SAKHlAN BHAI ADDAN SHAH

SAKHlAN BHAI ADDAN SHAH is a collection of sakhis or anecdotes concerning Bhai Addan Shah, a celebrated saint of the Sevapanthi sect. The extant manuscripts of the work are all undated, but the surmise is that these were written around the middle of the eighteenth century when Bhai Addan Shah was putting up at Munde Sharih in Lahore addressing sahgats and preaching the Sikh way of life. The manuscripts are also silent about their authorship, but tradition attributes them to Bhai Sahaj Ram, a disciple of Addan Shah, and himself a renewed Sevapanthi saint. The work was first published in 1886 at Matba Gulshan Punjab, Rawalpindi, and reprinted in 1958 by the SevapanthiAddan Shahi Sabha, Patiala.

Another edition of the book was brought out in 1973 by Lahore Book Shop, Ludhiana, under the title Sakhian Addan Shah ate Bachan Mahanpurkhan De. The work comprises a total of 83 sakhis homiletic in style. The emphasis in all the sakhis is on the virtues of remembrance of the Divine name and humble and selfless service of fellow men. Written in simple prose the book seems directed to the layman to enable him to understand the basic principles of Sikhism.

References :

1. Gurmukh Singh, Sevapanthian di Panjabi Sahit nun Den. Patiala, 1986