Dadu Dayal Ji ( hi, संत दादूदयाल , 1544—1603) was a poet- sant from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, a religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft.

Etymology

"Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one".

Early life

Dadu was born in 1544 in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state of India.

Teachings and legacy

Dadu Dayal was a spiritual man. His work is known as Dadudayal ki Vani / Dadudayal -Ra Duha. He believed in God because At the age of seven

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

met him. After meeting with him, he uttered this speech:- Jin moku nij naam diya, soi Satguru hamaar , Dadu doosra koi nahin, Kabir Sirjanhaar , His many compositions were to establish harmony between Hinduism and Islam.

Dadupanth

Dadu Dayal later moved to

Naraina Naraina Village is a village in New Delhi of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democr ...

, near

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, where he gathered around himself a group of followers, forming a sect that became known as the '' Dadupanth''. Dadupanthis are one of the 7 martial

akhara Akhara or Akhada (Sanskrit and Hindi: अखाड़ा, shortened to ''khara'' Hindi: खाड़ा) is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists o ...

s of

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' ( sa, सम्प्रदाय; ), in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and ...

of Hindus. Vaishnavism has following four major sects: ** Sri founded by Ramananda, Dadupanthis are one of those 7 martial akharas of Vaishnavite in the sec of Ramanada ** Brahma founded by Madhava ** Ridra founded by Vishnusuvamin ** Sanakadi founded by Nimbarka. Followers of Vaishnavism are also called

Bairagi Bairagi jaat in Haryana Bairagi is a Hindu caste. They are also called by different names that are Swami, Bairagi, Mahant, Vaishnav, Vairagi, Ramanandi, Shami, Vaishnav , Pujari. They are Vaishnav, and wear the sacred thread. Bairagi cas ...

or Vairagi. Among the Bairagi, those who became part of the military akharas were organised in the 7 akharas founding dates of most of which are unclear. Each of the akhara accepted members from all 4 sects of vaishnavism. Bairagi military akharas generally did not follow the prohibition against eating meat or taking of narcotics.David N. Lorenzen, 2006
Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History
Yoda Press, p.51-65.

Dadu Anubhav Vani

Dadu's compositions in

Braj language The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

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. Dadu alludes to spontaneous (''

sahaja Sahaja ( pra, সহজ sa, सहज ) means spontaneous enlightenment in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist spirituality. Sahaja practices first arose in Bengal during the 8th century among yogis called Sahajiya siddhas. Ananda Coomaraswamy describe ...

'') bliss in his songs. Much of the imagery used is similar to that used by

, and to that used by earlier

Sahajiya Sahaja ( pra, সহজ sa, सहज ) means spontaneous enlightenment in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist spirituality. Sahaja practices first arose in Bengal during the 8th century among yogis called Sahajiya siddhas. Ananda Coomaraswamy describ ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s and

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

s. Dadu believed that devotion to God should transcend religious or sectarian affiliation, and that devotees should become non-sectarian or ''"Nipakh"''. He has something to say about that:

Dadupanthi Thambas

Dadu had 100 disciples that attained ''

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

''. 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.

Dadupanthi Martial Akharas

Armed martial akharas were first likely formed by the Dadupanthi Guru Jait Sahib (1693 - 1734 CE) when he recruited armed Naga

sadhu ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...

s. In 1733, Dadupanthis were tax paying farmers in

Jaipur State Jaipur State was a princely state in India during East India Company rule and thereafter under the British Raj. It signed a treaty creating a subsidiary alliance with the Company in 1818, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. It acceded ...

and martial Naga Sadhus were employed to enforce the payment of taxes. In 1793, Dadupanthis and Jaipur State had an agreement under which Dadhupanthis provided 5000 armed soldier sadhus to defend the Jaipur State. During the 1857 rebellion, Dadupanthis acted as mercenaries who helped

British raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Prominent Dadupanthis

Present status

Dadupanth has continued in Rajasthan to the present-day and has been a major source of early manuscripts containing songs by Dadu and other

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

n saints.

References

Sources

* * * * * ''Sant Dadu Dayal: Encyclopaedia of Saints Series (Volume 25)''. Eds. Bakshi, S. R.; Mittra, Sangh (2002). New Delhi: Criterion Publications. *

External links

Short Notes on Dadu dayal jiDadu Dayal at Kavita Kosh
(

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

)
The Biography of Dadu Dayal

Video of the celebration of Dadupanth in Naraina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayal, Dadu Founders of religions 16th-century Hindu religious leaders 16th-century Indian philosophers Sant Mat gurus Bhakti movement Indian male poets 16th-century Indian poets Poets from Gujarat Mystic poets Religious pluralism Scholars from Gujarat People from Jaipur district 1544 births 1603 deaths