UDASI

sect within Sikhism, a religion of India. The Udasi (from the Sanskrit udas, to renounce) sect, which requires celibacy and asceticism of its members, originated with the followers of Siri Chand, the son of the first Sikh guru (religious teacher and leader of the Sikh community), Nanak. Under the leadership of Baba Gurditta, the eldest son of the sixth guru, Hargobind, they served as missionaries, particularly north and east of the Punjab, the Sikh homeland. They did not adopt the five K's (unshorn hair, comb, sword, military shorts, and steel bracelet), emblems of the Khalsa order. Udasis may cut their hair and shave; they wear reddish garments and use caste marks, sacred threads, and prayer books more generally associated with Hindu ascetics. The Udasis maintain a temple adjacent to the Harimandir, the main Sikh temple in Amritsar, Punjab.