| Founder | |
|---|---|
| Devchandra | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| India,Nepal | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism | |
| Scriptures | |
| Tartam Sagar | |
| Languages | |
| Gujarati,Hindi,Nepali |
ThePranami Sampradaya, also known asPranami (lit. 'Those who bow down') orPranami Panth is aHindu sect that worshipsKrishna as the Supreme God. It is based on the teachings ofMahamati Prannath andDevchandra and their holy book, theTartam Sagar.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The Praṇāmī sect belong to theSant heritage like that of theKabīrpanthi,Dādūpanthis, andSikhs.[7]
The Praṇāmīsampradaya emerged in the 17th century inWestern India, based on the teachings ofBhakti saints, Devcandra Mehtā and his foremost disciple Mehrāj Ṭhākur aka Prāṇanāth. Devcandra (1581–1655) was born into a wealthyKāyastha family inUmarkot, Sindh and was initiated into theRādhāvallabhā sect. According to sectarian tradition, Kr̥ṣṇa visited Devcandra and gave him thetārtammantra, which gives access to theIīlās of Kr̥ṣṇa. His disciple Mehrāj Ṭhākur aka Prāṇanāth was born into a Ṭhākur family inJamnagar, Saurashtra. Prāṇanāth worked as a government official in Saurashtra, and travelled through Arabia, Persia, and Iraq studying theQuʾrān,Bible, and other Islamic-Christian texts. In India he founded the Mahāmaṅgalapurī Temple in Surat. In the 1677Kumbhamelā inHaridvār, he won a religious debate in which he defeated Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva followers, and was awarded the title ofmahāmati. In Jamnagar he was arrested several times for allegedly embezzling public funds.[7]
The traditions grew afterMughal Empire declined, in the wake ofAurangzeb's religious persecution of non-Muslims, when Hindu rebellion led to new kingdoms. KingChatrasāl ofBundelkhand patronized Prāṇanāth, and he lived in its capital Panna,Panna for the rest of his life until his death in 1694. The Pranami tradition welcomed all castes and religions to join the Supreme Truth Shri Krishna worship tradition. At conversion initiation, Prannathji would invite the new members to dine together regardless of whether they came from any Sanatan background. He would also explain the Pranami ideas by citing Hindu and Islamic texts to make his teachings connect with the background of the converts.[8][7]
The Pranami Sampradaya is also known as the Nijananda Sampradaya, literally, 'nij' meaning, oneself or own and 'ananda' meaning bliss or joy.[9] The Pranamisampradaya's teachings tries to bridge the gap between theEastern religions andWestern religions together stating that both the Eastern and Western religions talk about the same one almighty god.[10]
The Praṇāmī sect is heavily influenced byIslam, having developed in an era of Islamic rule. Prāṇanāth claimed that Hinduism and Islam both contained the same esoteric truths, and that the Quʾrān and Vedas both revealed the same truth. According to sectarian tradition, Prāṇanāth is both thelast avatār of Viṣṇu and theMahdī and Chatrasāl is compared toʾAlī. During his lifetime Prāṇanāth was considered to be both a Hindu sant and a Musimfaqīr.[7]
The Praṇāmī corpus, like in otherBhakti movement saint traditions, an eclectic mix of vernacular languages found in central, west and north India: Hindi, Gujarati, and Sindhi.[11][12][7]
Until the early 20th century, Praṇāmīs were accused of beingcrypto-Muslims. They were and are treated suspiciously by others and were considered to be outcastes. In recent decades the sect has gone through Hinduization/Vaishnavization with older Islamic elements being discarded.[7]
Among other notables –Mahatma Gandhi's mother,Putlibai, belonged to Pranami sect.[13][14] Gandhi in his bookMy Experiments With Truth mentions about this sect - "Pranami is a sect deriving the best ofGita and Quran, in search of one goal – Shri Krishna."[15]
The Tartam Sagar, also referred to as the Kuljam Swaroop,[16] is the holy book of the Pranami tradition. It is a compilation of 14 books; Raas, Prakash, Shatritu, Kalash, Sanandh, Kirantan, Khulasa, Khilwat, Parikrama, Sagar, Singaar, Sindhi Bani, Marfat Sagar, and Kayamatnama (chhota and bada),[17] consisting of 18,758 verses. The text was published in 1965 for the first time. It is regarded to contain the revelation of the Vedic scriptures, as well as the description of the supreme abode of Krishna, called paraṃadhāma orGoloka Vrindavan. The text is regarded to be divine, and is therefore accorded equivalent worship as Krishna.
The tradition is strictly vegetarian (ahimsa, non-violence to animals), non-caste tradition dedicated to Supreme Lord whom they also call as "Rajji".[9][12] Dedicated Pranami temples exist such as in Kathiawar and Gulf of Kutch region, but followers of Pranami traditions substitute it by praying and spiritual pursuits in any nearby convenient temples.[9][8] There are an estimated 5-10 million Pranamis found primarily throughout North India, particularly the states of Gujarat,Rajasthan,Punjab,Madhya Pradesh,Haryana,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal (Darjeeling,Kalimpong andSikkim), andAssam, as well as the eastern half ofNepal.[9]
Nijanand Sampraday followers though a minority sect of an offshootHinduism can be found in States ofGujarat,Rajasthan,New Delhi,Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh,Punjab,Haryana,Assam,West Bengal,Sikkim in India chiefly. The followers ofShree Krishna Pranami Faith are spread worldwide in recent times including the countries likeNepal,United States,Australia,Japan,United Kingdom,United Arab Emirates andCanada among others.[citation needed]