The Bhagats

The Bani of 16 Bhagats (devotees, saints) is in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. I thought it would be helpful to get an idea of each of them. From their stories and lives below, we can see that they came of varying backgrounds and professions. Some lived their lives as holy men, and many as householders with children, and of varying "castes" that they were born into. Some were Hindu, some Sufi, some Muslim. They had a similar theme of spreading the Name of God and the message of meditating on the Oneness. Their sakhis are full of the miraculous powers of God, the ability of God to protect those servants. Over and over it is also obvious that one had to have a Guru to help one reach God. For example Ramanand was a Guru to many but had his own Guru. We have our Guru Ji as well, incorporating the Bani of these Bhagats. The stories of the Bhagats remind us the time of devotion that it takes to be dedicated to one's path, that feeling of longing for God, then living in the world and as a householder at the same time as the meditation. 

Bhagat Kabir Ji 

Born: 1398 in Banaras

Parents: adopted by Muslim named Niru

Married to: Loi, had two children 

Profession: weaver

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 227 padas and 237 saloks  

Teachings: He rejected casteism, idol worship, superstitions, bathing, asceticism, fasts, pilgrimages, and futile rituals. He was thrown into the Ganges by the Brahmans but escaped unharmed. The Qazis chained him and threw him in front of an elephant, but he was not crushed. He encouraged those to meditate on God. 

Bhagat Ravidas Ji

Born: 1376 in Mandoor 

Parents: Mandas Raghu, Karma Devi/Ghurbinia 

Married: Bhagwanti

Profession: Making shoes (Cobbler) and Tanner 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 40 hymns 

Teachings: He learned from Ramanand. He denounced idol worship. Since his parents did not like that he shared his food with holy men, he left home and started working. 

Sakhi: Ravidas repaired a shoe for a Brahmin and he gave him a Kasira (1/4 of a paisa). He said to give it to the Ganges, only if she extends her hand to take it, and miraculously when the Brahmin went, a hand emerged from the Ganges. All those who witnessed were surprised and his followers gained. 

Bhagat Farid Ji (Sheikh Farid)

Born: 1173 in Kothowal, Pakistan

Parents: Karsum Bibi

Married: four marriages, had 5 sons and three daughters. 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 112 saloks and 4 hymns in the feeling of Vairag

Teachings: Born into a Muslim family, he spent many years studying, first from his grandfather Qazi Suailo, then Maulana Minhaj-ud-din Trimidhi, then higher education in Kandhar. Unsatisfied with his learning, he left home for a search for spiritual knowledge. Khwaja Kutab-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki became his guide and told him to let go of his ego to realize God. He tried many things to find God, and finally left to the forests. One day he realized that God lives in the mind and went back to Delhi and became the successor of Khawaja Bakhtiar Kaki. When the poor people had difficulties meeting him, he switched locations to a small village. 

Bhagat Namdev Ji

Born: 1270 Narsi-Bamani in Maharashtra 

Parents: father Damashetty, mother Gonabai 

Married: Rajabai, had four sons and one daughter 

Profession: cloth printer  

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 61 hymns

Teachings: He lived near a temple of Vitthal Dev and spent time worshipping God there. He adopted Vishobha Khechar as his spiritual Guru and abandoned idol worship, fasts, and other rituals. 

Sakhi: Namdev was in Delhi, and Mohammed-Bin-Tughlak, the king asked him to show him a miracle by bringing a dead cow to life. Namdev told him all happens toward the will of God. The king sent an elephant to crush Namdev, and his mother told him to abandon the name of Ram and accept the name of Khuda (muslim name of God) to save him, but Namdev refused. He sang the praises of God and was saved. God appeared to Namdev to bring the cow to life, and it happened. The king asked for pardon, and Namdev convinced him to do good. 

Bhagat Trilochan Ji 

Born: 1267 at Barsi, Maharashtra

Married: he was married. 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 4 hymns 

Teachings: He was born into a Vaish family. He went to meet Namdev and asked him as he was busy in his worldly affairs. Namdev taught him that one can remember God simultaneously by doing work. He rejected superstitions and false rituals as well. 

Bhagat Beni Ji

Born: in Uttar Pradesh 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 3 hmns 

Teachings: He was a student of Namdev. Like the other Bhagats, he rejected idol worship, and taught to worship one God. He taught people to cleanse the mind. 

Bhagat Bhikhan Ji

Born: 1480 Kaberi, Uttar Pradesh 

Married: Sahib Devi, had one child 

He was a sufi saint. 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 2 hymns 

Teachings: He served some saints at age 12 and it changed him deeply. His parents became worried and married him young. He made Sufi Saint Syed Pir Ibrahim his Guru. He teaches that Divine Name is the medicine.  

Bhagat Ramanand Ji

Born: 1366 at Prayag (Allahbad)

Parents: Pushp Sadhan Sharma, Sushila (Brahmin family)

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn 

Teachings: He studied at the ashram of Raghavanand in Banaras from a young age. He took him on as his Guru, and became Raghavanands successor. He spoke against superstitions. 

Bhagat Sain Ji

Born: 1400 Sohal, Amritsar 

Parents: Sri Mukand Rai, Jiwan Devi 

Married: Sulakhani, had a son 

Profession: barber 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn

Teachings: He became a barber then got married. He served the Raja of Bandhavgarh. He heard about Saint Kabir and went to Banaras to adopt Ramanand as his Guru. He advised him to chant the name of God, and serve others. One day he was so busy in service he didn’t return to bathe the Raja, and found someone else in his place doing his work. He realized God came in his place to perform his duty. The Raja then also became his disciple. 

Bhagat Sadhana Ji

Born: 1180 in Sindh 

Profession: Butcher “I took this profession from my parents. God has given me birth in this profession. Therefore only He knows which profession is good and which is bad.” 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn 

Teachings: He spread the word of God across the country. 

Bhagat Parmanand Ji

Born: 1483 Maharashtra 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn 

Teachings: Lived for 110 years. He was a devotee of Lord Krishna, and his Guru was Sri Vallabh Acharya. He was a famous scholar and devoted shorshipper. 

Bhagat Dhanna Ji

Born: 1415 Dhaun, Rajasthan 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 3 hmns 

Sakhi: God himself did the work of Dhanna, tilling his fields and irrigating his crops. He spoke against idol worship. 

Bhagat Pipa Ji

Born: 1426 Jhala  

Married: 12 wives, and one son 

Profession: Raja, then became a tailor. 

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn

Teachings: He was a devotee of goddess Durga. He served saints and sadhus and asked them how to meet God. He was told to find a Guru, similar to the stories of the other saints. He left to Kashi to find Ramanand as his Guru. He brought gifts, but Ramanand refused to see him. Finally after many attempts, Ramanand met him and said he has no business with Rajas, as they don’t have time to worship God and live in ego of power and wealth. He rejected his gifts. He handed his throne to his son and handed out of many of his possessions to the poor. He was tested by Ramanand and then started to live a simple life. Ramanand told him to go back to govern his estate and after one year, Ramanand returned to visit. He travelled with him to Dwarka. He lived in a cave with his wife Sita and had an encounter with God that changed him. He travelled with Sita and sang hymns and became tailors. His hymn in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji teaches us to look within for God. 

Bhagat Jaidev Ji

Born: 1201 Kenduli, Bengal 

Parents: Bhojdev, Rama Devi 

Married: Padmavati

Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 2 hmyns 

Teachings: Orphaned at a young age, he became an ascetic and went on pilgrimages. He ran into a Brahmin at Jagan Nath temple. He wished to marry his daughter to Jaidev, who refused to get married. He was forcibly married. He thus became a householder. He wrote three books, and became famous. The king of Bengal Lakshman Sen asked him to come to his court and nominated him in his council of scholars. He was then invited to Jaipur to be part of the court of that Raja. On the way, he was robbed. He tried to convince the robbers that he was a famous scholar, but they thre him into a well. Remembering God, he was saved. Some soldiers saw Jaidev and Raja Karaunch Utkal saved him. 

Bhagat Soordas 

Born: 1528 at Sihi district Gurgaon

Parents: Father’s name was Ravidas

Profession: Musician

Teachings: He was a scholar and wrote great poetry. He was blind. He became popular with Akbar and opened his treasury to the poor. When the officials opened the treasury, it was empty and he was arrested. Timar Das, the jailor, tortured him. He wrote a letter about this to Akbar, who released him. He contributed 1 line of a hymn to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, not all of the lines are included as they were not all per Sikhi. Guru Arjan Dev Ji explained the line of Soordas in his Bani. 

References: 

ww.sikhiwiki.org

The Honoured Saints of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by Pritpal Singh Tuli