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Ravidassia Community Rejects
Idea of New Religion
Dera
Sachakhand Ballan’s decision to move away from Sikhism, have own
granth condemned by large sections of Ravidass followers
Sach Kanwal
Singh
 JALANDHAR: In a
thorough and complete rejection of the move by the Dera Sachkhanad
Ballan sect of Ravidasia community that had decided to move away
from Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Sikhism and had announced its own new
religion, large sections of the Ravidassia community have condemned
such developments, reiterated their faith in the Sikh scriptures and
said that liberation is only possible through the liberating and
egalitarian enlightenment that comes from Guru Granth Sahib.
Not only this,
even from within the Dera Sachkhand Ballan sect, sharp opposition
has emerged against the move to not follow the holy Sikh book.
The Sri Guru
Ravidas Sadhu Sampardaye Society, a conglomerate of more than 150
Dalit deras of Punjab, out rightly rejected outright the newly
founded “Ravidassia Dharam” and said it was an attempt to create a
new faith out of the Ravidassia sect.
The society
announced that not only would it continue with the practice of
following the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, but will redouble
its efforts to see that the concept of castelessness is practiced on
the ground all around as envisioned by the great Sikh Gurus. Only
then will the Begumpura of the dreams of Bhagat Guru Ravidass will
be realized, it said.
At a vastly
representative meeting held at Dera Babe Jore, not far from Dera
Sachkhand Ballan here, the society unanimously termed the “separate
religion” announcement as an attempt at dividing the communities.
“The decision
taken by the Dera Ballan Trust cannot be imposed on the entire
Ravidassia community. The newly created scripture `Amritbani Satguru
Ravidass Maharaj-ji’ will not be treated as a `granth’. Besides, no
one consulted all stakeholders in the matter before taking the
decision,” society president Baba Nirmal Dass Jore Wale said in the
presence of more than 30 dera heads.
Rejecting the
idea that the new religion was some sort of assertion of the
marginalised, he said while everyone condemns the killing of Dera
Ballan’s Sant Ramanand in Vienna last year, can the Sikh community
and teachings of Guru Granth Sahib be blamed for the cowardly act of
a few people?”
“Guru Granth
Sahib will not be removed from any gurdwara, while it will be
re-installed at Seer Goverdhanpur, the birthplace of Guru Ravidas at
Varanasi. The community should continue to follow the centuries-old
religious practice,” Baba Nirmal Dass said.
 The meeting
noted that several members of the Dalit community had sacrificed
their lives to defend the philosophy of Guru Granth Sahib. “Guru
Ravidass’ bani reached the masses on being incorporated in Guru
Granth Sahib,” the meeting agreed.
They also said
much that the Sachkhand Ballan people were projecting as new was in
fact very old. The participants said the sign of “Har” was created
by the society in 1974, and the greeting of “Jai Gurudev” was being
used by Dalits since more than 80 years. “We are not against any
dera or religious figure, but only against the vested interests of
certain people who are misusing the name of a dera,” they said.
They also
criticized the attempts of some elements to browbeat those who had
challenged the Dera Sachkhand directive, as with Samaj Bachao Morcha
convener Gian Chand.
Meanwhile, two
Ravidassia gurdwaras have formally installed the newly created holy
book -- “Amritbani Satguru Ravidass Maharaj-ji” -- alongside Guru
Granth Sahib, a step that the Sikh community may not really
appreciate.
Jagdish Jassal,
a Dalit villager, said Chaheru-based Dera Phul Dass chief Kishan
Nath had installed the new scripture at the Ravidassia gurdwara in
Nangal Krar Khan village last Wednesday. The text bearing Guru
Ravidas `bani’ was placed in a separate canopy next to the existing
Guru Granth Sahib. A police team was rushed to the village as a
preventive measure. Similarly, the new scripture was also placed at
the Ravidassia gurdwara in Dhadde village, though in a room separate
from the one in which Guru Granth Sahib is installed.
The Divide
Within
The sharpest
criticism came from within the Dera Sachkhand Ballan with Sant
Surinder Dass Kathar Wale, a major voice in the sect and next in
hierarchy only to head Sant Niranjan Dass, saying that “I don’t
agree with what is going on and I have boycotted all this.’’
He spoke to
reporters at the dera’s branch in village Kooper Dhepur Adda Kathar
last Saturday and said what needed broader consultations, seminars,
debates and discussions and even a long drawn process of interaction
with Sikh community leaders was sought to be done in a unilateral,
dictatorial method by a few people.
 He said, “What
is happening is not what Sant Ramanad (whose killing in a Ravidass
Temple in Vienna triggered the reaction) preached and practiced.
This (severing ties with Guru Granth Sahib) is certainly not what he
would have liked.”
“Sant Ji would
extensively quote from the Guru Granth Sahib during his discourses
and teach Gurbani to students at Dera Ballan,’’ he added.
Slamming the
Sikh leadership, he said it had done little to end caste-based
discrimination in gurdwaras or to bring the Ravidassia community
closer. This discrimination is against the ideals laid down in the
holy book and has led to the present situation.
Signals from
SGPC
Meanwhile, the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also sent the right
signals as an act of rapprochement between Sikhs and the followers
of Bhagat Ravidass and clearly said that it welcomed a major section
of the Ravidassia community that wanted to continue following
Sikhism.
The executive
body of SGPC also appealed for “solidarity” and said all Sikhs
revered Bhagat Ravidass whose bani (verses) is an integral part of
the Adi Granth.
“There might be
a handful of followers who are in confrontation, but the majority
has been following the teachings of Gurus,” said Makkar.
Sikhism scholar
Prof Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon said the very idea of someone coming
up with a new religion was laughable as religions are born out of
movements of hundreds of years and with a distinct socio-political
agendas and have a clear idea of what the notions are about God,
universe, human being, the idea of truth, the sense of what is evil
and many other similar constructs. “How can a religion be pulled out
of a hat one sudden day, and that too in opposition to a 500 year
old religion that has been widely appreciated for its message of
universal brotherhood and egalitarian society?” he asked.
Many blame the
SGPC and the Akali Dal for doing precious little to ensure that the
Ravidasia community, which has somehow gotten economic foothold, is
also given its due place in power structures and social status.
10
February 2010
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