[4] Hindu Castes and Sects.

Satnāmi

List of Paragraphs

1. Origin of the sect.

Satnāmi Sect[1] (A worshipper of the true name of God).—A dissenting sect founded by a Chamār reformer in the Chhattīsgarh country of the Central Provinces. It is practically confined to members of the Chamār caste, about half of whom belong to it. In 1901 nearly 400,000 persons returned themselves as adherents of the Satnāmi sect, of whom all but 2000 were Chamārs. The Satnāmi sect of the Central Provinces, which is here described, is practically confined to the Chhattīsgarh plain, and the handful of persons who returned themselves as Satnāmis from the northern Districts are believed to be adherents of the older persuasion of the same name in Northern India. The Satnāmi movement in Chhattīsgarh was originated by one Ghāsi Dās, a native of the Bilāspur District, between A.D. 1820 and 1830. But it is probable that Ghāsi Dās, as suggested by Mr. Hīra Lāl, got his inspiration from a follower of the older Satnāmi sect of northern India. This was inaugurated by a Rājpūt, Jagjīwan Dās of the Bara Banki District, who died in 1761. He preached the worship of the True Name of the one God, the cause and creator of all things, void of sensible qualities and without beginning or end. He prohibited the use of meat, lentils (on account of their red colour suggesting blood) of the brinjal or eggplant, which was considered, probably on account of its shape, to resemble flesh, and of intoxicating liquors. The creed of Ghāsi Dās enunciated subsequently was nearly identical with that of Jagjīwan Dās, and was no doubt derived from it, though Ghāsi Dās never acknowledged the source of his inspiration.

2. Ghāsi Dās, founder of the Satnāmi sect.

Ghāsi Dās was a poor farmservant in Girod, a village formerly in Bilaspur and now in Raipur, near the Sonakān forests. On one occasion he and his brother started on a pilgrimage to the temple at Puri, but only got as far as Sārangarh, whence they returned ejaculating ‘Satnām, Satnām.’ From this time Ghāsi Dās began to adopt the life of an ascetic, retiring all day to the forest to meditate. On a rocky hillock about a mile from Girod is a large tendu tree (Diospyros tomentosa) under which it is said that he was accustomed to sit. This is a favourite place of pilgrimage of the Chamārs, and two Satnāmi temples have been built near it, which contain no idols. Once these temples were annually visited by the successors of Ghāsi Dās. But at present the head of the sect only proceeds to them, like the Greeks to Delphi, in circumstances of special difficulty. In the course of time Ghāsi Dās became venerated as a saintly character, and on some miracles, such as the curing of snake-bite, being attributed to him, his fame rapidly spread. The Chamārs began to travel from long distances to venerate him, and those who entertained desires, such as for the birth of a child, believed that he could fulfil them. The pilgrims were accustomed to carry away with them the water in which he had washed his feet, in hollow bamboos, and their relatives at home drank this, considering it was nectar. Finally, Ghāsi Dās retired to the forests for a period, and emerged with what he called a new Gospel for the Chamārs; but this really consisted of a repetition of the tenets of Jagjīwan Dās, the founder of the Satnāmi sect of Upper India, with a few additions. Mr. Chisholm[2] gave a graphic account of the retirement of Ghāsi Dās to the Sonakān forests for a period of six months, and of his reappearance and proclamation of his revelation on a fixed date before a great multitude of Chamārs, who had gathered from all parts to hear him. An inquiry conducted locally by Mr. Hīra Lāl in 1903 indicates that this story is of doubtful authenticity, though it must be remembered that Mr. Chisholm wrote only forty years after the event, and forty more had elapsed at the time of Mr. Hīra Lāl’s investigation.[3] Of the Chamār Reformer himself Mr. Chisholm writes:[4] “Ghāsi Dās, like the rest of his community, was unlettered. He was a man of unusually fair complexion and rather imposing appearance, sensitive, silent, given to seeing visions, and deeply resenting the harsh treatment of his brotherhood by the Hindus. He was well known to the whole community, having travelled much among them; had the reputation of being exceptionally sagacious and was universally respected.”

3. The message of Ghāsi Dās.