# Sanatan Sikhism Of The 19th Century And Sanatan Singh Sabha



## Admin (Nov 10, 2010)

Sanatan Singh Sabha is the original Singh Sabha formed in 1873 by Sikhs in Amritsar to recover a distinctive Sikhism.

The Sikhs in Amritsar formed the Sanatan Singh Sabha as the original  Singh Sabha in 1873. Still reckoned as an ideal Indian renaissance  movement, Sanatan Singh Sabha recovered a distinctive Sikhism in India.  The Sanatan Sikhs refer to the Classical Sikhism as Sikhs to be a wider  denomination of Sanatan Dharma by the individual who practices karma and  Bhakti of the Almighty in any way for the achievement of Moksha, or  spiritual liberation. 

A second Singh Sabha was shaped and named the Tat Khalsa (`True` Khalsa)  as a political reaction to the formation of the Sanatan Singh Sabha.  The Governing British Administration based at Lahore in 1879 founded the  Tat khalsa. This Sabha was also called the Lahore Singh Sabha. The  British Raj utilized the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhia Sikhs to apply their  `divide and rule` policy. They eventually planned to negate Sanatan  Sikhism in the name of `reform` whereas make Sanatan Sikhism  predominantly inclusive. 

Each of the Singh Sabhas represents a different world-view. The Sanatan  world-view was basically oral, personal, popular, assorted, and  dependent on past traditions and a historical in nature. The Tat Khalsa  world-view was on the other hand, textual, impersonal, elite,  homogenous, historical, dynamic and modern in nature. In the former view  or the Sanatan view, there is a reception of the Indian tradition and  its value over the western tradition and colonialism. While, in the  latter there is a conflation and communication between Western  colonialism and Indian inherited traditions. The basic belief of Sanatan  Sikhism is religious diversity and Sikhism can be composed of a variety  of different forms and practices, since boundaries are essentially  flexible.  

The point of disagreement with Tat Khalsa Sikhism and Sanatan view is  that these practices are often indivisible from the practices evident in  the Hindu and Muslim traditions. Another point of disapproval is when  Sanatan Sikhs see Sikhism as an offshoot of Hinduism. This is unpleasant  and misguided in the Tat Khalsa`s point of view. Thus Sanatan doctrines  are deeply rooted in the Hindu scriptures such as the Puranas, Vedas,  Shastras, popular poetic epics, mythology and legends, as well as in the  practices of idol worship, worship of tombs, temples and other holy  sites. There is also some Sufi, yogic and ascetic practices related to  the Sanatan view. A key point of contention is the Hindu doctrine of the  avataras (divine incarnations) where God is supposed to incarnate in  different forms of living body at times when righteousness shall  overcome the forces of darkness. 

Sanatan Sikhs include the Udasis and Nirmalas and consider that the  Amritdhari, Keshdhari and Sahajdhari are all Sikhs communities. Sanatan  Sikhs also hold the Adi Granth and the Dasam Granth in equal status. The  first Singh Sabha was founded at Amritsar in 1873 and was essentially  conservative `eternal`, almost synonymous with Hinduism. It arose  because of an apparent termination of the Sikh faith, i.e., Sikhs were  believed to be interested into the folds of Hindu thought and practice.  This was worsened and compounded by the conversions of some Sikhs to  Christianity. This happened due to the expansion of English-speaking  education and Christian missionary camps in the 1880s, thus causing a  public uproar. The Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs all interpreted these  colonial times as a threat to their traditions and started several  reformist movements.  

The Sikhs thus inaugurated the Singh Sabha to recover a distinctive  Sikhism. With the start of the print media the task of discovering,  defining real Sikhism was worked out in print, journals and tracts,  religious assemblies, preaching and public conversation. The Singh Sabha  movement speedily expanded and Sabhas were being formed all over the  Punjab. The Sanatan Sikhs i. e the Udasis, Nirmalas and the Namdharis  for the first time challenged and eventually marginalized. The Dasam  Granth has been understood as reflecting the Sanatan Sikh`s world-view  and the Adi Granth the Tat Khalsa`s since the Dasam Granth including  many of the Hindu myths and goddesses, and incarnations of deities like  Siva, Vishnu and the Goddess. The advent of the Tat Khalsa orthodoxy  Sahajdhari Sikhs, Nanak-panthis and Sanatan Sikhs were associated in a  way that their non-Khalsa qualities were greatly highlighted.

http://www.indianetzone.com/37/sanatan_singh_sabha_indian_renaissance_british_india.htm


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