Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

Painting of Kabir saheb(seated near the centre of the frame), his disciple Kamal (fly-whisk attendant; standing to the right), and two of his Dharam Das (seated right) and disciples Surat Gopal (seated left)

Dhani Dharamdas was an Indian saint, revered as the ‘Aadi Kavi’ (first poet) of Chhattisgarh, and a prominent disciple of [1] Kabir saheb .[2][3][4] It is said that after becoming Kabir’s disciple, he gave away all his rich possessions.[5] Followers of Dharamdas are known as Kabirpanthi.[6]

Life

Dhani Dharamdas was a prominent saint of the Nirguna tradition of Kabir and played a pivotal role in propagating the Kabir Panth. He is revered as the chief disciple of Kabir Saheb and the primary founder of the Kabir Panth. According to Dr. Ram Ratan Bhatnagar, “Dharamdas is the founder of the Kabir Panth.[7]

Dhani Dharamdas was born in Samvat 1452 (Vikram Era) into a prosperous Vaishya family in Bandhavgarh, which was then part of the Rewa state (present-day Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh) to his father, Manmahesh. He was married in Samvat 1480 to Sulakshanawati of Patharhat, who is known as ‘Amin Mata’ in the Kabir Panth tradition. In Samvat 1520, in Bandhavgarh, he and his wife received initiation (Diksha) from Sadguru Kabir Saheb in the presence of a vast congregation. Pleased by his immense devotion, Kabir Saheb appointed him as his primary successor and blessed the lineage of the Kabir Panth to continue under his guidance for ‘Atal Bayalis Vansha’ (the eternal forty-two lineages)[8].[9] It is said that after becoming a disciple of Kabir Saheb, he gave away all his rich possessions.[10] Dharamdas made two gurus in his life: the first Guru was Roopdas and the second Guru was Kabir Saheb.[11] He had two sons, the first son was Narayan Das who opposed Kabir’s knowledge and the second son was Chudamani (Muktamani).

Spiritual journey

Since childhood, he was very religious. He used to like attending Satsang, Puja, pilgrimages, etc. Earlier, he used to worship idols.One day he met with Kabir.[12] Both discussed spiritual knowledge. In the first meeting, he did not accept the spiritual knowledge that was given by Kabir. But after he understood the spiritual knowledge from Kabir, he left  idols’ worship.[13] After giving initiation to Dharamdas, Kabir Saheb took him to the Satlok (Immortal place). After coming from satlok, he wrote Kabir Sagar, Kabir Beejak, and Kabir Sakhi which were narrated by Kabir.

Evidence in his speech

Aaj mohe darshan diyo ji Kabir ||tek|| Satyalok se chal kar aaye, kaatan jam ki janjeer ||1||[14] Thaare darshan se mhaare paap katat hain, nirmal hovae ji shareer ||2|| Amrit bhojan mhaare Satguru jeemaen, shabd doodh ki kheer ||3|| Hindu ke tum Dev kahaaye, Musalmaan ke peer ||4|| Dono deen ka jhagda chhid gayaa, tohe na paaye shareer || 5|| Dharmdas ki arj Gosaain, beda lagaaio parle teer ||6||

Missionary work

After the founding of Kabir Chaura by Kabir’s disciple Surat Gopal, whom was the first Kabirpanthi missionary, Dharamdas would slightly later found the Dham Khera (Damakheda) maṭh (also known as māī meaning “mother) located in modern-day Chhattisgarh.[15] It conducted missionary activities in central India and had branches located in Raipur, Bilaspur, and Chindawara.[15]

Legacy

The Dharamdasi sub-tradition is headquartered at the Dharamdas’ ashram located in Damkhera village near Raipur.[6] The group bears similarities to the Radhasoamis.[6] A recent spiritual master of the group was Grindhmuni Nam.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ गोस्वामी, सोनिया (2015-06-28). “छत्तीसगढ़ के प्रथम संत कविः धनी धर्मदास”. International Journal of Advances in Social Sciences. 3 (2): 58–60.
  2. ^ Upadhyaya, Krishnadev (1960). Bhojpuri Lok Sahitya Ka Adhyayan. p. 51.
  3. ^ Essays in Indian Folklore: Papers Presented to the Centenary Festival of Rai Bahadur S. C. Roy. Indian Publications. 1973. p. 36.
  4. ^ Singh, Suresh Kumar (2005). People of India: Uttar Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 23. ISBN 9788185579092.
  5. ^ Indian Literature. Prabhat Prakashan. 1988. p. 611.
  6. ^ a b c d Juergensmeyer, Mark (1991). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith (illustrated, reprint ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780691010922.
  7. ^ Goswami, Sonia (April–June 2015). “छत्तीसगढ़ के प्रथम संत कविः धनी धर्मदास”. International Journal of Advances in Social Studies. 3 (2): 58–60.
  8. ^ “Kabir Panthi”. kabirdharmdasvanshavali.org. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  9. ^ गोस्वामी, सोनिया (2015-06-28). “छत्तीसगढ़ के प्रथम संत कविः धनी धर्मदास”. International Journal of Advances in Social Sciences. 3 (2): 58–60.
  10. ^ Bauman, Chad M. (2008). Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 9780802862761.
  11. ^ Ranjan, Purnendu (2007). “Historical Evidence for the Study of Kabirpanth”. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 68: 1041–1047. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44147909.
  12. ^ Maheshwari, S. D. (1980). Sants, Sadhs, Mahatmas, and Devotees of the Past: Their Short Biographical Sketches. Radhasoami Satsang.
  13. ^ “धर्मदास जी का जीवन-चरित्र : हिंदी पीडीऍफ़ पुस्तक – धार्मिक | Dharmdas Ji Ka Jivan Charitra : Hindi PDF Book – Religious (Dharmik)”. 44Books. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  14. ^ “Supreme God Kabir Sahib: The Father of All Souls – Jagat Guru Rampal Ji”. www.jagatgururampalji.org. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  15. ^ a b Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2: E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 405–406.