IOverview
The Udasi are a celibate renunciant order begun by Sri Chand, the eldest son of Guru Nanak. The name comes from the Sanskrit udasin, one indifferent to worldly ties. In the eighteenth century Udasi ascetics had charge of many important Sikh shrines. Today the order stands outside the official definition of a Sikh, and mainstream Sikhs do not regard it as a branch of their faith.
This page lists the Udasi among the branches because of their historical link to Sikhism, not to assert that they are Sikh. The Udasi see themselves as tied to Guru Nanak through Sri Chand. Mainstream Sikhs see them as a Hindu ascetic order that honours the Gurus. The page presents both views.
IIHistory
Guru Nanak was a householder who taught a path lived in the world. Sri Chand chose renunciation, and Guru Nanak passed the Guruship to Guru Angad rather than to his son. Udasi tradition holds that Sri Chand lived to a great age, with sources disagreeing on the year of his death, and chose Baba Gurditta, son of Guru Hargobind, as his successor. Baba Gurditta founded four centres called dhuans, and six further lineages known as bakhshish followed.
- 16th centurySri ChandGuru Nanak's eldest son chooses a celibate ascetic life.
- 17th centuryThe four dhuansBaba Gurditta founds centres at Hoshiarpur, Kiratpur, Kartarpur and Nanakmatta.
- 18th centuryKeepers of the gurdwarasWhile Khalsa Sikhs are persecuted, Udasi ascetics look after many shrines.
- mid 19th centurySome 250 establishments in PunjabAccording to Wikipedia.
- 1925Sikh Gurdwaras ActControl of the historic gurdwaras passes to an elected committee, and the Udasi fall outside the Act's definition of a Sikh.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Singh Sabha and then the gurdwara reform movement sought to reclaim the shrines from mahants, hereditary custodians, many of them Udasi. The reformers accused some mahants of placing Hindu images in gurdwaras and using shrine property for private ends. In February 1921 at Nankana Sahib more than a hundred reformers were killed in the gurdwara controlled by Mahant Narain Das, with sources giving different death tolls. The event helped bring about the Gurdwaras Act of 1925.
IIIBelief and Distinctives
The Udasi revere Guru Nanak and the Guru Granth Sahib and honour Sri Chand as a divine figure. They follow Vedanta, hold that the spiritual path needs knowledge, meditation and devotion together, and see renunciation as the fullest way of living Guru Nanak's teaching.
The points that lead mainstream Sikhs to place the Udasi outside the faith:
- Panchayatana worship of five Hindu deities.
- Celibate renunciation, whereas the Gurus taught family life.
- Matted hair, ash and ochre robes in the manner of Hindu ascetics, without the five Ks.
IVPractice, Ritual and Daily Life
Udasi ascetics live in akharas, monastic houses led by a mahant. They meditate, recite scripture and sing devotional songs, including verses of Guru Nanak. The two main bodies are the Panchayati Akhara Bara Udasin and the Panchayati Akhara Naya Udasin. Both are among the recognised akharas at the Kumbh Mela, where Udasi ascetics have their own turn at the sacred bathing. The akharas celebrate Sri Chand's birth anniversary every year.
VOrganisation and Distribution
The Udasi have no single head. Each akhara and establishment is self-governing under its own mahant. Major centres are in Haridwar, Prayagraj, Varanasi and many places in Punjab. This library has no reliable figure for the number of ascetics or followers today. The only historical figure found is some 250 establishments in Punjab in the mid nineteenth century, according to Wikipedia.
A common misunderstanding is that the Udasi are a Sikh sect like the Namdhari or Nirankari. The Namdhari and Nirankari identify as Sikh and centre their worship on the Guru Granth Sahib, differing mainly over living Gurus. The Udasi are a renunciant order that worships Hindu deities, were excluded from the legal definition of a Sikh in 1925, and today are usually classed among Hindu ascetic orders.
VIIn Vietnam
This library has found no trace of Udasi ascetics or establishments in Vietnam.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Sikhism
Mainstream Sikhism (Khalsa Panth)ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਪੰਥ Khālsā PanthThe great majority of Sikhs.
Nihangਨਿਹੰਗ NihangA warrior order within the Khalsa, not a separate faith.
Namdhari (Kuka)ਨਾਮਧਾਰੀ NāmdhārīFounded by Satguru Ram Singh in April 1857 at Sri Bhaini Sahib.Sikh Dharma (3HO)Sikh Dharma InternationalFounded in the United States by Harbhajan Singh (Yogi Bhajan), 1971 according to Britannica, 1969 in some sources.Uses the common symbol of the pathNirankariਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ NirankārīFounded by Baba Dayal in 1851 in northwest Punjab, stressing remembrance of the Name and the formless God.Uses the common symbol of the pathUdasiਉਦਾਸੀ UdāsīA celibate renunciant order founded by Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak.Uses the common symbol of the path
Ravidassiaਰਵਿਦਾਸੀਆ RavidāsīāA community revering Guru Ravidas, formerly counted as a Sikh group.IXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Are the Udasi Sikhs?
The two sides see it differently. The Udasi see themselves as linked to Guru Nanak through Sri Chand and revere Sikh scripture. Mainstream Sikhs and the 1925 Gurdwaras Act do not include them in the definition of a Sikh, because they worship Hindu deities and live as renunciants.
Who was Sri Chand?
Sri Chand was Guru Nanak's eldest son, who chose a celibate ascetic life. Guru Nanak passed the Guruship not to him but to Guru Angad. The Udasi honour Sri Chand as the founder of their order.
Why did the Udasi lose control of the gurdwaras?
The gurdwara reform movement of the early 1920s sought to reclaim the shrines from mahants, many of them Udasi. The Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 handed their management to a committee elected by Sikhs.