Dera Sach Khand
Dera Sachkhand is a "dera" or religious temple for the follower of Bhagat Ravidas who is referred to as Guru Ravidas by the dera followers. The dera is situated at one end of village Ballan, off the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway in Punjab India. The organisation has flourished since the 1980's and now has many other dera in India and overseas.
The rules relating to the respect for Guru Granth Sahib are fully observed in these deras. The holy granth is placed at a central location and is the central point of focus in the darbar hall. The sangat cover their head and pay their respects to the holy scriptures. The Sant who is the head of organisation honour Gurbani just like and other granthi or sant.
Kirtan is performed in the main hall and there is some relaxation of the "strictly Gurbani" rules but singing is in link with that of "Sant samaj" where simple poetry in praise of the Gurus is common and Gurbani ideas are expressed in simple language.
The Langar hall is organised along the lines of a typical Gurdwara.
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In the news
Austria Temple Shooting
In this photo released by the Austrian Police on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 Indian cleric Sant Niranjan Das is seen in his bed in a hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Sant Niranjan Das and another preacher, Sant Rama Nand, underwent operations for gunshot wounds they suffered during an attack on an Indian temple housed in a residential building of the working-class neighborhood of Vienna-Rudolfsheim on Sunday, May 24, 2009.
The two clerics were visiting Vienna from India, police said, adding they had held services in the same temple on numerous occasions over the past few years without any reported problems.
Sant Rama Nand died around midnight on Sunday, Sant Niranjan Das in the meantime left the intensive care unit of the hospital, police said.
Curfew imposed in Jalandar
NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Indian authorities have imposed curfew in Jalandhar district of the northern state of Punjab, after violence broke out over an attack on a Sikh temple in the Austrian capital Vienna, officials said Monday.
Tension gripped the Indian district after the news reports said on Sunday rival Sikhs attacked a Dera Sachkhand temple in Vienna, in which one of the faction's gurus was killed and another injured.
Hundreds of the supporters of Dera Sachkhand faction swarmed on the roads and disrupted the normal life by blocking roads and resorting to arson, said police.
Dera Sachkhand, a faction of Sikh religion, has followers among Dalit or low caste Sikhs.
The irate protesters set ablaze several vehicles and a bank ATM machine, besides disrupting traffic on the roads. The violence also spread to neighboring towns, according to police.
"The curfew has been imposed in the city late Sunday night to prevent further violence in the city," said a police official in a telephonic interview with Xinhua.
News reports said one of gurus, the 56-year-old Sant Rama Nand who was second in command of the Dera Sachkhand faction, has died of injuries in hospital in Vienna, while the condition of the second wounded guru, the 66-year-old Sant Niranjan Dass who is the chief of the faction, was described to be stable.
Indian authorities are yet to confirm the death of Sant Rama Nand.
"We have officially not received any report about the death of one the guru's in the incident, so far. The situation is under control and security has been pressed up to see there is no law and problem," said H.S. Bains, media advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal.
Security has been stepped up around all the religious institutions in the state and severe restriction put in place to contain the protests and rein in protesters.
More news
- It's Dera Sachkhand versus turbaned Sikhs in Vienna
- Sikhs succumb to casteism
- ambedkartimes.com
- Vienna Incident: A Deep Rooted RSS and GOI Controversy? Vienna shootout in 'Ravidass Temple' but not in Sikh Gurudwara
Background
Sant Pipal Dass Ji left Gill Patti along with Sant Sarwan Dass Ji and after touring many places reached village Ballan in Jalandhar and this is how the village of Ballan became the site of the dera.
There were green "dake" trees at village Ballan which attracted Sant Sarwan Dass Ji most. The villagers of Ballan gave him much love and regards to him and due to this Sant Sarwan Dass Ji asked his father to take him back to Ballan from Piplanwala as the green "dake" trees lured him most. When Sant Pipal Dass ji along with his son came back to Ballan, the sangat of the village Ballan gave the mud-roofed house to them for their permanent residence.
Now the people started respecting Sant Sarwan Dass Ji more and here he started worshipping Almighty in the terrific forest lying in the west of Ballan where deer in groups at daytime and jackals at night strolled freely and the residents had named this place as "jackals home".
At night Sant Sarwan Dass ji preferred to stay at village where in the morning he used to deliver religious discourses to the sangat. Impressed by spiritual enlightenment of Sant Sarwan Dass Ji, one farmer named Shri Hazara Singh of Ballan donated on kanal of land to Sant ji’s cottage. Sant Sarwan Dass Ji got his early education from his father and got Sanskrit education from Sant Kartanand ji of Kishangarh. Sant ji was a great Hindi, Punjabi and Sanskrit scholar.
History
First Sant Sarwan Dass Ji made a hut. Than a small room and a verandah were annexed. Sant Sarwan Dass Ji used to worship Almighty. When Sant Pipal Dass ji passed away on 1st Navrata in 1927, the entire responsibility of ferrying the human beings from this vicious circle of worldly desires has fallen on Sant Sarwan Dass Ji.
In the Dera, Sant Sarwan Dass Ji started a school where he used to teach Guru Granth Sahib and Punjabi to the village children. Every Sunday the kheer and sweet cakes were prepared and offered to the sangat and village children. Many children who got education from Sant Sarwan Dass ji proved successful "pathies" (readers of holy Granth}.
Sant Sarwan Dass Ji used to say that those parents were enemies of their own children who did not have them educated. He taught the values of Gurmat (values of Gurbani) and also preached that the poor should abstain from drug addiction, superstitions and lead honest and hard working life.
Besides, have amenity, Sant ji preached that all human beings must worship Almighty to get their souls purged from vilification of social evils and ill. Whoever came to the dear was persuaded by Sant Sarwan Dass Ji to undertake Naam Simran and join the satsang. When he finished the satsang he used to say that their presence had been marked in the darbar of Almighty. He respected the saints who visited the Dera and used to exchange his views on the spiritually with them.
Company of other Sants
Whenever he found time, he tried to meet spiritually enlightened souls and one such visit was to Dera Beas to meet Sant Sarwan Dass Ji. Sant Sarwan Dass Ji was delivering religious discourses to the sangat. When they saw Sant Sarwan Dass Ji stood up from his bed, showed proper saintly regards to Sant Sarwan Dass Ji and politely offered him to take seat toward head of his bed. Both great saints shared their spiritual delightful experiences for many long hours. Such was loving thirst of Sant Sarwan Dass Ji for spiritually elevated saints.
Support for Good causes
Sant Sarwan Dass Ji was always concerned for social cause. When in 1932 Poona Pact was implemented by the hard work of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for the mission of the dalits, the fast unto death of Sh. Mangoo Ram Magowalia was discontinued by serving juice to the faster from sacred hand of Sant Sarwan Dass Ji.
During his visit to Delhi in 1948 at the request of Giani Bishna Ram, Sh. Faquir Singh, Sh. Swaran Singh, Sh. Niranjan Singh Hothi, Sh. Puran Singh of Beas Pind, Sh. Bhagat Singh & Sh. Nama Ram Dihana, Sant Sarwan Dass Ji daily used to deliver religious sermons at the residences of devotees, and during his stay at Delhi, he along with Giani Bishna Ram, went to meet Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the prophet of humanity.
Dr. Sahib showed great respect to Sant Sarwan Dass Ji’s glowing personality and views. In 1952 Dr. Ambedkar had visited Punjab. Sant Sarwan Dass Ji could not meet him personally due to some reasons but wrote a very impressive letter."Dr. Sahib, you are a great son of community. March ahead for welfare of community & success will come to your feet and people will be proud of you."
Conference in 1970
On 13, 1970 a big conference was convened at Dera Ballan for all-round development of dalits in which about 20,000 people participated from Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and J & K. This conference was addressed by great social reformers like Shri Mangoo Ram Mugowalia, Shri Dilip Singh B.A. L.L.B., Shri Kulwant Rai from Himachal, Shri Hazara Ram, Shri Anant Ram Badhan, Shri Tora Ram, Capt. Bhagu Ram, Shri Manak Chand Amritsar, Shri Om Parkash, Shri Faqir Chand and many others.
All the speakers urged the dalits to unite themselves to withstand the tyranny inflicted upon them by the high castes. They stressed the gathering to follow the path of struggle as shown by satguru Ravidass ji, Satguru Namdev ji, Maharishi Balmik ji and most importantly Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Shri Mangu Ram Mugowalia, Shri Hazara Ram, Shri Nanak Chand and others expressed their gratitude to Sant Sarwan Dass ji for organizing such a big gathering for welfare of dalits and it would be remembered forever in history. Sant Sarwan Dass ji felt that there did not exist any temple in the name of Satguru Ravidass ji and therefore, he got the place traced at Seergoverdhanpur in Varanasi (U.P.) and constructed a beautiful seven storey historical temple in the memory of Guru Ravidass ji which had now become a place of pilgrimage for the poor and downtrodden.
The whole life Sant Sarwan Dass ji dedicated to Satguru Ravidass mission. When the construction of temple at Seergoverdhanpur was in progress, some one from sangat asked Sant Sarwan Dass ji that the temple was being built in U.P. at a very far off place from Punjab, who and how the sangat would go to pay their regards to their great prophet? At this Sant Sarwan Dass ji quipped that the special train of sangat will go from Punjab to celebrate the anniversary functions at Seergoverdhanpur. Now the sangat from every nook and corner of world comes to Seergoverdhanpur in a special Begumpura Train year to have glimpse of the beautifully erected seven storey temple.
Other community projects
Besides this, many temples and Shri Guru Ravidass technical college Phagwara, Primary school Raipur-Rasoolpur, Bhagwan Ravidass ashram Haridwar and the rooms of high school at Ballan had been built in the service of humanity by Sant Sarwan Dass ji.
Sant Sarwan Dass ji was a great "vaid" (doctor) of ayurvedic medicine. He used to distribute free medicines to the patients at Dera. Everyone had seen the spiritual miracles of Sant Sarwan Dass Ji. Even by simple word uttered by him cured the diseases which even doctors were unable to treat. Initiating NAAM to sangat he thoroughly explained to them the meaning of five words and its respective stages.
Soldiers blessed by Sant ji
In the 1962 War with China many soldiers got blessings from Sant Sarwan Dass ji before going to battlefield and he told them that there would be no scratch on their bodies during war time. And this fact had proved true when one Shri Kabal Singh of Phagwara was first informed as died at the hands of enemies and this news was told to Sant Sarwan Dass ji by his family at Dera sahib. Sant ji told the family that Kabal Singh was alive and was in jail in China and he would be soon released and be back with the family. When Kabal Singh was released, he direct by came to Dera and narrated the whole story to the sangat and Sant Sarwan Dass ji.
When war broke out with Pakistan in 1971 Sant Sarwan Dass ji went to Amritsar border and distributed sweets and fruits among the soldiers. Such was a generousity of Sant Sarwan Dass ji. We should always be grateful to Dera Sachkhand Ballan where such a great saint lived for the community, who had sacrificed his every comfort for the welfare of poor and downtrodden. This great visionary saint left for his heavenly abode on June 11, 1972. He left a rich legacy for his successors.
- the above text based on article at: http://sachkhandballan.blogspot.com/'
External links
- Official website
- Pictures of Dera
- DERA 108 SANT SARWAN DASS JI V.P.O. BALLAN, JALANDHAR, Pb. (INDIA)
- Latest News
- BBC News
- SHRI GURU RAVIDASS JI
- Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha (Vancouver)
- Sri Guru Ravidass Temple of New York
- Guru Ravi Dass Gurdwara Sahib Burlington Ontario Canada
