Udasi
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Udasi is a sect within Sikhism. Followers of Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak Dev, the first guru of Sikhism, started the sect. Later, Baba Gurditta, son of Guru Hargobind and father of Guru Har Rai, led the group on missions outside of the Punjab. Unlike some Sikh groups, they may cut their hair and shave. They have a temple in Amritsar near the Harimandir.
Udasis mahants maintained the records of the chain of succession, from Sri Chand. They revered the Adi Granth with a traditional interpretation. They wrote commentaries on portions of the Sikh scripture, along with janam-sakhis and gur-bilas works. In 1849 they had more than 250 akharas or centres.
Historically they were assigned the responsibility of managing the major Sikh shrines for more than a century. During the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the early 1920s, all the Udasis were removed from control of the historical shrines.
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