ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>DASVANDH</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="DASVANDH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279DASVANDH or Dasaundh, lit. a tenth part, refers to the practice among Sikhs of contributing in the name of the Gur&#363 one-tenth of their earnings towards the common resources of the community. This is their religious obligation - a form of <i>sev&#257</i> or humble service so highly valued in the Sikh system. The concept of <i>dasvandh</i> was implicit in Gur&#363 N&#257nak's own line: "<i>gh&#257li kh&#257i kichhu hathhu dei, N&#257nak r&#257hu pachh&#257&#7751ahi sei</i>-He alone, O N&#257nak, knoweth the way who eats out of what he earneth by his honest labour and yet shareth part of it with others" (GG, 1245). The idea of sharing and giving was nourished by the institutions of <i>sa&#7749gat</i> (holy assembly) and <i>la&#7749gar</i> (community kitchen) the Gur&#363 had established. In the time of Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s, N&#257nak III, a formal structure for channelizing Sikh religious giving was evolved. He set up 22 <i>mañj&#299s</i> or districts in different parts of the country, each placed under the charge of a pious Sikh who, besides preaching Gur&#363 N&#257nak's word, looked after the <i>sa&#7749gats</i> within his/her jurisdiction and transmitted the disciple's offerings to the Gur&#363. As the digging of the sacred pool, <i>amrit-sar</i>, and erection in the middle of it of the shrine, Harimandar, began under Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s entailing large amounts of expenditure, Sikhs were enjoined to set apart a minimum of ten per cent (<i>dasvandh</i>) of their income for the common pool, Gur&#363 k&#299 Golak (q. v.). <i>Masands</i>, i. e. ministers and tithe collectors, were appointed to collect <i>k&#257r bhe&#7789</i> (offerings) and <i>dasvandh</i> from Sikhs in the area they were assigned to, and pass these onto the Gur&#363.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Dasvandh</i> has since become part of the Sikh way of life. The custom bears parallels to Christian tithes requiring members of the church to pay a tenth part of the annual produce of their land or its equivalent in money to support it and the clergy, and to Muslim <i>zak&#257t</i> requiring assignment of 2. 5 per cent of one's annual wealth for the welfare of the destitute and the needy. Classical Indian society had no set procedure for regulating donations or charities, though references are traceable such as those in Par&#257&#347ar Rishi's writings urging the householder to reserve 1/21 part of his income for Br&#257hma&#7751s and 1/31 part for the gods. The Upani&#7779ads and the <i>Bhagavadg&#299t&#257</i> commend "true alms" given with a sense of duty in a fit place and at a fit time to a deserving person from whom one expects nothing in return. <i>Dasvandh</i> is, however, to be distinguished from <i>d&#257n</i> or charity. It essentially attends to the needs of the community and contributions are made specifically for the maintenance of its religious institutions such as <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> and <i>Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar</i> and projects of social welfare and uplift.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The custom of <i>dasvandh</i> was codified in documents called <i>rahitn&#257m&#257s</i>, manuals of Sikh conduct, written during the lifetime of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh or soon after. For example, Bh&#257&#299 Nand L&#257l's <i>Tan<u>kh</u>&#257hn&#257m&#257</i> records : "Hear ye, Nand L&#257l, says Gobind Si&#7749gh, one who does not give <i>dasvandh</i> and, telling lies, misappropriates it, is not at all to be trusted. " The tradition has been kept alive by chosen Sikhs who to this day scrupulously fulfil the injunction. The institution itself serves as a means for the individual to practice personal piety as well as to participate in the ongoing history of the community, the Gur&#363 Panth.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Sher Singh, <i>The Philosophy of Sikhism</i>. Lahore, 1944<BR> <li class="C1"> Gopal Singh, <i>A History of the Sikh People</i>. Delhi, 1979<BR> <li class="C1"> Avtar Singh, <i>Ethics of the Sikhs</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Nripinder Singh, <i>The Sikh Moral Tradition</i>. Delhi, 1990<BR> <li class="C1"> Cole, W. Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi, <i>The Sikhs : Their Religious Beliefs and Practices</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Wazir Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>