A liberal blend of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita and Quran, Krishna and Allah, no caste system, no idol-worship, vegetarianism and non-violence. Some features of the relatively unknown Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma, a 400 year-old sect. It finds a mention in Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography My Experiments With Truth as his mother, Putlibai, was a Pranami. Mahatma says, it is "a sect deriving the best of both the Quran and Gita, in search of one goal - God".
Though there are almost a crore Pranamis or Sundersaaths (pleasant company) in India, a majority of them are based in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Nepal and Bhutan. In Mumbai, there are around 20,000 Pranamis, mostly Gujaratis. They have two temples here - at Bhuleshwar and Borivali.
They meet every week for satsang and sing bhajans and prayers that are a mix of Hindi and Urdu words. In their holy text Swaroop Saheb, words such as Mohammad, momin, hukumat, ilam, barkat appear often. The current head of the sect is Acharya Shri 108 Shrikrishnamani recently attended the international religion summit of the United Nations. "Our religion believes that Krishna is the supreme lord and other gods and goddesses are his shakti," he says.
ORIGIN
Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma was founded by Devachandra in Jamnagar and propagated by Prannath Swami and his disciple King Chhatrasal. During the 17th century, religious environment in India was turbulent. Non-Muslims, especially Hindus, under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, faced religious oppression. The Jijia-tax was levied on non-Muslims and Hindus who were forcibly converted to Islam.
Those were the times when Devachandra of Umerkot left home at the age of 16 to quench his spiritual thirst. He went to Bhuj and then Jamnagar, where the Pranami movement began. Here, Devchandra studied Srimad Bhagwad by attending the discourses of Savant Kanji Bhatt for 14 years with unswerving attention and devotion. Followers say that during a discourse Devchandra went into a trance and got Krishna darshan and was conferred the highest knowledge - the Tartam Mantra or the supreme truth. After this, Devchandra founded the Nijanand Sampraday or the Shri Krishna Pranami sect and established Shri Navtanpuri Dham in Jamnagar.
Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma was founded by Devachandra in Jamnagar and propagated by Prannath Swami and his disciple King Chhatrasal. During the 17th century, religious environment in India was turbulent. Non-Muslims, especially Hindus, under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, faced religious oppression. The Jijia-tax was levied on non-Muslims and Hindus who were forcibly converted to Islam.
Those were the times when Devachandra of Umerkot left home at the age of 16 to quench his spiritual thirst. He went to Bhuj and then Jamnagar, where the Pranami movement began. Here, Devchandra studied Srimad Bhagwad by attending the discourses of Savant Kanji Bhatt for 14 years with unswerving attention and devotion. Followers say that during a discourse Devchandra went into a trance and got Krishna darshan and was conferred the highest knowledge - the Tartam Mantra or the supreme truth. After this, Devchandra founded the Nijanand Sampraday or the Shri Krishna Pranami sect and established Shri Navtanpuri Dham in Jamnagar.
ONE WORLD, ONE RELIGION
The most important crusader of Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma was Mahamati Prannath (1618-1694 AD). He brought unity in various religious faiths by analysing and comparing their holy books and laid the foundation of "one world, one religion". He presented the sum total of all religious knowledge as the Kuljam Swaroop (or Tartam Sagar). In 1678 AD, he went to Haridwar to attend the Kumbh mela and met heads of other religious sects. He had detailed discussions with each one of them, at the end of which, they unanimously conferred the title of Vijayabhinand Nishkalank Buddhaji upon him.
King Chhatrasal, born in the house of a Bundela chieftain in 1706, was Prannath's most devoted disciple. He wanted to fight against the tyrannical rule of Aurangzeb in Bundelkhand, but did not have the wealth to build up an army and armoury. He met Shivaji, who was also fighting against Aurangzeb in Maharashtra, and found Sant Ramdas as the Maratha's guide. He turned to Prannath for help. He blessed the king and said, "Riding on your horse tomorrow in the morning, the land you cover will be full of diamonds." And Panna in Bundelkhand is even today one of the biggest diamond mines in the country.
The most important crusader of Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma was Mahamati Prannath (1618-1694 AD). He brought unity in various religious faiths by analysing and comparing their holy books and laid the foundation of "one world, one religion". He presented the sum total of all religious knowledge as the Kuljam Swaroop (or Tartam Sagar). In 1678 AD, he went to Haridwar to attend the Kumbh mela and met heads of other religious sects. He had detailed discussions with each one of them, at the end of which, they unanimously conferred the title of Vijayabhinand Nishkalank Buddhaji upon him.
King Chhatrasal, born in the house of a Bundela chieftain in 1706, was Prannath's most devoted disciple. He wanted to fight against the tyrannical rule of Aurangzeb in Bundelkhand, but did not have the wealth to build up an army and armoury. He met Shivaji, who was also fighting against Aurangzeb in Maharashtra, and found Sant Ramdas as the Maratha's guide. He turned to Prannath for help. He blessed the king and said, "Riding on your horse tomorrow in the morning, the land you cover will be full of diamonds." And Panna in Bundelkhand is even today one of the biggest diamond mines in the country.
PILGRIMAGE
Navtanpuri Dham: Navtanpuri Dham in Jamnagar is the main pilgrim centre of Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma because Devchandra attained enlightenment here. Believers say once Devchandra planted two tooth-cleaning sticks in the ground after brushing his teeth, which grew into huge trees. Today, even after 400 years, they are still there and are called Khijada trees. And the temple there is called Khijada mandir.
Surat: Prannath spent 17 months in Surat preaching. During this time he was offered the throne of leadership and his disciples adorned him with the title of Mahamati Swami Prannathji. Since then, this institution in Saiyadpura came to be known as Shri 5 Maha Mangalpuri Dham or, more popularly, Mota Mandir.
Panna: Panna is where Prannath met King Chhatrasal, blessed him and gifted him a sword, which is called Jalpukar. With this sword Chhatrasal defeated the Mughal army in Mhow. Prannath also blessed the land of Panna to yield diamonds, which gave Chhatrasal the wealth to confront Aurangzeb. Wishing to establish a new Panna on the Vindhyachal mountain range, Prannath chose an even land and hoisted a flag 'Shreejika Jhanda' there. The flag can be seen even today. Prannath lived in Panna for 11 years and left his body for his supreme abode here. The place is known as Muktipeetha, and the temple established there is called Padmavatipuri Dham.
Darjeeling: A huge temple, one of the biggest in West Bengal, is situated in Kalimpong, Darjeeling. Built at a cost of Rs 13 crore, the temple is named after Guru Mangaldas for his contribution in propagating the sect. Flanked by Protestant and Catholic churches, the temple houses orphans, many of whom, after leaving the temple, pursue careers in various cities of India.
Text source: www.krishna-pranami.org
Navtanpuri Dham: Navtanpuri Dham in Jamnagar is the main pilgrim centre of Sri Krishna Pranami Dharma because Devchandra attained enlightenment here. Believers say once Devchandra planted two tooth-cleaning sticks in the ground after brushing his teeth, which grew into huge trees. Today, even after 400 years, they are still there and are called Khijada trees. And the temple there is called Khijada mandir.
Surat: Prannath spent 17 months in Surat preaching. During this time he was offered the throne of leadership and his disciples adorned him with the title of Mahamati Swami Prannathji. Since then, this institution in Saiyadpura came to be known as Shri 5 Maha Mangalpuri Dham or, more popularly, Mota Mandir.
Panna: Panna is where Prannath met King Chhatrasal, blessed him and gifted him a sword, which is called Jalpukar. With this sword Chhatrasal defeated the Mughal army in Mhow. Prannath also blessed the land of Panna to yield diamonds, which gave Chhatrasal the wealth to confront Aurangzeb. Wishing to establish a new Panna on the Vindhyachal mountain range, Prannath chose an even land and hoisted a flag 'Shreejika Jhanda' there. The flag can be seen even today. Prannath lived in Panna for 11 years and left his body for his supreme abode here. The place is known as Muktipeetha, and the temple established there is called Padmavatipuri Dham.
Darjeeling: A huge temple, one of the biggest in West Bengal, is situated in Kalimpong, Darjeeling. Built at a cost of Rs 13 crore, the temple is named after Guru Mangaldas for his contribution in propagating the sect. Flanked by Protestant and Catholic churches, the temple houses orphans, many of whom, after leaving the temple, pursue careers in various cities of India.
Text source: www.krishna-pranami.org
