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Mina (Sikhism)
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Mina (Sikhism)
The Mīnās (Gurmukhi: ਮੀਣਾ; mīṇā) were a heretical sect of Sikhs that followed Prithi Chand (1558–April 1618), the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, after his younger brother Guru Arjan was selected by the Guru to succeed him. Prithi Chand would vigorously contest this, attracting a portion of Sikhs to his side who followers of Guru Arjan referred to as ਮੀਣੇ mīṇe, meaning "charlatans," "dissemblers," or "scoundrels." They sustained their opposition to the orthodox line of Gurus through the seventeenth century, and upon Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa in 1699, they were declared by him, as well as by Khalsa rahitnamas (codes of conduct), as one of the Panj Mel, or five reprobate groups, that a Sikh must avoid. They are occasionally referred to in the more neutral terms Sikhān dā chhotā mel ("those who remained with the true Guru lineage for a short time") or as the Miharvān sampraday (Gurmukhi: ਮਿਹਰਵਾਨ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; miharavāna saparadā; meaning "the order of Miharvan") in scholarship. Minas referred to themselves in their writings as Sikhs.
They emerged as the only major rival sect of the Sikh Guru period, whose line of succession ran in parallel to that of Guru Arjan and his official successors. They controlled Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib built under Guru Arjan for much of the 17th century. The number of Minas rivalled that of the orthodox Sikhs and remained numerous in Malwa until the nineteenth century. The Minas gradually faded into the background of Sikh society in relation to the mainstream Khalsa, as Mina literati declined along with the sect. A surviving Mina group can be found in Guru Har Sahai, Punjab.
Born in 1558 in Goindwal as the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, Prithi Chand felt that due to his position as such, he was the natural choice as his father's successor, though the Guru would select his youngest son, Guru Arjan (b. 1563), to succeed him. Prithi Chand refused to accept the choice. While eventually accepting the choice and acknowledging Guru Arjan's authority, supporters of Guru Arjan would consider this the period when Prithi Chand would start to feud with him. In the years following his father's death, Prithi Chand would grow bitterly opposed to Guru Arjan, for instance asserting that Guru Arjan had usurped his father's property; to counteract this, Guru Arjan would transfer his property to him, opting instead to live on his followers' offerings. In a ballad verse about the offspring of the Sikh gurus, for example, the influential Sikh figure Bhai Gurdas would comment, "Prithi Chand became a mīṇā (charlatan)." According to some commentaries, he would also taunt Guru Arjan about his wife's inability to produce an heir; when Guru Hargobind was born in 1595, an unsuccessful poisoning attempt would take place on the child.
The birth of the child seemed to dampen his spirits, and as his enmity with his brother grew, Prithi Chand would leave Amritsar the following year, first for Hehar village near Lahore, then to Kotha Guru village near Bathinda in the Malwa region of Punjab, where in the latter half of his life, where he would begin to compile a granth, or volume of poetry, of his own to compete with Guru Arjan's. He had witnessed the formation of Sikh scripture before Guru Arjan's compilation of the Adi Granth in 1604, and it has been argued that Guru Arjan's compilation was partially in response to Prithi Chand's ambitions, as incidents with Prithi Chand would impress the need to complete the manuscript as soon as possible so that the Sikhs would be able to distinguish the true verses of the Gurus from imitators.
Still having ambitions of becoming the Guru, considering himself to be more enlightened than Guru Arjan, Prithi Chand would make pragmatic alliances with local Mughal agents Sulahi Khan, a district revenue official, and Chandu Shah, repeating his claim of illegal usurpation of his position, and it has been suggested that this alliance may have had a role in Guru Arjan's arrest and execution. Prithi Chand's followers had also circulated accusations that Guru Arjan's compilations denigrated Islam, which would be dismissed by Akbar, who, after being presented with the compilation by Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas, would donate an offering of gold and robes to the book.
Prithi Chand even managed to turn the middle of the three brothers, Mahadeo (also spelt as Mahadev or Mahan Dev), who was a reclusive man with few worldly desires, against the younger brother, Guru Arjan, in-support of Prithi Chand, at-least for a period of time. Prithi Chand gained large support from masands and converted numerous Sikhs to his flock. This support allowed him to convert Gurdwaras and collect donations. For a short period Guru Arjan’s langar had stopped due to loss of followers and donations.
Guru Arjan, meanwhile, had completed the Harmandir Sahib with dasvand donations between 1581 and 1589, with the foundation stone having been laid by Mian Mir,[dubious – discuss] (however, this legend involving Mian Mir is unsubstantiated by contemporary sources and is believed to be a much-later fabrication). creating a rallying point for the community and a center for Sikh activity, and created a place for the installment of the Adi Granth, the community's own scripture. He had also gone on a tour of Majha and Doaba in Punjab, founding the towns of Tarn Taran Sahib, Kartarpur, and Hargobindpur named after his son. Due to their central location in the Punjab heartland, the ranks of Sikhs would swell, especially among the Jatt peasantry, and create a level of prosperity for them; Guru Arjan would serve not only as a spiritual mentor but as a sovereign leader (sacha padshah) for his followers in his own right.
Following the death of Akbar in 1605, Guru Arjan's friendship and support for Akbar's grandson Khusrau Mirza (who was Akbar's favored choice as successor over his own son Jahangir) and the sudden growth of the Sikh population drawing from other communities amidst the resurgence of Persianate Sunni and Naqshbandi Islamic orders in Punjab which supported Jahangir, who in turn supported these orders, would contribute to Guru Arjan's arrest and execution in 1606. After the execution, Guru Arjan's chief votaries and prominent figures in Sikhism, Bhai Gurdās and Baba Buddha, supported the selection of Guru Hargobind, indicating that Prithi Chand was not the popular choice.
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Mina (Sikhism)
The Mīnās (Gurmukhi: ਮੀਣਾ; mīṇā) were a heretical sect of Sikhs that followed Prithi Chand (1558–April 1618), the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, after his younger brother Guru Arjan was selected by the Guru to succeed him. Prithi Chand would vigorously contest this, attracting a portion of Sikhs to his side who followers of Guru Arjan referred to as ਮੀਣੇ mīṇe, meaning "charlatans," "dissemblers," or "scoundrels." They sustained their opposition to the orthodox line of Gurus through the seventeenth century, and upon Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa in 1699, they were declared by him, as well as by Khalsa rahitnamas (codes of conduct), as one of the Panj Mel, or five reprobate groups, that a Sikh must avoid. They are occasionally referred to in the more neutral terms Sikhān dā chhotā mel ("those who remained with the true Guru lineage for a short time") or as the Miharvān sampraday (Gurmukhi: ਮਿਹਰਵਾਨ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; miharavāna saparadā; meaning "the order of Miharvan") in scholarship. Minas referred to themselves in their writings as Sikhs.
They emerged as the only major rival sect of the Sikh Guru period, whose line of succession ran in parallel to that of Guru Arjan and his official successors. They controlled Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib built under Guru Arjan for much of the 17th century. The number of Minas rivalled that of the orthodox Sikhs and remained numerous in Malwa until the nineteenth century. The Minas gradually faded into the background of Sikh society in relation to the mainstream Khalsa, as Mina literati declined along with the sect. A surviving Mina group can be found in Guru Har Sahai, Punjab.
Born in 1558 in Goindwal as the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, Prithi Chand felt that due to his position as such, he was the natural choice as his father's successor, though the Guru would select his youngest son, Guru Arjan (b. 1563), to succeed him. Prithi Chand refused to accept the choice. While eventually accepting the choice and acknowledging Guru Arjan's authority, supporters of Guru Arjan would consider this the period when Prithi Chand would start to feud with him. In the years following his father's death, Prithi Chand would grow bitterly opposed to Guru Arjan, for instance asserting that Guru Arjan had usurped his father's property; to counteract this, Guru Arjan would transfer his property to him, opting instead to live on his followers' offerings. In a ballad verse about the offspring of the Sikh gurus, for example, the influential Sikh figure Bhai Gurdas would comment, "Prithi Chand became a mīṇā (charlatan)." According to some commentaries, he would also taunt Guru Arjan about his wife's inability to produce an heir; when Guru Hargobind was born in 1595, an unsuccessful poisoning attempt would take place on the child.
The birth of the child seemed to dampen his spirits, and as his enmity with his brother grew, Prithi Chand would leave Amritsar the following year, first for Hehar village near Lahore, then to Kotha Guru village near Bathinda in the Malwa region of Punjab, where in the latter half of his life, where he would begin to compile a granth, or volume of poetry, of his own to compete with Guru Arjan's. He had witnessed the formation of Sikh scripture before Guru Arjan's compilation of the Adi Granth in 1604, and it has been argued that Guru Arjan's compilation was partially in response to Prithi Chand's ambitions, as incidents with Prithi Chand would impress the need to complete the manuscript as soon as possible so that the Sikhs would be able to distinguish the true verses of the Gurus from imitators.
Still having ambitions of becoming the Guru, considering himself to be more enlightened than Guru Arjan, Prithi Chand would make pragmatic alliances with local Mughal agents Sulahi Khan, a district revenue official, and Chandu Shah, repeating his claim of illegal usurpation of his position, and it has been suggested that this alliance may have had a role in Guru Arjan's arrest and execution. Prithi Chand's followers had also circulated accusations that Guru Arjan's compilations denigrated Islam, which would be dismissed by Akbar, who, after being presented with the compilation by Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas, would donate an offering of gold and robes to the book.
Prithi Chand even managed to turn the middle of the three brothers, Mahadeo (also spelt as Mahadev or Mahan Dev), who was a reclusive man with few worldly desires, against the younger brother, Guru Arjan, in-support of Prithi Chand, at-least for a period of time. Prithi Chand gained large support from masands and converted numerous Sikhs to his flock. This support allowed him to convert Gurdwaras and collect donations. For a short period Guru Arjan’s langar had stopped due to loss of followers and donations.
Guru Arjan, meanwhile, had completed the Harmandir Sahib with dasvand donations between 1581 and 1589, with the foundation stone having been laid by Mian Mir,[dubious – discuss] (however, this legend involving Mian Mir is unsubstantiated by contemporary sources and is believed to be a much-later fabrication). creating a rallying point for the community and a center for Sikh activity, and created a place for the installment of the Adi Granth, the community's own scripture. He had also gone on a tour of Majha and Doaba in Punjab, founding the towns of Tarn Taran Sahib, Kartarpur, and Hargobindpur named after his son. Due to their central location in the Punjab heartland, the ranks of Sikhs would swell, especially among the Jatt peasantry, and create a level of prosperity for them; Guru Arjan would serve not only as a spiritual mentor but as a sovereign leader (sacha padshah) for his followers in his own right.
Following the death of Akbar in 1605, Guru Arjan's friendship and support for Akbar's grandson Khusrau Mirza (who was Akbar's favored choice as successor over his own son Jahangir) and the sudden growth of the Sikh population drawing from other communities amidst the resurgence of Persianate Sunni and Naqshbandi Islamic orders in Punjab which supported Jahangir, who in turn supported these orders, would contribute to Guru Arjan's arrest and execution in 1606. After the execution, Guru Arjan's chief votaries and prominent figures in Sikhism, Bhai Gurdās and Baba Buddha, supported the selection of Guru Hargobind, indicating that Prithi Chand was not the popular choice.
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