Sant Nirankari Mission

The Sant Nirankari Mission (also known as Universal Brotherhood Mission) is a spiritual organisation based out of Delhi, India. The Sant Nirankari Mission identifies itself as "neither a new religion nor a sect of an existing religion, but an all-embracing spiritual movement dedicated to human welfare by helping seekers realize God through the grace of a living true master (satguru) ".[SNM 1]

Not to be confused with Nirankari.

Sant Nirankari Mission
Sant Nirankari Samagam at Sant Nirankari Colony, New Delhi on 16 Nov 2014
AbbreviationSNM
MottoUniversal Brotherhood
FormationMay 1929
Purpose"Universal Brotherhood"
HeadquartersSant Nirankari Colony, Delhi
- 110 009. India.
Main organ
Sant Nirankari Mandal
Websitewww.nirankari.org

The organization was established in 1929 by Baba Buta Singh, it has been targeted by orthodox Sikh groups, who consider the Mission to be a heresy of Sikhism.[1] as the tenth sikh guru,Guru Gobind Singh ji himself explicitly declared Guru Granth Sahib ji as the final guru of sikhs after him .This is the reason this mission is considered heretic as it is against the teachings of sikh gurus.

The organization has more than 3000 centers and millions of followers across the world. Sudiksha Ji is the sixth spiritual head of the organization from 17 July 2018.

History

The Nirankari movement began with the reformist teachings of Baba Dyal Singh in the early 19th century. Baba Dyal Singh emphasised the importance of a living guru, while mainstream Sikhism accepted the Sikh scriptures as the final, and current, guru of the faith. In 1929, one segment of the movement led by Baba Buta Singh, now known as the Sant Nirankari Mission, disassociated itself from the original Nirankari movement as well as mainstream Sikhism and became an independent sect.[2]

Baba Buta Singh was succeeded by Baba Avtar Singh. In the 1960s, the rapid growth of the Sant Nirankari Mission aroused the ire of fundamentalist Sikhs and led to violent clashes.[3] There were significant violent clashes in 1978 that led to Operation Blue Star and the 1980s insurgency in Punjab. In 1980, Gurbachan Singh, third head (satguru) of the Mission, was assassinated by Ranjit Singh, a member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha. The Jatha, shortly before the killing, had been involved in protests against the followers of the Sant Nirankari Mission.[4] After the assassination of third guru Gurubachan SIngh, his son Baba Hardev Singh succeeded as the head of the organisation and spread the Mission's message of universal brotherhood through God-realization until his death on 13 May 2016. On 17 May 2016, Baba Hardev Singh's wife, Savinder Kaur succeeded him[5] and became the first woman to lead the Sant Nirankari Mission. On 17 July 2018, Sudiksha Singh, daughter of former head of the mission Satguru Baba Hardev Singh and Mata Savinder Hardev, was declared as Nirankari Satguru and the Spiritual Head of Sant Nirankari Mission with the blessing of Satguru Mata Savinder Hardev.[6]

Avtar Bani

The Avtar Bani outlines the key philosophy of the Sant Nirankari Mission, and serves as its primary text, though not necessarily a holy book. It is named after its author Baba Avtar Singh.[SNM 2] Its initial version was first published in 1957. The Sampuran Avtar Bani (complete Avtar Bani) was published in 1965. The Avtar Bani was originally written in Punjabi verse, but some stanzas were in the Sindhi language. It contains 376 hymns which describe the qualities of Formless God (Nirankar) and the important role of a spiritual guru in attaining God-realisation. It has been published in Gurumukhi, Devnagari and Roman scripts, and has also been translated and published in English (verse and prose), Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali and Marathi languages.

The Sampuran Hardev Bani, authored by Baba Hardev Singh, was published in 2017. Written in Hindi, the Hardev Vani contains 301 verses.

Nirankari Museum

The Nirankari Museum was inaugurated by fourth satguru, Baba Hardev Singh, on 22 February 2005. The museum is located within the Sant Nirankari Sarovar in New Delhi. It depicts the history and key teachings of the Mission through audio-visuals and pictures.[7][8]

Nirankari International Samagam

The first Nirankari International Samagam (NIS) was held on 11–12 August 2012 at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The theme of the samagam was Oneness. The second Nirankari International Samgam was supposed to be held in June 2016 in Toronto, Canada. Later this event was redesigned into a tribute to life & teachings of Baba Hardev Singh who died in May 2016.

References
  1. William Gould (31 October 2011). Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-0-521-70511-0. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  2. Padma Rangaswamy (30 December 2007). Namaste America. Penn State Press. pp. 269–. ISBN 978-0-271-02775-3. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. Martin E. Marty (1 July 1996). Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance. University of Chicago Press. pp. 273–. ISBN 978-0-226-50884-9. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  4. "Punjab: The Knights of Falsehood – Psalms of Terror". South Asia Terrorism Portal. New Delhi: Institute for Conflict Management. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  5. https://hindi.oneindia.com/news/india/sant-nirankari-mission-former-head-mata-savinder-kaur-passed-away-467441.html
  6. "Baba Hardev Singh's wife Savinder to head Nirankari sect". Hindustan Times. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  7. "Our Staff Reporter" (23 February 2005). "Nirankari Museum inaugurated". The Hindu. Chennai, Madras, India: Kasturi and Sons Ltd. OCLC 35304678. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  8. Tribune News Service (24 February 2005). "A museum of spiritual panorama". The Tribune. Chandigarh, India: The Tribune Trust. OCLC 47351219. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

References from Sant Nirankari Mandal website
  1. "History | Baba Buta Singh Ji (1873–1943)". Sant Nirankari Mission. Delhi, India: Sant Nirankari Mandal (Regd.). Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  2. "SNM History – Baba Avtar Singh Ji". Sant Nirankari Mission. Delhi, India: Sant Nirankari Mandal (Regd.). Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
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