Sewapanthi

Sewapanthi (Punjabi: ਸੇਵਾਪੰਥੀ; meaning "fellowship of service" ), alternatively spelt as Sevapanthi, and also known as Addanshahi, is a traditional Sikh sect or order (samparda) that was started by Bhai Kanhaiya, a personal follower of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Kanhaiya was instructed by the Guru to go out and serve humanity, which he did by establishing a Dharmsala in the Attock district of Punjab and serving indiscriminately. Sewa Panthis are also known as 'Addan Shahis'. This name is derived from one of Bhai Kanhaiya's disciples, Addan Shah.

History
Guru Tegh Bahadur had a follower known as Kanhaiya Lal, a Dhamman (Dhiman) Khatri who was born in 1648, in a town called Sohadara, now in Pakistan. He became a drawer of water to the Guru's horses. The Guru gave Kanhaiya a seli topi as a reward.

Once the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, had ascended to the gurgaddi, Bhai Kanhaiya began to follow him. Allegedly, Guru exempted Kanhaiya and his followers from military duty and told him to carry on performing the duty allotted to him by his reverend, Guru Tegh Bahadur, of serving all living beings.

In the Battle of Anandpur, Bhai Kanhaiya served water indiscriminately to wounded soldiers in the battlefield, including the opposition (Mughals). For this act, angry Sikh warriors accused him of treason brought him before the Guru. When he asked him why he was helping the wounded enemy, Kanhaiya replied that he could not distinguish between friend or foe, as he only saw Vaheguru in all. The Guru was very pleased, and not only did he order Kanhaiya to continue, but also gave him a medicine chest as a gift. He then blessed him, saying after him shall be a Sikh order.

The langar hall at the Golden Temple's construction was supervised by Sewapanthi saints.

The Sewapanthis are extremely small in number and barely exist today.

Philosophy and practices
The main focus of the sect is on the selfless service of others, hence their name. The Sewapanthi Sikhs usually wear pure white clothes, and keep kesh (unshorn hair). They have often had their deras and dharamsalas located in places like Punjab, Pakistan, and other High-Muslim populations. Many of the followers of the sect were ethnic Sindhi Sikhs. Due to this, engagements with Sufi texts & Islamic literature has been common among the Sewapanthis historically. The Sewa Panthis are pacifists. Though they do not say it is wrong for a person to defend themselves, Sewapanthis themselves desist from all forms of violence. As such, many Sewapanthis foregoe the pahul, or initiation into the martial Khalsa order.

The Sewapanthi dress is white, and they refuse to harm other forms of life in an aspiration to become the epitome of shaant ras, and to remain in sattva guna. Despite this, they do not entirely detach themselves from the martial spirit expounded upon by Guru Gobind Singh. They support, in principle, the necessary violent actions required of the Khalsa for the protection of dharma.

Traditionally, Sewapanthis do not live the life of a grishti (householder), but remain celibate. They dedicate their whole lives for sewa, or selfless service for the panth. Many Sevapanthis were/are sehajdhari.

Many Sewapanthis were Sahajdhari in their observance and therefore did not keep kesh (unshorn hair). This allowed them to escape a lot of the persecution that more identifiable Sikhs faced.

Whilst Sewapanthi saints are said to have an aversion towards womankind, they are known to assist women in distress.

When a new leader is appointed as head of a tikana (centres for the sect), they are bestowed a broom and bowl. The broom embodies cleanliness whilst the bowl epitomizes serving others.

This sect was responsible for preparing the ink used to write manuscripts of Sikh scriptures back in the time when such scriptures were written out by hand manually before the introduction of mass-printing technology. The ink prepared by the sect was known as "Roshanai" or "Addanshahi ink".

Storytelling tradition
Whilst mainstream Sikhs refer to their traditional stories as Sakhis, the Sewapanthis referred to their tradition of stories as Parchai, which are life stories related to the Sewapanthi mahatmas.

Places of worship
A Sewapanthi temple is known as a Tikana (a term also used for Nanakpanthi temples). They are highly prevalent in Sindh, where religious syncretism between Hinduism and Sikhism can be observed and clear-cut religious boundaries become blurry and ill-defined. At a tikana is usually a copy of the primary Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, alongside images of Indic deities.

Udasi connection
There are strong historical links between these two sampardas. Bhai Khanaiya was an Udasi. Bhai Addan Shah was initially an Udasi and a student of Baba Gurdas Dakhani. This close bond has remained to this day.

Others

 * Mahant Karamjeet Singh Yamunangar

Prominent saints

 * Baba Sham Singh
 * Sant Amir Singh
 * Baba Jhanda Singh
 * Baba Kharag Singh of Bir Sahib