground, thus enacting the death of the mughal warrior," says Charanjit Singh.

They have maintained the Khalsa order's external identity, by undergoing baptism and supporting the five Ks – Kesh (hair), Kanga (comb), Kara (iron bracelet), Kachha (prescribed shorts) and Kirpan (sword). But the Sikh community has taken little note. The baptism ceremony is incomplete without an instruction to the newly baptised not to maintain any links with the Dhirmalias.

The Dhirmalias meanwhile live on the periphery of the mainstream community but holding one of its most precious treasures, the Adi Granth, kept safe in a 900 kg iron-safe, which is opened only on baisakhi day.■

July 9, 2000

Also see:
Former Akal Takht heads welcome stance, many react

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