Introduction of Nirankari Mission

                            

                                                             Nirankari Mission

What is Nirankari Mission?
Sant Nirankari Mission, founded in India by Baba Buta Singhji, is a spiritual movement, devoted to the welfare of the mankind. As per this mission, the aim of life is the 'Realization of Fatherhood of God through the living Satguru'. As this aim is achieved, universal brotherhood, peace and unity automatically follow. As man has progressed in the filed of science, the spirituality in him has constantly diminished.

Sant Nirankari Mission of India aims at making people understand that spirituality can be attained through a revelation of God in the present life. It lays emphasis on the concept of 'One God for All'. Sant Nirankari Mission also has an organizational outfit, named Sant Nirankari Mandal, with its headquarters in Delhi. It was set up to promote the concept of One Formless God (Nirankar), peace, non-violence and universal brotherhood worldwide.

The Beliefs of Sant Nirankari Mission
Sant Nirankari Mission of India is based on the following beliefs…

• Each and every human being is a child of the God.
• God can be realized in the present life.
• The Satguru confers the divine vision.
• There is only one God and He is Nirankar (formless)

The Five Principles of Nirankari Mission

• Each and every human being is the creation of the same God. A person should understand this fact and feel one with his fellow beings. The religion of a person should never become a reason for hating him.
• Realization of God does not require renunciation of the world and the worldly duties. A person should never escape his responsibilities towards his family and the society, in the pursuit of God.
• The divine knowledge bestowed by your Guru must not be divulged to anyone, without his permission. At the same time, Enlightenment should never lead to pride.
• The way a person lives, i.e., his dressing style, diet, etc, should never be a basis for looking down upon him.
• Whatever possessions a human being has, belong to God. He is only a trustee of those possessions and should not feel proud of them.

Baba Buta Singh Ji
Baba Buta Singh Ji founded the Sant Nirankari Mission in India. He was born in Headwal Village under Kaimalpur (Pakistan), in the year 1873. Right from his childhood, he was inclined towards God and spirituality. He received the Brahm Gyan (God Knowledge) from Bhai Sahib Kahan Singh Ji at the age of forty. For the next fifteen years, he assimilated the knowledge he had received, comparing it with the knowledge of Gurbani. Thereafter, started his journey as a teacher to the other mortals.

A Unique Form of Greeting
The followers of Sant Nirankari Mission have a very unique way of greeting each other. Whenever they greet each other, they touch the other person's feet, bow and say 'Dhan Nirankar', meaning 'God is Great'. This is way of showing love and respect towards the other person and acknowledging the fact that God resides within him/her.

Introduction of nirankari mission

The Sant Nirankari Mission is neither a new religion nor a sect of an existing religion, but an all-embracing spiritual movement dedicated to human welfare. It endorses and accomplishes the established age-old truth that Realisation of Fatherhood of God through the living Satguru is the goal of human life and its spontaneous by-product is the cherished achievement of Universal Brotherhood which is inherently essential for peace and progress of the mankind. The Mission believes in God, who is One, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, formless, a non-psychic objective reality and perceivable. He is distinct from celestial bodies such as sun, moon, stars; earthly elements such as earth, water, fire; and subtle elements such as air, ethar and jeeva. These nine elements constitute the entire creation and are distinguishable from the tenth, the All-pervading Divine Spirit, which creates, sustains and regulates the whole universe. This aspect of cosmos has been termed as `Nirankar` (Formless God), though invisible yet all-pervading. In fact what we see is unreal as it decays and dies. But what we do not see is reality because out of that invisible power the visible comes into existence. The changeless in the changing physical world is called God and the changeless in the changing human body is called the Soul. The one who experiences it is known as `Nirankari`. The sole aim of the Mission is to impart the knowledge of Nirankar ( The Formless God) to the seekers` soul. Hence its name, ` The Sant Nirankari Mission`.

Nirankar

The exact description of Nirankar (or formless God) below is taken from the official Sant Nirankari website.

"The Mission believes in God, who is One and omnipresent and care taker, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, formless, a non-psychic objective reality and perceivable. He is distinct from celestial bodies such as sun, moon, stars; earthly elements such as earth, water, fire; and subtle elements such as air, ethar and jeeva. These nine elements constitute the entire creation and are distinguishable from the tenth, the All-pervading Divine Spirit, which creates, sustains and regulates the whole universe. This aspect of cosmos has been termed as 'Nirankar' (Formless God), though invisible yet all-pervading. In fact what we see is unreal as it decays and dies. But what we do not see is reality because out of that invisible power the visible comes into existence. The changeless in the changing physical world is called God and the changeless in the changing human body is called the Soul. The one who experiences it is known as 'Nirankari'. The sole aim of the Mission is to impart the knowledge of Nirankar (The Formless God) to the seekers' soul."

In fact, as mentioned in an article published in February 2006 issue of the English version of the Sant Nirankari (which is the main publication of SNM), that "It is the clarion call by the Nirankari Mission to one and all, 'Come and see God.

Basic ideology

The fundamental beliefs of the Sant Nirankari Mission include:

• God exists.
• God is a single entity, though He has been called by several different names such as Allah, Ishwar etc. throughout history.
• God is formless and therefore may also be called as (Nirankar)
• God can be personally realised. In fact, God realisation is the sole purpose of human life.
• All human beings are God's children.
• A True Spiritual Guide reveals God. Without a True Master, a human being cannot attain God-realisation.
• If a human being wishes to gain God Knowledge, they must ask for it.
• God can be seen.
• Following the five principles (see below) is essential for attaining God realisation.

Five principles

During the session in which a devotee receives Divine Knowledge, the devotee is also introduced to the Five Principles that he/she must practice to the best of their ability.

1. All assets – physical, mental and material – belong to the Divinity and man, as a mere trustee, should use them as such. One should not feel proud of their possession

2. Not to be proud of one's caste, creed, race, faith and other class distinctions and hate others on this account. All men should be regarded as such. One has to feel himself as one with whole human family and love the mankind.

3. Not to look down upon anybody because of his mode of dress, diet and living.

4. Not to renounce worldly life to become a vagrant recluse or ascetic but to lead family life in accordance with normal social norms and sustain family by honest livelihood.

5. Not to divulge the Divine Knowledge bestowed by the Satguru to others without his permission. Never to be possessed by pride because of enlightenment.

The original description of the Five Principles may also be found in Avtar Bani Verses 9A to 9E. The explanation of these verses may also be found in the The Unique Mission

Simran

Nirankari devotees are introduced to the simran (prayer) below when they are given Divine Knowledge from an authorised saint, who has been appointed by the Satguru.

Tu hi Nirankar

Main Teri Sharan Haan

Mainu Baksh Lao

A direct English translation might be:

Thou formless One

I take refuge in Thee

I pray, forgive me

The devotees use this simran to attain spiritual strength. They may pray whenever/wherever they feel like (after all for them God is omnipresent, i.e. all around), but constant realisation of formless God is encouraged. This is reflected by the Avtar Bani verse 117, which says that "Keep on remembering God, saying Tuhi Nirankar [One Thou Formless God] and keep on singing the praise of God; do remember Him every moment and make Him dwell in your mind." (Please refer to the Punjabi version for the original verse as this is only an English translation)

Saints often advise "Hath kar wal, te dil yaar wal", which simply means that while worldly responsibilities are being carried out using the body, the mind of devotees must remain connected with Nirankar.

The simran also has some salient points of interest. Notice that it involves the use of the word "Ik" (One). The idea behind this is to simply illustrate the principle that God is a single entity, even though this entity has been called by several names used throughout history by different people. The simran also uses the word "Nirankar", to signify the formless nature of this entity. The use of the words "teri" (thy) and "Tu" (thou) highlights the fact Nirankari devotees relate to this entity as closely as the way two ordinary human beings interact with each other.

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