Dadu Dayal (1544–1603) was a
sant from
Gujarat,
India. "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one".
Dadu Dayal ji Maharaj was found by an affluent business man floating on the river Sabarmati. He later moved to
Amber , near
Jaipur Rajasthan, where he preached his teachings.
He gathered around himself a group of followers, which became known as the
Dadu-panth. This organization has continued in Rajasthan to the present-day, and has been a major source of early manuscripts containing songs by the
North Indian saints.
Dadu alludes to the bliss of
Sahaja in his songs. Much of the imagery used in his songs is similar to that used by Kabir, and similar also to that used by the earlier Sahajiya
Buddhists and Nath
yogis.
Dadu's compositions were recorded by his disciple Rajjab and are known as the Dadu Anubhav Vaani, a compilation of 5,000 verses. Another disciple, Janagopal, wrote the earliest biography of Dadu.
Dadu ji had 100 disciples that followed his teachings and attained salvation. He instructed an additional 52 disciples to set up ashrams, 'Thambas' around the region to spread the Lord's word. Dadu ji spent the latter years of his life in Narayana, a small distance away from the town of Dudu, near Jaipur city.
Five thambas are considered sacred by the followers, namely, Narayana, Bhairanaji, Sambhar, Amer, and Karadala (Kalyanpura). Followers of these thambas then spread and set up other places of......
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