Gulabdasis: The Epicureans of Punjab
An overview of the Gulabdasis, a hedonist sect that gained mass popularity in Punjab, soon after the decline of Sarkar-i-Khalsa and the Sikh opposition to them.
The history of the Gulabdasis
The Gulabdasis were a sect created by the ex-soldier Gulab Das, formerly known as Gulab Singh. He was from the village of Rataul in Tarn Taran and was previously part of the Sarkar-i-Khalsa fauj under Maharaja Sher Singh. Gulab Das is well known for his affiliation with Piro Preman, a Muslim prostitute from Heera Mandi, Lahore until she escaped to the Gulabdasi dera in Chathianwala, Kasur. The two shared an intimate relationship and were even buried together.
From his Udasi guru Pritam Das, Gulab Das obtained an Advaita-based theology. Gulabdasis were monist, steeped in a milieu of Advaita Vedanta and saw no difference between atma (soul) and paramatma (God). They also had large bhakti and Sufi influence, with their attempts to remove divides between organised religions.
The uniqueness of the sect comes from their practices. They believe in wearing lavish clothing, drinking alcohol, eating meat, being against rituals, reincarnation and priestly castes. The author of Bharat Mat Darpan, Mahant Ganesha Singh, describes them as dehati lok (uncivilised people). In the same tract, he also provides a description for their debauched proclivities:
ਅਜੇਹ’ਆਂ ਬਾਤਾਂ ਸੁਣ ਸੁਣਾ ਕੇ ਹਜਾਰਾਂ ਲੋਕ ਖੁਲਾਸੇ ਹੋਗਏ, ਮਾਂਸ ਸ਼੍ਰਾਬ ਖਾ ਪੀਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੋ ਪਿੰਡ ਫਿਰਿਆ ਕਰਨ । ਢੰਡ ਸਾਰਗੀ ਬਜਾਕੇ ਮਿਰਜੇ ਹੇਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਲਾਕੇ ਮੌਜਾਂ ਕਰਨ, ਸੋਹਣੀਆਂ ਚਮਕਦਾਰ ਕੀਮਤੀ ਪਸ਼ਾਕਾਂ ਪਾਈ ਅਤ੍ਰ ਫੁਲੇਲ ਲਾਏ, ਰੰਮਾਂ ਮਰਦ ਸ਼ਰਮ ਹਯਾਉ ਤੋਂ ਬਗੈਰ ਹੋਏ ਬੇਮੁਹਾਰੇ ਫਿਰਨ । ਇਸਤਰਾਂ ਇਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਵਧ ਜਾਣ ਨਾਲ ਦੇਸ਼ ਵਿਚ ਸ਼ੋਰ ਮਚ ਗਿਆ
After listening to these words, thousands of people become Khulasas (apostates), they went from village to village, eating meat and drinking alcohol. Playing the sarangi to Mirza and Heer, people enjoyed, wearing beautiful, sequined, expensive dresses, adorned with flowers, shameless men roamed around unrestrained. With the increase of them, commotion spread throughout the country.
Their eventual decline came due to rival reformist movements (Singh Sabha, Arya Samaj) alongside the Maharaja of Patiala, Narinder Singh’s crackdown on the Gulabdasi sect, where many were apprehended.
The origins of Giani Ditt Singh and Singh Sabha contention
The father of the Singh Sabha ideologue, Giani Ditt Singh, was largely involved in the Gulabdasi sect. His father, Sant Diwan Singh, was well versed in the Nyaya and Vedanta philosophies. He enrolled Giani Ditt Singh in a Gulabdasi school, where he learnt Gurmukhi, Vedanta and Niti-Shastra and he was also tutored in Urdu and Persian. As a teenager, he moved to the main Gulabdasi dera in Chathianwala. As a Gulabdasi, he wrote two books: the tale of Shirin-Farhad and Abla Nind, about the vices of women. This Gulabdasi influence would go on to affect his positions, especially his views on varna.
His meeting with Bhai Jawahir Singh, who was also a follower of Gulabdasis when younger, influenced him to join the Arya Samaj. Shortly after this, Bhai Gurmukh Singh convinced both of them to join the Singh Sabha movement instead. Giani Ditt Singh eventually became the chief editor of the Khalsa Akhbar.
Eventually, both Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas would combat growing Gulabdasi influence. Gulabdasis would even go on to attack Giani Ditt Singh for being an alleged hypocrite, who would himself act as a dehdhari (physical) guru in Kharar. Giani Ditt Singh’s detractors would allege he himself practised asceticism, smeared his body with ashes and meditated in graveyards; all practises he would take a firm stance against. Giani Ditt Singh maintained the stand that his early Gulabdasi ideology was consistent with his Singh Sabha ideology as he preached against idols, graves and other superstitions.
The Sanatan Singh Sabha publication Shuddhi Patra claimed that Gulabdasis would adorn Piro as mata (mother) and would wave a chauri (whisk) over her. It also claimed the Gulabdasis had two halal butchers at their dera, alongside tobacco smokers and nude pictures of women. The Sanatanist strand of the Singh Sabha used this as an opportunity to attack Giani Ditt Singh and Bhai Jawahir Singh for being Gulabdasis earlier.
Influence on later reform movements
It is to be noted that Gulabdasis were not the first such sect in India to be considered Epicurean. The Charvaka school of materialism was also interpreted similarly by their Hindu, Buddhist and Jain opponents. Similar to Gulabdasis, they also didn’t believe in reincarnation and were into sensual pleasures. However, it is possible that the allegations for both ideologies may be exaggerated: Hindu, Buddhists and Jains to combat Charvakas and Singh Sabha and Arya Samaj to combat Gulabdasis.
In opposition to the Epicureanism shown by the Gulabdasi movement, several stoic movements including the Namdharis, Nirankaris and Nanaksaris were created. These were all movements known for their purity of character and upholding of saintly ideals, they wore white, shunned meat, tobacco and alcohol. This stoicism found itself in the Singh Sabha movement too, under both strands.