Nirankari - Baba Dyal Singh

Baba Dyal Singh

Nirankaris trace their origins to Baba Dyal Singh (1783-1855). Living during a period of Sikh dominance which stemmed from the victories of the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Baba Dyal preached against the assimilation of other religious traditions, particularly Hinduism, into Sikhism. He felt that the military successes of the burgeoning Sikh Empire were distracting Sikhs from their duty to remember Akal Purakh through the practice of Naam Japo. Baba Dyal was particularly vociferous on the subject of idolatry, a facet of Hinduism which was creeping into Sikh practice as a result of the close association of the two cultures. He thus emphasised the formless or nirankar quality of Akal Purakh, which gave rise to the movement's name.

Baba Dyal reportedly experienced enlightenment at the early age of 18, when he entered meditation and heard a voice saying:

Give up this ritualistic practice. You have been commissioned to expel the darkness of ignorance... You are a true Nirankari, as you are a believer of God as spirit, without bodily form

His original movement was confined to the Rawalpindi area, its followers being mainly Khatris and Aroras by caste. Baba Dayal was himself a Sahajdhari Sikh, as were most (though not all) of his followers. This did not mean, though, that his followers were expected to give up their occupations and retreat into a life of renunciation. Nirankaris were typically traders and shopkeepers, and these occupations they were expected to continue while focusing their attention on remembrance of the divine Name.

Baba Dayal left his Nirankaris with a brief manual of instruction called a hukamnama, although its form and contents are those of a rahitnama or "law code". Its content emphasises the teachings of Guru Nanak without mentioning the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh. The essence of the Nirankari hukamnama is contained in the words which every adherent is commanded to utter again and again: Dhan dhan nirankar "Glory be to Nirankar".