Namdhari Guru Balak Singh

Namdhari Guru Balak Singh (disputed – 1862 ), was an Indian Sikh religious leader who taught the principles of Sikhi in Attock area and whose successor, Satguru Ram Singh, founded the Namdhari (Kuka) sect. Balak is described as more of a forerunner rather than as a founder of the Namdhari sect. He had a brother named Manna Singh. to which , Guru Balak Singh is reported to have replied, 'We only recite the four-letter Naam given by Guru Nanak.' Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of the area highly regarded Guru Balak Singh.

Spiritual career begins Eventually, he had come to possess his own group of followers. The account of Namdhari Guru Balak Singh was first given by the Sikh scholar Giani Gian Singh, writer of the famed Panth Prakash. In village Hazron, Guru Balak Singh had set up a shop. He earned his living by simple labor and delivered spiritual message to the people. Soon, the village became an important place for the seekers of spiritual wisdom and the curious devotees came to Hazron to receive the spiritual tutelage of Guru Balak Singh.

Guru Balak Singh constructed a meeting place located in Hazro where he and his followers would convene, it is here where he would first come into contact with his future successor, Ram Singh. According to Namdharis, Guru Gobind Singh did not die from the wounds inflicted by the assassination attempt on his life in 1708, but instead live-on as a recluse under the pseudonym of "Ajapal Singh", passing on the guruship to Balak Singh before his death.

Meeting with Ram Singh and later life

In the year circa 1841, Namdhari Guru Ram Singh, while serving in the Naunihal Regiment of Sikh army and on tour of Lahore to collect royal coffers, met Guru Balak Singh in Hazron. Ram Singh had been assigned to the garrison of Hazro, which provided the chance meeting between the two. " He told Guru Ram Singh that he was the next in line to him.

After meeting the young Ram Singh, Guru Balak Singh decided to take him under his wing as his disciple and taught him about the Sikh gurus, Sikh heroes, and the Khalsa Panth.

In approximately 1860, having moved south with his garrison, Ram Singh would meet with his mentor, Balak Singh, and request to take the reins as a spiritual preacher of his master's doctrine, a request which Balak Singh granted.

Teachings Painting of Balak Singh sitting cross-legged on rockGuru Balak Singh emphasized being in a continual state of meditation in-remembrance of the Transcendental Reality. He further stipulated to his followers to bathe at-least three times per day, emphasizing cleanliness. Another teaching was the disavowal of using a leather bucket for water, since cows are held in high-regard. He taught the importance of the Anand marriage ceremony. He asked his followers to offer a sacrement of karah prashad worth one and a quarter rupees per month. He instructed his followers to not eat any food cooked by an individual who was not a Sikh.

Prohibitions included the giving of dowry, consuming alcohol, and the eating of meat. Characteristics that were praised were truthfulness and honest labour.

Guru Balak Singh, had merely stressed upon the importance of chanting God's name as the only righteous religious ritual. Ram Singh however would introduce many new elements into the orthodoxy and orthopraxy of the sect.

Prominent disciples

Guru Ram Singh, his successor. Kahn Singh, his nephew (son of Manna Singh). He would occupy the gaddi at Hazro. Lal Singh, he would preach the sect's tenets in the Amritsar area.