Dadu Dayal Ji ( , 1544—1603) was a poet-sant from Gujarat, India, a religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft. Etymology "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one". Early life Dadu was born in 1544 in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state of India. Teachings and legacy Dadu Dayal was a spiritual man. His work is known as Dadudayal ki Vani / Dadudayal -Ra Duha. He believed in God because At the age of seven Kabir met him. After meeting with him, he uttered this speech:- Jin moku nij naam diya, soi Satguru hamaar | Dadu doosra koi nahin, Kabir Sirjanhaar | His many compositions were to establish harmony between Hinduism and Islam. Dadupanth Dadu Dayal later moved to Naraina, near Jaipur Rajasthan, where he gathered around himself a group of followers, forming a sect that became known as the Dadupanth. Dadupanthis are one of the 7 martial akharas of Vaishnavite sampradaya of Hindus. Vaishnavism has following four major sects: Sri founded by Ramananda, Dadupanthis are one of those 7 martial akharas of Vaishnavite in the sec of Ramanada Brahma founded by Madhava Ridra founded by Vishnusuvamin Sanakadi founded by Nimbarka. Followers of Vaishnavism are also called Bairagi or Vairagi. Among the Bairagi, those who became part of the military akharas were organised in the 7 akharas founding dates of most of which are unclear. Each of the akhara accepted members from all 4 sects of vaishnavism. Bairagi military akharas generally did not follow the prohibition against eating meat or taking of narcotics. Dadu Anubhav Vani Dadu's compositions in Braj language were recorded by his disciple Rajjab and are known as the Dadu Anubhav Vani, a compilation of 5,000 verses. Another disciple, Janagopal, wrote the earliest biography of Dadu. Dadu alludes to spontaneous (sahaja) bliss in his songs. Much of the imagery used is similar to that used by Kabir, and to that used by earlier Sahajiya Buddhists and Nath yogis. Dadu believed that devotion to God should transcend religious or sectarian affiliation, and that devotees should become non-sectarian or "Nipakh". He has something to say about that: Dadupanthi Thambas Dadu had 100 disciples that attained samadhi. He instructed 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 Naraiana, a small distance away from the town of Dudu, near Jaipur city.