Dharamdas

Dharamdas was an Indian saint, Bhojpuri language poet and one of the disciples of Kabir.[1][2][3] It is said that after becoming Kabir's disciple, he gave away all his rich possessions.[4]

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

Life

Dharamdas was born into a rich Vaishya family near Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh.[5] Dharamdas made two gurus in his life: the first Guru was Roopdas and the second Guru was Kabir.[6] The name of Dharamdas' wife was Amini Devi. 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.[7] 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.[8] 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||[9] 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.[10] It conducted missionary activities in central India and had branches located in Raipur, Bilaspur, and Chindawara.[10]

See also

References
  1. Upadhyaya, Krishnadev (1960). Bhojpuri Lok Sahitya Ka Adhyayan. p. 51.
  2. Essays in Indian Folklore: Papers Presented to the Centenary Festival of Rai Bahadur S. C. Roy. Indian Publications. 1973. p. 36.
  3. Singh, Suresh Kumar (2005). People of India: Uttar Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 23. ISBN 9788185579092.
  4. Indian Literature. Prabhat Prakashan. 1988. p. 611.
  5. Bauman, Chad M. (2008). Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 9780802862761.
  6. Ranjan, Purnendu (2007). "Historical Evidence for the Study of Kabirpanth". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 68: 1041–1047. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44147909.
  7. Maheshwari, S. D. (1980). Sants, Sadhs, Mahatmas, and Devotees of the Past: Their Short Biographical Sketches. Radhasoami Satsang.
  8. "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.
  9. "Supreme God Kabir Sahib: The Father of All Souls - Jagat Guru Rampal Ji". www.jagatgururampalji.org. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  10. Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2: E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 405–406.
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