Bani Bhagat Pipa Ji

According to the Mahan Kosh, Bhagat Pipa Ji was born in 1426 CE (1483 Samvat). Information is not available about his parents, and his actual place of birth is also unknown. The only information known is that he was the king of Gangraungarh (district Jhalawar, Rajasthan).

According to Giani Gurdit Singh, Bhagat Pipa’s elder brother, King Achal Das ‘Khichi,’ was married to the sister of Rana Kumbha. Rana Kumbha’s period is considered to be 1417-1468 CE (1474-1525 Samvat). It is unclear how much younger Bhagat Pipa Ji was than his brother. However, it is certain that he was a contemporary of the prominent disciples of Bhagat Ramanand Ji (1366-1467 CE). Generally, the belief is that Bhagat Pipa Ji lived till 1603 CE (1680 Samvat).

According to the Mahan Kosh and Bhagat Darshan Ji, a book by Giani Partap Singh, Bhagat Pipa Ji was first a devotee of the goddess Durga. Later in his life, after receiving religious instruction from Bhagat Ramanand Ji (1366-1467 CE), he gave up goddess worship and went on various pilgrimages.

According to the Faridkot Tika (volume 2, page 1440) of the Guru Granth Sahib, he was the king of Todarpur (Alwar, Rajasthan). But information regarding Bhagat Pipa Ji being the king of Todarpur is only found in this source. It is also possible that Todarpur was a part of his state or was its capital.

Bhagat Pipa Ji has been mentioned as a great seeker by the writers of Ram Sanehi, Dadu Panthi, Mina, and Vaishnav sects. A detailed description of the life of Bhagat Pipa Ji is mainly given by his nephew Anantdas in ‘Pipa Parchai’ of ‘Bhakat Ratnavali’ (1588 CE). According to ‘Pipa Parchai,’ Bhagat Pipa Ji was the king of Gangraungarh and a devotee of goddess Jalpa (another name for goddess Durga). He gave up worship of the goddess due to the company of a Vaishnav saint. He then went to Kashi (Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), and after adopting Ramanand as his Guru, returned to Gangraungarh. A year after that, Ramanand, along with Bhagat Kabir Ji, Bhagat Ravidas Ji, and other Bhagats Ji, came to meet Bhagat Pipa Ji, who left home and went along with Bhagat Ramanand Ji. His wife, Sita, also accompanied him, and they traveled to various religious places in India. There are many stories of him meeting different people while traveling. These stories depict Bhagat Pipa Ji as embodying equality, brotherhood, and wise intellect. After traveling to various places in South Asia, Bhagat Pipa Ji reached the city of Toda in Rajasthan and started living in a temple there. Bhagat Pipa Ji influenced a local chieftain named Sur, who later became Bhagat Pipa Ji’s disciple. Bhagat Pipa died in 1523 CE (1580 Samvat).

Meeting Guru Nanak Sahib (1469-1539 CE)
Anantdas has mentioned Bhagat Pipa Ji and Guru Nanak Sahib’s meeting. According to him, while traveling from Pushkar (Rajasthan) to Kashi (Uttar Pradesh), a caravan of travelers and saints met Bhagat Pipa Ji in the city of Toda. In this caravan, a young saint (Guru Nanak Sahib) from Panjnad (Panjab) was the most impressive. Dr. B. P. Sharma, the editor of this book, while further elaborating on this, writes in his note:

These devotees of the Divine had exhausted the money they had for the travel. Among them was a saint with a fair complexion. His eyes were imbued with the Divine experience. His tongue enjoyed the blissful essence of the Divine Name every moment. That young saint joined the travelers of Pushkar from Panj-nad (Panjab). Bhagat Pipa Ji welcomed all the devotees of the Divine and hugged them. His heart was at peace. That young saint was offered a special welcome with a garland and mark on the forehead. Kirtan was performed with melody and rhythm on a pakhavaj. That young saint was Guru Nanak Sahib, whose first travel (udasi) began around 1495-96 CE (1552-53 samvat).

Giani Gurdit Singh has shown the influence of Guru Nanak Sahib on the personality of Bhagat Pipa Ji based on Sikh literature and many other texts. In this connection, he has also given references to Bhagat Pipa Ji’s composition from outside the Guru Granth Sahib. According to Giani Gurdit Singh, the name of Bhagat Pipa Ji appears at many places in the Janamsakhi of Bhai Meharban in the list of bhagats who met Guru Nanak Sahib. These bhagats include Bhagat Ramanand Ji and his prominent disciples. Bhagat Pipa Ji had a great love for his fellow bhagats, especially Bhagat Kabir Ji. Bhagat Kabir Ji considered Guru Nanak Sahib his Guru along with Bhagat Ramanand Ji and continued to spread the teaching of the true Name of the Divine (Satinam) received from the Guru. Due to the company of these Bhagats, Bhagat Pipa Ji had firm faith in the principles propagated by Guru Nanak Sahib. Giani Gurdit Singh has cited some stanzas from the composition of Bhagat Pipa Ji outside the Guru Granth Sahib. This text slightly differs from the Sabad of Bhagat Pipa Ji recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib, but the basic point emphasizing adoration of the Guru and experiencing the Divine from within the body is the same as in the Guru Granth Sahib:

1.	sun pīpā satigur balihārī. jā kai sabdai mile murārī.
2.	kāyā māhe aṭhsaṭh tīrath, kāyā māhe kāsī. kāyā māhi kamlā patī baikunṭh vāsī.2. jo brahimanḍe soī pinḍe jo khojai su pāvai. pīpā praṇvai param tat re satgur milai tat lakhāvai.3.

Giani Gurdit Singh refers to Bhagat Pipa Ji as a devotee of the transcendent Divine based on his composition inside and outside the Guru Granth Sahib. He also believes that Bhagat Pipa Ji became a devotee of the transcendent Divine only because he met with Guru Nanak Sahib. This fact is also proven by Bhagat Pipa Ji’s composition. Bhagat Pipa Ji, while praising his contemporary bhagats, Ravidas and Kabir, suggested drinking from their hands the medicine of devotion to the transcendent Divine. He has described the worship of the manifest Divine as a sweet poison which leads to spiritual diseases. The true Name of the Divine (Satinam) is great, which is received through the true Guru. It has been stated to the extent that if Bhagat Kabir Ji and Bhagat Ravidas Ji (Raidas) did not exist, devotion (bhagati) would have been wiped out during the time of Lok Veda (Charvak) and Kaljug. At that time, the Brahmins had also turned devotion into a transactional activity through rational arguments:
jo kali raidās kabīr nā hote,
jau [tau] lokved ar kalijug mili kar, bhagati rasātali dete.ṭek.
agam nigam kī kahi kahi pāḍe, phal bhāgaut lagāyā.
rājas tāmas sātak kathi kathi, hamahi bharam bhulāyā.1.

Dr. Raijasbir Singh has also mentioned the meeting of Guru Nanak Sahib and Bhagat Pipa Ji with reference to Anantdas. Both these scholars have made ‘Bhakat Ratnavali,’ published by Vishav Bharti, Chandigarh, the basis of their claim. But here, it is also worth mentioning that in another book, ‘The Hagiographies of Anantdas: The Bhakti Poets of North India’ edited by Winand M. Callewaert, which contains notes by Anantdas, there is no text pointing to the meeting of Bhagat Pipa Ji and Guru Nanak Sahib, which Giani Gurdit Singh and Dr. Raijasbir Singh have quoted in their books. But it is certain that a different manuscript or letter is the basis of the book (Bhakat Ratnavali) published from Chandigarh, which Calvert did not include in his book or left out some text for an unknown reason.

Prof. Sahib Singh also writes about this meeting and says that Guru Nanak Sahib visited all places considered the hub of religious preaching. From their respective places, bhagats spread the light (awareness) of devotion to IkOankar. Therefore, it is impossible that this light would have remained hidden from Guru Nanak Sahib, who himself was the lover of the Divine light.

Guru Nanak Sahib emphasized devotion to the Transcendent instead of the manifest form of the Divine. All the contemporary bhagats who met Guru Nanak Sahib were influenced by the Guru. From the above references as well, it becomes clear that Bhagat Pipa Ji must have been influenced by Guru Nanak Sahib. It is also possible that this Sabad in the Guru Granth Sahib may have been uttered by Bhagat Pipa Ji due to the influence of Guru Nanak Sahib.

No information is available regarding the place and time of the utterance of this Sabad.

Thoughts of Prof. Sahib Singh on the Doubts Regarding the Sabad of Bhagat Pipa Ji
Prof. Sahib Singh has also addressed the doubts raised by a gentleman regarding the Sabad of Bhagat Pipa Ji in the Guru Granth Sahib. According to Prof. Sahib Singh, this person thinks that Bhagat Pipa Ji’s Sabad is contrary to the Gurmat (Sikh principles) and writes, “This Sabad belongs to Vedanta and is similar to the work of Goswami Ramanand, as if both Sabads are the work of one person. Bhagat Pipa Ji believes that the Divine dwells within the body. ‘[That] I am the Divine’ is the principle (aham braham asmi). In this sabad, there is no mention of loving devotion at all; it only discusses reflections on wisdom. The followers of Vedanta consider that their account of deeds is settled by themselves [instead of any Divine authority]. They believe themselves to be God. But this idea is completely refuted in Gurmat. Vedanta is a bundle of ego and pride. There is a lot of difference between Gurmat and Vedanta.”

While addressing the above doubts, Prof. Sahib Singh writes that the gentleman objecting has been somewhat hasty in doing so. He did not have ‘loving devotion,’ but Bhagat Pipa Ji has expressed in the line of Rahau, as the main idea, that instead of going to a temple and worshiping an idol, one ought to call for IkOankar (ram ki duhai) within their body, and connect with IkOankar in such intense remembrance that the thought of worshiping of anyone else does not even arise; connection with the all-Pervading Divine alone may develop within. The gentleman who objected has seen Vedanta in this Sabad. But Bhagat Pipa Ji has clearly said three things about IkOankar, that IkOankar resides in the human body and the entire universe, that IkOankar is the supreme essence, i.e., the root cause of all the creation, and IkOankar not only resides in the universe but is also the creator of the universe. In summary, Prof. Sahib Singh writes that there is nothing in this Sabad that conflicts with Gurmat.