[5][3] He did not promote asceticism, preaching instead that men could be devoted to God while staying within the family (Grihete thakiya jar hay bhaboday.
[3] According to historian Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, one day Thakur "experienced atma darshan or self-revelation, through which he realized that he was the incarnation of God himself, born in this world to bring salvation to the downtrodden".
[10][11][7] His followers began to believe that he was gifted with supernatural power and can protect them from the Brahmanical cruel rules and regulations in the society.
[12] He completely rejected the sermons of earlier Hindu saints which described the household as an illusion and family as the main obstacle on the path of attaining salvation.
Earlier Hindu saints discouraged people toward family life by preaching One has to leave home to achieve Nirvana (attaining salvation).
[16] He challenged the traditional Hindu belief which described the woman as an illusion (maya), the gateway to hell, and the main obstacle on the path of attaining God.
These twelve instructions are: (I) Always speak the truth (II) Treat the woman as your mother-being; Respect the woman (III) Always respect your parents (IV) Treat your neighbors and all earthly living beings with love, pity, and kindness (V) Never discriminate on racial grounds (VI) Bring all the six passions of the mind under your control.
(VII) Remain liberal to all other religions and creeds (VIII) Become honest in mind and activities and avoid saintly dress to adorn yourself with (IX) Perform your duties devotedly and utter the sacred Haribol and pray to God simultaneously (X) Build a temple of pure thoughts in your heart and soul and a temple of Shree Hariparameshwar at your dwelling place (XI) Pray daily to God with devotion and sanctity (XII) Sacrifice yourself to the cause of God.
[18][19] According to Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, it was under the leadership of Guruchand that the Matua sect "achieved its doctrinal cohesion and organisational push, as it came to be associated with the Namasudra social protest movement started in 1872".
[5] A considerable body of Dalit literature that mixes religious and secular themes has emerged around Thakur and Matua.
This includes biographies, promotions of the teachings and interpretations of the relationship to later events, such as the thoughts of B. R. Ambedkar and comparisons with the situation of black people in the US.