bara Singh. Among the emphases of the move-
ment was abstinence from alcohol.
The movement remained small but received
a boost in the 1930s from Boota Singh (1883–
1944), who sought to revitalize it. He began to
preach against all regulations based upon external
habits and appearances, including all rules about
what one wears, eats, or drinks (including the
prohibition of alcohol).
Boota Singh received initiation from the SANT
MAT lineage that looks back to Jaimal Singh
(1838–1903). He not only passed the lineage to
the present leader of the movement but also added
the practice of jnana, the giving of knowledge by
the GURU (or his representative) to each member
of the movement. The giving of knowledge is a
confidential aspect of the Nirankari faith, and
members agree not to divulge its nature. Members
also agree not to discriminate against people in
respect to caste, sex, color, religion, or worldly
status; not to criticize anyone because of his or
her diet or dress; and to make no renunciation of
the world.
Boota died in 1944, and he passed leadership
of his small following within the larger Nirankari
movement to Avtar Singh (1899–1969). The lat-
ter saw the partition of India and the movement
of many Hindus from what is now Pakistan back
into Indian territory. Operating from Delhi, he
began to gather a following especially among
the newly migrating Sikhs. In 1947 he formally
organized the Nirankari Sant Mission, which held
its first annual meeting (Samagam) the next year.
The growth was such that Avtar Singh’s following
constituted the main body of Nirankaris.
In 1969, Avtar Singh was succeeded by Gur-
bachan Singh (1930–80), who would oversee
significant growth of the movement outside India
through the British Commonwealth and the
United States. A major stimulant for growth was
Gurbachan Singh’s world tour the year before he
became the head of the movement. Once in his
leadership role, he formed a foreign section to
stimulate further growth around the world. In
1971, he traveled to North America and organized
the work in the United States and Canada. He also
authored Avtar Bani, which serves as a holy book
for the Nirankaris.
Gurbachan Singh asserted his belief that
Nirankaris were Sikhs, in spite of their separate
organization. Many Sikhs disputed these claims;
against the tense background of Sikh demands
for independence from India, intra-Sikh violence
occasionally erupted. In 1980, Gurbachan Singh
was assassinated. He was succeeded by Hardev
Singh Ji Maharaj (b. 1954), who continues as head
of the movement, now known as the Nirankari
Sant Samagam of the Nirankari Universal Brother-
hood Mission. Assisting Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj
are seven men chosen by him and known as the
Seven Stars.Further reading: J. S. Chugh, Fifty Years of Spiritual
Bliss: Commemorative Souvenir of the Golden Jubilee
Nirankari Sant Samagam, November 6–10, 1997 (Delhi:
Sant Nirankari Mandal, 1997); C. L. Gulotti, A Mis-
sion for All (Delhi: Sant Nirankari Mandal, 1997);
Krishnan Lal, The Mission and the Missionaries (Delhi:
Sant Nirankari Mandal, 1987); Nirankari Baba Hardev
Singh, Stream of Thoughts (Delhi: Sant Nirankari Man-
dal, 1994).Nirmala Devi, Mataji
See SAHAJA YOGA CENTER.nirvana
Nirvana is the term used to refer to the state of
liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth, from
worldly existence. The term probably originated
within Buddhism. It literally means a “blowing
out”—of the fires of worldly existence. In the
early Buddhist context this implied the recogni-
tion that nothing is permanent and that there is
no permanent self, but only a shifting combina-
tion of aspects that constitute themselves so as
to make us believe in a permanent “self” or soul.nirvana 313 J