Satnami Sect

About

The Satnami community was founded in 1657 by Bir Bhan of Narnaul district (present day Haryana).
Udhodas, a disciple of Saint Ravidas, was the first priest or spiritual guru of the society.
The Satnami community is also referred to as the Satnami sect or the Sadhan sect. This sect is a wing of the Ravidassia community.
The community comprises farmers, artisans and people from backward castes.
The sect emphasises on three principles
- adorn the attire of a Satnami devotee,
- earn money through proper means and
- do not tolerate any injustice or oppression in any form.

Revolt against Aurangzeb

In 1672, Satnamis living in present-day Punjab and Haryana rose in revolt against Aurangzeb’s ever-increasing tax demands.
The revolt that began as a rural affray broke out as an open rebellion when the local Mughal shiqdar (police chief) sent troops to arrest the Satnamis who killed a Mughal piyada (foot-trooper).
The rebels occupied Narnaul and Bairat for some time, but the Mughals eventually crushed the rebellion and killed thousands of Satnamis.
Despite lacking weapons and equipment, the Satnamis fought valiantly.

Revival under Ghasidas

Aurangzeb had almost wiped out the Satnamis community, which could see a revival only in the mid-eighteenth century in present-day Chhattisgarh under Guru Ghasidas.

Related Information

Guru Ghasidas

Guru Ghasidas is the teacher or guru of the Satnami sect or Satnampath, which is similar to Sikhism. Guru Ghasidas was born in 1756 and spent a great deal of his life in the forests of Chhattisgarh.
He was an 18th century saint to whom the Chhattisgarh Satnamis trace their theological lineage.
After having experienced the evils of the caste system since childhood, he had made up his mind to establish a new way of living that was based on equality.

गुरूघासीदास बाबा जयंती विशेषांक, क्या झूठ है और क्या सत्य, कुछ आवश्यक प्रश्नोत्तरी ..................... - Satnam Dharm (सतनाम धर्म)

Teachings

The religious philosophy of Guru Ghasidas focussed on worship of one true God, through the chanting of his name Satnam and the abolition of any form of image worship. This rejection of deity worship effectively allowed the untouchable Satnamis to transcend the restrictions on temple-entry.
Ghasidas also asked his followers to abstain from eating flesh (and flesh-like fruits such as eggplant), and consuming alcohol, smoking, or chewing tobacco.
He asked them to use brass utensils instead of clay, stop working with leather and carcasses, and to wear a necklace of beads made from tulsi, like those worn by the Vaishnavas and Kabirpanthis.
He also told his followers to drop their caste names and use ‘Satnami’ instead.

Satnamis today

At the time of Ghasidas’ death, his following was estimated to be nearly a quarter million strong, belonging almost entirely to a particular scheduled caste.
Guru Ghasidas stipulated a lineage of gurus who would lead the sect after him, starting with his son Balakdas.
Over the years, many Satnamis adopted Hindu practices, beliefs and rituals, and came to see themselves as part of the Hindu religious mainstream. Some started to worship idols of Hindu Gods, and claimed to be of Rajput or even Brahmin lineage.

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