Hindu religion consists of numerous Sampradayas. The Akhada is an armed outfit of the Sampradayas. They are a group of armed Sadhus and Sants specially established to protect their own faith and traditions. Small sections of the Akhadas are called Khalsa.
Over the years the Akhadas have grown into institutions like Mutts and are managed and run by office bearers. The members of the Akhadas practice Brahmacharya and renouncement and they propagate their faith to instill moral, cultural and spiritual values in society.
On the basis of Akhadas these Sampradayas are divided into-
1,Shaiva and Sanyasi Sampradayas-They have 8 Akhadas
1)Avahan 2)Atal 3)Anand 4)Niranjani 5)Mahanirvani 6)Juna 7)Agni 8)Gudad.
2)Vaishnav Sampradayas– They have 7 Akhadas. They are-1)Nirmohi 2)Digambari 3)Nirlambi 4)Khaki 5)Nirvani 6)Santoshi 7)Tatambari
3)Udasin Sampradaya-It has 2 Akhadas – Bada and Naya
Other Sampradayas
Ramanandi Sampradaya–People belonging to this sect worship Lord Ram and Sita as their main deity. They are called Ramanandis or Ramavats. It was founded by Ramananda. Their philosophical basis is the same as Ramanuja ie qualified dualism but they do not like to be grouped in the Sri Sampradaya of the Ramanuja sect. The school begins with Lord Rama and the doctrine descends through Sita and their devotee Lord Hanuman through a succession of 22 preceptors.
It has three divisions
1)Asthanadhari 2)Khalsa and 3)Akhadamalia
The Asthanadharis keep to one place and carry on their religious duties.
The Khalsas move about and propagate the religious doctrines of their sect.
The Akhadamalias form the Nagas or fighting Bairagis who are divided into various Akhadas.
Bhuriwale or Garib Dassi Sampradaya-It was founded by Maharaj Bhuriwale and preached the teachings of holy Granth of Acharya Garib Dasji Maharaj. The main aim is to awaken the minds of the people through Akhand Path of the Holy Granth. Regular Akhand Paths are organized throughout the year in different parts of the country He taught the people of Punjab to live a life of sacrament and honesty.
Pranami Sampradaya – It is a community which has followers(originated from Jamnagar, Saurashtra etc) of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna in the Bal Roop or childhood form. Therefore it is also called the Krishna Pranami Sampradaya or Nijanand Sampradaya. It was founded by Shri Devchandraji and was further propagated by his disciple Shri Prannath. The basic concepts and teachings originate from the Bhagvat. The basic concept is unity of all faiths and people pranam(Salute) each other irrespective of class, caste, creed or gender hence the name. Prannathji’s teachings are contained in the Kulzam Swaroop which contains Tartam Gyan(Supreme Wisdom).
Kapadi Sampradaya– It is associated with Lord Rama and found mainly in Kutch Gujarat and the followers are considered to be descendents of Kshatriya princes hence they are held in very high regard.
There are four groups of Kapadi Sampradaya–
1. Ramsnehi Kapadi-who worship Lord Rama as their chief deity and are found in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
2. Ashapuri Kapadi– who worship Ashapura Mata originally located in Kutch.
3. Sravani Kapadi-who are found in Banaskantha district of Gujarat.
4. Makadbanth Kapadi-who are followers of Mekan Dada a saint from Kutch.
