Survey of Sikh Sects

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Sikhism is a religion supposedly founded by Nanak (d. 1539), a Khatri Hindu from Punjab, in the very early 16th century.

He is reported to have had an epiphany while submerged in the Kali Bein, a rivulet near the town of Sultanpur Lodhi.

He emerged after three days in the waters and proclaimed “there is no Hindu, there is no Musalman”. 

This proclamation reflects the inner wrangling of Nanak with his setting, northwest India during the Muslim Lodi dynasty.

He was highly influenced by the syncretic tradition of the Bhakti movement, associated with figures like Kabir.

The radical teaching of Kabir and other Bhakti poets may be described as skeptic, antinomian, anti-clerical and egalitarian, would come to characterize Nanak’s own understanding of true religion.

The Guru Granth Sahib contains the writings and sayings of several figures who preceded Nanak, such as Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, Jaidev, Trilochan, Sadhna, Beni, Pipa, Dhanna, Parmanand, Sain, Surdas, Ramanand and even the great Chishti Sufi saint, Shaikh Farid “Ganjshakar” of Pakpattan (1173-1265), may Allah have mercy on his soul, a disciple and successor of the great Sufi saint Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki (1173-1235), may Allah have mercy on his soul.

But following in the footsteps of the other figures associated with Bhakti, Nanak too became skeptical of ritual, or formalities in religion, often questioning the practices and intentions of the Hindu Brahmins and orthodox Muslims of the scholastic tradition. It is ironic considering that Sikhism of today is highly ritualistic and prescribes a detailed Rehat or code of conduct for its adherents. This demonstrates that over time Sikhism evolved and changed from the original teaching of Nanak to its present condition today.

The figures associated with Bhakti whose hymns and couplets are included in the Granth were mostly from the 15th and 16th century, very close to the time of or contemporaneous to Nanak. Some like Trilochan and Namdev and the eminent Chishti Sufi Shaikh Farid-ud-Din Mas’ud Ganjshakar, may Allah have mercy on him, are from the 13th century.

From this we can conclude that Nanak was influenced by a very specific, in terms of time period and region, set of Bhakti Hindu mystics and poets. He did not really contribute anything novel to this tradition which would make him stand out among them.

During the lifetime of Nanak, a cataclysmic event occurred. The Timurid warlord Babur and his Barlas tribe conquered Delhi from the Lodi dynasty and established the famous Mughal dynasty in 1526.

Yet, Nanak never delivered a prophecy predicting this seismic and watershed event in India’s history. The Babarvani attributed to Nanak are four Sabads in which Nanak laments the misery and destruction caused by Babur’s invasion and his war with Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate, is clearly a composition after the fact.

Incidentally, there is nothing from Nanak or the subsequent Sikh gurus like the prophecies of the Israelite Prophets (Jeremiah, Micah, Zephaniah) forecasting the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and destruction of the Kingdom of Judah which happened in the 6th century BCE, or the prophecy of Christ Jesus about the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem which happened in 70 CE, or the Prophet Muhammad’s prophecy, as mentioned in the thirtieth Surah of the Quran, foretelling the Byzantine defeat of the Sassanids that was fulfilled when Emperor Heraclius launched a counteroffensive against Eranshahr beginning in 622 CE.

The eminent Sufi saint and mystic Najm-ud-Din Kubra (1145-1221) predicted, on the basis of Kashf and Ilham (divine unveiling and inspiration) the devastating Mongol sack of the wicked Khwarezmian Empire, which occurred by the hand of the notorious Genghis Khan who laid siege to and finally entered and brutally massacred the town of Otrar in December 1219.

Like Nebuchadnezzar, Genghis Khan proclaimed himself the instrument of God’s wrath upon the Muslims for their moral corruption.

Inalchuq, the wicked Khwarezmian governor of Otrar, had provoked Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes to attack when he had executed the latter’s envoys and delegations sent to him.

The Mongol wrath did not stop at Otrar, but continued in the total devastation of Islamic civilization of Central Asia, Khorasan, Iran and up till Baghdad, which was finally sacked in 1258, ending the Abbasid dynasty.

Returning to Sikhism, the followers of Nanak immediately fragmented when he died in 1539. Here I will list the dozens of Sikh sects, which is by no means an exhaustive list:

Nanakpanthi sect: Early followers of Nanak who did not recognize the succession of gurus after him.

Udasi sect: An ascetic movement of celibate sadhus who followed Nanak’s eldest son called Baba Sri Chand (1494-1629).

Jagiasi sect: Followers of another of Nanak’s sons, Lakhmi Das (1497-1555).

Sanwal Shahi sect: Followers of another disciple of Nanak known as Sanwal Shah.

Gangushahi sect: Followers of Gangu Shah, a disciple of the third Sikh guru, Amar Das (1479-1574).

Hindali sect: Followers of Hindal (1573-1648), another diciple of the third guru Amar Das.

Sat Kartari sect: Followers of Sangat Das, a disciple of the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind (1595-1644).

Suthrashahi sect: Followers of Suthra Shah (1625-1682), another disciple of the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind.

Mina sect: Followers of Prithi Chand (1558-1618), son of the fourth Sikh guru, Ram Das (1534-1581). Prithi Chand claimed to be the true successor of his father, as opposed to his younger brother, the fifth Sikh guru Arjan (1563-1606).

Meharbania or Divana sect: Followers of Meharban (1581-1640). They would sing and dance to Gurbani.

Dhirmalia sect: Followers of Dhir Mal (1627-1677), a grandson of the sixth guru Hargobind and rival guru claimant.

Ramraiya sect: Followers of Ram Rai (1645-1689), eldest son of the seventh Sikh guru Har Rai (1630-1661) instead of the eighth Sikh guru Har Krishan (1656-1664).

Nirmala sect: A Sikh sect that claims the tenth guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708), as their founder, highly influenced by the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.

Sevapanthi sect: A Sikh order, followers of Bhai Kanhaiya (1648-1718), a disciple of the ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675), which emphasizes altruistic service.

Tatt Khalsa sect: After the death of the tenth guru Gobind Singh, the followers of his widow Mata Sundari (d. 1747) who objected to the innovations of Banda Singh Bahadur (1670-1716) who had mandated vegetarianism, changed the Khalsa Sikh blue color for red, and maintained caste Hindu rituals.

Bandai sect: These were the followers of Banda Singh Bahadur, who had been commissioned by the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh for military campaigns against the Mughals and their agents.

Jit Malia sect: Followers of Ajit Singh Palit (d. 1725) another rival guru claimant.

Gulab Raiya sect: Followers of Gulab Rai (1660-1720), great grandson of Sikh guru Hargobind and rival guru claimant.

Radha Soami sect: Followers of Shiv Dayal Singh (1818-1878). They are presently split into two different factions, one led by Prem Saran Satsangi and the other by Gurinder Singh Dhillon.

Namdhari sect: Followers of Balak Singh (d. 1862), and his successors. Their current living guru is Uday Singh. They wear distinctive white turbans and clothing.

Nirankari sect: Followers of Dyal Singh (1783-1855), and his hereditary successors. One of their gurus, Gurbachan Singh, was assassinated by the rival and more dominant Akali Sikhs in 1980. Their current living guru is a woman, Sudiksha Savinder Hardev.

Ravidasia sect: Followers of Ravidas, a Bhakti poet.

Ridvani sect: Founded by Pritam Singh in 1908. They are Sikhs who believe in “Bahaullah”, a synthesis between Sikhi and Baha’i religions.

Nihang sect: A martial Sikh order known for their distinctive blue attire and carrying of larger daggers, knives, swords, spears and other weapons.

Some other distinctive Sikh sects and movements are the 3HO, Panch Khalsa Diwan, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Kutta Marg movement of Narinder Singh, and Sachkhand Nanak Dham.

Similar to the mind boggling fragmentation of Shi’ism over petty disputes of succession to the Imamate, many of these Sikh sects listed emerged over disputes to the office of guru. While the so-called orthodox Sikhs or Akalis believe in a succession of ten gurus ending with Gobind Singh, after which the text of the Guru Granth Sahib remains the guru, other Sikh sects recognize a living guru instead, such as Nirankaris, Namdharis and Radha Soamis.