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65-502: Nirankari ( Punjabi : ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ , lit. "formless one") is a sect of Sikhism . It was a reform movement founded by Baba Dyal Das in northwest Punjab in 1851. He sought to restore the practices and beliefs of Sikhs back to what he believed were prevalent when Guru Nanak was alive. This movement emerged in the aftermath of the end of Sikh Empire and the Sikh history after Ranjit Singh 's death. Nirankaris strongly oppose representing

130-548: A believer of God as spirit, without bodily form. Baba Dyal's movement was originally confined to the Rawalpindi area, with followers being mostly Sahajdhari Sikhs of the Khatri and Arora castes. However, his followers were not expected to surrender their occupations and live a life of renunciation. The Nirankari were typically traders and shopkeepers and were expected to continue working while they focused their attention on

195-562: A demeaning term to refer to the Sant Nirankari Mandal (or ' Sant Nirankari Mission ') and to distinguish the aforementioned from the original Nirankari movement. The founder of the derogatorily termed "Nakali Nirankaris" was Bhota Singh, who had been evicted from the original movement after being found drunk inside a gurdwara . Bhota Singh would later found the Sant Nirankari Mission after his eviction from

260-646: A hereditary one in practice, states Webster. In the 1891 Indian Census, 14,001 Hindus and 46,610 Sikhs identified themselves as Nirankaris. Under their fourth leader, Baba Gurdit Singh, some of the Nirankari took an interest in the Singh Sabha Sikh revivalist movement. The Nirankaris helped to bring the Anand Marriage Act of 1909 to the attention of the Sikh populace. The movement's fifth Guru, Sahib Hara Singh (1877–1971), started to reorganize

325-589: A liberal approach. Through Persian, Punjabi also absorbed many Arabic-derived words like dukān , ġazal and more, as well as Turkic words like qēncī , sōġāt , etc. After the fall of the Sikh empire , Urdu was made the official language of Punjab under the British (in Pakistani Punjab , it is still the primary official language) and influenced the language as well. In the second millennium , Punjabi

390-538: A period of Sikh dominance, resulting from the victories of the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh . However, Baba Dyal felt that the military successes were a distraction of the Sikh duty to remember Akal Purakh through the practice of Naam Japo . Baba Dyal further preached against the assimilation of other religious traditions into Sikhism . Namely, he was concerned that the Hindu practice of idolatry

455-487: A spirit without bodily form. The next great fundamental principle of their religion is that salvation is to be obtained by meditation on God. They regard Nanak as their saviour, in as much as he taught them the way of salvation. Of their peculiar practices only two things are learned. First, they assemble every morning for worship, which consists of bowing the head to the ground before the Granth, making offerings, and in hearing

520-706: A word will be pronounced, and vice versa. Tone is often reduced or rarely deleted when words are said with emphasis or on their own as a form of more exact identification. Sequences with the consonant h have some additional gimmicks: The consonant h on its own is now silent or very weakly pronounced except word-initially. However, certain dialects which exert stronger tone, particularly more northern Punjabi varieties and Dogri , pronounce h as very faint (thus tonal) in all cases. E.g. hatth > àtth . The Jhangvi and Shahpuri dialects of Punjabi (as they transition into Saraiki ) show comparatively less realisation of tone than other Punjabi varieties, and do not induce

585-528: Is a necessity. Nirankaris consider themselves to be Sikhs, and a part of Sikh history. Originally based in regions near their darbar in Rawalpindi , during the 1947 partition of India , they chose to leave the newly created Muslim-dominant Pakistan and migrated en-masse to India. In 1958, they established a new darbar in Chandigarh . Nirankari Sikhs are settled across contemporary India, with communities found from Srinagar to Kolkata. The first half of

650-482: Is a tendency with speakers to insert /ɪ̯/ between adjacent "a"-vowels as a separator. This usually changes to /ʊ̯/ if either vowel is nasalised. Note: for the tonal stops, refer to the next section about Tone. The three retroflex consonants /ɳ, ɽ, ɭ/ do not occur initially, and the nasals [ŋ, ɲ] most commonly occur as allophones of /n/ in clusters with velars and palatals (there are few exceptions). The well-established phoneme /ʃ/ may be realised allophonically as

715-436: Is always written as نگ . Like Hindustani , the diphthongs /əɪ/ and /əʊ/ have mostly disappeared, but are still retained in some dialects. Phonotactically , long vowels /aː, iː, uː/ are treated as doubles of their short vowel counterparts /ə, ɪ, ʊ/ rather than separate phonemes. Hence, diphthongs like ai and au get monophthongised into /eː/ and /oː/, and āi and āu into /ɛː/ and /ɔː/ respectively. The phoneme /j/

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780-590: Is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India . It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world with approximately 150 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 88.9 million native speakers according to the 2023 Pakistani census , and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to

845-466: Is based on nam simaran . Among the earliest Sikh reform movements, The Nirankaris condemned the growing idol worship, obeisance to living gurus and influence of Brahmanic ritual that had crept into the Sikh panth . Though not an initiated Khalsa, he urged Sikhs to return to their focus to a formless divine ( nirankar ) and described himself as a nirankari . Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire

910-570: Is identical to the Urdu alphabet , however various attempts have been made to create certain, distinct characters from a modification of the Persian Nastaʿlīq characters to represent Punjabi phonology , not already found in the Urdu alphabet . In Pakistan, Punjabi loans technical words from Persian and Arabic , just like Urdu does. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan ,

975-455: Is termed 'Old Punjabi', whilst the stage between the 16th and 19th centuries is termed as 'Medieval Punjabi'. The Arabic and Modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent . Since then, many Persian words have been incorporated into Punjabi (such as zamīn , śahir etc.) and are used with

1040-636: Is the continuation of the line of human Gurus after Guru Gobind Singh, as they eventually reverted to treating their leaders as living Gurus or gods. Nirankaris therefore do not believe in the orthodox view that there were only ten living Gurus in Sikhism and the Guru Granth Sahib is a closed scripture and that last Guru of Sikhism. They revere the Guru Granth Sahib, but also have living Gurus ( satguru ) that they revere and who sits near

1105-507: Is very fluid in Punjabi. /j/ is only truly pronounced word-initially (even then it often becomes /d͡ʒ/), where it is otherwise /ɪ/ or /i/. Unusually for an Indo-Aryan language, Punjabi distinguishes lexical tones . Three tones are distinguished in Punjabi (some sources have described these as tone contours, given in parentheses): low (high-falling), high (low-rising), and level (neutral or middle). The transcriptions and tone annotations in

1170-629: Is widely used in the TV and entertainment industry of Pakistan, which is mainly produced in Lahore . The Standard Punjabi used in India and Pakistan have slight differences. In India, it discludes many of the dialect-specific features of Majhi. In Pakistan, the standard is closer to the Majhi spoken in the urban parts of Lahore. "Eastern Punjabi" refers to the varieties of Punjabi spoken in Pakistani Punjab (specifically Northern Punjabi), most of Indian Punjab ,

1235-926: The 2011 census . It is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora , particularly in Canada , the United Kingdom , the United States , Australia , and the Gulf states . In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet , based on the Perso-Arabic script ; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet , based on the Indic scripts . Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and

1300-465: The Hazara region , most of Azad Kashmir and small parts of Indian Punjab such as Fazilka . These include groups of dialects like Saraiki , Pahari-Pothwari , Hindko and the extinct Inku ; common dialects like Jhangvi , Shahpuri , Dhanni and Thali which are usually grouped under the term Jatki Punjabi; and the mixed variety of Punjabi and Sindhi called Khetrani . Depending on context,

1365-758: The Majha region of the Punjab. In India , Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhī script in offices, schools, and media. Gurmukhi is the official standard script for Punjabi, though it is often unofficially written in the Latin scripts due to influence from English , one of India's two primary official languages at the Union -level. In Pakistan, Punjabi is generally written using the Shahmukhī script, which in literary standards,

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1430-462: The Nath Yogi -era from 9th to 14th century. The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa , though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore. Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri . The precursor stage of Punjabi between the 10th and 16th centuries

1495-540: The Nirankaris . His own marriage in the year 1808 may have been the first recorded instance of the now-mainstream Sikh wedding tradition, known as the Lavan and Anand . This act was revolutionary as he did not invite a Brahmin priest to the wedding and instead chose verses of the Sikh scripture , Guru Granth Sahib , to be read out during the occasion. Dyal was also against gross displays of personal wealth by

1560-413: The h consonant itself and any voiced consonants appended with [h] (Gurmukhi: ੍ਹ "perī̃ hāhā" , Shahmukhi: ھ "dō-caśmī hē" ); usually ṛh , mh , nh , rh and lh . The five tonal plosives also become voiceless word-initially. E.g. ghar > kàr "house", ḍhōl > ṭṑl "drum" etc. Tonogenesis in Punjabi forfeits the sound of [h] for tone. Thus, the more [h] is realised, the less "tonal"

1625-503: The voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] in learned clusters with retroflexes. Due to its foreign origin, it is often also realised as [s] , in e.g. shalwār /salᵊ.ʋaːɾᵊ/ . The phonemic status of the consonants /f, z, x, ɣ, q/ varies with familiarity with Hindustani norms, more so with the Gurmukhi script, with the pairs /f, pʰ/ , /z, d͡ʒ/ , /x, kʰ/ , /ɣ, g/ , and /q, k/ systematically distinguished in educated speech, /q/ being

1690-409: The "formless" God with any image, and believe that the true Sikh faith is based on nam simaran (remembering and repeating God's name). They believe in living hereditary gurus from Baba Dyal Das lineage, and that the Sikh scripture is an open text to which the wisdom of their living gurus after Guru Gobind Singh can be added. Nirankaris believe that a human guru to interpret the scripture and guide Sikhs

1755-726: The 1981 and 2017 censuses respectively, speakers of the Western Punjabi 's Saraiki and Hindko varieties were no longer included in the total numbers for Punjabi, which explains the apparent decrease. Pothwari speakers however are included in the total numbers for Punjabi. Punjabi is the official language of the Indian state of Punjab , and has the status of an additional official language in Haryana and Delhi. Some of its major urban centres in northern India are Amritsar , Ludhiana , Chandigarh , Jalandhar , Ambala , Patiala , Bathinda , Hoshiarpur , Firozpur and Delhi . In

1820-475: The 19th century from the Medieval Punjabi stage. Modern Punjabi has two main varieties, Western Punjabi and Eastern Punjabi , which have many dialects and forms, altogether spoken by over 150 million people. The Majhi dialect , which is transitional between the two main varieties, has been adopted as standard Punjabi in India and Pakistan for education and mass media. The Majhi dialect originated in

1885-518: The 19th-century saw Sikh power expanded with the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh . This strength was deeply admired and cherished by Sikhs. The Nirankari sect was founded in 1851 by Baba Dyal, a Sahajdhari , who aimed at refocusing Sikhs on the Adi Granth – the Sikh scripture, and reform the beliefs and customs of the Sikhs. Baba Dyal's son and successor, Baba Darbar Singh, collected and recorded

1950-684: The 2011 census of India, 31.14 million reported their language as Punjabi. The census publications group this with speakers of related "mother tongues" like Bagri and Bhateali to arrive at the figure of 33.12 million. Punjabi is also spoken as a minority language in several other countries where Punjabi people have emigrated in large numbers, such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada. There were 670,000 native Punjabi speakers in Canada in 2021, 300,000 in

2015-490: The Baba Dyal's essential teachings and established Nirankari communities outside of Rawalpindi. The Nirankari were estimated to number in the thousands by the time of the third leader of the movement, Sahib Rattaji (1870–1909). The Nirankari institution of biredars started, where the living Guru appointed his local representative to watch and lead local Nirankaris in distant towns and villages. The office of biredar has been

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2080-569: The Five Rivers'. Panj is cognate with Sanskrit pañca ( पञ्च ), Greek pénte ( πέντε ), and Lithuanian Penki , all of which meaning 'five'; āb is cognate with Sanskrit áp ( अप् ) and with the Av- of Avon . The historical Punjab region , now divided between India and Pakistan, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries . One of

2145-534: The Formless One". Their ardas differs from that of the Khalsa Sikhs. They invoke "Nirankar" instead of "Bhagauti", and include their tradition's list of living Gurus beyond Guru Gobind Singh. The early worship houses of Nirankaris were called dharamshala , rather than gurdwara . Nirankari means "without form", and reflects their belief that God cannot be represented in any form and that true Sikh faith

2210-554: The Granth read by one of their numbers, and explained also if their leader be present. Secondly, they do not burn their dead, because that would assimilate them to the Hindus; nor bury them, because that would make them too much like Christians and Musulmans, but throw them into the river. Dyal died on 30 January 1855 and his eldest son, Darbara Singh, succeeded him as leader of the Nirankari sect and whom responsible for collecting and recording his father's teachings. His successor spread

2275-459: The Khalsa stance against living Gurus, and the treatment of the Sikh scripture as a closed book. He believed that salvation can result from naam-simaran , or repetition of the divine Name. He started a Sikh reform movement in 1851 to correct the extant beliefs and practices. The key devotional practice was to repeat the formless God's name as the mantra, Dhan, Dhan Nirankar , meaning "Glory, glory to

2340-718: The Sikhs. God told Dayal, according to the Hukamnama, that Sikhs who follow Dayal would go to heaven, while Sikhs who follow Brahmins are on the path to hell. This text describes the Nirankari Sikh ceremonies associated with birth, wedding and death. It also affirms the Anand ceremony as well as includes rituals associated with the throwing of a dead human body wrapped in white cloth into the river. The Hukamnama outlines distinctly Nirankari Sikh rituals, rejects both Hindu and Muslim rituals. Baba Dyal Singh (1783–1855) lived during

2405-463: The United Kingdom in 2011, 280,000 in the United States and smaller numbers in other countries. Standard Punjabi (sometimes referred to as Majhi) is the standard form of Punjabi used commonly in education and news broadcasting , and is based on the Majhi dialect . Such as the variety used on Google Translate , Standard Punjabi is also often used in official online services that employ Punjabi. It

2470-570: The United States found no evidence of a separate falling tone following a medial consonant. It is considered that these tones arose when voiced aspirated consonants ( gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh ) lost their aspiration. In Punjabi, tone is induced by the loss of [h] in tonal consonants. Tonal consonants are any voiced aspirates /ʱ/ and the voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/ . These include the five voiced aspirated plosives bh , dh , ḍh , jh and gh (which are represented by their own letters in Gurmukhi),

2535-556: The broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone . The word Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi ) has been derived from the word Panj-āb , Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River . The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada , which means 'Land of

2600-591: The devoicing of the main five tonal consonants ( bh , dh , ḍh , jh , gh ). The Gurmukhi script which was developed in the 16th century has separate letters for voiced aspirated sounds, so it is thought that the change in pronunciation of the consonants and development of tones may have taken place since that time. Some other languages in Pakistan have also been found to have tonal distinctions, including Burushaski , Gujari , Hindko , Kalami , Shina , and Torwali , though these (besides Hindko) seem to be independent of Punjabi. Baba Dyal Singh Dyal Singh

2665-492: The efforts of an individual to establish a new panth (religious sect) of which he should be the instructor and guide. The sect has been in existence eight or nine years, but during the Sikh reign, fear kept them quiet; since the extension of the Company's Government over the country, they have become more bold, and with the assistance of our religious publications to furnish them with arguments against idolatry, they have attacked

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2730-466: The eleventh-most widely spoken in India , and also present in the Punjabi diaspora in various countries. Approximate distribution of native Punjabi speakers (inc. Lahndic dialects ) (assuming a rounded total of 157 million) worldwide. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan , being the native language of 88.9 million people, or approximately 37% of the country's population. Beginning with

2795-488: The examples below are based on those provided in Punjabi University, Patiala 's Punjabi-English Dictionary . Level tone is found in about 75% of words and is described by some as absence of tone. There are also some words which are said to have rising tone in the first syllable and falling in the second. (Some writers describe this as a fourth tone.) However, a recent acoustic study of six Punjabi speakers in

2860-489: The faith of the Hindus most fiercely. They professedly reject idolatry, and all reverence and respect for whatever is held sacred by Sikhs or Hindus, except Nanak and his Granth... The Hindus complain that they even give abuse to the cow. This climax of impiety could not be endured, and it was followed by some street disturbances, which brought the parties into the civil courts.. They are called Nirankaris, from their belief in God, as

2925-418: The far-north of Rajasthan and on the northwestern border of Haryana . It includes the dialects of Majhi , Malwai , Doabi , Puadhi and the extinct Lubanki . Sometimes, Dogri and Kangri are grouped into this category. "Western Punjabi" or "Lahnda" ( لہندا , lit.   ' western ' ) is the name given to the diverse group of Punjabi varieties spoken in the majority of Pakistani Punjab ,

2990-616: The five, the Beas River , is a tributary of another, the Sutlej . Punjabi developed from Prakrit languages and later Apabhraṃśa ( Sanskrit : अपभ्रंश , 'deviated' or 'non-grammatical speech') From 600 BC, Sanskrit developed as the standard literary and administrative language and Prakrit languages evolved into many regional languages in different parts of India. All these languages are called Prakrit languages (Sanskrit: प्राकृत , prākṛta ) collectively. Paishachi Prakrit

3055-474: The founder of the Sant Nirankari offshoot rather than Bhota Singh. He further states that Bhota Singh was not excommunicated from the Nirankari sect but rather was instructed to solve his issue of alcoholism before engaging in religious affairs publicly again. Baba Dayal believed that Sikh practices and rituals of life were unlike what they were when Guru Nanak was alive. He strongly rejected idolatry,

3120-574: The latter three arise natively. Later, the letters ਜ਼ / ز , ਸ਼ / ش and ਫ਼ / ف began being used in English borrowings, with ਸ਼ / ش also used in Sanskrit borrowings . Punjabi has also had minor influence from and on neighbouring languages such as Sindhi , Haryanvi , Pashto and Hindustani . Note: In more formal contexts, hypercorrect Sanskritized versions of these words (ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ pradhān for ਪਰਧਾਨ pardhān and ਪਰਿਵਾਰ parivār for ਪਰਵਾਰ parvār ) may be used. Modern Punjabi emerged in

3185-445: The local Sikh congregations at two gurdwaras . At the age of 18, it is claimed he heard a voice inside his head telling him to preach against ritualism, expel the darkness of ignorance, and that he was the true Nirankari. This event is taken as a sign of enlightenment. His message was that ritualism and practices, which had been firmly spurned by the Sikh gurus , were seeping back into the religion again, much to his dismay. One of

3250-602: The most rarely pronounced. The retroflex lateral is most commonly analysed as an approximant as opposed to a flap . Some speakers soften the voiceless aspirates /t͡ʃʰ, pʰ, kʰ/ into fricatives /ɕ, f, x/ respectively. In rare cases, the /ɲ/ and /ŋ/ phonemes in Shahmukhi may be represented with letters from Sindhi . The /ɲ/ phoneme, which is more common than /ŋ/, is written as نی or نج depending on its phonetic preservation, e.g. نیاݨا /ɲaːɳaː/ (preserved ñ ) as opposed to کنج /kiɲd͡ʒ/ (assimilated into nj ). /ŋ/

3315-644: The movement, and was later succeeded by his eldest son, Baba Gurbax Singh. Baba Jagdarshan Singh who succeeded Baba Gurbax Singh after his death in 1998, is the current Guru of the Nirankaris. Nirankaris believe in a lineage of living Gurus, well beyond the ten accepted by Khalsa Sikhs. Like Khalsa, they too revere the Guru Granth Sahib , but consider it an open book to which the wisdom of the later and present-day living Gurus can be added. The group later developed its own distinct spiritual movement. At

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3380-449: The original movement. However, a disciple of Bhota Singh named Avtar Singh would claim to be a "guru" after Dayal Singh died, leading to differences emerging between mainstream Sikhs and the Sant Nirankari Mission offshoot. Avtar Singh's coming to leadership of the offshoot Sant Nirankaris is when the sub-sect began to diverge greatly from the original Nirankari sect of Sikhism. John C.B. Webster believes that Avtar Singh should be viewed as

3445-547: The remembrance of the divine Name. Baba Dyal left a brief manual of instruction.' Its form and contents are those of a Rahit Nama, or law code. Its contents emphasize the teachings of Guru Nanak without mentioning the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh . The essence of the Nirankari hu kam Nama is contained in the words which every adherent is commanded to utter again and again, Dhan than ni ran kar , meaning "Glory be to Nirankar." Punjabi language Europe North America Oceania Punjabi , sometimes spelled Panjabi ,

3510-445: The scripture. A 19th-century document in the Nirankari Sikh tradition is called the "Nirankari Hukamnama". This Hukamnama was issued by the eldest son of Baba Dayal, Baba Darbara Singh, the group's satguru between 1855 and 1870. It states that "Sri Satguru Dayal" personally visited God where he also met the ten Gurus of Sikhs who had assembled with God in his realm to meet with him. God ordered Dayal to go preach rituals and customs to

3575-539: The terms Eastern and Western Punjabi can simply refer to all the Punjabi varieties spoken in India and Pakistan respectively, whether or not they are linguistically Eastern/Western. While a vowel length distinction between short and long vowels exists, reflected in modern Gurmukhi orthographical conventions, it is secondary to the vowel quality contrast between centralised vowels /ɪ ə ʊ/ and peripheral vowels /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː/ in terms of phonetic significance. The peripheral vowels have nasal analogues . There

3640-524: The things he spoke out against the most was the use of images as a means of worship , as he believed this was against the Sikh tenet of the Divine being Nirankar (meaning "formless" or "shapeless"). During the rise of the Sikh Empire, many Hindu practices had entered into Sikhism, which may have spurned his reaction against such practices. Thus, him and his growing group of followers became known as

3705-590: The time of the partition of India in 1947, the Nirankari abandoned their center in Rawalpindi, which has since then been part of Pakistan, and established themselves on the Indian side of the partition. There are two Nirankari groups, the Asli Nirankaris (meaning "true Nirankaris"), founded by Baba Dyal Singh , and the Nakali Nirankaris (meaning "fake Nirankaris"). Nakali Nirankari is

3770-404: The upper-classes of Sikh society, such as by royals. He reiterated the Sikh teaching of Kirat Karo , or honest living. He also had aniconistic ideals as he was against the use of idols as a means of worship. He was against the worship of Indic deities by Sikhs. He promoted filial piety, where children revered and respected their begetter. He was anti-narcotics and was opposed to

3835-537: The use of intoxicants. He preferred simple and humble religious ceremonies rather than profligate ones. He promoted naam simran and naam japna as a vital practice for Sikhs. He preached about the centrality of the holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, as the focus and aim for Sikhs to direct themselves spiritually towards and the importance of its message. He did not preach nor practice renunciation . Most of his followers were shopkeepers and traders. After being refused entry to one of his local gurdwaras he

3900-514: Was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like almārī ), Greek (words like dām ), Japanese (words like rikśā ), Chinese (words like cāh , līcī , lukāṭh ) and English (words like jajj , apīl , māsṭar ), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic. In fact, the sounds / z / (ਜ਼ / ز ژ ذ ض ظ ), / ɣ / (ਗ਼ / غ ), / q / (ਕ਼ / ق ), / ʃ / (ਸ਼ / ش ), / x / (ਖ਼ / خ ) and / f / (ਫ਼ / ف ) are all borrowed from Persian, but in some instances

3965-426: Was becoming increasingly prevalent in Sikhism, and thus Baba Dyal emphasized the formless, or ni ran kar, quality of Akal Purakh, which gave the movement its name. Baba Dyal reportedly experienced enlightenment when he was 18 years old, 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

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4030-455: Was born in Peshawar on 17 May 1783 and was the son of a banker named Ram Sahai and Ladikki, daughter of Vasakha Singh of Rohtas. His father died while he was a baby. Growing up, he was educated in Gurmukhi , Persian , and Pashto . After the death of his mother in 1802, he moved to Rawalpindi , where he worked as a grocer . It is during this time that his religious preaching began to

4095-514: Was known to preach at due to his controversial teachings, he decided to establish his own durbar (court) by purchasing land and constructing a small structure there. It is said that Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire once visited him. His sect was opposed by the Bedi descendents of Guru Nanak and the Brahmin caste. On investigation... it was found that the whole movement was the result of

4160-402: Was one of these Prakrit languages, which was spoken in north and north-western India and Punjabi developed from this Prakrit. Later in northern India Paishachi Prakrit gave rise to Paishachi Apabhraṃśa , a descendant of Prakrit. Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a degenerated form of Prakrit, in the 7th century AD and became stable by the 10th century. The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to

4225-421: Was said to have appreciated his teachings. Nirankari prohibit the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. They are vegetarians. The Nirankaris believe in very simple, inexpensive wedding ceremonies called "Anand", a term related to one found among Khalsa Sikhs. The Nirankari Sikhs dispose of their dead in rivers in contrast to burial or cremation. One of the main differentiation of Nirankari from orthodox Sikh belief

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