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[edit] Spashta Dayaka

This sect was founded by Rup Kabiraj, the disciple of Krishna Chandra Chakravartti of Saidabad, the pupil of Makandah Das, a successor of Chaitanya. It is set forth that Krishna Chandra sojourned at Brindaban acquiring great renown as a holy teacher, and that on leaving he delivered to Rup Kabiraj the charge of his flock, upon whom a great scandal had fallen owing to the crowds of women residing in the Akharas with the disciples. Rup Kabiraj, therefore, determined on casting out all those who, by their licentious behaviour, had brought disgrace on the community; but he encountered serious opposition. Worn out, and irritated by this factious spirit, he one day threw the leavings of his food into the dishes of his opponents, and thereby cast a stain on them. He then intimated that for the future no member of the society should eat food cooked by a woman.

Another story is sometimes told of its foundation. The wife of Rup Kabiraj was in the habit of distributing food to the disciples, but some refused to accept it because she wore a shell bracelet, the badge of low birth. The husband pointed out that his wife, a Thakurani, could lawfully mete out the Prasada without causing disgrace; but the disciples, still sceptical, seceded, and established the order of Spashta Dayaka.1

This sect has never flourished in Eastern Bengal, but it has an establishment in the city of Dacca, known as the Inayatganj Akhara, founded by Vasa Ram Gosain. Another monastery exists at Simalia, fourteen miles north of the city; a third at Dalal Bazar in Noakhally; while in Silhet many Akharas are supported.

A writer in the Calcutta Review, with whom Dr. Hunter agrees, has put forth statements apt to mislead regarding the peculiar doctrines of this body. These authorities state that its characteristic features are the repudiation of the servile veneration paid to the Guru, and a mystical association of the male and female devotees. On the contrary, at Dacca, the Guru does receive special veneration, and the spirit of a former Gosain Pancha Ram is still invoked, while in the Inayatganj Akhara the mother of the Guru resides, although her son cannot receive food from her hands, and no other woman is allowed to remain within its walls. Further, it cannot be denied that Radha Krishna is the principal object of worship. The Mantra is bestowed on women, the Bhek never. Finally, celibacy is professed by all, and any glaring immorality entails expulsion.

All castes, including Chandals, are enrolled in the sect, but a preference is shown for the pure Sudras.

The distinctive sectarial mark is a daub of ochre (Gopi-chandan) on the nose, with two narrow lines drawn upwards to the roots of the hair. The temples, arms, chest, and shoulders are stamped with the sacred names of Hari.

The Spashta Dayaka accept alms from any Hindus, and even from Muhammadans, but never from Chamars, or prostitutes. The Vaishnava Vairagi is forbidden to eat with him, and he declines to eat with the Vairagi. He is further prohibited from touching flesh or fish, and from eating with any one not a member of his association.

The Bhek is conferred on married men, even though continuing to lead a secular life. The Vairagi Spashta Dayaka leads the same irregular vagabond existence as the Vairagi Vaishnava, making pilgrimages to Sri Brindaban, and roaming from one shrine to another, subsisting on the charity of the villagers. It is forbidden for him to receive money at marriages and festivals; but on all other occasions he is at liberty to accept it Their dead are usually interred, and the grave (Samadhi) of those who have died leaving disciples is, as with all Vaishnavas, held in especial veneration, an Akhara being built over it. Every cenobite desires to be buried, and this feeling is one of the most potent means of spreading the doctrines of the sect, as each one strives to form a company, and to become the founder of an Akhara, where his name will be preserved, and his memory revered.

A corpse is buried in a sitting posture, as among the mendicant Jogis. A cloth (nama-boli), stamped with the name Hati, is wrapped round the head; the Kaupina, like that received at initiation, round the body; while the arms are folded across the chest, a necklace hung around the neck, and a cocoa-nut shell (Karanka), a wallet, and a staff (danda) placed by the side. If the deceased were a man of unusual sanctity, religious rites would be daily performed at his tomb, and his spirit invoked on all occasions of affliction and misfortune.

The Akhara in Dacca is richly endowed, possessing "debottar" lands yielding a revenue of four hundred and fifty rupees a year, which is supplemented by collections made by the Vairagis.

1 Sanskrit Spashta, true, Dayaka, giving, or given.

[edit] Notes