Understanding Avtar Bani

Avtar Singh, an illiterate man who openly admitted his lack of education, astonishingly became the proclaimed living embodiment of God through the Sant Nirankari Mission. Initially rooted in Sikh tradition, this movement soon veered dramatically under his leadership, dismissing centuries of scripture and ritual as futile. From his own words, “Parrot like I wasted time reading Pothi Guru Granth,” to outright claims that “Recitation of Gurbani made me insolent and egoistic,” Avtar Singh systematically rejected the spiritual foundation of Sikh practice. The Avtar Bani, attributed to him, was used to supplant established scriptures, declaring, “Gita, Vedas, Granth and Quran all proved to be futile and useless.” His movement quickly evolved into a theology that positioned him as more than a guru. The Nirankari publications openly proclaimed, “Avtar Singh is Allah returned to earth,” and later, “He is the creator of the world. He is the only ever lasting and undying one, all else is perishable.” Even his successor Gurbachan Singh was exalted as the new God incarnate, to be “recognised as Satguru, the God incarnate of this age.” Shockingly, these radical theological claims were coupled with moral controversies. The Nirankari Baba publication noted how Avtar Singh would distribute whisky as prasad. Reports in the Indian Observer told of a young woman being sexually molested by him while he was drunk, and his followers rationalised this under beliefs of “free love” and the discarding of all sexual restrictions. Through it all, Avtar Singh’s doctrine maintained that “Allah, Ishwar, God, Waheguru, Ram, Mohammad, Nanak, Christ all are his names,” firmly placing himself above all prophets and scriptures. He famously declared there would be “no inhibitions for my followers in matters of sex, diet, dress,” forming a community where indulgence was sanctified. Upon his death, leadership passed to his teenage son, cementing a controversial dynasty. This episode remains one of the most provocative chapters in modern religious history, where claims of divine reincarnation, dismissal of holy texts and allegations of moral transgression collided, sparking outrage and debate that continues to this day. Instrumental - Roopa Panesar