Namdhari faction head pays visit to Golden Temple
AMRITSAR Thakur Dalip Singh, head of Sirsa-based Namdhari faction, visited the Golden Temple here along with his followers on the birth anniversary of Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh master, Saturday.
The visit assumes significance as he is the first Namdhari head to pay obeisance at the holiest Sikh shrine. Though Namdharis are considered a sect of Sikhism, they believe in a human master (Satguru) unlike the mainstream Sikhs who consider Guru Granth Sahib as their spiritual guru. Thakur Dalip Singh also did sewaat the ‘jaura ghar’ (shoe stand) and the langar hall. He spent around three hours at the shrine.
Responding to the queries of medipersons, the Namdhari leader said, “We are here to seek blessings of Guru Ram Das ji. I appeal to all Sikh sects to put resolve differences among them and stay united to spread the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji. We should stay away from narrowmindedness.”
Giving a call for strengthening ‘Panthic ekta’ (unity among Sikhs), he said, “The branches which have separated from the tree, can never remain green.”
A group of Sikh activists honoured him with a ‘kirpan’. The Sirsa seat of the sect was established as against the main Namdhari Darbar based at Sri Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana after the demise of its former head Satguru Jagjit Singh in 2012 and the subsequent anointment of Uday Singh as Satguru. Thakur Dalip Singh was a contender for the headship of the sect.
THAKUR DALIP SINGH IS 1ST SECT HEAD TO PAY OBEISANCE AT THE SIKH SHRINE; GIVES CALL FOR PANTHIC UNITY