Bhai Bala | |
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ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ | |
 Bhai Bala seated to the right of Nanak | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Bala Sandhu 1466 Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi, Punjab |
| Died | 1544 Khadur Sahib |
| Cremation place | Precincts of the modern Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib |
| Religion | Hinduism (birth) Sikhism (convert) |
| Parent |
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Bhai Bala (Punjabi : ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ, romanized: Bhāī Bālā; 1466–1544) was a companion of Guru Nanak. Born in Talwandi into a Sandhu Jat family, Bala was also a close associate of Bhai Mardana.
According to the Bhai Bala janamsakhis, he traveled with Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana on all of their great journeys around the world including China, Mecca, and around India. He supposedly died in Khadur Sahib, in his late 70s, in 1544. [1] [2]
There has been considerable discussion as regards to Bhai Bala's existence, particularly within the Sikh academic field. Bhai Gurdas, who has listed all Guru Nanak's prominent disciples (in his 11th Var), does not mention the name of Bhai Bala (this may be an oversight, for he does not mention Rai Bular either). However Bhai Mani Singh's Bhagat Ratanwali, which contains essentially the same list as that by Bhai Gurdas, but with more detail, also does not mention Bhai Bala. [3] There are a number of other anomalies, which Dr. Kirpal Singh has explicated in his Punjabi work janamsakhi tradition. [4] [5]
Trilochan Singh counters some of the points raised by stating that Mehma Parkash and Mani Singh janamsakhi both mention Bhai Bala. Bala is further mentioned in Suchak Prasang Guru Ka by Bhai Behlo written during Guru Arjan Dev’s time. Bhai Behlo says, “Bala discarded his body there, At the holy city of Khadaur, Angad, the master, performed the rites, Graciously with his own two hands.” He also raises the point that Bhai Bala’s family is still living in Nankana Sahib [1] [6] [7] and that Bala’s samadhi exists in Khadaur. [8] According to H.S. Singha, some scholars argue that Bhai Bala was a genuine person, however his janamsakhi hagiographies had been corrupted by heretical sects such as the Minas, Handaliyas, and others. [9] The earliest extant Bala version rendition of the janamsakhis itself claims to date to 1525 but this has been rejected by New Zealand historian W.H. McLeod. [10]
Guru Angad was the second of the ten Sikh gurus of Sikhism. After meeting Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, becoming a Sikh, and serving and working with Nanak for many years, Nanak gave Lehna the name Angad, and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
Bhai Mani Singh was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar to take charge of Harmandir Sahib, which had been without a custodian since 1696. He took control and steered the course of Sikh destiny at a critical stage in Sikh history. He was also a teacher of the Gianian Bunga, later becoming known as the "Amritsari Taksal", currently located in Sato Ki Gali.
Sikh music, also known as Gurbani Sangeet , and as Gurmat Sangeet, or even as Shabad Kirtan, is the classical music style that is practised within Sikhism. It exists in institutional, popular, and folk traditions, forms, and varieties. Three types of Sikh musicians are rababis, ragis, and dhadhis. Sikh music exists in various melodic modes, musical forms, styles, musicians, and performance contexts.
Sakhi literally means 'historical account', 'anecdote', or 'story'. It is derived from the Sanskrit word sākṣī (साक्षी) which literally means 'witness'.
The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.
The Janamsakhis, are popular hagiographies of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Considered by scholars as semi-legendary biographies, they were based on a Sikh oral tradition of historical fact, homily, and legend, with the first janamsakhi were composed between 50 and 80 years after his death. Many more were written in the 17th and 18th century. The largest Guru Nanak Prakash, with about 9,700 verses, was written in the early 19th century by Kavi Santokh Singh.
Bhai Mardana was one of the first Sikhs and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, first in the line of gurus noted in Sikhism. Bhai Mardana was a Muslim by-birth who would accompany Guru Nanak Dev on his journeys and became one of his first disciples and followers, and converted to the newly established religion. Bhai Mardana was born to a Mirasi Muslim family, a couple, Badra and Lakkho, of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib of Pakistan. He was the seventh born, all other children had died at birth. He had very good knowledge of music and played rabāb when Guru Nanak sung Gurbani. Swami Haridas was the disciple of Bhai Mardana and learnt Classical Music from him.
Nanakpanthi, also known as Nanakshahi, is a Sikh sect which follows Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism.
Varan Bhai Gurdas, also known as Varan Gyan Ratnavali, is the name given to the 40 vars which is traditionally attributed to Bhai Gurdas.
Suraj Prakash, also called Gurpartāp Sūraj Granth, is a popular and monumental hagiographic text about Sikh Gurus written by Kavi Santokh Singh (1787–1843) and published in 1843 CE. It consists of life legends performed by Sikh Gurus and historic Sikhs such as Baba Banda Bahadur in 51,820 verses. Most modern writing on the Sikh Gurus finds its basis from this text.
Gurū Nānak, also known as Bābā Nānak, was an Indian spritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
Bhat Vahis were scrolls or records maintained by Bhatts also known as Bhatra. The majority of Bhat Sikhs originate from Punjab and were amongst the first followers of Guru Nanak. Bhat tradition and Sikh text states their ancestors came from Punjab, where the Raja Shivnabh and his kingdom became the original 16th century followers of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The Raja's grandson Prince Baba Changa earned the title ‘Bhat Rai’ – the ‘Raja of Poets, and then settled himself and his followers all over India as missionaries to spread the word of Guru Nanak, where many northern Indians became Bhat Sikhs. The majority were from the northern Brahmin caste ,(Bhat ) as the Prince Baba Changa shared the Brahmin heritage. The sangat also had many members from different areas of the Sikh caste spectrum, such as the Hindu Rajputs and Hindu Jats who joined due to Bhat Sikh missionary efforts. The Bhats also contributed 123 compositions in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (pp.1389–1409), known as the "Bhata de Savaiyye". There hereditary occupations consisted of bards, poets, missionaries, astrologists, genealogists, salesmen.
Sri Chand, also referred to as Baba Sri Chandra or Bhagwan Sri Chandra, was the founder of the Udasi sect of ascetic Sadhus. 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.
This is a list of works by Indian Punjabi-language writer Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1957). This list includes his poetry, novels, translations, plays, and non-fiction.
The Guru Granth Sahib, is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs, containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus, Bhagats, Bhatts and Gursikhs. It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.
The Mīnās were a heretical sect of Sikhs that followed Prithi Chand, the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, after his younger brother Guru Arjan was selected by the Guru to succeed him. Prithi Chand would vigorously contest this, attracting a portion of Sikhs to his side who followers of Guru Arjan referred to as ਮੀਣੇ mīṇe, meaning "charlatans," "dissemblers," or "scoundrels." They sustained their opposition to the orthodox line of Gurus through the seventeenth century, and upon Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa in 1699, they were declared by him, as well as by Khalsa rahitnamas, as one of the Panj Mel, or five reprobate groups, that a Sikh must avoid. They are occasionally referred to in the more neutral terms Sikhān dā chhotā mel or as the Miharvān sampraday in scholarship.
4. Bhagat/Gyan Ratnavali by Mani Singh: This work was written around the eighteenth century (between AD 1675 and 1708) by Bhai Mani Singh, a devotee of Guru Gobind and is only an exposition of Bhai Gurdas's first canto. It does not pretend to add to the information on Guru Nanak. Historic value of Bhagat Ratnavali is immense because it is based on the first Var of Bhai Gurdas and contains no imaginary events. Also, it records all episodes in chronological order and avoids errors of other janamsakhis. Bhagat Ratnavali is significant, in the sense that in the list of Guru Nanak's companions and disciples, contained in this book there is no mention of Bala Sandhu.
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