Masand

Tithe collector in Sikhism

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A masand was a representative, religious preacher, and tithe collector in Sikhism.[1][2] They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected dasvandh (tithe) as an offering to the Sikh community and religious establishment.[1] A masand forwarded the collected amount to the Sikh guru.

## Etymology

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The word masand (Punjabi: ਮਸੰਦ) is an adaptation of the Persian term ‘masnad’ (Punjabi: ਮਸਨਦ),[3] which refers to ‘a seat’ that is at a lower level than the throne. The Guru was the highest authority while masands were emplaced to spread the message of Sikhism and given the authority to baptize individuals converting to Sikhism. During conversions happening in the absence of the Guru, the new convert would touch the feet of the masand or drink the water they had dipped their toe in, in order to become initiated into the Sikh religion.[4]

## History

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### Origin and structure

[edit]

It is unclear when the masand system started. It began with Guru Amar Das in some accounts,[1] by Guru Ram Das in other accounts,[5][2] or Guru Arjan by still other accounts.[6] A masand was appointed for each religious administrative unit called the Sikh Manji, a system that was founded by Guru Amar Das.[7][8] This system was expanded by later Sikh Gurus.[9]

### Role

[edit]

Sikh Gurus had established a Masand system of Sikh representatives who taught and spread the teachings of the Sikh Gurus and also collect monetary offering to maintain armed legion of saint-soldiers.[2] It was comparable in its conception to the diocese and wilayats of Christianity and Sufism.[10] Over time, this system became corrupted.[citation needed]The masand system was critical in empowering Sikhism with an independent economic resource pool, that helped pay for gurdwara buildings, for building the Sikh Army and the upkeep of Sikh soldiers, as well routine expenses such as langar (kitchen) which offered a free meal to visitors to the Sikh gurdwaras.[5]

The masands were appointed to collect revenue and gifts from the distant dharamsals and congregations for the central Sikh authority, where they were responsible for bringing it to.[10] The masands from various parishes would congregate with the Sikh guru at his durbar (court) on the occasion of Vaisakhi and present the funds and offerings of the dharamsals under their management to him.[10] They managed distant congregations at a regional and provincial level, such as their finances and inns, and conducted missionary activities.[10] They were assisted in their duties by gumashitas (deputies), which they had the power to appoint.[10] The gumashitas helped manage the group of dharamsals in a province or region, especially ones located in small towns, under the purview of a masand head.[10] Some masands grew in prominence and influence to such a level that even regions falling out of their assigned region were controlled by them, such as in the case of the masands of Patna, Burhanpur and Kabul managing the dharamsals located in Northeast India, South India, and the Pashtun belt region comprising modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[10]

Masands who were unable to attend the meeting with the Sikh Guru at his durbar would present their collections and offerings in the form of a hundi (bill of exchange).[10]

The manji and masand system of revenue collection for gurdwaras and other purposes was a source of major dispute between the Sikh Gurus and the Mughal emperors. For example, Aurangzeb seized the tithe collections by the masands for use by the Mughal treasury, and demolished gurdwaras throughout Punjab to emphasize the Islamic character of the Mughal Empire.[11]

Positions of local masands was not dynastic nor inheritable and it was not a professional duty as they still had to live the life of a householder.[12] They were not allowed to claim divine status for themselves.[12]

Masands should not be confused with manjidars.[13]

#### Initiators

[edit]

The masands would also act as a representative of the Sikh guru when initiating new members into the religion.[14] According to the Dabestan-e Mazaheb, the 'sahlang' term referred to person(s) initiated into the Sikh religion by a masand, who acted as representatives on behalf of the Sikh gurus.[14] Such Sikhs were termed as meli or masandia, and were differentiated from Sikhs who had received their initiation rites directly from a Sikh guru, whom were termed as Khalsa.[14] If the guru was not present in a certain area, water would be poured over the toes of the masand or sangatia responsible for the area of that particular manji (early Sikh religious administrative unit) and the initiates would drink that water instead, a practice known as charan-amrit.[15] If neither the guru or a local religious head is present, such as in a distant or tiny community of Sikhs, then the initiate would dip their toe in water and the local congregation would drink it.[16] This initiation ceremony finds mention in the Vaaran authored by Bhai Gurdas.[15] The ceremony was a way of showing the humbleness of initiates to the faith.[17] This practice continued until 1699, when it was replaced by Guru Gobind Singh's innovation.[15][18][19]

### Abolition

[edit]

Over time, a few masands became corrupt and started treating themselves as gurus to collect money for their personal motives. Hence, Guru Gobind Singh ordered Sikhs not to recognize those masands as authority figures and prohibited having any type of relationship with them or their deputies.[20] According to early Sikh literature including rehatnamas, the Sikhs, under Guru Gobind's command, punished, beat and killed certain masands whose corruption, exploitation, and greed or inability to deliver sufficient money and resources had affronted the Guru.[21][22]

## List of Masands

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)

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### During the time of Guru Hargobind

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* Bakht Mal (of Kabul)[23][24]
* Tara Chand (of Kabul)[23][24]

### During the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur

[edit]

* Bidhi Chand[25]
* Ramdas Ugar Sain[25]

### During the time of Guru Gobind Singh

[edit]

* Gulaba Chand (of Machhiwara)[26][27]

## See also

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* Manji system, Sikh missionary administrative organization aimed towards the masses

* Piri system, a sub-system of the Sikh missionary administrative organization aimed towards women

* Sects of Sikhism

## References

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1. ^ a b c Charles E. Farhadian (2015). Introducing World Religions. Baker Academic. p. 342\. ISBN 978-1-4412-4650-9.
2. ^ a b c Jain, Harish C. (2003). The Making of Punjab. Unistar Books. pp. 274–275.
3. ^ Singh, Satbir (1957). Sāḍā itihāsa: Pañjāba dā itihāsa, Volume 1.
4. ^ Lewis R. Rambo; Charles E. Farhadian (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford University Press. pp. 494–495. ISBN 978-0-19-971354-7.
5. ^ a b Sushil Mittal; Gene Thursby (2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. pp. 244–245. ISBN 978-1-134-59321-7.
6. ^ History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E Volume 1, Surjit Singh Gandhi (2007), Atlantic Publishers & Dist, Page 321
7. ^ William Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi (1995). The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-898723-13-4.
8. ^ Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
9. ^ Page 95, Sikhism Origin and Development, Dalbir Singh Dhillon. Atlantic Publishers & Distri
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
11. ^ Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair (8 August 2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-1-4411-0231-7.
12. ^ a b Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
13. ^ Dhillon, Balwant Singh (November 1997). "Dharamsala: An Early Sikh Religious Centre". Institute of Sikh Studies.
14. ^ a b c Grewal, J. S. (25 July 2019). "Appendix 7A.1: Significance of the Term 'Khalsa'". Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190990381.
15. ^ a b c Singh, Harbans (1992). The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 3: M-R. Punjabi University (Patiala). pp. 263–266. ISBN 9788173803499.
16. ^ Rambo, Lewis Ray; Farhadian, Charles E.; Mann, Gurinder Singh (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford handbooks series. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. p. 494\. ISBN 978-0-19-533852-2. "During this time, the ceremony of pahul mentioned in the Janam Sakhi developed along three distinct lines. In the presence of the Guru, the pahul represented the water that was touched by his toe (charan pahul); in large congregations where the Guru was not present, the ceremony involved the touching of the toe of the local leaders (the holders of the manji, or seat of authority, who came to be called the masand); and in small and distant congregations, we have references to pahul created from the touching of a new entrant's toe and the congregation that he joined drinking it."
17. ^ Dahiya, Amardeep S. (2014). Founder of the Khalsa: The Life and Times of Guru Gobind Singh. Hay House. ISBN 9789381398616. "Ever since Guru Nanak's time it had been a custom among Sikhs to partake of 'charan pahul', whenever they visited the guru: By drinking the water which had washed the feet of the guru, the Sikhs showed their humility which was the ultimate virtue that would take them through the portals of heaven."
18. ^ Singha, H. S. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism: Over 1000 Entries (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Hemkunt Publishers. p. 44\. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1. "CHARAN AMRIT: Literally charan amrit is water in which the Guru's feet have been bathed. It was used as a part of the Sikh initiation ceremony called charan pahul during the days of the first nine Gurus and till the time Guru Gobind Singh changed it to khande-di-pahul. For more details see Baptism."`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
19. ^ Kalsi, Sewa Singh (2007). Sikhism - Simple Guides. Simple Guides (2nd ed.). Kuperard. ISBN 9781857336344. "Amrit literally means water of immortality, which is used in the Sikh initiation ceremony; it is known as khande di pahul (literally, water of the double-edged sword). Let us go back to the fateful day of Baisakhi in 1699. After the selection of panj pyarey, the guru prepared amrit for the initiation ceremony. He discarded the centuries-old tradition of charan pahul. Before the founding of the Khalsa, the initiation used to be conducted with water touched by a guru's toe, thus the term charan pahul (charan means foot, pahul denotes water). The new-style initiation ceremony was fundamentally different from the traditional mode of initiation. Preparation of amrit is one of the defining factors of the new rite. The guru poured water into a steel bowl and stirred it with a double-edged sword while reciting hymns from the Adi Granth, including some of his own compositions. It is said that the guru's wife added some sugar into the bowl during the preparation of amrit."
20. ^ Page 135, The History of Sikh Gurus, Prithi Pal Singh, Lotus Press, Jan 1, 2006
21. ^ Grewal, J. S. (25 July 2019). Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk. Oxford University Press. pp. 88–92. ISBN 978-0-19-099038-1.
22. ^ Lorenzen, David N. (9 November 1994). Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action. State University of New York Press. p. 44\. ISBN 9781438411262.
23. ^ a b Macauliffe, Max (1909). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Vol. 3–4 (1st ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 155.
24. ^ a b Singh, Inderjeet (29 October 2020). "Afghan Sikhs – Tracing Their Origins And History". SikhNet. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
25. ^ a b Malhotra, Karamjit K. “Professor J.S. Grewal Prize: IN SEARCH OF EARLY SIKH ART.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 71, 2010, pp. 397–408. JSTOR, JSTOR 44147507. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
26. ^ Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E. Vol. 2\. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 833–834. ISBN 9788126908585.
27. ^ Jaggi, Rattan Singh (10 March 2015). "ਮਾਛੀਵਾੜਾ" [Machhiwara]. Punjabipedia – Punjabi University, Patiala (originally published in the 'Sikh Panth Encyclopedia' by Gur Ratan Publishers) (in Punjabi). Retrieved 30 July 2024.

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