ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SA&#7748GAT</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="SADGAT"> <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">&#65279SA&#7748GAT, Punjabi form of the Sanskrit term <i>sa&#7749gti</i>, means company, fellowship, association. In Sikh vocabulary, the word has a special connotation. It stands for the body of men and women met religiously, especially in the presence of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Two other expressions carrying the same connotation and in equally common use are <i>s&#257dh sa&#7749gat</i> (fellowship of the seekers of truth). The word <i>sa&#7749gat</i> has been in use since the time of Gur&#363 N&#257nak (1469-1539). In his days and those of his nine successors, <i>sa&#7749gat</i> referred to the Sikh brotherhood established in or belonging to a particular locality. The term is used in this sense in the Janam S&#257kh&#299s, i.e. traditional life-stories of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, and in the <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i>, i.e, edicts issued by the Gur&#363s to their followers in different parts of the country. In the <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> there are references, for instance, to Sarbatt Sa&#7749gat Ban&#257ras K&#299, i.e. the entire Sikh community of Ban&#257ras (V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299), Pa&#7789n&#257 k&#299 Sa&#7749gat, i.e. the Sikhs of Pa&#7789n&#257, Dhaul k&#299 Sa&#7749gat, the Sikhs of Dhaul. In common current usage, the word signifies an assembly of the devotees. Such a gathering may be in a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>, in a private residence or in any other place, but in the presence of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. The purpose is religious prayer, instruction or ceremony. The <i>sa&#7749gat</i> may collectively chant the sacred hymns, or, as it more often happens, there may be a group of musicians to perform <i>k&#299rtan</i>. At <i>sa&#7749gat</i> there may be recitals of the holy writ with or without exposition, lectures on religious or theological topics, or narration of events from Sikh history. Social and political matters of interest for the community may as well be discussed.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Sikh faith highest merit is assigned to meeting of the followers in <i>sa&#7749gat</i>. This is considered essential for the spiritual edification and progress of an individual. It is a means of religious and ethical training. Worship and prayer in <i>sa&#7749gat</i> count for more than isolated religious practice. The holy fellowship is morally elevating. Here the seeker learns to make himself useful to others by engaging in acts of <i>sev&#257</i>, or self-giving service, so highly prized in Sikhism. The <i>sev&#257</i> can take the form of looking after the assembly's shoes for all must enter the presence of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib barefoot; preparing and serving food in Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar; and relieving the rigour of a hot summer day by swinging over the heads of the devotees large hand-fans. It is in the company of pious men that true religious discipline ripens. Those intent on spiritual advantage must seek it.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Though <i>sa&#7749gat</i> has freedom to discuss secular matters affecting the community, it is its spiritual core which imparts to it the status and authority it commands in the Sikh system. As Gur&#363 N&#257nak says, "<i>satsa&#7749gat</i> is where the Divine Name alone is cherished" (GG,72). This is where virtues are learnt. "<i>Satsa&#7749gat</i> is the Gur&#363's own school where one practises godlike qualities" (GG,1316). Attendance at <i>sa&#7749gat</i> wins one nearness to God and release from the circuit of birth and death. "Sitting among <i>sa&#7749gat</i> one should recite God's praise and thereby swim across the impassable ocean of existence" (GG,95). As <i>satsa&#7749gat</i> is obtained through the Gur&#363's grace, the Name blossoms forth in the heart (GG,67-68). "Amid <i>sa&#7749gat</i> abides the Lord God" (GG,94). "God resides in the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>. He who comprehends the Gur&#363's word realizes this truth" (GG,1314). "Deprived of <i>sa&#7749gat</i>, one's self remains begrimed" (GG,96). "Without <i>sa&#7749gat</i> ego will not be dispelled" (GG,1098). Says Gur&#363 Arjan in <i>Sukhman&#299</i>, "Highest among all works is joining the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> and thereby conquering the evil propensities of the mind" (GG,266). Again, "As one lost in a thick jungle rediscovers one's path, so will one be enlightened in the company of the holy"(GG,282).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Sa&#7749gat</i>, fellowship of the holy, is thus applauded as a means of moral and spiritual uplift; it is as well a social unit which inculcates values of brotherhood, equality and <i>sev&#257. Sa&#7749gats</i> sprang up in the wake of Gur&#363 N&#257nak&#8217s extensive travels. Group of disciples formed in different places and met together in <i>sa&#7749gat</i> to recite his hymns.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As an institution, <i>sa&#7749gat</i> had, with its concomitants <i>dharams&#257l</i>, where the devotees gathered in the name of Ak&#257l, the Timeless Lord, to pray and sing Gur&#363 N&#257nak&#8217s hymns, and Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar, community refectory, where all sat together to partake of a common repast without distinction of caste or status--symbolized the new way of life emerging from Gur&#363 N&#257nak&#8217s teachings. At the end of his <i>ud&#257s&#299s</i> or travels, Gur&#363 N&#257nak settled at Kart&#257rpur, a habitation he had himself founded on the right bank of the River R&#257v&#299. There a community of disciples grew around him. It was not a monastic order, but a fellowship of ordinary men engaged in ordinary occupation of life. A key element in this process of restructuring of religious and social life was the spirit of <i>sev&#257</i>. Corporal works of charity and mutual help were undertaken voluntarily and zealously and considered a peculiarly pious duty. To quote Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s : <i>"dharams&#257l kart&#257rpur s&#257dhsa&#7749gati sach kha&#7751&#7693u vas&#257i&#257", Var&#257&#7749</i>, XXIV. 11, i.e. in establishing <i>dharams&#257l</i> at Kart&#257pur, with its <i>sa&#7749gat</i> or society of the holy, Gur&#363 N&#257nak brought the heaven on earth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;These <i>sa&#7749gats</i> played an important role in the evolution of the Sikh community. The social implications of the institutions were far-reaching. It united the Sikhs in a particular locality or region into a brotherhood or fraternity. A member of the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>, i.e, every Sikh was known as <i>bh&#257&#299</i>, lit. brother, signifying one of holy living. The <i>sa&#7749gat</i> brought together men not only in spiritual pursuit but also in worldly affairs, forging community of purpose as well as of action based on mutual equality and brotherhood. Though <i>sa&#7749gats</i> were spread over widely separated localities, they formed a single entity owning loyalty to the word of Gur&#363 N&#257nak. <i>Sa&#7749gats</i> were thus the Sikh community information.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In these <i>sa&#7749gats</i> the disciples mixed together without considerations of birth, profession or worldly position. Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, in his <i>V&#257r</i> XI, mentions the names of the leading Sikhs of the time of Gur&#363 N&#257nak and his five spiritual successors. In the first 12 stanzas are described the characteristics of a <i>gursikh</i>, or follower of the Gur&#363. In the succeeding stanzas occur the names of some of the prominent Sikhs, in many cases with caste, class or profession of the individual. In some instances, even places they came from are mentioned. In these stanzas, Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s thus provides interesting clues to the composition, socially, of early Sikhism and its spread, geographically. Out of the 19 disciples of Gur&#363 N&#257nak mentioned by Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, two were Muslims-- Mard&#257n&#257, a <i>m&#299ras&#299</i> or bard, from his own village, and Daulat <u>Kh</u>&#257n Lodi, an Af<u>gh</u>&#257n noble. B&#363&#7771&#257, celebrated as Bhai Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257, who was contemporary with the first six Gur&#363s, was a Ja&#7789&#7789 of Randh&#257v&#257 subcaste. So was Ajitt&#257, of Pakkhoke Randh&#257v&#257, in present-day Gurd&#257spur district. Phirn&#257 was a Khaihr&#257 Ja&#7789&#7789; M&#257lo and M&#257&#7749g&#257 were musicians; and Bhag&#299rath, formerly a worshipper of the goddess K&#257l&#299, was the <i>chaudhar&#299</i>, i.e. revenue official of Malsih&#257&#7749, in Lahore district. Of the several Khatr&#299 disciples, M&#363l&#257 was of K&#299&#7771 subcaste, Prith&#257 and Khe&#7693&#257 were Soin&#299s, Prith&#299 Mall was a Sahigal, Bhagt&#257 was Ohr&#299, J&#257p&#363 a Va&#7749si, and S&#299h&#257&#7749 and Gajjan cousins were Uppals. The Sikh <i>sa&#7749gat</i> was thus the melting-pot for the high and the low, the twice-born and the outcaste. It was a new fraternity emerging as the participants' response of discipleship to the Gur&#363.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Sa&#7749gats</i> were knit into an organized system by Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s who established <i>mañj&#299s</i> or preaching districts, each comprising a number of <i>sa&#7749gats</i>. Gur&#363 Arjan appointed <i>masands</i>, community leaders, to look after <i>sa&#7749gats</i> in different regions. <i>Sa&#7749gat</i> was the precursor to the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 manifested by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh in 1699. That was the highest point in the evolution of the casteless Sikh commonwealth originating in the institution of <i>sa&#7749gat</i>.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Kohli, Surindar Singh, <i>Outlines of Sikh Thought</i>. Delhi, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> McLeod, W.H., <i>The Evolution of the Sikh Community</i>. Delhi, 1975<BR> <li class="C1"> Ray, Niharranjan, <i>The Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Society</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Cunningham, Joseph Davey, <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>. London, 1849<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">K. Jagj&#299t Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>