Lakhmi Das

Lakhmi Das (12 February 1497 – 9 April 1555[note 1]), also known as Lakhmi Chand, was the younger son of Guru Nanak and Mata Sulakhni and founder of the Jagiasi sect of Sikhism.[2]

Not to be confused with Lakhmi Chand, a Haryanvi poet.
Lakhmi Das
Detail of Lakhmi Das from a mural located in the haveli of Khem Singh Bedi located in Kallar Syedan, Rawalpindi district, Punjab, circa 1850–1890
Personal
Born12 February 1497
Sultanpur Lodhi, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate
Died9 April 1555
Kartarpur (on Ravi), Punjab
ReligionSikhism
SpouseDhanvanti
ChildrenDharam Das (son)
Parent(s)Guru Nanak (father)
Mata Sulakhni (mother)
SectJagiasi
RelativesSri Chand (elder brother)

Biography
Guru Nanak with his sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das. Sikh-Guler. Middle or last quarter of 18th century

He was born to Guru Nanak and Mata Sulakhni in Sultanpur Lodhi on 12 February 1497.[2][3] He differed in his life path from his elder brother, Sri Chand, as the latter became an ascetic recluse whilst Lakhmi Das married and had children, living the life of a householder.[2] He married a woman named Dhanvanti and settled in Dera Baba Nanak.[4] Lakhmi Das worked the land as a farmer.[5] Lakhmi Das was also fond of hunting and was an avid huntsman.[6] His wife eventually bore him a son in 1515, named Dharam Das (also spelt as Dharam Chand).[4][7]

Guruship candidacy
Mural from Gurdwara Baba Atal depicting the story of Guru Nanak testing his potential successors by asking them to climb a tree to obtain food for guests. Lakhmi Das and Sri Chand refused to do so (both are depicted below Nanak) whilst Bhai Lehna obeyed (depicted climbing the tree to obtain sustenance for the gathering below).

According to Harish Dhillon, Guru Nanak may have passed over Lakhmi Das when deciding who will be his successor because he was too absorbed in materialism.[1] A sakhi tells of a time when Guru Nanak requested his two sons to climb a kikar tree to obtain fruit to feed guests but Lakhmi Das and his brother refused to obey his solicitation while Bhai Lehna gladly obeyed and obtained bountiful amounts of fruit, showcasing his devoutness and loyalty to the Guru.[8] Another sakhi tells of a time when Guru Nanak asked his two sons to carry a bundle of sticks but they refused to whilst Bhai Lehna humbly obliged this command.[8] Another anecdote of a test performed by Nanak occurred when he asked Lakhmi Das and his elder brother to pickup a jug that fell into dirty ditch and bring it to him.[9] Lakhmi Das refused to as he saw this task as beneath him, he thought very highly of himself since he was the son of Guru Nanak.[9] Meanwhile, Bhai Lehna obeyed without hesitation and completed the task by bring the Guru fresh, clean water in the jug that he obtained from the ditch.[9] When his father died, him and his elder brother initially rejected the reality of the guruship being passed onto Bhai Lehna, who became Guru Angad.[7] They may have wanted to make a claim for the guruship themselves but according to Sikh legend, when they requested Guru Angad give them their father's cloak (a symbol of the guruship), neither Lakhmi Das nor his son, Dharam Das, could lift it.[7] This satisfied their hearts that Guru Angad was the rightful successor to their father and quelled their desires for the seat of leadership.[7]

Spiritual career

Lakhmi Das was the purported founder of the Jagiasi sect of Sikhism (also known as Jagiasu or Jijnasu; from the Sanskrit word jijñāsā meaning "desire to know").[10][11][12][13] It was a sister-sect to the Udasis and bore many similarities to it, with the critical difference being that the Udasis follow a lifestyle of celibacy, reclusiveness, and asceticism, following in the footsteps of Lakhmi's elder brother, Sri Chand, the Jagiasu sect which Lakhmi had founded on the other hand promoted and lived the life of a householder, known as grist marg.[10][11][12][13][14]

There exists a belief that Lakhmi Chand may have been the scribe of the Guru Harsahai Pothi.[15] Balwant Singh Dhillon finds the connection unlikely.[15]

Death

Lakhmi Das died on 9 April 1555 at the age of 58 in Kartarpur near the Ravi River.[2][3]

Legacy

His son, Dharam Das, wedded a woman from the Passi Khatri clan in 1527, who was the daughter of Diwan Uttam Das and Bibi Lajwanti.[4][7] Dharam Das had two sons named Manak Das and Mehr Das.[4] The Bedi descendants of Guru Nanak, such as Sahib Singh Bedi and Khem Singh Bedi, trace their lineage ultimately from him.[2][4][16]

Notes
  1. Some sources give his birth year as 1496.[1]

References
  1. Dhillon, Harish (2015). The Sikh Gurus. Hay House. ISBN 9789384544454. Guru Nanak was about twenty-seven years old when he moved to Sultanpur. He had got married in the year 1487, and had been blessed with two sons. His father-in-law was Mulchand Khatri who lived in the town of Batala in Punjab. He had a daughter Sulakhni, who was said to be polite and soft-spoken. Both Jairam and Nanki had felt that she would make a good match for Nanak. It was during his stay at Sultanpur that his sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das, were born, in the years 1494 and 1496 respectively. ... Ever since he had returned home from his journeys, Nanak knew that neither of his sons could be his successor - Sri Chand lived a life of renunciation while Lakhmi Das was too materialistic.
  2. Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Punjabi University, Patiala. p. 553.
  3. Singh, Bhupinder (October–December 2019). "Genealogy of Guru Nanak". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh. 21 (4).
  4. Singh, Bhupinder (October 2019). "Genealogy of Guru Nanak". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. XXI (4).
  5. Sibal, Rajni Sekhri (2022). The Guru - Guru Nanak's Saakhis. p. 146. ISBN 9789392661099.
  6. The Sikh Review, Volume 37, Issues 421-432. Sikh Cultural Centre, Calcutta. 1989. p. 39.
  7. Grewal, J. S. (2004). The Khalsa: Sikh and Non-Sikh Perspectives. Manohar. p. 64. ISBN 9788173045806.
  8. MacAuliffe, Max Arthur (1909). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 4–10.
  9. Holt, James D. (2022). Understanding Sikhism: A Guide for Teachers. Teaching Religions and Worldviews. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350263192. Many at the time would, perhaps, have expected one of Guru Nanak's two sons, Sri Chand and Lakshmi Das, to succeed him as Guru, but a couple of stories are told as to why Guru Nanak chose Lehna to be the second Guru, Guru Angad. The first story tells of a jug that had fallen into a muddy ditch. On being asked to retrieve it, Sri Chand felt that the jug was too dirty and that the dirt would possibly pollute him. Lakhmi Das refused, the suggestion being that it was too menial a task for a son of the Guru. On the other hand, Lehna retrieved it, cleaned it and brought it to Guru Nanak filled with clean water.
  10. Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2: E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University, Patiala. p. 318.
  11. Singh, Bhupinder (October–December 2020). "Nanakpanthis". Abstracts of Sikh Studies. Institute of Sikh Studies. XXII (4).
  12. Singh, Bhupender (2022). Baba Nanak Shah Fakir. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9789357046602.
  13. Fenech, Louis E.; McLeod, W. H. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 161. ISBN 9781442236011.
  14. Malkani, Dada Kewalram Ratanmal. The Sindh Story: A Great Account on Sindh. Sani Hussain Panhwar. p. 123. Guru Nanak's two sons Baba Lakhmichand and Baba Srichand, gave rise to the Jagiasu and Udasi schools of preachers. They also established many temples. Chief of them was Bawa Gurpat Saheb, the twelfth-generation descendant of Guru Nanak. He played a notable role in Sindhi society. No wonder the Sindhis are very familiar with Sikh scriptures. Today even important Sindhi Muslim leaders such as G.M. Syed feel that the teachings of Guru Nanak would be good for all Sindhis and Punjabis.
  15. Balwant Singh, Dhillon (1999). Early Sikh Scriptural Tradition: Myth and Reality. Singh Bros. p. 79. ISBN 9788172052393. XII. SCRIBE - 12.1. In the Pothi no colophon indicating the scribe, date and place of writing, has been noticed. Sometimes, Lakhmi Chand, the younger son of Guru Nanak has been associated with its scribing. But no internal and external evidence corroborates the above view.
  16. Grewal, J. S.; Banga, Indu (2016). Early Nineteenth-Century Panjab. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317336945. All the descendants of Guru Nanak have been men of felicity. At present, Baba Faqir Bakhsh, Sant Bakhsh, Har Bakhsh and Kartar Bakhsh, the sons of Bhup Chand, have distinguished themselves for their commendable manners and apparent and intrinsic qualities. They belong to the 11th generation from Guru Nanak. Baba Nanak had two sons: Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. Sri Chand became renunciant and did not get married. Baba Lakhmi Chand came to have a family. His son was Dharm Das who came to have two sons: Manak Chand and Mehar Chand. Manak Chand had three sons: Datar Chand, Jagat Chand and Inayat Chand. In the house of Datar Chand were born five sons: Gurditta who became an emancipated man, Bahar Chand, Tara Chand, Udai Chand and Fateh Chand. Baba Bahar Chand had four sons: Asa Chand, Mansa Chand, Harkaran Chand and Suraj Singh. Asa Chand had three sons: Gursahai, Purab Chand and Karam Shah. In the house of Karam Shah were born two sons: Baba Maya Dhari and Baba Gurcharan Das. The latter died without a child. Baba Maya Dhari came to have three sons: Baba Bhup Chand, Milap Chand and Jamiat Chand. God gave four sons to Baba Bhup Chand, all of whom became learned: Baba Faqir Bakhsh, Baba Sant Bakhsh, Baba Har Bakhsh and Baba Kartar Bakhsh, who have been mentioned above. It is believed that an emancipated darvesh named Tawakkul Shah came to the house of Baba Bhup Chand in Dera Baba Nanak and stayed there for a long time. He was an Udasi belonging to the order of Sri Chand, the son of Nanak Shah and he was well versed in all the branches of knowledge. It was because of their association with him that the sons of Baba Bhup Chand came to possess good manners and learning.
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