Avtar Bhanearawala

Avtar Bhanearawala

Background

Avtar Bhanearawala first started his cult back in 1980 in village Dhamana in Roopnagar. During the Sikh movement he operated quietly just like every other human “guru”. After the decline of the movement he forcibly took over 19 acres of land in the village and expanded his dera. He started attracting many followers from the local area and gaining some popularity. He would not have gained much popularity had it not been for greedy leaders. According to a report: “A controversial person Piara Sio Bhanearawala became famous when Minister Boota Sinh went to beg for votes. He was the first leader to visit the dera. Boota Sinh wanted to secure his dalit votes since majority of the followers of Bhanearawala were dalits.” (Desh Sewak, 7 October 2001)

Besides his numerous “female companions”, he has three legal wives Kusam Devi, Rupinder Kaur and Surjeet Kaur. He has three sons. The youngest keep matted hair like a sanyasi and the eldest shows off a Hindu lifestyle while the middle son has adopted a Sikh form. This is done to attract followers from Sikhi and Hinduism. He has property worth billions of rupees some of which is distributed among his three wives based on the condition that the property could not be sold but only passed on to the heirs.

Challenges to Sikhi

His direct opposition against Sikhi came forward in a form of his “holy book” called “Bhavsagar Samundar Amar Bani” which was filled with false and nonsensical stories and insulting remarks about Sikh Guru and Sikh practices. It was put together by 21 government sponsored people including policemen and teachers. Five of 21 people were women. Bhanearawala has resorted to insult Sikhi practices on daily basis. He encouraged his followers to desecrate saroops of Guru Granth Sahib. His followers acting on his words burnt hundreds of saroops in many cities of Punjab. Report published in Desh Sewak newspaper exposed his true face. According to his followers Jaswinder Singh, Bindar Singh and Ashok Kumar:

Piara Singh Bhanearawala was enraged at Sikhs for burning his granth. To seek revenge he appealed to us to burn Guru Granth Sahib. When we refused, he forced us to do it at gunpoint and threatened to kill us. We stole a saroop from Ratangarh and burnt it at a dera in Rasoolpur. (Desh Sewak, 14 October 2001)

Burning of saroops continued for many months in Punjab. Bhanearawala was not arrested by the police for inciting hatred and disrespecting another religion. Instead, he was provided with security forces by the government.

He has also established a place in his local dera which he says is more powerful and holier than Darbar Sahib. According to a report published by Vijay Chandan: The notorious Bhanearawala has built a place in his dera where his followers come to disperse the remains of their dead. There exists a pond in which the remains are thrown. It is believed by the followers that person whose remains are put in the pond goes straight to heaven. Bhanearawala charges Rs. 1000 to use the pond. (Desh Sewak, 28 October 2001)

He claims that his filthy granth has no derogatory comments about the Sikh faith which is far from the actual truth. Here are some stories from his granth.

An Amritdhari used to go to Gurdwara everyday. He was in a dire situation and prayed everyday but no avail. At last, Bhanearawala blessed him with his vision and brought him to Bhaneara. (Page 27)

Bhanearawala blessed Amritdharis with his visions, impressed them with his spiritual powers and destroyed their false ego. (Page 116)

One time an Amritdhari came to the dera and questioned Baba Ji (Bhanearawala) as to why Guru Granth Sahib was not kept there. Baba Ji replied, “It is of no importance.” Amritdhari became angry and left the dera. After some time his legs were broken in an accident. God blessed him with a vision in form of Baba Ji and told him to serve at the dera. His legs were healed by Baba Ji. He used to work at Mehta Gurdwara then why didn’t God bless him with a vision in form of Amritdhari? (Page 701)

An Amritdhari named Yugraj Singh had been yearning for God’s vision. Baba Ji blessed him with a vision. (Page 909)

Karamjit Singh used to work as a granthi. Due to some illeness he lost his eyesight and his wife became paralyzed on one side of the body. They had Akhand Paath at Darbar Sahib and did immense seva at Gurdwaras but nothing turned to their benefit. Baba Ji Bhanearawala cured their illness. Karamjit had prepared to go to Anandpur Sahib at 300th centennial and wanted to take his wife along with him but she refused and came to Baba Ji instead. Baba Ji told her that those who go to Anandpur Sahib never get salvation and remain in the cycle of life and death. If there was a benefit of going to the Gurdwara they would’ve been cured there. (Page 995)

On the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Manjit Kaur was blessed with a vision of Bhanearawala. She saw Guru Arjan Dev Ji sitting on a hot iron plate and the entire body was full of blisters. Then the image of Guru Arjan Dev Ji took the form of Baba Piara Singh and told Manjeet to do seva at dera Bhaneara. Then the form turned back to Guru Arjav Dev Ji and said to Manjeet, “Look what the humanity have done to me. They have not spared me of their injustice.” (Page 1107)

One time a lady was going to Gurdwara. Guru Arjan Dev Ji revealed Himself to her and said, “Why are you going to Gurdwara? There is nothing there. Go to dera Bhaneara instead. True Satguru resides there. You shall reach liberation there.” (Page 1240)

One person told Baba Ji Bhaneara to summon before Akal Takhat but Baba Ji refused and said, “I don’t accept any Akal Takhat. God has told me that falsehood shall perish.” (Page 1240)

These are some of the contained in Bhavsagar granth. Bhanearawala was greatly opposed by the Sikhs which resulted in decline in his followers. Few of his followers were killed in jail and Bhanearawala was attacked by a knife but luckily he survived.

Altering Gurbani

Besides preaching against Sikhi and insulting Sikh Gurus at his deras, Gurbani is misused to mislead the people into thinking that he provides correct interpretations. Some examples are below:

ਦੀਨ ਗੁਆਇਆ ਦੁਨੀ ਸਿਉਂ ਦੁਨੀ ਨਾ ਚਲੀ ਸਾਥ, ਰੱਬ ਨੂੰ ਭੁੱਲ ਕੇ ਬੈਠ ਗਿਆਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਨਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਸਾਥ । (Page 134)

ਕਰਨੀ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣੀ ਲੇਖੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਿਸਾਬ, ਰੱਬ ਨੇ ਲੇਖਾ ਮੰਗਣਾ ਦੇਣਾ ਪਵੇਗਾ ਜਵਾਬ । (Page 144)

ਹੁਕਮੈ ਲੈ ਅੰਦਰ ਸਭ ਕੋ ਬਾਹਰ ਹੁਕਮ ਨਾ ਕੋਇ, ਜਿਥੇ ਰੱਖੇ ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਸਵਾਮੀ ਉੱਥੇ ਰੱਬ ਕਰੇ ਵਾਸ । (Page 1325)

Sikhs need to unite together and eliminate such nefarious groups for the sake of Sikhi’s survival. While Sikhs continue to waste time in seeking justice from the government he continues to spew hatred towards Sikhi while enjoying the security of the government.

Sikh Child Suspended Indefinitely by Montreal School Without Investigation

Independent Eye-Witnesses to Incident Report Sikh Never Touched kirpan; Several Media Outlets Misreporting Incident


Montreal, Quebec, Canada: A thirteen-year-old Sikh boy was suspended from school on September 11th after being accused of threatening another student outside school with his kirpan (a short steel or iron blade that is carried as one of five articles of faith). The school in Le Salle suspended the Sikh student without properly investigating the matter, as it has become apparent that multiple independent eye-witnesses to the incident confirm that the Sikh boy never touched his kirpan. UNITED SIKHS is assisting the family by working with local Montreal Sikh community activists and eminent human-rights lawyer Julius Grey to have the Sikh boy's suspension lifted and also to thwart incorrect media reports which have misreported the incident and are using it to reignite the debate about the kirpan in Montreal schools.

The incident occurred when a few students, including the Sikh boy, left school for lunch. Two boys followed the students and began taunting and bullying the Sikh boy, as they have on numerous occasions in the past. When the Sikh boy was adjusting his loose pants, the bullies notice the boy's kirpan, which was securely wrapped in a long cloth and had multiple rubber-bands around it. Upon returning to school, the Sikh boy and another student reported the bullying incident to their teacher, who responded that she would investigate the matter, but did not have time today. Shortly thereafter, police arrived at the school and began questioning the Sikh boy. It is believed that the bullies reported that the Sikh boy threatened them with his kirpan to their mother, who in turn called the police. The Sikh boy was suspended by the school for an indefinite period of time, and police have yet to file any charges.

Assuming the allegations against the Sikh boy were true, the Montreal Gazette, among other news agencies, reported that the incident "raises questions about [the] court ruling," referring to the Multani decision in which the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the right of Sikh children to wear the kirpan to school in 2006.

Commenting on the school commission's hasty decision to suspend the boy without investigating the incident, Julius Grey, the lawyer representing the family stated, "It appears that there is no substance whatsoever to these claims, and I am shocked at the cavalier way the [Sikh] boy has been treated when in fact independent witnesses confirm these allegations are false. This is an attempt to undo the kirpan case [Multani] without any legitimate reason."

Initially concerned that the allegations were true, UNITED SIKHS contacted the family who were already receiving assistance from local Sikh community activists involved with the Multani case in 2006, including Chattar Singh, Kiranpal Singh, and Hardev Singh. After speaking with those involved and determining that it was necessary to take immediate action, we contacted Julius Grey, who held conference with the family, representatives from the local Sikh community, and UNITED SIKHS on Friday and immediately issued a letter to the school demanding that the Sikh boy be allowed to return to school.

The school, citing formal notice from Sikh student's attorney, cancelled a meeting with the Sikh student's parents and stated that they will need to meet internally about the matter. "What is particularly troublesome about the school's reaction to the bullying incident is that school officials have allowed their prejudices against the kirpan to override their duty to properly investigate this serious matter. The same prejudices are now hindering them from allowing the Sikh student back in school after independent witnesses to the incident have come forward showing that the allegations are false," remarked Jaspreet Singh, Staff Attorney for UNITED SIKHS.

Commenting on the incident, Manjit Singh, Director of Chaplaincy Services, McGill University and one of the advisors to the family stated, "The reason why our community is being treated in such an inconsiderate manner by the school is because the education system in Quebec previously only focused on the Judeo-Christian tradition with the result that those people in decision making roles do not have an understanding of Sikhism. That is our challenge."

The father of the accused, Kamaljeet Singh, expressed distress at his son's suspension stating, "My son's education is suffering because of these false allegations. Wearing the kirpan is taken very seriously and it is preposterous that my son would threaten anyone with this most important article of faith. My son keeps asking me, what did I do to deserve this? I don't have an answer."

http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/P...-09-2008-00.htm