Dadu Dayal

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Dadu Dayal
File:Dadudayal.jpg
Personal
Born1544
Died1603
ReligionHinduism
SectSant Mat
Founder ofDadupanth
PhilosophyBhakti
Religious career
GuruKabir, Ravidas, Namdev
Literary worksDadu Anubhav Vani

Dadu Dayal (Hindi: दादूदयाल Dādūdayāl, 1544—1603) was a poet-sant from Gujarat, India, a religious reformator which have said against formalism and priestcraft. "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one".

He was reputedly found by an affluent business man floating on the river Sabarmati. He later moved to Naraina, near Jaipur Rajasthan, where he gathered around himself a group of followers, forming a sect that became known as the Dadupanth.[1]

This organization has continued in Rajasthan to the present-day and has been a major source of early manuscripts containing songs by Dadu and other North Indian saints. Dadu's compositions in Braj language were recorded by his disciple Rajjab and are known as the Dadu Anubhav Vani, a compilation of 5,000 verses. Another disciple, Janagopal, wrote the earliest biography of Dadu.[2]

Dadu alludes to spontaneous (sahaja) bliss in his songs. Much of the imagery used is similar to that used by Kabir, and to that used by earlier Sahajiya Buddhists and Nath yogis. Dadu believed that devotion to God should transcend religious or sectarian affiliation, and that devotees should become non-sectarian or "Nipakh".[3] He has something to say about that:[4]

<poem style="font-style:italic;text-align:left" lang="">So kāfir jo bolai kāf;

dil apna nahim rakhe sāf... </poem>

<poem>The infidel is one who tells a lie;

One whose conscience is not clear...</poem>

Dadu had 100 disciples that attained samadhi. He instructed additional 52 disciples to set up ashrams, 'Thambas' around the region to spread the Lord's word. Dadu ji spent the latter years of his life in Naraiana, a small distance away from the town of Dudu, near Jaipur city. Five thambas are considered sacred by the followers; Naraiana, Bhairanaji, Sambhar, Amer, and Karadala (Kalyanpura). Followers at these thambas later set up other places of worship.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Dadu Hindu saint [archive] at Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  2. Nayak 1996, p. 96.
  3. Dadu on Realisation [archive] at sahajayoga.org Archived [archive] 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. Upadhaya 1980, p. 10.

Sources

  • Lorenzen, David N. (1995). Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action [archive]. New York: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2025-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |editorlink1= (help)
  • Nayak, Sujatha (1996). "Dadu Dayal". In Sivaramkrishna, M.; Roy, S. (eds.). Poet-Saints of India [archive]. New Delhi: A Sterling Paperback. pp. 90–100. ISBN 81-207-1883-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |columns= (help)
  • Sant Dadu Dayal: Encyclopaedia of Saints Series (Volume 25). Eds. Bakshi, S. R.; Mittra, Sangh (2002). New Delhi: Criterion Publications. ISBN 81-7938-029-7
  • Upadhaya, K. N. (1980). Dadu the Compassionate Mystic. Punjab: Radha Soami Satsang Beas. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |columns= and |allpages= (help)

External links