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Licence No. F.2 (E-2) Press/2009 dtd. 6/3/2009
Etern
al Voice V
ol. 5 N
o. 1 A
Kalgid
har T
rust P
ublication
February - A
pril, 2
013
A KALGIDHAR TRUST PUBLICATION
Eternal VoiceEternal VoiceA Quarterly Magazine of Universal BrotherhoodVol. 5 No. 1 February - April, 2013
Special EditionSpecial Edition
Dedicated to the Founding FathersSant Attar Singh Ji & Sant Teja Singh Ji
Dedicated to the Founding FathersSant Attar Singh Ji & Sant Teja Singh Ji
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Collector's Copy
1Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
This noble project will cost `500 crores
A divine opportunity for all of us
GURU KI KASHIto donate generously for the establishment of
the 4th prediction of
at Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo
in the form of
and earn the great Guru's blessings
An initiative of The Kalgidhar Society, Baru Sahib
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Akal University
A divine opportunity for all of us
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
An initiative of The Kalgidhar Society, Baru Sahib
to donate generously for the establishment of
the 4th prediction of
at Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo
in the form of
GURU KI KASHI
Akal Universityand earn the great Guru's blessings
Deposit at any branch of HDFC BANK
A/c No.: 02921000041564
in favor of
The Kalgidhar Society
All Indian Donations are Tax Deductible u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act
IFSC CODE: HDFC0000292
For Indian Donors
in favor of
Eternal Charitable Foundation
dba The Kalgidhar Society & Akal Academy
P.O. Box. # 570081, Las Vegas, NV 89157 (Contribution Tax Exemption No. 26-1446079)
For American Donors
Donate by Cash/Cheque/Draft
www.barusahib.org • [email protected] Online:
From the editor’s desk...
Rajinder Singh Chadha
In February, 2011, we brought out a special Punjabi edition of Eternal Voice on the life and teachings of our founding fathers, the two visionaries - Sant Attar Singh and his disciple Sant Teja Singh. Since then, our office has been flooded with requests from our readers to come out with the English version of this special edition.
It is an admitted fact that enlightened luminaries lead lives at an immeasurably higher pedestal than those of ordinary mortals. The fact that the life stories of these two sages have been written by none other than Sant Teja Singh himself, makes them all the more credible. Historians and biographers have a tendency to provide us with bare, cold facts devoid of spiritual insight.In sharp contrast, we have a warm personal account of the lives of two of the most outstanding personalities of our times.
Bringing out this edition seemed all the more important in the context of present times. Having turned their backs on the sun of suns, Guru Granth Sahib, the youth today seem to lead empty and meaningless lives - running after shadows. Truth, as embodied in Guru Granth Sahib; and illusion, as the guiding force of today's wayward, wandering youth are face to face with each other. Undoubtedly, the ideal world of the Gurus is vastly different from the world of ordinary mortals; and only enlightened souls can perceive the difference and convey the essence of that ideal world. Who else could better explain the true meaning of Gurbani to today's demoralized youth than the two seers, who 'lived' Gurbani all their lives, preached Gurmat and the 'Word' of the Guru?
With this objective in mind, we are presenting this issue of Eternal Voice. It is hoped that it would go a long way in fulfilling the aspirations of the young generation, who, if they are to find emancipation, need to be immersed in Gurbani. The life stories of the two saints are bound to inspire the youth to become better human beings. For us at Eternal Voice, it has been a joyous and fulfilling experience. Joy, it must be remembered, is not merely incidental to our spiritual quest - it is vital to it.
It is pertinent here to quote once again the same Gurbani hymn, as we did on the last occasion:
bwbwxIAw khwxIAw puq spuq kryin ] (951)Baabaanheeaa(n) kahaanheeaa(n) Putt saputt kar-ai-n(i).(The stirring tales of their ancestors inspire the children to lead the ideal life.)
Patron Baba Iqbal Singh
Advisors Ratanjit S. SondheDr. Isher Judge AhluwaliaJagat S. Mehta, IFS (Retd.)Saran Singh, IAS (Retd.)Dr. Khem Singh Gill
Editor Rajinder Singh Chadha
Associate Editors Hardev SinghAnvita Gargesh
Graphics Avtar SinghSarabjeet SinghGurvinder Singh
Photography Charanjit Singh([email protected])
Marketing Jasbir Singh SethiCharanjeet Singh
Publisher Rajinder Singh Chadha
Regd. Office The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru SahibDistt. Sirmore, Himachal Pradesh-173101, IndiaPhones: 9816033303/4Fax: 91-1799-276041 Email: [email protected]
Delhi Office Eternal Voice, F-3, Rajouri GardenNew Delhi-110027, IndiaPhone: 9810548548Fax: 91-11-25100982 Email: [email protected]
For circulation in IndiaBaru Sahib 9816033303 Email: [email protected] 9810548548 Email: [email protected] 9821006103 Email: [email protected] 9830799453 Email: [email protected] 9845238013 Email: [email protected]
For overseas circulationUS 804-615-6705 [email protected] 604-780-7200 [email protected] 777-860-5187 [email protected]
The Kalgidhar Trust does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material.
The management of Eternal Voice may not concur with the views expressed by various authors in this journal.
Website: www.barusahib.orgEmail: [email protected]
Published, printed and edited by Rajinder Singh Chadha, fromF-3, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi - 110 027.Printed at The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, Sirmore (H.P.)-173101
he world has always been in need of prophets, TDivine messengers, saints and sages for the uplift of
mankind and providing divine peace by extinguishing the
fire of lust, wrath, avarice, attachment and vanity
prevalent all over the world. Since the creation of the
universe, the world has seen the reincarnation of divine
souls from time to time for guiding the bewildered
humanity to the right path.
Following Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule and the
annexation of Punjab by the British in 1849, a large
number of weak-minded Sikhs (disciple of spirituality)
started deviating from their faith and their number
reduced from 10 million to a mere million. The situation
was so alarming that the British Government even went
on to prophesy that the Sikhs would become extinct by
the year 1900. At this critical juncture for Sikh
community, the Supreme Being sent Sant Attar Singh as
His messenger to this material world in 1866 so that the
Sikh Panth may again be revived. Sant Attar Singh
dedicated all his life to austere meditation, Naam-Simran,
human welfare, education and guiding the Khalsa Panth
and the humanity in distress. In his lifetime, Sant Ji
initiated into Khalsa fold as many as 1.4 million people and
brought them back into the fold of Sikhism. As a result,
when Sant Ji left this mortal world in 1927, the number
of Sikhs had increased from 1 million to 4 million.
Sant Attar Singh, one of the most widely known and respected Sants in modern times, was born in village Cheema of the erstwhile Jind State (now in district Sangrur, Punjab), on 28 March, 1866 to Baba Karam Singh and Mata Bholi. Baba Karam Singh earned his livelihood by farming and also rendered service to the visiting saints and sages.
From early childhood, Sant Ji showed signs of his future greatness. He used to perform quiet mediation on Divine Name. Even at the age of five, he remained engrossed in meditation for long hours. At the age of seven, he was taken to the village school to begin his formal education, which he politely declined saying that he would receive only that education, which led to the realization of Truth.
In 1885, Sant Attar Singh joined the Army, where he got initiated into the Khalsa fold by the 'five beloved ones' headed by Baba Jodh Singh. During this stint in the Army, he devoted his time in studying the sacred books and meditating on the Divine Name. He was very active in military duties too and attained the first place in marksmanship. The news of the death of his father moved him immensely to immerse in the Divine Realm at the earliest.
Meditation at Hazur Sahib, Rishikesh, HaridwarHe resigned from the Army to fulfill his burning desire of
immersing in the Divine Realm. He started his march on
foot from Dera Ghazi Khan (now in Pakistan) to Hazur
Sahib in Maharashtra. In a deeply devotional state and
immersed in the Divine Name, he would march for
hundreds of miles at a stretch reciting 'Wahe' while
putting the left foot forward and 'Guru' when the right one
went forward. At Hazur Sahib, Sant Ji mediated
continuously for two years on the banks of the river
Godavari. He was so much engrossed in meditation on
the Divine Name that he spent weeks together without
food. He neither longed nor went anywhere for food but
would take it whenever anybody offered him. Otherwise,
he used to live only on water of the river Godavari.
From Hazur Sahib, he walked across the country to
Haridwar and Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) passing through
thick forests. In the forests of Rishikesh, he remained
engrossed in Samadhi (trance) near a fountain, where wild
animals would often come for water at night. Unmindful
of this, he remained immersed in deep meditation here
for almost a year.
While at Rishikesh, he expressed his desire of meditating
constantly at a calm, quiet and secluded place to Sant
Ram Singh of Thamali, who persuaded him to
accompany him to hermitages in Sialkot and Rawalpindi
regions (now in Pakistan) for the holy pursuit. Both
walked to Sialkot through Sirmore (in Himachal Pradesh).
They followed the route of Rishikesh, Dehradun, Paonta
Sahib, Baru, Kumharhatti, Anandpur Sahib, Una,
Gurdaspur and to Sialkot. They paid obeisance at the
holy shrines of Paonta Sahib and Anandpur Sahib and
then meditated at the hitherto unrevealed Baru.
From Sialkot, he reached Amritsar and meditated
constantly for three days on the floor of 'Baba Atal'.
From there, he reached his native village, Cheema and
stayed in the fields outside the village, where his mother
Mata Bholi met him. She affectionately conveyed her
consent for his divine pursuit and asked him to carry on
the meditation from there, so that she could also see him
daily. He started meditation and reciting Japuji Sahib
daily to his mother at the site, where now stands a grand
Gurdwara at Nanaksar, Cheema.
Discharge from the ArmyAs Sant Attar Singh was not yet fully discharged from the
Army, he desired to complete the formalities and
presented himself before the Colonel of his Regiment at
Abbotabad (now in Pakistan). The Colonel tried to
persuade him to remain in the Army by giving assurances
that he would be promoted to a higher rank. Sant Ji told
Sant Attar Singh JiBrief Life-Sketch of
2 3Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
him that he had joined the service of the Divine Lord and
was no more willing to serve any master other than Him.
The Colonel put him in the Army jail and kept a constant
vigil on him throughout the night but always found Sant Ji
meditating in a state of trance, which continued for three
days without taking even a drop of water. The Colonel
was moved immensely by his devotion and discharged
him from the Army with honor. The Colonel also gave
him the first prize of Rifle Shooting Competition. Sant Ji
distributed this prize money of one hundred rupees
among the poor. All the soldiers took him in a procession
and boarded him in a Chariot for the village Shahan di
Dheri, on way to Gurdwara Panja Sahib (now in Pakistan).
Thus, he became completely free to pursue the Divine
Mission of his life.
At Shahan di Dheri, Bhai Gurmukh Singh persuaded Sant
Attar Singh to stay with him. Here he recited Guru Granth
Sahib continuously for nine months. After this, he reached
Panja Sahib and had a dip in the Sarovar (holy water-
tank). After paying obeisance at Panja Sahib, Sant Ji
immersed in deep meditation on the banks of Kishan
Ganga River near the town of Domel for seven months.
Then he decided to meet Sant Bhai Ram Singh at
Thamali, who was anxiously waiting for his arrival. On his
way to Thamali, Sant Ji meditated on a quiet hillock near
Kohmari for three days.
Meditation at KanohaSant Ji reached Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) and
meditated in Tapovan for some time and after this he met
Sant Ram Singh Ji in 1894 at Thamali for completing his
mission of meditation continuously at a secluded and
peaceful place. On the recommendation of Sant Ram
Singh, a thick forest-like place, Kanohe di Jhangi, which
belonged to Bhai Wazir Singh, . During all
these years while in spiritual pursuit, Sant Ji used to
speak very little. After the Akhand Paath, Sant Ji resorted
three times to prolonged meditation; first for 40 days,
then for 6 months and later on for one year.
During this period, he used to take a very small quantity
of food and that too once a day only, which was served
by the devoted couple Wazir Singh and Mai Bhag Bhari.
As a result of these prolonged meditations, his body was
reduced to a mere skeleton.
His mother, Mata Bholi, developed an abscess near the
knee-joint, which caused her a lot of pain and suffering.
Sant Ji met her one evening and explained to her the
spirit of tolerance and accepting the Will of God by
concentrating on the Divine Name. She thus had
realization of spiritual knowledge from her own son. This
realization of oneness with God enabled her to overcome
her physical suffering completely and attain an exalted
spiritual stage of Jiwan Mukt (emancipation of the spirit
in one's lifetime) during her last days. Mata Bholi died
a peaceful and saintly death.
The fame of his first two meditations had already spread
among the people, but this third longer meditation for
one year spread it all over the region. People began to
flock from all around and the Phulahi grove at Kanoha
became a center of continuous rendering of Gurbani
Kirtan. Guru ka Langar continued to be served all this
while. In a very short span of time, the fame of Sant Attar
Singh spread all over Rawalpindi district; and the number
was selected
of people desiring to have his glimpse kept on increasing.
Sant Ji meditated on the Divine Name uninterrupted for
several days on the sands of 'Luni' of Kashi river bed
during the month of June and drenched the sand with his
sweat, as if the soil was made sacred with the tiny drops
of the Divine Name.
Before commencing the Kar Sewa (construction)
of Gurdwara Mastuana Sahib, Sant Attar Singh
completely renounced the collection of material
wealth. But when the Kar Sewa of Gurdwara Mastuana
Sahib and Gurdwara Damdama Sahib was taken up,
the donations offered by devotees were used for the
development of the Gurdwaras and other institutions
for the welfare of mankind.
Revelation of Gur Sagar MastuanaA secluded thick forest near Sangrur, Punjab
(in erstwhile Jind State) was called Mastuana, where
either cattle used to graze or wandering hermits would
meditate. On his first visit to this place, Sant Attar Singh
perceived that this land was blessed by Guru Nanak and
other Gurus; and by the meditation of many saints and
sages in the past. He developed this place into a
spiritual and educational center from 1901-1925, with
voluntary services of devotees and blessed souls.
In 1906, a school was established in Mastuana for the
noble cause of providing value-based education.
When Sant Attar Singh used to be at Mastuana, Sangat
would donate money, most of which was used for
community kitchen by the devotees. Every day, Karah
Parshad (a sweet sacrament) and other eatables were
served in plenty in the Langar. Due to the servings of
delicious meals, more than 500 wandering hermits
gathered at that place. When the construction of
Gurdwara building commenced, Sant Ji advised the
devotees to spend all the offerings for the building. Very
simple meals were advised to be served instead of
Karah Parshad and other delicious eatables. As a result
most of the people, who were fond of delicious meals,
left the place except some 50 devotees. Sant Ji
remarked that all the gluttons had gone, but the true
and faithful devotees were enough for Sewa.
Principal Niranjan Singh Mehta of Khalsa College,
Amritsar met Sant Sham Singh and begged for the Divine
Name but the great sire directed him to go to Sant Attar
Singh at Lahore in 1905. He got initiated into the Khalsa
fold with Amrit from Sant Attar Singh's Jatha at Taran
Taran Sahib and changed his name to Teja Singh,
who later emerged as a great saint with the blessings of
Sant Attar Singh. In 1906, he dedicated his entire life to
Sant Attar Singh at Mastuana for the establishment of an
educational institution. Sant Attar Singh sent Principal
Teja Singh to Europe and America to propagate the
Divine message of spiritual brotherhood of Guru Nanak
4 5Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
and also to acquire Western Scientific education so that it
could be imparted with the blend of spiritual education
for the welfare of humanity. Sant Teja Singh carried out
this mission in Europe, England, USA, Canada, Japan,
Malaya, Singapore etc.
Promoting EducationSant Attar Singh's vision in advocating education of
girl-child, and blending worldly education with spirituality
shows his farsightedness. Even a century back,
he envisioned that an educated girl would result in the
whole family being educated and also that mere scientific
education would lead to destruction. For this purpose, first
he set up a school for girls in 1906 prior to a school for
boys and the Akal Degree College at Mastuana. He laid
foundation stones to establish a chain of schools and
colleges. He participated in several educational
conferences and invariably presided over them, motivating
the establishment of a number of schools and colleges.
Laying Foundation-Stone of Banaras Hindu
UniversityIn 1904, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya thought of
establishing a University and started working whole time
for it leaving his lucrative law practice. During the same
period, Annie Besant and other leaders were also working
for a similar cause and established Central Hindu College
at Banaras. In 1911, all joined hands and formed
The Hindu University Society under the leadership of
Pandit Ji with its headquarters at Allahabad. Kashi
Naresh, Dr Vibhuti Narain Singh donated 1300 acres of
land at Banaras for this noble cause.
In the second quarter of 1914, a meeting of the society
was held. On the agenda was just one item 'Whom should
we invite to lay the foundation-stone?'
All agreed that the foundation-stone should be laid by a
'pious personality'.
'Who is and where is such a saint?' was the moot
question.
One of the members suggested that there was one in
Punjab but he is a Sikh. Pandit Ji retorted, “Then what?
We shall get the foundation-stone laid by him.”
In May 1914, caring little for the searing summer heat,
Pandit Ji, with some of his followers, left for Sant Attar
Singh's Ashram at Mastuana, situated at the borders of
the then Nabha and Patiala States. He traveled by train up
to Sangrur, the capital of Jind State. The Ashram was at a
distance of approximately 8 Km. Pandit Ji removed his
shoes at Sangrur Railway Station and started walking
barefoot on the sandy road. When somebody asked him
why he was doing so, Pandit Ji replied that he was going
to meet a saintly person for a holy cause and hence,
he should be humble and respectful.
The news that Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was coming
to Mastuana, spread like a wildfire. One of Sant Attar
Singh's followers, because of the summer heat and poor
road condition, sent for a few mares, which Pandit Ji
politely refused.
On his arrival at the Ashram, Pandit Ji found Sant Ji
reciting Kabir's hymn:
Avil Alh nUru aupwieAw kudriq ky sB bMdy ]
eyk nUr qy sBu jgu aupijAw kaun Bly ko mMdy ] (1349)Aval(i) Allah noor(u) upaaiaa Kudrat(i) k-ai sabh band-aiAi-k noor t-ai sabh jagg upjiaa Kao(u)n bhal-ai ko mand-ai.
(From the One and the same Light, the entire universe came into
existence. How can there be good or bad among them?)
On listening the above hymn, Pandit Ji felt that he had
come to the right place.
It was decided to lay the Foundation-Stone of the
university on 24 December, 1914.
Sant Attar Singh traveled to Banaras in the private royal
train of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha along
with Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and reached
Banaras a few days prior to the fixed date. At the
railway station Pandit Ji, in the company of Maharaja
Vibhuti Narain Singh, Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner
and the Maharajas of Indore, Gwalior, Alwar and
Darbhanga received Sant Attar Singh. The railway
station was tastefully decorated with buntings and
flowers. There was a carpet from the train up to the
specially decorated royal gold plated carriage of the
Kashi Naresh. As the Sant Ji's carriage, pulled by the
hosts (not by horses), passed through the Bazaars
(downtown), the crowds showered petals from shops
and house-tops. Outside the city, the public climbed up
the trees to have a glimpse of Sant Ji. This warm
reception continued unto the proposed site of the
University, where special tents were put up for the
guests' stay.
For 10 days there was a continuous recitation (Akhand
Paaths) of Guru Granth Sahib (Holy Sikh Scripture) in a
specially decorated tent. The Maharajas as well as the
public performed Sewa (selfless service) and Langar
(Community Kitchen) was distributed for one and all.
Gurbani Kirtan (Sikh Hymns) was recited in the
morning and evening. It was attended by all.
Thirty-one persons adapted the teachings of Guru
Granth Sahib at the end of the 10 day prayers. On the
10th day, Kashi Naresh Vibhuti Narain Singh handed
over a trawl made of gold to Sant Attar Singh and
11 bricks of Gold were handed over to Sant Ji
by Pandit Ji and other Maharajas one by one, which
were laid in the foundation, dug for the building of
Banaras Hindu University.
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya also requested Sant Attar
Singh to send his disciple Sant Teja Singh to head the
Teacher Training College.
At the end of the ceremony, Sant Ji took Pandit Ji aside
and said, “When we started Khalsa College at Amritsar in
1893, we admitted one Hindu student, one Muslim and
one Sikh to start with.”
Catching the point, the great patriot replied, “By all
means.”
6 7Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was so impressed by the
towering spiritual personality of Sant Ji that he,
thenceforth, began to propagate that every Hindu family
should have at least one member, the eldest son, as a
Sikh in order to improve and cleanse Indian society.
Sant Attar Singh disseminated the spiritual knowledge,
recited the Divine Name and Gurbani throughout India
especially Pothohar (Peshawar to Lahore), Sind (now in
Pakistan) and Malwa region in Punjab. It was at Dehra
Khalsa that Master Tara Singh, who was only a school
boy at that time, got initiated with Amrit, which brought
a great change in his life. Like Master Tara Singh, Bhai
Sahib Bhai Teja Singh, who later served as Head Granthi
at Nankana Sahib, came from Kahuta for a glimpse of
Sant Ji. He was so enchanted by Sant Ji's aura that he
left the Khalsa School at Kahuta and stayed with Sant Ji.
Besides the duo, many a person, who became noble
Sikh missionaries, got initiated with Amrit from Sant Ji
at this place.
Spiritual HumilityOnce Sant Attar Singh pointed to Bhai Teja Singh, "You
have passed many worldly examinations with high
degrees but the examination of the spiritual science is
qualified the day when somebody criticizes and showers
hundreds of abuses on you and you remain serene, calm
and quiet without developing any irritation or hatred."
Progress of the Panth Khalsa and PeaceIn his presidential address at the Sikh Educational
Conference held at Ferozepur in 1915, Sant Ji pointed out
to the congregation, “We all are interested in the progress
of the Khalsa Panth. But dear devotees! This progress will
come about when all of you start taking bath in the early
hours (at least 3 hours before sunrise) of the morning in
each house, each village, each town and each city and
meditate on the Divine Name. When there is common
treasury and everybody contributes one-tenth of his
righteous earnings monthly or annually, then there will be
no need to appeal for money for performing activities for
the welfare of humanity. Every one should give priority to
the recitation of the Divine Name."
The Last DaysDuring the last days of his life, when the devotees started
apprehending his demise with tears, Sant Ji used to tell
them that his real self is not the body but the Divine
Name (Shabad), which is all pervading and those,
who meditate on the Divine Name constantly, would
realize the same.
He always remained deeply immersed in the Divine
Name and showed the path of self-realization to the
seekers of Truth. To ameliorate the sufferings of the
humanity, he even sacrificed his life by getting himself
bitten by a poisonous snake while attending a holy
congregation at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi.
He shed his mortal frame and merged with the
all-pervading Almighty on 1 February, 1927 at Sangrur
and was cremated at Mastuana Sahib near Sangrur:
sUrj ikrix imly jl kw jlu hUAw rwm ]
joqI joiq rlI sMpUrnu QIAw rwm ] (846)Sooraj kiranh(i) mil-ai Jal ka jal hooaa RamJotee jot(i) ralee Sampooran(u) theeaa Ram.[Just like a ray becomes one with the sun and water becomes
one with the ocean, the Divine soul (Atma) becomes one with
the Infinite Divine Reality (Parmatama).]
Sant Attar Singh was such a great soul that he was the
first Sikh religious leader to be affectionately accorded
the holy title of 'Sant' by the Sikh Panth and Sangat in the
20th century, an honorific, which sadly is freely and
frivolously bandied about now a days and has, as a result,
lost much of its original gravitas.
Baru Sahib ArchivesBaru Sahib Archives
8Eternal Voice
1. Nitnem (Daily religious observance)in`qnym
2. Meditation on the Divine Name (Naam)nwm jpxw
One should perform the Nitnem regularly. It is the
treasure, asset, wealth and property of a Sikh. It is
the sacred obligation of every Amritdhari Sikh to
daily recite at least the following five Baanis
of Nitnem:Early Morning: Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, Sudha
Swaeeye, Chaupayee and Anand Sahib followed by
Ardas (prayer).Evening: Rehraas Sahib.Bedtime: Kirtan Sohilla.
AMimRq vyly auT ky jwie AMdr drXwie nHvMdy ]
shj smwD AgwD ivc iek mn ho gur jwp jpMdy ]
mQy itky lwl lwie swD sMgq cl jwie bhMdy ]
Sbd suriq ilvlIn hoie siqgur bwxI gwv sunµdy ]
Bwie Bgq BY vrqmwn gur syvw gur purb krMdy ]
sMJY sodr gwvxw mn mylI kr myl imlµdy ]
rwqI kIrqn soihlw kr AwrqI prswd vMfMdy ]
gurmuK suKPl iprm cKMdy ] (BweI gurdws)
Amrit V-ai-l-ai utth k-ai Jaae andar daryaa-ai nahvandd-aiSehaj samaadh agaadh vich Ikk mann ho Gur jaap japandd-aiMath-ai Tikk-ai laal laae Saadh Sangat chal jaae bahandd-aiShabad surt(i) livleen hoe Satgur baanhee gaav sunandd-aiBhaae Bhagat bh-ei varatmaan Gur s-ai-vaa Gur purab karandd-aiSanjh-ei sodar gaavanhaa Mann m-ai-lee kar m-ai-l milandd-aiRaatee Kirtan Sohila Kar Aarti parsaad vadandd-aiGurmukh sukhphal piram chakhandd-ai. (Bhai Gurdas)(They bathe early dawn and in a state of equipoise they
meditate on His Name; putting red Tilak on forehead
they sit amidst Saadh Sangat; immersed in Naam they
sing Guru's Baani; living in Sewa they celebrate
Gurpurabs; in the evenings they recite Kirtan Sohilla and
Aarti. Thus they enjoy the fruits of Divine bliss.)
Sant Attar Singh Ji used to stress that one should
come to the morning congregation after having
performed his Nitnem because after the morning
congregation, one gets busy in worldly affairs.
One must meditate on the divine Name with utmost
devotion day in and day out. Just as the clock
keeps ticking continuously, every Gursikh should
intune his mind with the Divine all the time without
wasting a single breath:
ijnI AYsw hir nwmu n cyiqE sy kwhy jig Awey rwm rwjy ] (450)Jinnee ei-saa Har(i) Naam(u) na ch-ai-tio S-ai kaah-ai jagg(i) aa-ai Ram Raj-ai.(Those who don't meditate on His Divine Name, what for
have they come to this world?)
Continuous meditation at all times on the Divine
Name with full devotion and concentration creates
wondrous power that keeps billions of Suns,
Moons, spheres and the entire creation of the
Universe moving:
nwmu jpq koit sUr aujwrw ibnsY Brmu AMDyrw ] (700)Naam(u) japat kot(i) soor ujaaraa Bins-ei bharam(u) andh-ai-raa.(By reciting the Lord's Name, we get the light of billions
of suns, Thus casting away the darkness of ignorance
and whimsical beliefs.)
Sant Ji made this observation when an engineer was
showing him a power plant, where electricity was
being generated by fast rotation of the dynamo.
Feel the presence of the Lord God within, with full
faith and devotion. Recite the Divine Name with the
tongue. In the beginning the lips and the tongue
continue gently moving up and down and slowly go
on uttering Waheguru, Waheguru at a stretch with
rapt devotion. Then by and by, continue uttering
Waheguru, Waheguru, gently with the tip of the
tongue touching the velum and the lips remaining
almost still. In the third stage, Wahe should go along
with the breath while inhaling and Guru should
emerge along with the breath while exhaling:
bwhir BIqir eyko jwnhu iehu gur igAwnu bqweI ] (684)Baahar(i) bheetar(i) ai-ko jaanah(u) Ih(u) Gur giaan(u) bataa-ee.(The Guru has made me realize that He pervades
everywhere, within and with out us.)
But the essential requirement of all these steps of
Naam Simran is that one should do it, realizing the
presence of Akal Purkh within and everywhere:
3. Wondrous power of meditationnwm dI SkqI
4. Technique of Naam Simran (Meditation)nwm ismrn dI ivDI
Pearls ofWisdomPearls ofWisdom
SantAttarSingh
Ji
SantAttarSingh
Ji(1866 - 1927)
10 11Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
The occult powers (Ridhi-Sidhi) are of no avail. The
realization of God-consciousness, i.e., Atam-Padh is
at a far higher pedestal:
(One, who attains purity of mind and heart by loving the
True Name, gets rid of the vices. Enjoy the eternal bliss
while living in Truth to get rid of whims and fancies.)
Humility is not possible without selfless service:
(He, who performs Guru's service without expecting
reward, attains the blessings of the Lord.)
Rising above the trinity of Tamo, Rajo and Sato is
considered as achieving the stage of God-
consciousness or opening of Trikuti. Realizing the
God within is the opening of Dasam Dwaar, which
means attaining the spiritual realm:
gur kI mUriq mn mih iDAwnu ] gur kY sbid mMqRü mnu mwn ]
gru k y crn ird Y l Y Dwra u ] gru u pwrbhR m u sdw nmskwra u ] (864)Gur kee moorat(i) mann meh dhiaan(u) Gur k-ei Sabd(i) mantr(u) mann maanGur k-ai charan ridd-ei l-ei dhaarao(u) Gur(u) Parbrahm(u) sadaa namaskaarao(u).(Meditate with the Guru within your mind; let your mind
accept the 'Word' of the Guru; and His Mantra. Enshrine
the Guru's feet within your heart. Bow in humility forever
before the Guru, the Supreme Lord God.)
iriD isiD sBu mohu hY nwmu n vsY min Awie ] (539)Ridh(i) Sidh(i) sabh(u) moh(u) h-ei Naam na vas-ei mann(i) aae.(Riches and the supernatural powers are all emotional
attachments. Naam, the Name of the Lord, does not
come to dwell in the mind.)
andAcru crY qw isiD hoeI isDI qy buiD pweI ]
pRym ky sr lwgy qn BIqir qw BRmu kwitAw jweI ] (607)Achar(u) char-ei taa sidh(i) hoee Sidhee t-ai budh(i) paaeePrem k-ai sar laag-ai tann bheetar(i) Taa bhram(u) kaatiaa jaaee.
syvw krq hoie inhkwmI ] iqs kau hoq prwpiq suAwmI ] (286)Sewa karat hoe nehkaamee Tiss kao(u) hoat praapat(i) suaamee.
5. Ridhi Sidhi (Occult Powers)ir`DI, isDI koeI cIz nhIN; Awqm pd ies qoN bhuq A`gy hY[
6. Sewa (Selfless Service)syvw qoN bgYr mn iv`c inmrqw (grIbI) nhIN AwauNdI[
7. Opening of 'Trikuti' (Achieving God-Consciousness)iqRkutI KulHxw
iqRkutI CUtY dsvw dru KUl@Y qw mnu KIvw BweI ] (1123)Trikutee chhoot-ei dasvaa dar(u) khool-ei Taa mann(u) kheevaa bhaaee.
and
(When the bondage of three-pronged 'Maya' is cast away,
then only the tenth door opens to bless the person with
eternal bliss.)
Sant Ji clarified that our Guru is Shabad, the 'Word'.
It is not appropriate to worship the 'body':
bwxI gurU gurU hY bwxI ivic bwxI AMimRqu swry ] (982)Baanhee Guru Guru h-ei baanhee Vich(i) baanhee Amrit saar-ai.(Bani is the Guru and the Guru is the Bani, for all the
nectars are enshrined in it.)
All Jantras, Mantras and Tantras fade away with the
recitation of Gurbani. Meditation on the divine Name
neutralizes any sort of occult powers:
sunq jpq hir nwm jsu qw kI dUir blweI ]
mhw mMqRü nwnku kQY hir ky gux gweI ] (814)Sunat japat Har(i) Naam jas(u) Taa kee door(i) balaaeeMahaa mantar(u) Nanak katth-ei Har(i) k-ai gunh gaaee.(One, who listens to the praises of the Lord and recites
His Name, his sins and maladies are cast away.)
andkwjr koT mih BeI n kwrI inrml brnu binE rI ]
mhw mMqRü gur ihrdY bisE Acrj nwmu suinE rI ] (384)Kaajar kotth meh bha-yee na kaaree Nirmal baran(u) banio reeMahaa mantar(u) Gur hird-ei basio Acharaj Naam(u) sunio ree.(In the store-room of the soot, I did not turn black; my
color remained immaculate and pure. The Guru has
implanted the Great Mantra, within my heart, and I have
heard the wondrous Naam, the Name of the Lord.)
rwm nwmu jo jnu jpY Anidnu sd jwgY ]
qMqu mMqu nh joheI iqqu cwKu n lwgY ] (817)Ram Naam(u) jo jann jap-ei Andinn(u) sadd jaag-eiTantt(u) mant(u) neh joh-yee Titt(u) chaakh(u) na laag-ei.(That humble being, who recites the Lord's Name,
remains always awake and aware, day in and day out.
8. Shabad Guru Surt Dhun(i) ChelaSbd gurU surq Duin cylw ]
9. Occult powers have no meaninggurbwxI dy A`gy sB jMqR, mMqR Aqy qMqR mwq pY jWdy hn[
He is not affected by charms and spells, nor is he harmed
by the evil eye.)
Masses do not constitute Panth. Those, who follow
the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh, are the Panth:
myrY hIArY pRIiq rwm rwie kI guir mwrgu pMQu bqwieAw ] (172)M-ai-r-ei hee-ar-ei preet(i) Ram Rai kee Gur(i) maarag(u) panth(u) bataaiaa.(Within my heart is the Love of the Sovereign Lord,
The Guru has shown me the path to attain Him.)
One should not make an appeal for money in the
congregation in the holy presence of Guru Granth
Sahib, because the minds of the devotees
get distracted.
If everybody offers his Daswandh (One tenth of
one's earning) honestly, there will be no paucity of
funds and all activities for the welfare of humanity will
run smoothly:
Gwil Kwie ikCu hQhu dyie ] nwnk rwhu pCwxih syie ] (1245)Ghaal(i) khaae kichh(u) hathahau d-ai(i) Nanak raah(u) pachhanhah(i) s-ai(i).(Those who earn their livelihood honestly and give
some in charity, says Nanak, they truly recognize the
righteous path.)
In the holy congregation, Ardas (prayer) needs to be
performed briefly and the request too should be short:
ivxu boilAw sBu ikCu jwxdw iksu AwgY kIcY Ardwis ]
nwnk Git Git eyko vrqdw sbid kry prgws ] (1420)Vinnh(u) boliaa(n) sabh(u) kichh(u) jaanhdaa Kis(u) aag-ei keech-ei Ardaas(i)Nanak ghat(i) ghat(i) ai-ko vartadaa Sabad(i) kar-ai pargaas.(Without utterance, He knows all our yearnings; before
whom should we lay our request? Says Nanak, in all
beings He pervades. By the holy 'Word' He reveals.)
Sant Ji also used to advise that it is not appropriate to
stand with a naked sword in the hands before Guru
10. 'Panth' means Gurmat way of LifepMQ dw ArQ
11. Appeal for donation/DaswandhmwieAw dI ApIl
12. Brief PrayerCotI Ardws
Granth Sahib. While offering supplication before the
True Master, it should only be with folded hands.
Tongue should always be used only for meditation and
praising the bounties of the Almighty. It must not be
used for speaking evil, back-biting, uttering foul words,
hurling curses or bestowing good fortunes:
rsnw jpY n nwmu iqlu iqlu kir ktIAY ] (1362)Rasnaa jap-ei na Naam(u) Til(u) til(u) kar(i) kattee-ei.[The tongue not uttering the Naam (His Name), should be
cut into small bits like the sesame grains.]
and
(My tongue utters only Your Name.)
The highest degree of meditation is to tolerate the
abusive, harsh or rough language of anyone with no
reaction at all:
(Renounce both praising and slandering others. Search
for the state of salvation.)
and
(O worldly people, slander me. Slander is dear to a
true seeker.)
The religious deeds are those, which lead to the
attainment of God-consciousness (Atam Padh):
srb Drm mih sRyst Drmu ] hir ko nwmu jip inrml krmu ] (266)Sarab Dharam meh(i) sr-aisat Dharam(u) Har(i) ko Naam(u) jap(i) nirmal karam(u).(Of all the faiths, the highest faith is to recite His Name
and perform pious deeds.)
13. Tongue is meant to sing the Lord's praisesrsnw nwm ismrn leI hY
14. Remain unmindful to harsh commentsbol kbol shwrnw
15. Religious DeedsDwrmk kMm
rsnw jpqI qUhI qUhI ] (1215)Rasna japtee toohee toohee
ausqiq inMdw doaU iqAwgY KojY pdu inrbwnw ] (219)Ustat(i) nindaa do-oo tiaag-ei Khoj-ei padd(u) nirbaana.
indM a u indM a u m o ka u lgo u indM a u ] indM w jn ka u KrI ipAwrI ] (339)Nindau nindau mo kaou log(u) nindau Nindaa jann kaou kharee piaaree.
12 13Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
16. Universal BrotherhoodsMgqW iv`c imlwp
17. One, who craves to make a speech, should not; and the one, who does not like, should deliver a speech, when requestedlYkcr krnw
18. World Peace OrderSwqI kdoN hovygI?
Feelings of brotherhood and fraternity are achieved
only by listening to the holy hymns in Saadh Sangat
(congregation):
(I have totally ceased to be jealous of others, since
I found the Saadh Sangat, the company of the holy.
No one is my enemy and no one is a stranger. I get along
with everyone. Whatever God does, I accept that as
good. This is the sublime wisdom I have obtained from
the Holy. The One God is pervading in all. Gazing
upon Him, beholding Him, Nanak blossoms forth
in happiness.)
One, who wants to make a speech, his lecture would
be based on his ego, but the one, who does not have
such a craving, would be guided by the Lord Himself
and words uttered by him would flow effortlessly from
his inner-self:
Avr aupdysY Awip n krY ] Awvq jwvq jnmY mrY ] (269)Avar upd-ai-s-ei aap(i) na kar-ei Aavat jaavat janm-ei mar-ei.(One, who does not practise but preaches others, shall
remain in the cycle of birth and rebirth.)
andr y jn mn u mwDa u isa u lweIA Y ] cqru weI n cqru Bju u pweIA Y ] (324)R-ai jan mann(u) maadh-au sio laaee-ei Chaturaaee na Chaturbhuj(u) paaee-ei.(O man! Focus your mind on the True Lord. You cannot
obtain Him through cleverness.)
Peace will prevail in this universe when all human
beings get up early in the morning, take bath, mediate
ibsir geI sB qwiq prweI ] jb qy swDsMgiq moih pweI ]
nw ko bYrI nhI ibgwnw sgl sMig hm kau bin AweI ]
jo pRB kIno so Bl mwinE eyh sumiq swDU qy pweI ]
sB mih riv rihAw pRBu eykY pyiK pyiK nwnk ibgsweI ] (1299)Bisar ga-ee sabh taat(i) paraa-ee Jabb t-ai Saadh Sangat(i) mohe paa-eeNaa ko b-ei-ree nahee(n) bigaanaa Sagal sang(i) hamm kaou ban(i) aa-eeJo Prabh keeno so bhal maanio Eh sumat(i) Sadhu t-ai paa-eeSabh meh rav(i) rahiaa Prabh ai-k-ei P-ai-kh(i) p-ai-kh(i) Nanak bigsaaee.
20. State of One-ness with Godinrwkwr dI ibrqI
21. Will of GodBwxw mMnxw
22. Avoid arguments in congregationdIvwn iv`c iK`coqwx
Concentration on Akal Purkh and a stage of oneness
with Him cannot be achieved unless one shuns
attachment to the worldly and materialistic
acquisitions:
idsR itmwn h Y sgl imQny w ] iek u mwga u dwn u gio bd sqM rny w ] (1083)
Drisat(i)maan h-ei sagal mith-ai-naa Ik(u) maagaou daan(u) Gobind Sant r-ai-naa.(All that is visible is an illusion. I beg only for one gift, the
dust of God's devotees.)
andiehu jgu DUey kw phwr ] qY swcw mwinAw ikh ibcwir ] (16)Ih(u) jagg(u) dhoo-ai(n) kaa pahaar T-ei saachaa maan-i-aa keh bichaar(i).(This world is a mountain of smoke. By what reasoning
have you taken it to be real?)
Bowing to the Will of God and obeying His command is
the real Gursikhi. Whatever He does is right. There is
peace in His will:
hukim rjweI clxw nwnk iliKAw nwil ] (1)Hukam(i) rajaaee chalnhaa Nanak likhiaa naal(i).(O Nanak! Obey the preordained order of the Lord.)
Sitting in congregation in the holy presence of
Guru Granth Sahib, one should never indulge in row
or harsh talk:
gwPl igAwn ivhUixAw gur ibnu igAwnu n Bwil jIau ]
iKMcoqwix ivgucIAY burw Blw duie nwil jIau ]
ibnu sbdY BY riqAw sB johI jmkwil jIau ] (751)Gaafal giaan vihoonhiaa Gur binn(u) giaan(u) na bhaal(i) jeeo(u)Khinchotaanh(i) viguchee-ei Bura bhalaa due naal(i) jeeo(u)Binn sabd-ei bh-ei rattiaa Sabh johee jamkaal(i) jeeo(u).[O careless one! You are totally lacking any wisdom.
Do not seek wisdom without the Guru. By indecision and
inner conflict, you shall be ruined. Both good and evil
forces attract you. Without being attuned to the Shabad
(the Divine 'Word'), all come under the gaze of the
Messenger of Death.]
23. Punctuality for the holy congregationsmyN dI kdr
24. Need for community kitchenSwNqI dw vsxw
25. Impartial distribution of LangarlMgr iv`c SrDw
26. Protection of human bodysrIr dI rwKI
Sant Ji always emphasized that one should be on time
for any type of congregation and advised, 'Late comers
hurt the feelings of those, who sit attuned with Him.
Let there be torrential rain or storm, one must be
punctual and stick to the given timings':
JKVu JwgI mIhu vrsY BI guru dyKx jweI ]
smuMdu swgru hovY bhu Kwrw gurisKu lµiG gur pih jweI ] (757)Jhakharh jhaa(n)gee meeh(u) vars-ei Bhee Gur(u) d-ai-khanh jaaeeSamund(u) saagar(u) hov-ei bah(u) khaaraa Gursikh(u) langh(i) Gur peh jaaee.(Should a storm blow, rain fall in torrents, still for a sight
of the Master, would one go. The Master's disciple would
dare even the vast salt sea to have His sight.)
Peace will prevail and the country will face no problems,
when you have a common kitchen (Guru ka Langar):
sBy swJIvwl sdwiein qUM iksY n idsih bwhrw jIau ] (97)Sabh-ai saa(n)jheewaal sadaa-i-n(i) Toon kis-ei na diseh baahraa jeeo(u).(All are called partners in Your Grace, You are seen alien
to none.)
Serve the Langar with complete humility, devotion and
faith; the bounties of God will be bestowed upon you:
iqcru mUil n QuVNØIdo ijcru Awip ik®pwlu ]
sbdu AKutu bwbw nwnkw Kwih Kric Dnu mwlu ] (1426)Tichar(u) mool(i) na thurheendo Jichar(u) aap(i) kirpal(u)Sabad(u) akhut(u) Baba Nanaka Khaahe kharach(i) dhan(u) maal(u).(While the Lord is gracious, nothing will run short.
O Nanak! Inexhaustible is the holy 'Word'. May this wealth
expand, no matter how much it is spent and consumed.)
Death is in control of the Almighty. Nobody can kill the
one, whom He protects:
ijs no swjn rwKsI dusmn kvn ibcwr ] (Guru Gobind Singh)Jis no saajan raakhsee Dusman kavan bichaar.(The enemy is quite helpless and can't harm the one,
whom the Lord protects.)
on the Divine Name, recite holy hymns and sing
His praises:
gur siqgur kw jo isKu AKwey su Blky auiT hir nwmu iDAwvY ]
audmu kry Blky prBwqI iesnwnu kry AMimRq sir nwvY ]
aupdyis gurU hir hir jpu jwpY siB iklivK pwp doK lih jwvY ]
iPir cV Y idvs u gru bwxI gwv Y bhidAw aTu idAw hir nwm u iDAwv Y ]
jo swis igrwis iDAwey myrw hir hir so gurisKu gurU min BwvY ]
ijs n o dieAwl u hvo Y mry w sAu wmI iqs u gru isK gru U apu dsy u sxu wv Y ]
jn u nwnk u DiUV mgM Y iqs u gru isK kI j o Awip jp Y Avrh nwm u jpwv Y ] (305)Gur Satgur kaa jo Sikh(u) akhaa-ai Su bhalk-ai utth(i) Har(i) Naam(u) dhiaav-eiUddam(u) kar-ai bhalk-ai parbhaatee Isnaan(u) kar-ai Amrit sar(i) naav-eiUpd-ais(i) Guru Har(i) Har(i) Jap(u) Jaap-ei Sabh(i) kilvikh paap dokh leh(i) jaav-eiPhir(i) charh-ei divas(u) Gurbanhee gaav-eiBeh-di-aa(n) utth-di-aa(n) Har(i) Naam(u) dhiaav-eiJo saas(i) giraas(i) dhi-aa-ai m-airaa Har(i) Har(i)So Gursikh(u) Guru mann(i) bhaav-eiJis no dae-aal(u) hov-ei m-airaa suaamee Tis(u) Gursikh Guru Upd-ais(u) sunhaav-eiJann(u) Nanak dhoorh(i) mang-ei tis(u) Gursikh keeJo aap(i) jap-ei avrah Naam japaav-ei.(One, who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru, shall wake up
early at the ambrosial hour and meditate on the Lord's
Name. Upon rising early in the morning, he is to bathe,
and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar. Following the
instructions of the Guru, he is to recite the Name of the
Lord. All his sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be
erased. Then, at the dawn, he is to sing Gurbani and is to
meditate on the Lord's Name. One, who meditates all the
time, is liked by the Guru and upon him, the Master is
kind and compassionate. Upon that Gursikh, the Guru's
teachings are bestowed. Nanak begs for the dust of the
feet of that Gursikh, who himself meditates on the Divine
Name, and inspires others to do so.)
Unless one gets over the attachment of body and
ego, the veil of ignorance will never be dispelled
and he would not be able to achieve the sphere of
God-consciousness:
swDo iehu qnu imiQAw jwnau ]
Xw BIqir jo rwmu bsqu hY swco qwih pCwno ] (1186)Saadho ih(u) tann(u) mithiaa jaanaouYa bheetar(i) jo Ram basat(u) h-ei Saacho taahe pachhano.(O Holy Saints! Know that this body is an illusion. Only
the Lord, who dwells within, is eternal.)
19. Realization of God-ConciousnessAwqm pd dI pRwpqI
14 15Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
Birth and the EnvironmentNiranjan Singh Mehta, who came to be known as Sant
Teja Singh in later life, was born to mother Ram Kaur on
14 May, 1877 in village Balowali (Gujranwala, Pakistan).
His father Bhai Ralla Singh, was a medical doctor in
Central Jail, Lahore. The grandfather of Sant Ji, Bhai
Nanak Chand, was a very pious soul, who used to provide
food and financial assistance to the poor and
downtrodden. On account of his generosity, he was
popularly known as 'Nanak Shah'. The maternal
grandfather of Sant Ji, Bhai Bhag Singh, was a Gursikh,
who used to get up at 3 in the morning, take his bath and
recite the Baanis (holy hymns) of Panj Granthi
(a compilation of holy hymns from Guru Granth Sahib).
He used to make copies of Guru Granth Sahib in his own
hand. The mother of Sant Ji, Bibi Ram Kaur, was
a devoted Gursikh and was an embodiment of humility
and contentment.
The village Balowali, where Sant Ji was born, is located in
the holy land of Eminabad (Saidpur Pathana), where
Guru Nanak blessed a carpenter Bhai Lalo and revealed
to him that the Almighty had ordained, 'Nanak, go forth
and apply the healing balm of the Divine Name to the
scorched and burnt up hearts of men.'
EducationBhai Niranjan Singh Mehta (Sant Ji) was brought up in
these spiritual environments of Eminabad, charged with
the holy bliss of Guru Nanak. He studied for two years in
his village school under the guidance of a teacher Mian
Mohammed Din. Later on, his father sent him to an
English School; first at Fazilka and then at Lahore. He
passed his B.A. from Government College, Lahore and
LL.B. from Law College, Lahore in 1900. He passed his
M.A. in 1901, standing first in Punjab University, Lahore.
MarriageWhile he was studying in the school, his grandfather
married him to Bibi Bishan Kaur, the daughter of Bhai
Jhanda Singh of village Dhaular. Sant Ji had three
children; two sons, Mukand Singh and Hari Singh and
one daughter, Bibi Jit Kaur. The younger boy Hari Singh
was a pious soul, who made several prophecies and
died in his childhood.
Legal Practice and Service in Salt DepartmentSant Teja Singh started legal practice at Gujranwala but in
this profession he had to do things against his conscience
and therefore, left it. He competed in the All-India
competition for the job of Assistant Superintendent,
North India Salt Department and was selected. He served
this department for two years from 1902 to 1904.
Production of salt then was a government-controlled
enterprise and the poor were debarred from producing
salt to make their both ends meet. This frustrated him
and he thought of adopting the career of a teacher.
He corresponded with Sir Sunder Singh Majithia,
Secretary, Khalsa College, Amritsar; and was offered the
post of Vice-Principal. He then discussed it with his
Commissioner, F.M. Bakley, who also encouraged him to
take up the teaching profession and granted him leave for
one year to try this career. Bakley pointed out that in his
early life, he had an opportunity to become a clergyman,
but he missed it and repented thereafter. He further told
Sant Ji that in education, if one was able to reform and
develop the personality of even one individual, he would
get the divine blessings.
Vice-Principal/Principal, Khalsa College, AmritsarSant Teja Singh joined as Vice-Principal of Khalsa College,
Amritsar in 1903. In teaching, listening to holy hymns and
rendering service with love and devotion, his one year's
leave came to an end. He wrote his resignation to the Salt
Department but did not yet post it. One day, Sir Sunder
Singh Majithia met Sant Ji in the College Gurdwara and
enquired about the submission of his resignation. Sant Ji
replied that a thought of uncertainty of his service in the
Khalsa College had not yet permitted him to resign from
his permanent job in the Salt Department. At this
moment, Sir Majithia spontaneously quipped:
sYl pQr mih jMq aupwey
qw kw irjku AwgY kir DirAw ] (495)S-ei-l pathar meh jantt upaa-ai Taa(n) ka rijak(u) aag-ei kar(i) dhariaa.(Simultaneously with the creation of all the beings in rocks
and mountains, the bounteous Lord has already placed their
sustenance right before them. )
This holy hymn re-established the faith of Sant Ji in the
Creator and he resigned from his permanent post in the
Salt Department. This further generated a wave of love
and devotion for service to the humanity in his mind.
Holy Glimpse (Darshan) of Sant Attar SinghSant Ji (named Niranjan Singh Mehta at that time)
became Principal of the Khalsa College, Amritsar
in 1905. During this period, he met Braham Gyani
(God-Conscious) Sant Baba Sham Singh for spiritual
blessings, who guided to him that Sant Attar Singh had
come to Lahore (now in Pakistan). He developed a keen
desire to meet Sant Attar Singh and went to Lahore
during the week-end. He had the opportunity of having
Darshan (glimpse) of Sant Attar Singh and the latter
remarked after the introduction, "Bhai, he (Niranjan Singh
Mehta) is a pious soul". He thus got the grace of Sant
Attar Singh and attained the everlasting bliss. In the
words of Guru Arjan:
swD kY sMig nhI kCu Gwl ] drsnu Bytq hoq inhwl ]
Saadh k-ei sangg(i) nahee(n) kachh(u) ghaal Darsan(u) bh-ai-tat hoat nihaal.(In the gracious company of the God-Conscious persons, one
has to struggle the least to control one's mind. With the holy
sight of the God-Conscious persons, one attains everlasting
bliss and resigns to His will under all circumstances.)
Within a week of coming back from Lahore to Amritsar,
Bhai Teja Singh came to know that Sant Attar Singh had
come to Tarn Taran (24 km from Amritsar). He went to
Taran Taran along with his mother, wife, his son Kuldip
Singh (renamed Mukand Singh after initiating with Amrit)
and his servant Achhar Singh. While sitting in meditation
(272)
Sant Teja Singh JiBrief Life-Sketch of
16 17Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
and hearing holy hymns, a Divine Voice echoed, 'In case
you wish to become God-conscious in this birth, then you
should get initiated with Amrit (the nectar) of Guru
Gobind Singh Ji'. Having developed an intense desire,
he begged Sant Attar Singh for Amrit. He thus got initiated
into the Khalsa fold with Amrit from Sant Attar Singh
along with his mother and family in 1906 and changed
his name from Niranjan Singh Mehta to Teja Singh.
Dedication at Mastuana SahibAs per the wishes of Sant Attar Singh, Teja Singh went to
attend the holy congregation at Mastuana Sahib.
A proposal to open a school at this place was finalized and
Sant Teja Singh dedicated his services for this purpose.
Sant Attar Singh then expressed, "I wish that an
educational institution is established where the spiritual
science, as advocated by Guru Nanak and the material
science of the west are combined together for teaching the
students so that they may adopt the spiritual philosophy in
action and become assets to the world," In order to fulfill
the mission of Sant Attar Singh, Bhai Teja Singh made up
his mind to go abroad for acquiring higher education of
western sciences. This was approved by Sant Attar Singh
with his blessings. Sant Attar Singh also gave him a sum of
Rupees one hundred and twenty five and later bade him
farewell with the following messages:
1. Keep your entire original form of body and hair intact
and don't enter into any arguments. Simply say with
folded hands that we have not formed the hair, it is the
gift of God.
2. Wherever you go, establish Gurdwaras (Sikh temples).
3. Convey the message to the people of the West
(Europe and America) that the accumulation of Ridhi
Sidhi (occult powers) to work miracles are
meaningless. The Divine realization is at a much
higher pedestal.
4. One, who develops desire and craving under the
influence of ego for delivering spiritual discourses and
lectures, should desist from doing so and the other,
who is free from these cravings, may do so.
Higher Studies and Spreading Guru Nanak's
Mission in Foreign CountriesTeja Singh left for England in August 1906 for higher
studies with the blessings of Sant Attar Singh. He studied
at the University College, London and at Cambridge
University from 1906-1908. For the first time in the history
of this University, he brought the authorities around to let
him attend the classes with turban on according to the
Sikh religious tenets. He joined a summer school in the
Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York in 1908.
Later, he joined the Harvard University in USA and
obtained his second Masters' degree in 1911.
During his stay abroad, Sant Teja Singh established Sikh
Dharamshala in London in 1910. He also got a Gurdwara
built in Victoria BC in Canada in 1912-13. He served the
Sikhs and other Indian communities in Vancouver BC
and organized the Khalsa Diwan there. He pleaded with
the Canadian Government for Indians, who were being
ordered to leave the country. He won for them the legal
battle. He established the Sikh Temple at Stockton,
California in USA and organized the Pacific Coast Khalsa
Diwan Society in 1912. In America, he also met Baba
Baisakha Singh, Baba Jawala Singh and many other
members of the Gaddar Party, who were struggling for
the freedom of India at that time.
AM Degree at Harvard, USAOn account of his services to the Indian community in
Canada and America, he was branded as a freedom
fighter (political worker) by the then British Government
and as such, he had to face many difficulties in his
studies. In the last trimester of his studies at the Harvard
University, he had no money to pay his dues and was,
therefore, served a notice by the University either to pay
his fees or quit. Under these circumstances, he got
immersed in the Divine within and enquired from his wife
as to whether she had developed any worldly longing for
material benefits. She realized that she had developed
a desire that on completion of this higher education, her
husband would be able to get a high official post on his
return to India with rich worldly comforts. Sant Ji told her
that her thought of worldly desire had become
a stumbling block in the completion of his degree at this
last moment. He at once asked her to join in a prayer
with full devotion, "O Lord! everything is yours and we
are only to render service according to Your Will without
developing any thought and desire for ultimate worldly
benefits." In the words of Guru Arjan:
krm krq hovY inhkrm ] iqsu bYsno kw inrml Drm ]
kwhU Pl kI ieCw nhI bwCY ] kyvl Bgiq kIrqn sMig rwcY ] (274)Karam karat hov-ei nehkaram Tiss(u) b-ei-sano kaa nirmal DharamKaahoo phal kee ichhaa nahee(n) baachh-ei Kewal Bhagat(i) Kirtan sangg(i) raach-ei.[The sacred duty (Dharma) of a man is that one should remain
selfless and detached from the worldly greediness in his actions
and performance of duties in his life. One should not desire for
worldly benefits in lieu of his rendering service and duties. One
should have faith in God and remain immersed in His Glory
and the Divine Law. In fact, this is called 'Karama Yoga'.]
No sooner did Sant Teja Singh finish with his prayer and
recited the Divine Name than his Professor, Mr Blisso
Parry entered his room and offered him one hundred and
ten dollars for paying his fees and clearing the University
dues. Dr Parry told him that he had come to know about
his inability to pay his fees and, therefore, had come to
offer his humble assistance. Sant Ji exclaimed that God is
bountiful and we are full of shortcomings. He then paid
all the dues of the University and got his Masters' degree
from Harvard in 1911.
Light Shall Again Come from the EastDuring his visit to Chicago in USA, Sant Teja Singh met
Rev Jenkin Llyod Jones, Lord Bishop of the largest
Unitarian Church of Chicago, who was a pious, learned
and highly respected person. Rev Jones was an
open-minded person and it was he, who had organized
a Parliament of all religions of the world in which Swami
Viveka Nand also participated.
After a brief introduction, Sant Teja Singh and Rev
Jones exchanged views on various aspects of
spiritualism. Sant Ji explained the sacred mission of
Guru Nanak for attaining Divine Peace. At this point,
Rev Jones got so much inspired that he got up from his
chair, warmly shook hands with Sant Ji and with great
love exclaimed, "Brother Teja Singh, Light shall again
come from the East. We in the West are quite unfit for
it." Sant Ji presented him all the six volumes of MA
Macauliffe's The Sikh Religion. Rev Jones got so
impressed with the Sikh religion that he requested Sant
Ji to participate in the Congress of Free Christianity and
Religious Progress at Berlin, Germany, organized by the
Unitarian Church of Chicago to explain the glories of
18 19Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
the Sikh religion and spiritual path shown by
Guru Nanak.
On his invitation, Sant Teja Singh attended this Congress
along with delegates of all religions of the world. All the
delegates spoke about the teachings and philosophies of
their respective religions. Sant Ji in his address, explained
the spiritual mission of Guru Nanak revealing that the
whole created universe has sprung up from one Divine
Light and the bodies of the people of all the religions,
races, castes, colors and creeds are made up of one
common material (five elements or Panch Tatt, i.e., earth,
water, air, energy and gaseous sphere). The sense of
mine and thine forms the dark clouds of ignorance
against the Divine Light and becomes a bar to
self-realization. Under the influence of lust, greed and
egoism; and mine and thine, the people involve
themselves in the animal instinct of actions, reactions
and infighting, If we remove the veil of selfishness and
egoism by immersing ourselves in the Divine Name, the
Divine Light shines in all the human hearts and leads to
the realization of the One-in-all and all-in-One.
Sant Teja Singh further pointed out that without
self-realization (the Divine within), there can not be any
permanent peace in the world, for which Guru Nanak has
shown the straight spiritual path. At this point, a great
German Philosopher (delegate) stood up from his seat,
warmly shook hands with Sant Ji and exclaimed loudly,
"This is the thing we want"!
Rigorous Spiritual TrainingAfter completing his mission abroad, Sant Teja Singh
came back to India from Vancouver (Canada) in March
1913, traveling via Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and
Malaya. He reached Gur Sagar Sahib, Mastuana (Sangrur)
and offered himself in the services of Sant Attar Singh,
who said, "Bhai Teja Singh, you have studied in various
Universities and qualified in various examinations. Now
you join the University of Spiritual Science at Gur Sagar
Sahib, Mastuana and pass its various examinations".
He bowed his head and submitted himself to Sant Ji
and prayed to qualify the tests and examinations of
Spiritual Science.
Sant Attar Singh exposed Bhai Teja Singh to rigorous
spiritual training and tests. On his arrival at Gur Sagar
Sahib, Sant Attar Singh entrusted to him the duties of
running a school, which he carried out faithfully under
great stresses, strains and criticism. Many disciples of Sant
Attar Singh started thinking that Bhai Teja Singh has been
given only the teaching duties, whereas they were carrying
out physical duties of digging of earth and other manual
labor. Perceiving this, Sant Attar Singh asked Bhai Teja
Singh to dig the surroundings of big holy tank at the
Gurdwara, 15 feet wide and one foot deep, within five
weeks. Bhai Teja Singh carried out this arduous manual
work in accordance with the instructions of Sant Ji
faithfully and effectively, in addition to his teaching duties.
Sant Attar Singh returned to Gur Sagar Sahib after five
weeks and on seeing the progress of teaching and earth
digging work being done by Bhai Teja Singh, approved it
and showered his blessings on him, thereby indicating
that he could undertake physical work also with all
humility and devotion. This created further jealousy
among other disciples against Bhai Teja Singh and he was
subjected to various kinds of criticism from them. They
started leveling many kinds of allegations to Sant Ji
against Bhai Teja Singh and went even to the extent of
saying that the latter had spoiled the work and had
misappropriated the funds of Gur Sagar Sahib.
Sant Attar Singh said, "Teja Singh, people regard me as a
saint, but it is difficult even to become a Sikh of Guru
Nanak." This clearly indicated that Sant Ji prepared Bhai
Teja Singh for still stricter tests of enduring criticism,
abuses and defamation in the same spirit as admiration,
fame and praises. In the next few days, exactly the same
happened and Bhai Teja Singh was loudly criticized,
abused and even man-handled by the jealous people.
He endured all these with serene mind and showed great
humility. So much so that the disciples and other people
of surrounding villages created such kind of an
atmosphere that Sant Attar Singh asked Bhai Teja Singh
to quit the place after handing over all the charges of
the school, Gurdwara, Guru ka Langar and other
infrastructure to a committee formed for this purpose.
He completely submitted to the orders of Sant Ji and
handed over all the charges to the committee.
At this time, there was a debt of ten thousand Rupees
due to the receipt of advance construction material and
wages of the labor engaged in construction work. The
next day when Bhai Teja Singh met Sant Ji, he was asked
to try to clear the debt. With folded hands, he humbly
submitted that he would mortgage his only house at
Gujranwala and clear the debt of the holy place. This
prompted other devotees sitting there to exclaim, 'Bhai
Teja Singh has won the spiritual battle!'. Sant Ji was
extremely pleased with the success of Bhai Teja Singh in
various tests and showered his blessings on him saying,
'Bhai Teja Singh has to render a great service to humanity
and he will continue to do so wherever he goes.'
Serving Educational InstitutionsSant Teja Singh left Gur Sagar Sahib, Mastuana and
reached Gujranwala. He mortgaged his only house and
cleared the debts. He tried to keep himself aloof from
public life and engrossed himself in the Divine Name.
However, within a few days, the Gujranwala Sangat
approached Sant Teja Singh and requested him to restart
the Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Gujranwala under his
patronage. He declined but when he was told that this is
the decision of the holy congregation and was binding on
him, he accepted the same. He started this College in
1917 and remained its Principal up to 1919. Pandit
Madan Mohan Malviya, President of Banaras Hindu
University, approached Sant Attar Singh in 1919 and
requested him for the services of Sant Teja Singh for
starting Teacher's Training College in that University.
Sant Attar Singh asked Bhai Teja Singh to go to Banaras
and help the University. Sant Teja Singh joined as
Principal of this College and established its working.
He remained there for a year. This gave great fame to
him. The distinguished personalities and the holy
congregation approached Sant Attar Singh to call back
Bhai Teja Singh for starting Akal College at Gur Sagar
Sahib, Mastuana. Bhai Teja Singh resigned as Principal of
Teacher Training College, Banaras Hindu University and
joined Akal College, Mastuana and served it faithfully.
Sant Teja Singh also established Khalsa High School,
Kallar in Rawalpindi district (now in Pakistan) and other
educational institutions and carried out the instructions
of Sant Attar Singh for rendering service to various
educational institutions and service to humanity. Sant
Attar Singh sent him many a time to various organizations
of the Sikhs including Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee to resolve crucial and vital issues of the
Sikh Panth.
Final Spiritual TrainingPerceiving his last days, Sant Attar Singh asked Bhai Teja
Singh to leave all other activities and be with him. Bhai
Teja Singh constantly remained in attendance on Sant
Attar Singh and imbibed final spiritual training and
merged his identity with the One-in-all and all-in-One.
Sant Attar Singh bestowed his blessings on Bhai Teja
Singh to carry on the divine mission of Guru Nanak for
the uplift of mankind without any distinction of caste,
creed, race or color.
20 21Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
Construction of GurdwarasHe established Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib, Kanoha ki
Jhangi (now in Pakistan), where Sant Attar Singh had
constantly meditated on the Divine Name for about two
years. In 1932, he undertook the construction of
Gurdwara Nanaksar Cheema, whose foundation was
earlier laid by Sant Attar Singh himself, revealing that this
place had been blessed with the holy visit of Guru Nanak.
He completed it in the succeeding years and also
established a Gurmat Vidyala. He also laid the foundation
of Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nanaksar Cheema in 1960 at
the place where Sant Attar Singh was born. When he
shed his mortal frame, four storeys of the Gurdwara were
already completed.
The Spiritual Uplift WorkWith the blessings of Sant Attar Singh, Sant Teja Singh
undertook the Sewa of spiritual uplift of mankind without
any distinction of caste, creed, race or color in India and
several other countries.
(a)In the United Punjab: From 1928-47, Sant Teja
Singh preached Guru Nanak's divine path in the
United Punjab, particularly in the areas from Lahore to
Peshawar. He used to say, "My dear fellows (both
Sikhs and Hindus), leave these areas and settle down
in the areas beyond Lahore." While saying so in early
forties, he had the vision of the uprooting of the
people of these areas. His prophecy came true in
1947, when India was partitioned.
(b)At Khalsa College, Amritsar: Sant Teja Singh used
to inspire the students to imbibe the divine virtues
along with the worldly education. Some of the
students would argue that they do not find time from
their studies for reciting the holy hymns and the
Divine Name. Sant Ji explained, "Where there is a will,
there is a way. When I was ignorant of the holy hymns
and the Divine Name, I had to exert very hard to get
through the various examinations from Punjab
University. However, when I started devoting time in
the evenings and mornings in the Divine Name and
the recitation of the holy hymns, I neither felt tension
nor difficulty in qualifying my examinations with
distinction during my studies in England and USA".
In 1949, Sant Teja Singh addressed the students at
Khalsa College, Amritsar and inspired them to follow
the path of Guru Nanak and participate in spreading
his message to the mankind for establishing the Divine
peace in the world. Those students, who offered
themselves for the mission of Guru Nanak were taken
to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh for teaching the
basic tenets of the divine path shown by Guru Nanak.
(c)In African Countries: In 1954, Sant Teja Singh went
to African countries to spread the message of Guru
Nanak. He advised the Asian settlers to develop love
and affection for the local population and help their
needy brethren. In Uganda, he told the settlers that
the day may not be far when they would have to leave
this country. This prophesy came true in the
subsequent years during the regime of Idi Amin.
Address at the Eighth Congress of Religions in JapanSant Teja Singh undertook the Sewa of spiritual uplift of
humanity in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, USA
and Canada in 1955-56. During this period, he delivered
an address on the occasion of the Eighth Congress of
Religions for the World Peace organized by Ananai-Kyo,
Shimizu city, Japan in 1956. The full text of this lecture
The Way to Establish Permanent Peace has been separately
published in a book by The Kalgidhar Trust.
Revelation of the Tapo Bhoomi BaruIn July 1957, Sant Teja Singh revealed the hitherto
unknown Tapo Bhoomi of Baru, where many Rishis, Munis
and saints had meditated on the Divine Name and which
has also been blessed with the holy visit of the Tenth
Master Guru Gobind Singh. Here, Gurdwara was
22 23Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
constructed and provision of Guru ka Langar was made.
During the Ardas (prayer), he passionately prayed (with
tears rolling down), to Akal Purkh (God) to bestow His
Grace on the sacred mission so that it grows and carries
His message of the divine peace and spiritual
brotherhood to the entire mankind. Sant Teja Singh used
to visit this place during summer along with his devotees
for meditation and solemnization of Akhand Path till he
shed his physical form in 1965.
The Kalgidhar TrustFor continuing the work of the spiritual uplift among the
people through the synthesis of scientific education and
religious ethos, Sant Teja Singh established The Kalgidhar
Trust. The activities of this Trust, based at Sant Attar
Singh Hari Sadhu Ashram, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh
are being carried out by his devout disciple Baba Iqbal
Singh with the heavenly blessings and as per the
guidelines laid down by Sant Teja Singh.
1. Kartar Nu Milanh Di Sachi Khitchkrqwr ƒ imlx dI s`cI iK`c
(Longing to merge with the Almighty.)
2. Antehkaranh Nu Saaf KarnaaAMqhkrx ƒ swP krnw
(Cleanliness of the inner-self.)
3. Har Roz Gurmat Abhiyaashr roz dw gurmiq AiBAws
(Reciting Gurbani and Divine Naam everyday to
tread on the Divine path.)
Just as a person has immense craving to dress
himself well and eat sumptuous food, similarly if he
has the same amount of urge within, to be Divine,
he will certainly follow the Divine path to become so:
imlu myry pRIqmw jIau quDu ibnu KrI inmwxI ] (244)Mil m-ai-r-ai preetmaa jeeo(u) Tudh(u) binn(u) kharee nimaanhee.(Meet me, O my dear Beloved! Without You, I am totally
dishonored.)
jnm jnm kI iesu mn kau mlu lwgI kwlw hoAw isAwhu ] (651)Janam janam kee iss(u) mann kao(u) mal laagee Kaalaa hoa siaah(u).(Human mind keeps gathering egoistic dust and dirt from
its innumerable past lives down the ages and becomes
totally polluted with this dust.)
Guru Nanak shows us the wonderful way to purify
the polluted mind:
mUq plIqI kpVu hoie ] dy swbUxu leIAY Ehu Doie ]
BrIAY miq pwpw kY sMig ] Ehu DopY nwvY kY rMig ] (4)Moot paleetee kaparh(u) ho-e D-ai saaboonh(u) la-ee-ei oh(u) dhoe.Bharee-ei matt(i) paapaa(n) k-ei sangg(i) Oh(u) dhop-ei naavei k-ei rangg(i).(As we wash our dirty linen with soap to remove dirt,
similarly we should also purify our egoistic mind with utmost
love and devotion by meditation on the Divine Naam.)
It means a daily recitation of Gurbani and the Divine
Naam with an unpolluted mind, complete love and
devotion. One must wake-up at the ambrosial hour,
at least three hours before sunrise. He must have his
bath and should meditate on the Divine Naam. Then
recite the five Baanis viz. Japuji, Jaap Sahib, Sudha
Swaeeye, Choupaee and Anand Sahib. Thereafter,
he should seek the Guru's blessings in the presence
of Sangat by listening to Shabad Kirtan in a Gurdwara.
In the evening, Rehras should be recited. Before
retiring for the day, one must say the final prayer in
the form of Kirtan Sohila. In between, he must keep
reciting the Divine Naam all the time, while carrying
on with the worldly affairs:
hwQ pwau kir kwmu sBu cIqu inrMjn nwil ] (1376)Haath paao(u) kar(i) kaam(u) sabh(u) Cheet(u) Niranjan naal(i).(Your body should perform all worldly deeds the whole
day, but let your mind with utmost devotion remain with
the Immaculate Lord.)
One must earn his livelihood honestly and a tenth of
his earnings (Daswandh) should be given for
charitable purposes. All this should be followed as an
act of faith and not a mere ritual. This is the
discernable routine prescribed by the Guru and every
Sikh should follow it religiously.
Broadly there are four important principles to tread on
the divine path along with meditation and divine Kirtan:
(i) Share with others what belongs to you:Gwil Kwie ikCu hQhu dyie ] nwnk rwhu pCwxih syie ] (1245)Ghaal khaae kichh(u) hathahu d-ai-e Nanak raah(u) pachhaanheh s-ai-e.(Only he, who works hard for honest livelihood and
shares a part of his earnings - minimum 10% - with
others, recognizes the divine path.)
(ii) Humility is the greatest virtue:imTqu nIvI nwnkw gux cMigAweIAw qqu ] (470)Mitthat neeveen Nanaka Gunh changiaaeeaan tatt(u).(The essence of all virtues is humility.)
(iii)Shed ego:PrIdw jy qU Akil lqIPu kwly ilKu n lyK ]
AwpnVy igrIvwn mih isru nNØIvW kir dyKu ] (1378)Farida j-ai too(n) akal(i) lateef(u) Kaal-ai likh(u) na l-ai-khAapn-rh-ai gireevaan meh Sirr(u) neenvaan kar(i) d-ai-kh.(If you have been blessed to be intelligent, do not perform
bad deeds. Rather, introspect humbly about the bad deeds
performed earlier.)
4. Simran ate kirtan de naal-naal chaar gallanismrn Aqy kIrqn dy nwl-nwl cwr g`lW
(Four important principles to tread on the divine path)
Pearls ofWisdomPearls ofWisdom
SantTeja
SinghJi
SantTeja
SinghJi
(1877 - 1965)
25Feb - April, 2013
(iv)Be merciful:dieAw jwxY jIA kI ikCu puMnu dwnu kryie ] (468)Da-i-aa jaanh-ei jee(a) kee Kichh(u) punn(u) daan(u) kar-ai(i)(Be kind to others, perform good deeds and donate something.)
Spiritual awareness imbues a person with divine
humility and he sees One-in-all and all-in-One.
"I pursued higher studies doing M.A. and LLB., with a
lot of hard work and great difficulty. At that time
I was not aware of reciting Gurbani as a daily prayer,
but at Harvard University, I had to write a thesis on a
very difficult and different subject on a very eminent
poet, but I did it with ease because by this time, with
the blessings of Sant Attar Singh Maharaj, my faith in
Gurbani was absolute and I had begun to seek the
Lord's grace. I would get up at the ambrosial hour
and follow faithfully Rahit Maryada, i.e., reciting the
Divine Naam and Gurbani as a daily routine.
My academic achievements then became better than
ever before. The Guru alleviates the difficulties of all
those, who follow the divine path”:
pRB kY ismrin igAwnu iDAwnu qqu buiD ] (262)Prabh k-ei simran(i) giaan(u) dhiaan(u) tatt(u) budh(i).(In the remembrance of God are knowledge, meditation
and the essence of wisdom.)
Divine peace and equipoise can be acquired only by
the continuous recitation of the Divine Naam with
every breath:
"Sant Attar Singh Maharaj used to say that one can't
control the mind with forced rituals: just as a snake,
kept in forced captivity of a casket, bites suddenly on
the opening of the lid. Similarly, the mind commits so
many sins when free. It can be controlled through
constant recitation of the Divine Naam with every
5. Duniaavee parhaaee de naal-naal Gurbani da nitnem ho sakda h-eiduinAwvI pVHweI dy nwl-nwl gurbwxI dw inqnym ho skdw hY
(Academic pursuits and recitation of Gurbani
can both be pursued simultaneously.)
6. Mann Di Sehaj Avasthaamn dI sihj AvsQw suAws-suAws ismrn nwl AwauNdI hY
(Intuning of mind with the Divine bliss):
breath, which leads to attainment of Divine peace.
Hence one should continue reciting the Divine Naam
with every breath, while performing worldly duties.":
dim dim sdw smwldw dMmu n ibrQw jwie ] (556)Damm(i) damm(i) sadaa samaaladaa Damm(u) na birthaa jaae.(In every breath, he ever contemplates the Lord and not a
single breath of his passes in vain.)
One can easily swim across the ocean of the world
with the words of the Guru on his lips. He can
elevate himself to a higher pedestal, if he is blessed
by the holy men:
sMqhu swgru pwir auqrIAY ]
jy ko bcnu kmwvY sMqn kw so gur prswdI qrIAY ] (747)Santah(u) saagar(u) paar(i) utaree-eiJ-ai ko bachan(u) kamaav-ei santan kaa So Gur parsaadee taree-ei.(O devotees! Cross over the life's turbulent ocean. One,
who practices the teachings of the Saints, by Guru's
Grace, is carried across.)
Bhai Lehna followed Guru Nanak in letter and spirit -
so much so that he got transformed from an ordinary
village trader to a God-conscious person. He became
One with Him and attained a higher state of being.
Finally he was anointed Guru.
It is human nature to look for shortcomings in others:
PrIdw jy qU Akil lqIPu kwly ilKu n lyK ]
AwpnVy igrIvwn mih isru nNØIvW kir dyKu ] (1378)Farida j-ai too(n) akal(i) lateef(u) Kaal-ai likh(u) na l-ai-khAapn-rh-ai gireevaan meh Sirr(u) neenvaan kar(i) d-ai-kh.(If you have been blessed to be intelligent, do not perform
bad deeds. Rather, introspect humbly about the bad deeds
performed earlier.)
7. Mahapurkhan De Bachan Kamaana Tapan Sirr Tapp HaimhWpurKW dy bcn kmwxw qpW isr qp hY
(Following the words of the Holy is the highest
form of meditation.)
8. Hameshaan Doosr-ai De Gunh At-ei Aapnh-ai Avgunh Vekhn-aihmySW dUsry dy gux Aqy Awpxy Avgux vyKxy
(Always look for what is good in others and
what is unsavory in your own self.)
and should always feel:
hm nhI cMgy burw nhI koie ] pRxviq nwnku qwry soie ] (728)Ham nahee(n) changg-ai buraa nahee(n) koe Pranhvat(i) Nanak(u) taar-ai soe.(Anyone, who believes and practices that he is not good
and none other is bad, Nanak says the grace of God
helps him to overcome the turbulence of life.)
Selfless service is of three types:
(i) To serve materially
Gwil Kwie ikCu hQhu dyie ] nwnk rwhu pCwxih syie ] (1245)Ghaal khaae kichh(u) hathahu d-ai-e Nanak raah(u) pachhaanheh s-ai-e.(Only he, who works hard for honest livelihood and
shares a part of his earnings - minimum 10% - with
others, recognizes the Divine path.)
(ii) Physical service
ivxu syvw iDRgu hQ pYr hor inhPl krxI ] (BweI gurdws)
Vinh(u) sewa dhrigg hatth p-ei-r Hor nehphal karnhee.(If one does not render divine service, his hands and feet
are worthless. So also the deeds performed with them.)
Physical service is greater than material service.
A man must always seek company of the
God-conscious persons to do so. Didn't Guru Amar
Das render selfless service to his master at the age of
sixty-two?:
gur syvw qy suKu aUpjY iPir duKu n lgY Awie ] (651)Gur sewa t-ai sukh(u) oopj-ei Phir(i) dukh(u) na lagg-ei aae.(Serving the Guru, peace is produced, and then, one does
not suffer in pain.)
9. Sewa Karan Naal Mann Nirmal Hund-aa Hai, Gareebee Aundee Hai At-ei Mann Shabad Naal Jurhdaa Haisyvw krn nwl mn inrml huMdw hY,grIbI AwauNdI hY Aqy mn Sbd
nwl juVdw hY
(Selfless Service ennobles a man by purifying
his mind. It imbues a man with humbleness
and enjoins him to His 'Word'.)
(iii)Inner service:
No doubt, the material and physical services purify a
man's mind. But a truly blessed person is the one,
who is completely immersed in his Lord through
'Word' (Shabad Guru), i.e., by reciting the Divine
Name all the time. How aptly Bhagat Namdev sums
up man's duties in the following words:
hwQ pwau kir kwmu sBu cIqu inrMjn nwil ] (1376)Haath paao(u) kar(i) kaam(u) sabh(u) Cheet(u) Niranjan naal(i).(Your body should perform all worldly deeds the whole
day, but let your mind with utmost devotion remain with
the Immaculate Lord.)
He alone reaches the Pinnacle of spiritual bliss, who
keeps climbing the stairs of life step by step.
One should not shed the divine service even if he is
crushed and rendered poor:
qyrI Bgiq n Cofau ikAw ko hsY ] (1170)T-ai-ree bhagat(i) na chhodo(u) kiaa ko hass-ei.(I shall not renounce Your worship, O Lord; what does it
matter if people laugh at me?)
and
hsqI isir ijau AMksu hY Ahrix ijau isru dyie ]
mnu qnu AwgY rwiK kY aUBI syv kryie ] (647)Hasatee sirr(i) jio(u) ankas(u) h-ei Aharnh(i) jio(u) sirr(u) d-ai(i)Mann(u) Tann(u) aag-ei raakh(i) k-ei Oobhee s-ai-v kar-ai(i)(As the elephant bears the goad on his head and like a
piece of iron on the anvil for rendering the service, by
submitting the mind and body to the divine Master, one
should render the service with complete love and
devotion.)
10. Guru Ghar Di Sewa Di Pundd Sirr Taun Nahee Suttnhee Chaaheedee Bhav-ein Ess Hei-thaan Hee Kuchl-ei Kyon Naa Jaa-ee-ei gurU Gr dI syvw dI pMf isr qoN nhIN s`utxI cwhIdI BwvyN eys hyTW hI
kucly ikauN nw jweIey[
(Never shed the divine service even if you have
to pay a heavy price.)
26 27Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
11. Saadaa Nirbaah Karnaa, Saadee Khuraak Khaanhee At-eiSaadaa Pehnanhaaswdw inrbwh krnw, swdI Kurwk KwxI Aqy swdw pYnHxw
(Follow the principle of simple living and
divine thinking.)
12. Pakarh Naa Rakh Ke Jo Kaaraj Sahmane Aavey Auh Guru Ka Samajh Ke Utshaah Naal Kar-eipkV nw r`K ky jo kwrj swhmxy Awvy auh gurU kw smJ ky auqSwh
nwl kry
(Render selfless service dutifully without
desiring any rewards as if it is the divine
order.)
Always lead a simple life by eating simple food and
wearing simple dress. Whenever food is served, even
if it is tasteless, it should be taken as a divine boon
considering it as His blessings. One should not be
greedy of sumptuous food. According to Gurbani,
simple living means to remain humble and grateful to
God, who provides everything for the basic needs of
all. Thus one should lead the life according to the
divine law as enunciated in Guru Granth Sahib:
Cwdn Bojn kI Aws n kreI AicMqu imlY so pwey ] (1013)Chhaadan bhojan kee aas na kar-ee Achint(u) mil-ei so paa-e(One should not desire to wear costly attractive dresses
and eating sumptuous foods. He should rather be thankful
for whatever God provides and be contented.)
Whatever job is assigned, one should carry out the
same by considering it to be his Divine Master's
command. Without having any attachment with it,
he should perform it with full devotion and without
questioning the rationale of the assigned task,
thinking that it is his divine duty:
hau mUrKu kwrY lweIAw nwnk hir kMmy ] (449)Hau moorakh kaar-ei laa-ee-aa Nanak Har(i) kamm-ei.(I am just incompetent, O Nanak! But the Lord has
appointed me to perform His service.)
This is the act of one's divine humility. Leave the
outcome of the assigned task to the Almighty and
never desire the fruits in return:
krm krq hovY inhkrm ] iqsu bYsno kw inrml Drm ] (274)Karam karat hov-ei nehkaram Tis(u) b-ei-sno kaa nirmal dharam.(Performing good deeds, one does not seek rewards.
Spotlessly pure is the religion of such a devoted seeker
of truth.)
After performing good deeds, one should pray to the
Lord that he has not done anything, O Lord! You have
got it done by him. According to Hindu philosophy,
this is called Karma Yoga as enunciated by Lord
Krishna in Bhagwad Gita:
? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ? ??? ?? ?????
Karamanh-ai vaadhikarast-ai ma phaleshu kadaachana(One should do one's duty and not seek or get concerned
about the outcome or the reward from having truthfully
performed duty.)
Guru Nanak opines that divine humility is the most
soothing and gist of all virtues:
imTqu nIvI nwnkw gux cMigAweIAw qqu ] (470)Mitthat neeveen Nanaka Gunh changiaaeeaan tatt(u).(The essence of all virtues is humility.)
Humbleness, tolerance and sweet soothing language
are the three main virtues for the beloved to attract
the attention of the divine Lover, the Lord Almighty:
invxu su AKru Kvxu guxu ijhbw mxIAw mMqu ]
ey qRY BYxy vys kir qW vis AwvI kMqu ] (1384)Nivanh(u) su akhar(u) khavanh(u) gunh(u) Jihbaa manheeaa manttAi tr-ei bh-ei-nh-ai v-ai-s kar(i) Taan vass(i) aavee kantt.(Humility is the word, forgiveness is the virtue and sweet
speech is the magic mantra. Wear these three robes,
O sister! You will captivate your Lord Husband.)
?
13. Har Samme Mittha Bolnhahr smyN im`Tw bolxw
(Always talk sweetly and remain in divine
humility.)
14. Niraakaar Da Desh Ik Hee Hai Atte Akal Purkh Anubhavi Jaagadee Jot Haiinrwkwr dw dyS iek hI hY Aqy Akwl purK AnuBvI jwgdI joq hY
(There is only one formless abode, which
perceivable enlightened Almighty pervades.)
15. Saadhu De Attal BachanswDU dy At`l bcn
(The eternal words of the 'Saint'.)
Gurbani elaborates:
Gt Gt mY hir jU bsY sMqn kihE pukwir ] (1427)Ghat ghat m-ei Har(i) joo bas-ei Santan kahio pukaar(i).(The saints proclaim that the dear Lord abides in each
and every heart.)
It further strengthens:
sBY Gt rwmu bolY rwmw bolY ] rwm ibnw ko bolY ry ] (988)Sabh-ei ghatt Ram bol-ei Rama bol-ei Ram binaa ko bol-ei r-ai.(Within all hearts, the Lord speaks. Who else speaks,
other than the Lord?)
Whosoever, searches the divine within, with
complete dedication, devotion and divine humility,
in the company of the God-conscious persons,
attains the light:
ijnI nwmu iDAwieAw gey mskiq Gwil ]
nwnk qy muK aujly kyqI CutI nwil ] (8)Jinee Naam(u) dhiaaiaa Ga-e maskat(i) ghaal(i)Nanak t-ai mukh oujl-ai K-ai-tee chhuttee naal(i).(Those, who meditate on the Divine Name, reach the goal
of human life. Their faces radiate with divine glory and
lead many more to this divine goal and free them from the
cycle of birth and rebirth.)
The God-conscious person and the Almighty are one
and the same:
nwnk swD pRB Bydu n BweI ] (272)Nanak Saadh Prabh bh-ai-d na bhaaee.(O Nanak! There is no difference between the holy
persons and the Lord.)
The holy words of the God-conscious persons remain
in the cosmos and manifest their divine effect at the
appropriate time, irrespective of the Universe being
created or destroyed many a time.
In this context, Gurbani reveals that any disaster may
rock the Universe, but the sayings of a saint remain
unchanged:
inis bwsur niKAqR ibnwsI riv ssIAr bynwDw ]
igir bsuDw jl pvn jwiego ieik swD bcn AtlwDw ] (1204)Nis(i) baasur nakhiatar binaasee Rav(i) saseear b-ai-naadhaaGir(i) basudhaa jal pavan jaaego Ikk(i) saadh bachan atlaadhaa.(Night, day and the stars in the sky shall perish. The sun
and the moon shall vanish. The mountains, the earth,
the water and the air shall pass away. Only the 'Word' of
the saint shall last eternally.)
The preaching of Guru Nanak emphasizes to
withstand hurdles with love and compassion by
intoning one's mind in the divine 'Word'. When Sulhi
Khan, the general of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir,
was advancing towards Amritsar to attack Guru
Arjan, the disciples pleaded with the Guru to make
some effort to resist the invader. The Guru told his
devotees to have no fear and remain intoned with the
Lord by reciting the divine hymns. It helped create
such reverberations that Sulhi Khan got killed on his
way, when his horse slipped in the brick-kiln:
mY sBu ikCu Coif pRB quhI iDAwieAw ] (371)M-ei sabh(u) kichh(u) chhod(i) Prabh toohee dhiaaiaa.(I have renounced one and all and I meditated only
on Him.)
It shows that the recitation of the Divine Name
(Gurbani), with complete devotion and concentration,
removes all obstacles in the life of the devotee.
This is the truly peaceful movement in Sikhism.
16. Shaantmaee SatyagrahaSwNqmeI siqAwgRih
(Withstanding obstacles with divine love and
compassion.)
28 29Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
17. Aatmik Mandal De Paandhian Di Taar Ik Hundee HaiAwqimk mMfl dy pWDIAW dI qwr iek huMdI hY
(All the God-conscious persons have the same
divine tune.)
18. Ikaant SimraniekWq ismrn
(Meditation in seclusion.)
When I was the principal of Khalsa College,
Amritsar, I came across a highly respectable saint,
Baba Kesar Singh (Kesar Killi Wale) in the college
Gurdwara. With his divine perception, Baba Ji
expounded that as per the Divine Will of the
Satguru, Gur Mantra (the divine 'Word') would
hereafter be recited openly in the congregation.
(The prevailing practice was to give the Gur Mantra
confidentially in the ear of the seekers of Truth.)
The same evening, Sant Attar Singh was scheduled
to have his meals with us at my invitation. Before
coming home, Sant Ji went straightaway to the
college Gurdwara, where a special congregation
was arranged. In the holy benevolence of
Guru Granth Sahib, he pronounced the Divine Name
openly and requested the congregation to recite
Satnam-Waheguru. Thus he confirmed the divine
perception of Baba Kesar Singh that the
seekers would henceforth be blessed with the
Gur Mantra openly:
suin mIqw nwnku ibnvMqw ] swD jnw kI Acrj kQw ] (271)Sunn(i) meetaa Nanak(u) binvantaa Saadh janaa kee ach-raj kathaa.(Listen, O friends! Nanak supplicates that the story of the
holy people is unique and wonderful.)
Once in the ambrosial hour, I, very humbly requested
Sant Attar Singh to permit me to meditate on the
Divine Name in a secluded place. The saint
expounded, “Oh Bhai Teja Singh! By meditating on
the Divine Name in the congregation, one gets divine
strength to tolerate rebukes and praises”:
kwhy ry bn Kojn jweI ]
srb invwsI sdw Alypw qohI sMig smweI ] (684)
Kaah-ai r-ai bann khojan jaaeeSarab nivaasee sadaa al-ai-paa Tohee sangg(i) samaaee.(Why do you go looking for Him in the forest? The
all-pervaiding unattached Almighty is always with you as
your companion.)
He went on to add, “Bhai Teja Singh! You have
qualified many worldly examinations, but the real
test of divinity will be passed when someone kicks
you on the back, but you remain intoned with the
Divine 'Word' and your attention does not get
diverted. Likewise, when someone rebukes you with
choicest names, you should tell him with folded
hands that he had favored you by pointing out your
shortcomings.” With folded hands, I bowed before
my mentor with a resolve to carry out his divine
advice in letter and spirit.
Before leaving Gursagar Mastuana, I requested Sant
Attar Singh, “My Lord! The game of slander that my
antagonists are playing, please guide me so that I can
be more tolerant.” Sant Attar Singh replied, “Brother
Teja Singh! I had directed you a few days ago to
recite the following Gurbani Shabad and follow it in
letter and spirit”:
pRB kI AwigAw Awqm ihqwvY ] jIvn mukiq soaU khwvY ]
qYsw hrKu qYsw ausu sogu ] sdw Anµdu qh nhI ibEgu ]
qYsw suvrnu qYsI ausu mwtI ] qYsw AMimRqu qYsI ibKu KwtI ]
qYsw mwnu qYsw AiBmwnu ] qYsw rMku qYsw rwjwnu ]
j o vrqwe y sweI jgu iq ] nwnk Eh u pru K u khIA Y jIvn mku iq ] (275)Prabh kee aagi-aa aatam hitaav-ei Jeevan mukat(i) so-oo kahaav-eiT-ei-sa harakh(u) t-ei-sa o(u)su sog(u) Sadaa anand(u) the nahee biog(u)T-ei-sa suvarn(u) t-ei-see o(u)su maatee T-ei-sa amrit t-ei-see bikh(u) khaateeT-ei-sa maan(u) t-ei-sa abhimaan(u) T-ei-sa runk(u) t-ei-sa raajaan(u)Jo vartaa-ai saaee jugat(i) Nanak o(u)h purkh kahee-ei jeevan mukt(i).(One who, in his soul, loves the Will of God, is said to be
Jivan Mukta - liberated while yet alive. As is joy, so is
sorrow to him. He is in eternal bliss, and is not separated
from God. As is gold, so is dust to him. As is ambrosial
nectar, so is bitter poison to him. As is honor, so is
dishonor. As is the beggar, so is the king. Whatever God
ordains, that is his way. O Nanak! That being is known as
Jivan Mukta.)
Baru Sahib ArchivesBaru Sahib Archives
30Eternal Voice
ackground: The context for this discussion was Bpreparation for a consultation on faith and
development in South and Central Asia in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. The consultation was an endeavor of the
World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at
Georgetown University, with support from the Henry
R. Luce Foundation. Its aim was to take stock of the
wide range of ongoing work by different organizations
that are, in varying ways, inspired by religious faith, but
more important, to explore the policy implications that
emerge from their interactions with development
organizations. The interview was conducted on
telephone by Michael Bodakowski and Sara Singha with
Baba Iqbal Singh.
In this interview, Baba Iqbal Singh reflects on the role of
his organization in providing value-based education and
what that means for the development of society in
general. Baba Ji provides background about the Sikh
religion, its teachings and philosophies, as well as on the
gender challenges facing northern India and how his
organization is responding.
Can you tell us about your personal background and history and how you came to your present position as President, The Kalgidhar Trust/Society?I was born in a well-to-do family of farmers in a village near Gurdaspur. I have been detached from worldly desires from the time I was a young boy. One of my favorite pastimes was to listen to and read the stories of ancient and legendary saints like Dhruva, Prehlad(a young boy-prince) and other sages, seers, saints and the Sikh Gurus. This kindled in me the desire to tread the path they had trodden. As a boy, I always used to share my food with an unseen God by throwing half of my food on the roof-top of my house. This gradually built within me a sense of sharing. I would read about the Sikh Gurus and the supreme sacrifices that their families had made.I was particularly fascinated by the sacrifices of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's younger sons, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, aged nine and seven respectively. In the sixth grade, I heard the stories of Sanghamitra and Mahendra, the daughter and son of Ashoka, the Great - the renowned Buddhist Emperor of India. How they remained celibate and meditated on the Buddha's teachings and spread them throughout Asia. Their story touched me and I too decided to remain celibate and
dedicate my life to meditation on the divine teachings of Guru Nanak and to spreading his message.
I completed my secondary education from the Government High School, Gurdaspur and then contemplated of various careers, including medicine and agriculture, for the benefit of mankind. Finally though,I decided to pursue the career as an agricultural scientist with the mission that I would help farmers to increase their earnings and also help humanity by enhancing the food production.
Accordingly I joined the prestigious Punjab Agriculture College and Research Institute, Lyallpur (now in Pakistan) for studying B.Sc., Agriculture Science in 1945. After two years, the government of Punjab shifted our college temporarily to Amritsar, in the wake of Partition. Here,I completed my B.Sc. Agriculture in 1949. During my final year of B.Sc. at Amritsar, I met Sant Teja Singh Ji, MA, LLB (Punjab), AM (Harvard). He had secured the top position in Punjab University examination of 1900. After completing his studies, Sant Ji joined the All India Civil Services, but did not feel at home with the job and on the advice of his Commissioner (an Englishman), he joined the renowned Khalsa College at Amritsar as a teacher. Here, he met Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuana Wale(1866-1927) and became his disciple. Sant Attar Singh Ji was the first saint in the Sikh faith, who laid emphasison providing value-based education to the children.He established the first girls' college in Mastuana, near Sangrur district of Punjab, in the year 1906 and followed it up with the boys' school and college in the same year. Heeding to the call of his master, Sant Teja Singh Ji resigned from the coveted post of Principal, Khalsa College, Amritsar and presented himself in the service of Sant Attar Singh Ji for imparting value-based education.
Sant Attar Singh Ji's vision was that we should adopt the unique pattern of education by combining the spiritual-based education of India with the technology-based education of the western world, the synthesis of which produces value-based education. He asked his disciple Sant Teja Singh Ji to visit Europe and America and study their scientific model of education, which he did accordingly by first joining College of London and then the Cambridge University. After completing some semesters, he shifted to Columbia University in New York and finally completed his Masters from Harvard University. Despite
obtaining the latest education from all these universities, he resisted the temptation of joining any renowned educational institution in India, but under instruction from Sant Attar Singh Ji, he started teaching in a primary school in Mastuana, implicitly obeying the order of his divine master and shedding the egoistic instincts of the mind of a highly educated person.
It is worth mentioning here that when all the Hindu saints and renowned leaders including the Rajas and Maharajas of India thought of establishing the now renowned Banaras Hindu University. Through their learned leader Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, they approached Sant Attar Singh Ji to persuade him to lay the foundation-stone of the first college of the university. On their request, Sant Ji did so in the year 1914 and asked his disciple Sant Teja Singh Ji to head the College of Education in that university. After a year or so, Sant Teja Singh Ji was called back to Mastuana on the request of Maharajas of Patiala, Nabha and Jind to initiate the process of educational institutions in Punjab.
When I first met Sant Teja Singh Ji and noticed his dedication to spirituality as well as his humility, I became his disciple. From him I learned the importance of imparting value-based education. I was very inspiredwith his spiritual teachings to serve humanity duringhis lifetime.
After completing my M.Sc. in Agriculture Science,I joined the Department of Agriculture with Punjab Government. At that time Sant Teja Singh Ji was very keen to establish a spiritual center at Baru Sahib (in the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh), to fulfill the wishes of his divine master Sant Attar Singh Ji. It was for this reason that I opted to join the Himachal Pradesh Government, so that I could render better the divine service of establishing spiritual center at Baru Sahib.
A Discussion with Baba Iqbal Singh, President, The Kalgidhar Trust/Society, Baru Sahib, India
32 33Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
In this interview, Baba Iqbal Singh reflects on the role of his organization in providing value-based education and what that means for the development of society in general.
The spiritual center at Baru Sahib was established in 1956, as per the directions of Sant Teja Singh Ji, with a mission to uplift the underprivileged and provide them with value-based education blended with spiritual ethos. Before shedding his physical form in 1965, Sant Teja Singh Ji formed The Kalgidhar Trust to manage this spiritual center and vide his Will, I became the President of The Kalgidhar Trust/Society to carry on the divine mission. I worked with the Himachal Pradesh Government for the benefit of farmers and retired as Director of Agriculture in 1987.
We started Akal Academy, our flagship school at Baru Sahib with only five students in 1986. It has now become an International fully residential public school, with 1400 students on roll, from all over India and 16 countries of the world, mostly from USA, Canada and UK.
While pursuing my career, I was always amongst ministers and top bureaucrats, who not only used to push and pull strings to get their work done, but also used to manipulate situations and resort to corruption. But remaining simple-minded and focused on my work,I managed to win over all my detractors, who in due course became my well-wishers. Soon, the state machinery acknowledged my sincere and diligent work and lovingly started addressing me as Gyani Ji(the learned one). I had conviction and faith in my belief that 'Work is Worship', as taught by my divine master.As such, I found that things always worked to my benefit as if some divine force was working to protect my interests. My studies, too, made me realize that it was only faith that made path-breakers in society and achievers in the spiritual field.
Please expand on value-based education and what it means to you and your work?In the context of the overall education system, there are three types of educations in India. The first type of
education focuses on literacy, without any moral values.I believe that the literate man is the most egoistic and selfish because he is not taught moral values and he thinks only for his own benefit. The majority of the universities, colleges and schools all over the world impart only literacy and not value-based education.
The second type of education is value-based education, where you combine literacy with a moral-based education system, which is far more holistic. The person with this type of education starts thinking of the needs of others and sees himself as connected to others with the result that he develops a broader outlook. Such a person is more likely to help others without any consideration, because he has developed the broader outlook of seeing One in all and all in One. It is worth mentioning here that the Divine (God) is one for all the faiths (religions).
The third type is the spiritualized education with divine wisdom. For this, one doesn't need to go to any school, because he realizes the divine knowledge of the universe within. None of the prophets ever went to any university to learn the lessons of divinity. One only needs to delve into the divine scriptures for this type of education.
The education system of our organization combines spirituality with literacy (basic education) to impart value-based education. As a result, all our students are free from drugs and alcohol and other evils of the present time. Since they are free from all vices, their minds are sharp and they are focused on their well-being as well as on the well-being of others. Value-based education is the real need of the time to produce good human beings, who, in turn, are able to inspire the society to tread on the divine path for rendering selfless service to mankind irrespective of any caste, creed or color.
Our students have become empowered with our system of value-based education, the effects of which are far-reaching. They help reduce tension in their homes because they are able to counsel their parents. In some cases, they have been able to keep their parents from divorcing. They are able to stay away from the materialistic temptations as well as from drugs and alcohol and are committed to education and thus becoming the useful members of society. We feel that value-based education is the best way to take society forward and to promote the values that will bring long term sustainable development of the world.
We will be able to harness the energy of the youth and move them towards working for the empowerment and the betterment of the world through this system of education.
How do your schools fit into the overall government education system on a practical level?Our schools are part of India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and we collaborate with the government on a regular basis, but we are not government funded and we do not receive any financial support from the government. The pattern of education that we follow in our schools is based on the pattern of the Indian government. Our schools are English medium schools where the primary language of instruction is English but we also teach other languages including Hindi and Punjabi. The government is happy with what we are doing in our schools. We are happy to have their support.
Where do your students come from and from what faith backgrounds are they from?We work in the north Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Since government schools are not able to impart value-based education to the underprivileged rural masses, our emphasis is totally on rural population and we work in the rural areas. We work for women empowerment, which is the most important area of concern in the present time because in north India, people look down upon girls and give importance to the boys. Our teaching empowers girls and provides them employment in our educational institutions with the result that they can begin a new and purposeful life.
The students in all our schools come from different faiths and they have the freedom to follow their own religion.We have no issues with anyone following his own faith and tradition, but one has to follow our rules of conduct.We have Hindu and Muslim students, but our code of conduct is unique and that is why our schools are popular.
Tell us in detail about the overall work, projects and reach of The Kalgidhar Trust/Society.The Kalgidhar Trust/Society had a humble and modest beginning in 1986 with a simple one room school with only five students. The concept was to 'move away from urbanization' and channel the energies of the young students in developing their character and knowledge, on the pattern of ancient saints, seers and sages of the bygone eras.
Intending to reach out to the unreached, The Kalgidhar Trust/Society started promoting quality value-based education, primary health, social welfare and spiritual uplift among the underprivileged/deprived rural masses in far-flung areas of north India. Our work has been instrumental in bringing about silent but sure reforms to uplift spiritual values and the socio-economic status of the rural poor in the areas covered. The rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and backward hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh are being covered with 111 (now 121) outstanding schools.
Schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Government of India, New Delhi are under the name of Akal Academy and provide modern education to more than 60,000 students, mostly from the deprived strata of society. The organization has also established a full-fledged University under the name Eternal University, which is providing higher education in the field of Health, Engineering and other subjects related to the economic uplift of the under-privileged in thefar-flung interior Himalayan region at Baru Sahib.
We also have many other programs like De-addiction Centers (on the pattern of Alcoholics Anonymous),a modern Charitable Hospital, an Orphanage, Senior Citizens Home, Women Care Centers and Women's Empowerment Programs. We try to rehabilitate the women and get them jobs so that they are able to be financially independent, self-reliant and become useful members of the society. All these centers are also in the backward rural areas. The Kalgidhar Trust/Society work on abysmally low administration cost of around three percent, since we are assisted by about 300 key selfless volunteers, who have dedicated their lives and careers for this mission and work without any remuneration.
Can you speak about your hospital?We have two charitable hospitals and every year we hold
34 35Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
I have been detached from worldly desires from the timeI was a young boy. One of my favorite pastimes was to listen to and read the stories of ancient and legendary saints like Dhruva, Prehlad (a young boy-prince) and other sages, seers, saints and the Sikh Gurus. This kindled in me the desire to tread the path they had trodden.
When I first met Sant Teja Singh Ji and noticed his dedication to spirituality as well as his humility, I became his disciple. From him I learned the importance of imparting value-based education. I was very inspired with his spiritual teachings to serve humanity during his lifetime.
four to six camps in the interior of the country in Punjab and remote hilly region of Himalayas, soliciting doctors from Mumbai, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. About 30 doctors offer selfless service in every camp, where surgeries costing thousands of rupees are performed free of cost for the benefit of the needy. In the spring of 2010, a team of 27 doctors from Operation Rainbow Canada visited Baru Sahib and managed hundreds of patients not only from Himachal but also from the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. They performed surgeries upon 300 of them.
What are the views of the Sikh religious tradition onorphan care?Sikhism is not an 'ism'. It is the spiritual way of life for the entire mankind. It recognizes and follows the teachings of not only its Gurus but also of the other divinely enlightened persons, who attained the spiritual realm and saw 'One in all and all in One.' It will not be out of place to state that no scripture of any other religion has included the hymns of the enlightened saints and sages following the spiritual ways of other religions.
It is also worth mentioning that out of a total 35 contributors, the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib contains the hymns of six Sikh Gurus (divine masters) out of a total of ten. It also contains the verses of the divine persons, who initially followed their own faiths (religions), but honestly treaded on the divine path by meditating on the divine Name to reach the divine realm, which is a worriless divine state. 15 saints belonging to various sections of society including high caste Brahmins (Ramanand Gaur), mini rulers (Peepa), farmer (Dhanna) and low-caste cobbler (Ravidas), weaver (Kabir), butcher (Sadna), barber (Sain) and three renowned Muslim saints
(Farid, Kabir and Bhikhan) besides 11 Bhattas, the renowned Brahmins, who became divine and merged with the Almighty Lord by following the divine preachings of the Sikh Gurus in letter and spirit find a place of honor in Guru Granth Sahib.
When we bow before Guru Granth Sahib, with reverence,we also pay the same respect to all these saints, who followed their own different faiths distinct from the Sikh way of life. Thus, Sikhism is not a separate religion but it is an interfaith to show the divine path to tread on for the entire world irrespective of any caste, creed or region.
Not only that, in Guru Granth Sahib, God has been mentioned several times by different names, such asHari (8344), Ram (2533), Prabhu (1371), Gopal (491), Govind (475), Parmatama (324), Karta (228), Thakur (216), Daata (151), Parmeshar (139), Murari (97), Narayan (89), Antarjami (61), Jagdish (60), Satnam (59), Mohan (54), Allah (46), Khuda (43), Bhagwan (30), Nirankar (29), Krishan (22), Waheguru (13) and Wahguru (3).
According to the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib, if we seek the blessings of the Divine (God), we should serve humanity with complete love and devotion irrespective of any caste, creed or region.
What are religions? In fact, these are the different faiths or divine ways to tread on to reach the divine realm, where there is no worry, no fear and in this state, the divine person sees One in all and all in One. All castes, creeds and religions cease to have any meaning in this state. If anyone honestly follows his faith without any bias, he can attain this divine state. Thus, if all the faiths are different ways to reach the divine realm, why should we, then, quarrel on petty issues of faith and consider one faith better than the other. In fact, all faiths are the same and if we tread upon any of them with complete love and devotion to merge with the divine, we will find no distinction. This way, the whole race and craving of conversion with the sword as well as with the wealth will be finished.
If we follow our faith honestly to reach the one and the only destination, there will be no conflict. For example,if you want to become the citizen of Dhaka by coming from all over the world, you follow different routes according to the location of your country but when all of you reach Dhaka and settle here, you are called the citizens of Dhaka irrespective of the path (faith) you followed. If we perceive these ideas and follow the same
for realizing the divine within, then there is no conflict among the different faiths, because the goal is the same.
Serving humanity is the only real religion and Sikhism says that when you serve humanity, you should never ask whether someone is a Muslim or a Hindu because in God's eyes, all are one.
Sikh faith emphasizes more on the care of the orphans and downtrodden. The Kalgidhar Trust/Society is also taking care of many orphans, whether male or females; and bringing them up with proper care and providing them value-based education along with the students belonging to the af f luent families, even thosecoming from England, USA and Canada without any discrimination. They live a life of self-pride and have sense of belonging with our facilities. All of them partake of the same food and wear the same type of clothes, which completely removes any complex. These orphans are provided education up to the university level and are also employed in our schools as teachers, drawing handsome salaries. The orphans are so much attached and engrossed and intermingle with affluent students that nobody can tell one from the other.
It should be noted that so far we have not got any grant
or assistance for the orphanages. However, we can
expand this program to a greater extent if some
monetary assistance is available from outside.
What are the inter national dimensions ofThe Kalgidhar Trust/Society?The Kalgidhar Society organizes Educational exchange
programs wherein students from its schools visit US,
Canada, UK etc. and students from these countries
participate in summer camps at Baru Sahib in this remote
Himalayan region. A faculty exchange program is also in
place wherein teaching faculty from leading Universities
visit Eternal University to teach for 6 to 8 weeks.
What is the role of faith in development of India more generally?Government infrastructure does not reach into the deep rural areas and hence the rural under-privileged population feels alienated from the mainstream. Also, the system is too bulky and sluggish to provide comfortable benefits to the rural poor.
Hence it has become imperative for NGOs, especially those linked to faith, to provide not only basic needs but also quality education, employment and empowerment in
rural India. This is also necessary to reduce frustration in these people, which if allowed to grow unchecked, can someday lead to Naxalism or terrorism.
What do you see as your role as a public religious figure working on development in India?I think that people, especially in the rural parts, look upon public religious figures to alleviate their pain and fulfill their basic needs. Hence, we have decided to approach development with a single-minded simple solution of providing low cost quality education that empowers people for the future. It is also sad to see that many public religious figures have resorted to exploit these simpletons for their own personal gains to amass huge wealth and riches for themselves.
How do Sikh teachings inform development work?Sikh teachings have some important lessons to teach about the development. These teachings focus on the development of a sound body and a spiritualized mind in order to become part of the Divine. It is emphasized time and again in the holy Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib to control one's worldly desires, comforts and egoistic mind, so that he may merge with the Divine within and serve humanity irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Guru Granth Sahib in a very simple way and in one sentence has explained the whole theory of spirituality on how to become Divine:
duibDw Coif Bey inrMkwrI ] (685)Dubidhaa chhod bhae Nirankaaree(He, whose duality has been annulled by the Guru, is the enlightened Supreme Being.)
In other words the mathematical equation becomes:Man – Ego = God.
Actually, whatever upheavals, wars and other conflicts including global warming persist, they are due to the egoistic mind of man for gaining personal superiority and
36 37Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
What are religions? In fact, these are the different faiths or divine ways to tread on to reach the divine realm, where there is no worry, no fear and in this state, the divine person sees One in all and all in One. All castes, creeds and religions cease to have any meaning in this state. If anyone honestly follows his faith without any bias, he can attain this divine state. Thus, if all the faiths are different ways to reach the divine realm, why should we, then, quarrel on petty issues of faith and consider one faith better than the other.
comfort. In fact, all these are the forms of ego.
Please expand on your perspectives on gender issuesin India?
Guru Nanak says:
so ikau mMdw AwKIAY ijqu jMmih rwjwn ] (473)So kio(u) mandaa aakhee-ei Jitt(u) jameh(i) Raajaan.(Why call her impious, of whom are born great men?)
He further emphasizes:
iesu jg mih purKu eyku hY hor sglI nwir sbweI ] (591)Iss(u) jagg meh(i) Purakh(u) aik(u) h-ei Hor saglee naar(i) sabaaee.(In this universe, there is one SupremeBeing, known as the Divine Husband. The whole humanity, whether male or female, is considered His wife, i.e., worshipers.)
It is a matter of shame for us in north India to boast of the worst gender ratio in India. The mindset of the poor, due to lack of education is clouded with lowly thoughts, to look down upon the girl child as a burden. Such is the ignorance that the son is sent to the best schools but the daughter is either sent to a government school or is leftun-schooled since parents think that spending on the girl child is a mere waste, because after marriage she has to move out to another house and would not provide them any personal benefit. On the other hand, boys are considered their assets despite the fact that boys are going astray and ruining the families by addicting themselvesin various vices. Spending on their education isconsidered investment.
We, at The Kalgidhar Trust/Society, have taken upon us the task of rearing, educating and making employable around 1500 under-privileged rural girls every year. They are coached intensively over a four-year course to become teachers, to be employed back into our own schools. This is a unique pattern, where free education along with board and lodging is provided and
employment is guaranteed to these under-privileged sections of society.
Mass urbanization is today taking a toll on the rural masses and the scary results are already showing up in the widening gap amongst the rich and poor. Ignorance and illiteracy in the rural folks, compounded by the lack of health-care needs brings about helplessness in their lives. The Kalgidhar Trust/Society having identified these root causes is methodically planning to take up the challenge of providing their services to the rural poor.
We have opened several rural employment centers for women, wherein they are trained in embroidery, sewing, and other skills through our trainers in their
own village centers. Then they are provided work and jobs outsourced from cities
that enable them to live with their restored honor. The strategy is
simple yet effective - 'Move away from urbanization',
' P r o v i d e v a l u e - b a s e d scientific education and moral uplift', 'Reach out to the underprivileged' fo r the i r hea l th -care needs and create an
industrial base for their economic development.
Having felt the need to expand the scope of this noble cause,
The Kalgidhar Trust/Society plans to expand and branch out into far flung rural areas
by building 500 schools and several girls' colleges in the next few years. It is expected that a silent socio-economic uplift reform will result out of thesesure-footed grass-root efforts. The footprints of eradication of illiteracy and vices would keep on growing and positively touch the lives thereby fulfilling the needs of the rural and the deprived.
Have you done interfaith projects?We provide free education to more than 500 students, professing Hindu religion, most of them from low-castes as also some Muslims. We are an interfaith religion and in all our development projects, the notion of interfaith is implicit because we believe that development cannot be done alone and everyone needs to work together.
What other actors inspired by faith are working on development issues? What are the strongest and weakest among them?There are Hindu organizations that are working in development and some other organizations are also doing the same. From within the Sikh faith, we are the main organization working in the field of education. Among all Sikh organizations, we are the major one providing these types of services to children and widows and for woman empowerment. Orphanages and gender empowerment are some of the most important issues we are trying to address. Currently, we are only working in the northern states of India. We have started work in Tamil Nadu but that will take some time before we can grow to the level that we have reached in the northern states.
What networks do you belong to or do you know of and how are these helpful?We have good relat ionships with some other organizations and we have a mutual understandingto help each other. We do not ask each other for financial help but we do help each other in several ways. When the earthquake hit Kashmir in 2005, we halted the construction activity at all our centers and diverted our attention towards helping the human in distress. Our organization constructed about 1850 houses for victims of the disaster, majority of them being Muslims.
Besides this, we also helped in the construction of4 Mosques, 2 Hindu Temples and a Gurdwara. This effort was mentioned in the government issued report, which was placed in the Indian Parliament. In Sikh religion, there is no difference between Hindus and Muslims because everything we do is connected to interfaithin some way.
What issues would you like to see discussed in Dhaka? What are the most important gaps in knowledge?It is a matter of pleasure that Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs has organized a workshop in this sphere by taking very positive steps in integrating various faiths to focus their energy on human development.We humbly request all the organizers to persuade the multi-national companies and rich charities to help small charities like The Kalgidhar Trust/Society having limited resources, so that they can expand their noble effort toa larger extent.
Most of the gaps in knowledge are that all the faiths think differently and do not give credence to the one goal,for which the human has come to this earth.
Essence of SikhiEssence of SikhiExcerpted from 'Gurbani Shabad Surati'
Self-deception can be the greatest flaw in a seeker. Often, we delude ourselves that since we have now taken the first firm step in the process of self-realization, all will be well hereafter. The complacency that ensues easily sucks us into postures, which not only invite celebration in outer color by others,but also through highly self-deceptive.
Fragmented in our understanding, but blinded to the whole truth, we end up being false prophets - proponents of lies and vanity. Each step that we take in the process is fraught with this danger.Our real need is to be saturated in the 'deep-red' color of whole truth, i.e.,an intense yearning to behold the Sacred in all phenomena. Gurbani cautions and teaches us to adopt the attitude of an outsider in our material living forthis purpose.
38 39Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
Guru Granth SahibThe Living GuruAll religions hold their holy scriptures in high esteem. But the extraordinary devotional honor, which has been accorded to the spiritual hymns of the Sikhs, compiled in the voluminous holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib,is quite distinct and unique. Not only do the Sikhs bow low before it, considering it the Living Guru, but also it is their firm belief, that when they need guidance for spirituality and worldly problems, it answers them through these hymns.
Its virtuous hymns are believed to be God's own commands, conveyed by Lord's order through theSikh Gurus and various Bhagats (saints), who were wholeheartedly dedicated to the only 'One' unfathomable Lord and with unflinching faith, they meditated on His Name with every breath. Maintaining their sublimity and welfare service for all, they also refrained from any sort
of idol worship and rituals etc. These hymns or Baniis the 'Word' of the Lord.
Collection of BaniThe task of gathering these hymns, particularly of the Bhagats, was very difficult. The basic principle was a touch-stone test. This task was commenced by Guru Nanak, who strictly maintained the principles of 'Fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of mankind'. His preaching was so frank and simple that he was welcomed and carefully listened to, when he went out for his four long hazardous Udasis (spiritual sojourns). His verses had a magical effect, which he would sing to the strings of the Rabab (rebec) of his companion and disciple, Mardana.
Guru Nanak used to write in a note-book (referred to as Pothi by the historians), each and every verse, which he recited:
hau Awphu boil n jwxdw mY kihAw sBu hukmwau jIau ] (763)Hao(u) aappah(u) bol(i) na jaanhdaa M-ei kahiaa sabh(u) hukmaa-o(u) jeeo(u).(I don't know anything on my own; I utter whatever I am ordained by Him to say.)
Back in his village Kartarpur (where he returned after his travels to plough his own fields), he also preached to Sikhs every morning and evening in a small prayer hall near his own house. He was visited by Bhai Lehna, who became his devout disciple, and succeeded him as Guru Angad. Guru Nanak handed to him his book of spiritual verses before shedding his physical frame. Guru Angad followed the Master Guru and added his own hymns, which were similarly passed on to his successor, the third Guru, Amar Das. Undoubtedly, Guru Nanak's holy spirit, which prevailed in the second Guru, shone in the third Guru as well. The third Guru in turn, wrote and sang quite a number of virtuous spiritual hymns regularly,at his Goindwal congregation center and arranged for the recording of the same with due care. His successor,Ram Das, was sent by the third Master, to set up anew congregational center with a clean bathing Sarovar (water tank), some 30 miles north of Goindwal on the land, which Emperor Akbar had given to Bibi Bhani, daughter of Guru Amar Das and the wife of Ram Das. Initially the place was called 'Guru Ka Chak' then 'Ramdaspur' and finally named Amritsar.
A large prayer hall was soon ready and work on the Sarovar was in progress, which Guru Amar Das visited occasionally. It was here, that he installed Ram Das as the fourth Guru. Earlier in Goindwal, he had handed over to his most trustworthy son Mohan, all the holy Scriptures collected so far (properly arranged under his own supervision, in small volumes called Pothies). It was done for safe custody. Besides the writings of the three Gurus, this collection also contained the verses uttered by19 saints and enlightened persons (Kabir, Farid, Ravidas, Namdev, Sata-Balwand, Bhatt etc.) which had been collected by Guru Nanak and Guru Amar Das.
Along with the construction work of Sarovar of Amritsar,
Guru Ram Das preached in the mornings and evenings to
the Sangat in the make-shift temple. His own verses,
which he used to sing, were being recorded and
safeguarded by his son, Arjan, who became the fifth Guru
after Guru Ram Das.
Compilation of Bani into the Adi GranthThe highly gifted Guru Arjan, while a little child, was blessed by Guru Amar Das with the words, Dohita, Bani
ka bohita (Grandson, the Gurbani-yacht). Guru Arjan was a born poet, a talented musician and had a vast knowledge of most of the languages spoken during his time. His sweetly sung numbers were respectfully sung by his Sikhs. In the meantime, he took up the task of compiling all the holy scriptures of the Pothies into 'One' voluminous book, the Adi Granth, for which he personally had to go to Goindwal, where, with all reverence, he approached Baba Mohan and obtained the valued scriptural treasure, which Baba Ji would not trust giving to anyone else.
Back in Amritsar, Guru Arjan camped at Gurdwara Ramsar and, having added the Gurbani of the fourth Guru and his own, he summoned Bhai Gurdas (a devout Sikh and a noted scholar, who was also highly conversant in Sanskrit and other Indian languages) to scribe on his dictation, the great treasure of the Pothies in a very systematic order. Lots of holy persons, spiritual scholars and the popularly known 11 Bhatts (the bards, whose verses also were taken by the Guru to include in the new single volume of Bani), became the regular visitors to Amritsar. They sang prayers to God and praise to Gurus.
Guru Arjan started this noble project in 1601 and completed the same in 1604. The Adi Granth was brought with great honor to the newly built beautiful hall called Harmandir (Abode of God). Baba Buddha, one of the most respected Sikhs of Guru Nanak's time, was installed as the first honorary Granthi (Priest) to read out the spiritual commands. The Guru himself attributed so much respect to the Granth Sahib that he never sator slept at a place higher than its seat in the morningor through the night. The Sikhs followed the suit with great reverence.
All the Gurbani compositions are in perfect poetic numbers and Ragas (musical melodies) in the Granth Sahib. They were and still are sung by the learned singers,
Infringe-Proof Compilation of
By Bhagwan SinghBy Bhagwan Singh
All the Gurbani compositions are in perfect poetic numbers and Ragas (musical melodies) in the Granth Sahib. They were and still are sung by the learned singers, at their particular timings, seasons and occasions. They are also sung in the Gurdwaras or congregations in simple duets. Spiritually blissful and full of love of God, they are capable of creating a state of ecstasy.
40 41Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
at their particular timings, seasons and occasions. They are also sung in the Gurdwaras or congregations in simple duets. Spiritually blissful and full of love of God, they are capable of creating a state of ecstasy. There are lessons also for living in a harmonious environment with others. There are no trifle stories or fairy tales or fanatic regulations or rituals etc. in these pages.
The Adi Granth was recompiled by the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh in 1704 at Sabo ki Talwandi, Damdama Sahib in order to incorporate the verses of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur. Guru Gobind Singh meticulously followed the pattern and order set bythe fifth Master. Before shedding his physical form, Guru Gobind Singh conferred the Guruship to this compilation, now called Guru Granth Sahib on
3 October, 1708 and emphatically ordained:
gurU gRMQ jI mwinE pRgt gurW kI dyh ]
Guru Granth Ji maaniyo Pragat Guraan ki deh.(Reckon Guru Granth Sahib as the visible living incarnationof the Gurus).
Obeying this commend, the Sikhs consider any controversy on these hymns, their order, pattern and the spellings as sacrilegious. For this reason, the uniqueness of Guru Granth Sahib is preserved. There is no way,that anyone would dare make any addition or subtraction to it, whatsoever.
The General Set Up1. There is an up-to-date table of contents in the initial
pages to guide the reader indicating the Ragas (Melodies) and the first line of each verse.
2. The Mool Mantra is the opening line as
<> siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBau inrvYru Akwl mUriq AjUnI
sYBM gur pRswid ] (1)Ik Onkaar Satnaam Kartaa Purkh(u) Nirbhau Nirvair(u) Akaal Moorat(i) AjooniSaibh'ng Gurprasad(i).
(God is one, Truth is His name, He is the Creator, Fearless, without Enmity, The Immortal, Self-Illumined and is obtainable by the grace of the Guru).
It is the basic creed and preamble of Sikh spiritualism. It is the creedal statement of Sikhi. This prelude defines the unfathomable God. We are lovingly advised by Guru Nanak to enshrine it in our mind and to meditate upon it to obtain higher spiritual consciousness. It has been repeated at the beginning of every new chapter of Raga also and at the beginning of some other hymns.
3. The foremost scripture we get is, Jap (Japuji) composed by Guru Nanak in 38 Pauries (stanzas). There is one Saloka (epilogue) at the beginning and another at the end. Reciting Japuji as our initial prayer every morning, gives us the realization of the virtues of God, the various universes and realms as also truths about ourselves. The Saloka in the beginning is:
] jp u ] Awid sc u jgu wid sc u ] h Y BI sc u nwnk hso I BI sc u ] (1)Jap(u). Aad(i) sach(u) jugaad(i) sach(u) H-ei bhee sach(u) Nanak hosee bhee sach(u).(The Lord was True in the primal beginning, True through all ages, is True here and now and True will be forever).
The end-Saloka is:
pvxu gurU pwxI ipqw mwqw Driq mhqu ]
idvsu rwiq duie dweI dwieAw KylY sgl jgqu ] (8)Pavanh(u) Guru paanhee pita Maata dharat(i) mahatt(u)Divas(u) raat(i) du-e(i) daa-ee da-e-aa khai-l-ei sagal jagat(u).(Air is our Guru, water our father and great earth isour mother: Day and night are the male and female nurses, in whose lap the whole world plays.)
4. After Jap, the next two hymns-sets, named Rehraas and Sohila, are the prayer hymns, we recite at sun-set (evening) and at night (before sleep) respectively.Our religious tradition has added some more hymns to these, for daily prayers and recitations.
5. The chapters of holy scriptures that follow are theones sung in different Ragas. Foremost, is Sri Raag(a very sweet melody) beginning with the hymns of Guru Nanak. Imagine when Guru Nanak had sung them sweetly to the strings of Mardana's Rabab, how the people, who gathered around him, listening, got immersed into an ocean of spirituality. They became his disciples.
6. Verses of the same Raga, composed by the second, third, fourth and ninth Gurus follow one by one.By ending all of their hymns with the word 'Nanak', these verses are attributed to be the work and benediction of the great Guru Nanak. All verses or hymns written by different authors, thus, reflect identical thoughts and the same blissful message of communion with the Lord. The readers continue to derive the very same bliss. There is not an iota of egotism or duality. Only feelings of humility and affection are apparent throughout. That is indeed an acknowledged basic concept of Sikhism.
After hymns of the Gurus, the hymns of the worthy saints Kabir, Farid, Ravidas, Namdev etc., follow in the same Raga in the same order (for each author there being a separate set). We recite them all with same respect and equipoise.
This order of editing the scriptures of the Gurus andthe saints is followed in all the Ragas. Thus we have a total of 31 Ragas running on 1,430 pages, in the presently published volume.
These Ragas are: Sri Raag, Maajh, Gauri, Aasa, Goojri, Devgandhari, Behaagra, Wadhans, Sorathh, Dhanaasari, Jaitsri, Todi, Bairaari, Tilang, Soohi, Bilaawal, Gaund, Raamakali, Natnaraain, Mali-Gaura, Maroo, Tukhaari, Kaidara, Bhairav, Basant, Saara'ng, Malhaar, Kaanra, Kalyan, Parbhaati and Jai-Jaiwa'nti.
7. Of the total of 4956 Shabads (hymns) by the Gurus, the contribution of each one is separately given below: Guru Nanak-974, Guru Angad-62, Guru Amar Das-907, Guru Ram Das-635, Guru Arjan-2218 and Guru Tegh Bahadur-115. And, of the 29 Bhagats, Bhatts and Gursikhs, the distribution of hymns is: Kabir-541, Farid-134, Namdev-60, Tarlochan-4, Dhanna-3, Baini-3, Bhikhan-2, Jaidev-2; Parmanand, Ramanand, Peepa, Sain, Sadna, Soordas haveone hymn each; Sundar-6, Bhatt-123, Satta and Balwand-8. This makes a total of 938 Shabads.In addition, there is one composition called Raagmala.
8. Towards the end of Guru Granth Sahib, afterSlok Mahalla Nauvan of Guru Tegh Bahadur,is Guru Arjan's conclusive hymn, noted as Mu'ndaavani Mahalla Pa'njwa (Mundhaa or Mu'dran means 'closing' hymn). It reads:
Mool Mantra is the basic creed and preamble of Sikh spiritualism. It is the creedal statement of Sikhi. This prelude defines the unfathomable God. We are lovingly advised by Guru Nanak to enshrine it in our mind and to meditate upon it to obtain higher spiritual consciousness.
42 43Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
Qwl ivic iqMin vsqU peIE squ sMqoKu vIcwro ] (1429)Thaal vich(i) tin-n(i) wastoo pa-ee-o Satt(u) santokh(u) veechaaro.(In the salver are lying three things; truth, contentment and contemplation.)
And then, there is the final hymn by Guru Arjan, which depicts the utmost humility in an individual:
qyrw kIqw jwqo nwhI mYno jogu kIqoeI ] (1429)Tera keeta jaato naahee(n) Mai-no jog(u) keetoee.(I have not appreciated what You have done for me, Lord; only You can make me worthy.)
Raagmaala is the last composition. It is an anthology of Ragas. The authorship of this has not been mentioned and a complete number of the 31 Ragas are not mentioned therein. Some of the Ragas not included in Guru Granth Sahib are also mentioned. Raagmala is read, however, at the end of non-stop reading of Guru Granth Sahib invariably, by tradition.
Guru Granth Sahib, authentic in all respectsWe must gratefully appreciate Guru Arjan for his strictsystem of compilation, which is highly 'infringe-proof'. Each composition of every author is carefully numbered for its verses and topic and each set of every chapter is also reckoned, for the total hymns, for the topic etc.Thus there is no way, anyone can enter in its house to add, take-away or disturb. For this reason, the Scripture and the hymns of Guru Granth Sahib, stay Unique, Authentic and preserved as original. This is our Guru - the Shabad Guru - beyond any doubt.
Bani of Guru Gobind SinghGuru Gobind Singh, the final compiler of Guru Granth Sahib, was himself a great holy poet, who had written a great many high caliber scriptures, notable being Jaap,
Swaeeye, Akal Ustat, Zafarnama (The letter to Aurangzeb, in Persian) etc, which we read with full reverence. Guruji could, but he 'did not' add these hymns of his in Guru Granth Sahib, while incorporating the scriptures of Guru Tegh Bahadur, for the reason best known to him. It is not for us to reason 'why', because, as his disciples, we are supposed to accept his will as supreme. He however, prescribed Jaap,Tav-Prasaad Swaeeye and Chaupaee to be read at the time of Amrit Sanskaar, along with Japuji and Anand Sahib. Every Amritdhari Singh has to recite these five scripts every morning. They also recite Rehras in the evening and Sohila before going to bed (being the part of Rehat Maryada).
Guru Gobind Singh had in his company, 52 scholars and
poets, who used to read their high class poetic
compositions, which were highly appreciated by him and
the Sangat. The Guru deputed the scholars and poets to
translate from old Sanskrit and other languages into the
commonly understood language for general benefit. Thus
he created a great treasure of literature. But that was all
scattered and in different volumes at the time. When, at
the request of treacherous Mughal and Hindu Rajas,
he agreed to vacate Anandpur fort, he was attacked from
behind. The fleeing Sikhs, carried with them some
volumes and some pages. These were later, a long period
after Guru Gobind Singh shed his physical form, compiled
into one single volume and published as Dasam Granth.
Although an equally voluminous Dasam Granth is revered
with respect but Sikhs are ordained by Guru Gobind
Singh himself to give the status of the living Guru only to
Guru Granth Sahib:
AwigAw BeI Akwl kI qbY clwXo pMQ[
sB isKn ko hukm hY gurU mwinXo gRMQ[
gurU gRMQ jI mwnXo pRgt gurW kI dyh[
jo pRB imlbo chY Koj sbid mY lyh[
Aagiaa bha-ee Akaal kee Tab-ei chalaaio panthSabh Sikhan ko hukam h-ei Guru maanio GranthGuru Granth Ji maanio Pargat Guran kee d-aihJo Prabh milbo chah-ei Khoj Sabad m-ei l-aih.(The Eternal Father willed and I raised the Panth. All my
Sikhs are hereby ordained to accept the Granth as their
Preceptor. Have faith in the holy Granth as your Master and
consider it the visible manifestation of the Gurus. He who has
a pure heart will seek guidance from its Holy words.)
Guru Gobind Singh, the final compiler of Guru Granth Sahib, was himself a great holy poet, who had written a great many high caliber scriptures, notable being Jaap, Swaeeye, Akal Ustat, Zafarnama (The letter to Aurangzeb, in Persian) etc, which we read with full reverence. Guruji could, but he 'did not' add these hymns of his in Guru Granth Sahib.
44Eternal Voice
Dear Saadh Sangat Ji
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji ki Fateh.
When the Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh Ji reached
Talwandi Sabo, after the battle of Muktsar Sahib, he
untied his Kamarkassa (the waist-band). Saadh Sangat
started calling this holy place as Damdama Sahib.
Gurdwara Manji Sahib also adorns the place, which
was once visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. From
Damdama Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji sent 25 Sikhs
to Bhai Dhir Mal for collecting Sri Granth Sahib Ji so
that the Baani of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji could be
added to complete Sri Granth Sahib Ji. Dhir Mal plainly
refused and said:
“If Guru Gobind Singh Ji is so capable, then why
doesn't he compile the complete Granth Sahib. I won't
give the Granth.” When the Sikhs communicated this
harsh and unexpected reply of Dhir Mal to Guru Ji,
he went into deep meditation. After this, he dictated
the entire Sri Granth Sahib, while Bhai Mani Singh Ji
acted as his scribe. The Guru also added the Baanis of
the ninth Guru at the appropriate places thereby
completing the Sri Granth Sahib.
In due course of time, the Dashmesh Pita installed
Sri Granth Sahib Ji as Guru Granth Sahib at Abachal
Nagar, Sri Hazur Sahib, in October, 1708, before
shedding his mortal frame.
Chaudhary Dalla of Sabo ki Talwandi (Sri Damdama
Sahib), who was the virtual ruler of that region,
became a devout disciple of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
He got initiated into the Khalsa fold with Amrit, along
with his entire family, through Guru Ji and performed
commendable service to the Guru. Once, while
blessing in divine Will, Guru Ji said, “Look Bhai Dalla!
Canals are flowing.” Bhai Dalla replied, “Maharaj! This
area is desert and full of sand only. You are mistaking
it as canals.” But Guru Ji's prophecy has been realized
and today canals are irrigating the whole region.
Guru Ji again said, “Look Bhai Dalla! Farms are full of
mangoes, oranges and grapes.” Bhai Dalla again
replied, “Maharaj! These are plants, bearing poppy
pods only. You are mistaking these for fruits.” Guru Ji
said, “You are not able to see but there will be
abundance of farms, full of fruits in this region.”
With the blessings of Guru Ji, this region is now
covered with fruit farms all over.
Then Guru Ji blessed the third time, “Bhai Dalla! Fields
full of wheat crops are flourishing.” Bhai Dalla replied,
“These are wild bushes. How can wheat crops be
produced here?” Guru Ji smilingly said, “Bhai Dalla! At
the moment, you lack the divine vision and are not
able to see the future.” As per Guru Ji's blessing, lush
green fields are yielding huge wheat crops now.
After finishing the scribing of complete Sri Granth
Sahib, as per the divine order, Guru Ji began
sharpening wooden reeds. Throwing these into the
Sarovar, the Guru uttered the fourth blessing, “As Kashi
at Banaras is the center of learning of ancient India,
a great center of divine learning will emerge here, this
will be Guru ki Kashi”:
(Gurbilas Patshahi 10)
Eh h-ei pragat hamaaree kaasee Parh h-ei(n) ihaan dhor mat(i)raaseeL-ai-khak gunee kavind giaanee Budh(i)sindh(u) hv-ei h-ei(n) itt aanee.
ieh hY pRgt hmwrI kwsI [ pVHhYN iehW For miqrwsI [
lyKk gunI kivMd igAwnI [ bu`iDisMDu hYÍhYN ieq AwnI ]
Baba Iqbal Singh Ji's Visionfor
Guru ki Kashi Akal UniversityDamdama Sahib
Baba Iqbal Singh Ji's Visionfor
Guru ki Kashi Akal UniversityDamdama Sahib
46 47Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
From here, great scholars will spread the divine
message of Guru Granth Sahib among the people in the
whole world in their respective languages resulting in
universal peace and brotherhood:
(Panth Prakash Giani Gian Singh)
Dhigg taanhe Talwandi k-ai Kanshi racho(n) Jahaan b-ei-l parh-ai hoe budh udaaro(n)Granth uchaar karon teh b-ei-th k-ai Beerh so-oo jagg maahe bithaaro(n).
But in the post-Guru Ji era, with the passage of time,
the Sarovar's condition deteriorated and Gurdwara
Sahib also could not be managed properly. It was then
that the Saadh Sangat and many holy persons
requested Sant Attar Singh Ji to perform Sewa of
Darbar Sahib and the Sarovar of Sri Damdama Sahib.
Sant Ji initiated this Sewa promptly. Before this, he had
performed extensive Sewa of Mastuana Sahib but
never approached anyone for monetary assistance. In
the present case, he was so fascinated and drawn to
the Sewa of Guru ki Kashi, Damdama Sahib that he
would say, “Brothers! This is your lifetime opportunity
to obtain blessings of Dashmesh Pita through Sewa of
Damdama Sahib.”
Once, a Sikh devotee visited Sant Ji with a heavy bale.
It contained his life-time savings in cash and jewellery
iFg qWih qlvMfI ky kWSI rcoN jhW bYl pVy hoie bu`D audwroN[
gRMQ aucwr kroN qih bYT ky bIV soaU jg mwih ibQwroN[
of gold and silver. He offered all this wealth towards
the Sewa of Damdama Sahib. Some people among the
congregation informed Sant Ji that this Sikh devotee
had donated all his assets for Guru ki Kashi. In a divine
mood, Sant Ji thus blessed the Sikh: “O Guru's Sikh!
The Guru has emancipated you of the cycle of
rebirths.” The congregation was wonderstruck to know
that by donating a small amount to Sant Attar Singh Ji,
the Sikh had earned the emancipation, which ascetics
and hermits are unable to achieve through the
meditation and penances of several lives. Great is the
devotion and sacrifice for the house of Guru Nanak,
through which one gets blessed and emancipated!
This shows how intensely inclined and drawn was Sant
Attar Singh Ji to perform Sewa of Damdama Sahib.
At Shimla, Sant Ji used to visit every house for the
Sewa and would invariably utter, "Bhai! Give your
Daswandh in Sewa and obtain the blessings of the
Tenth Master. You will never find such a beggar
again." Hearing about Sant Ji visiting people, some
chieftains and affluent persons requested him, “Sant Ji!
Why do you ask for Sewa by going from door to door?
Just tell us. We will get the whole Sewa completed in
no time.” Hearing this, Sant Ji's face reddened with a
divine glow. He said, “This shows your arrogance due
to your wealth and it is not acceptable to the Guru,
who can make happen the waves of gold from Shimla
to Damdama Sahib. I only want to make the life of
these householder devotees blessed by including their
hard-earned money with righteous means towards the
Sewa of Damdama Sahib”. This was Sant Ji's last year
of worldly existence, in which he completed the Sewa
of Sri Damdama Sahib.
Saadh Sangat Ji! On his visit to Baru Sahib,
the Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab, was so much
impressed that he expressed his wish to establish Akal
University of Baru Sahib in Punjab. This divine notion
developed in him in accordance with Guru Gobind
Singh Ji's blessings of Guru ki Kashi. As per the divine
Will, Baba Mittha Singh Ji donated 38 acres of land of
Bunga Mastuana, in Damdama Sahib to The Kalgidhar
Society for the noble cause of establishing Akal
University. The Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab laid
the foundation-stone of Akal University on 14
December, 2011.
Saadh Sangat Ji! Whosoever gives at least his
Daswandh for 5 years for Akal University, Guru ki
Kashi, for the manifestation of the fourth blessing of
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, will obtain the blessings of the
Guru and set out on the path of emancipation. Apart
from various other courses, the infrastructure for a
medical college and hospital at Guru ki Kashi, will cost
around 500 crores ($100 million.)
This University will comprise an extensive department
in which Guru Granth Sahib will be translated into all
major world languages. It will produce divine scholars,
who will spread to all corners of the world and convey
the message of Guru Granth Sahib to the natives in
their respective languages. Hence, being benefitted
from Gurbani, they will be able to make their useful
contribution towards this noble cause, thereby making
their lives meaningful. Everyone should contribute by
rendering service with body, mind and wealth (Tan,
Man, Dhan) to obtain the blessings of the Guru.
The Kalgidhar Society, Baru Sahib, having successfully
setup 111 Akal Academies and Eternal University (that
runs 24 courses); has endeavored to muster whole-
hearted support and great response from the Saadh
Sangat to manifest the 4th blessing of Guru ki Kashi at
Talwandi Sabo. Government's approval for setting up
Akal University Guru ki Kashi has already been
obtained. In reverence to the Tenth Master's fourth
blessing, The Kalgidhar Society will also endeavor to
establish an International Center for Comparative
Religious Studies.
Besides this, Akal University, Guru ki Kashi will develop
collaborative academic programs with domestic and
foreign universities for new and novel technologies
and co-operative programs with local, national and
international industries and develop program to train
manpower to fulfill the needs of Punjab, India and
international companies.
I personally look upon this as my duty to deliver this
project for the benefit of mankind. Since this is a
massive project. I would require and plead for the
support of one and all.
Let us all contribute generously by rendering Sewa
with body, mind and wealth whole-heartedly to earn
the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
48 49Eternal Voice Feb - April, 2013
It is human nature to commit follies. God's grace always pardons our sins.
hmro shwau sdw sd BUln qum@ro ibrdu piqq auDrn ] (828)Hamro sahaao sadaa sadd bhoolan Tumro birad(u) patit udhran.
(It is my nature to make mistakes, forever and ever; it is Your Natural Way to emancipate sinners.)
Environment protection is our moral duty.We must treat and respect Nature like our parents.
pvxu gurU pwxI ipqw mwqw Driq mhqu ] idvsu rwiq duie dweI dwieAw KylY sgl jgqu ] (8)Pavanh(u) Guru paanhee pitta Maata dharat(i) mahatt(u). Divas(u) raat(i) du-e daa-ee da-e-aa Khel-ei sagal jagat(u).
(Air is our Guru, water our father and great earth is our mother.Day and night are the male and female nurses, in whose lap the whole world plays.)
All our material possessions belong to God.We are merely His custodians during this short stay on earth.
kbIr myrw muJ mih ikCu nhI jo ikCu hY so qyrw ] qyrw quJ kau saupqy ikAw lwgY myrw ] (1375)Kabir mairaa mujh meh kichh(u) nahee(n) Jo kichh(u) h-ei so tairaa. Tairaa tujh kao(u) saopatei Kiaa laagai mairaa.
(Kabir, within myself, nothing is mine Whatever there is, O Lord, it is Yours,If I surrender to You, what is already Yours, what does it cost me?)
God's Will is Supreme and should be accepted gracefully.
ijs kI bsqu iqsu AwgY rwKY ] pRB kI AwigAw mwnY mwQY ] (268)
Jis kee basat(u) tis(u) aag-ei raakh-ei. Prabh kee aagiaa maan-ei maath-ei.(When one offers to the Lord, that which belongs to Him.
He willingly abides by the Will of God.)
Real service is the one, which is performed selflessly. That service only is rewarded.
syvw krq hoie inhkwmI ] iqs kau hoq prwpiq suAwmI ] (286)Sewa karat ho-e nihkaami Tis kau hot prapat(i) suaamee.
(He, who serves without desire for the reward, attains to the Lord.)
For seeking God's grace, one should never break any heart.
jy qau iprIAw dI isk ihAwau n Twhy khI dw ] (1384)J-ai tao(u) piree-aa dee sik hi-aa-o(u) na tthaah-ai kahee daa.
(If you seek your Beloved God, don't hurt anyone's feelings.)
Compiled by Inderjeet Kaur
Pearls ofWisdomPearls ofWisdomPearls ofWisdom
God can be reached only through love; and to love His creation is to love God.
swcu khoN sun lyhu sBY ijn pRym kIE iqn hI pRB pwieE ]
Saach kahoun sunn leh(u) sabh-ei Jin prem keeo tin hee Prabh paaio (Guru Gobind Singh - Taw Prasad Sawaeeye)(Only he, who loves mankind, attains Almighty.)
Human life is the greatest gift of God on us. This rare privilegeand the highest creation of God should not be wasted in material pursuits.
kbIr mwns jnmu dulµBu hY hoie n bwrY bwr ] (1366)Kabir maanas janam(u) dulambh(u) h-ei Hoe(i) na baar-ei baar.
(Kabir, it is so difficult to obtain this human body; it does not just come over and over again.)
God is all-pervading and we need to search Him within ourselves.
Gr hI mih AMimRqu BrpUru hY mnmuKw swdu n pwieAw ] (644)Ghar hee meh Amrit(u) bharpoor(u) h-ei Manmukhaa(n) saad(u) na paaiaa.
[The home within is filled with Ambrosial Nectar, but the self-willed (Manmukh) does not get to taste it.]
The five vices cannot go unpunished because unlike on earth,justice prevails in the court of the Lord.
mwxsw ikAhu dIbwxhu koeI nis Bij inklY hir dIbwxhu koeI ikQY jwieAw ] (591)
Maanhsaa kiahu deebaanhaho(u) Koee nas(i) bhaj(i) nikl-ei Har(i) deebaanhaho(u) Koee kithh-ei jaaiaa.(One may escape the worldly courts, but where will he go in the Lord's Kingdom?)
Never usurp any body's right - by force, deceit, treachery, oppression or cruelty.
hku prwieAw nwnkw ausu sUAr ausu gwie ] guru pIru hwmw qw Bry jw murdwru n Kwie ] (141)Hak(u) paraa-i-aa Nanaka uss(u) soo-ar uss(u) gaa-e Gur(u) peer(u) haamaa taa bhar-ai jaa murdaar(u) na khaa-e.
(Taking away the rights of others is the greatest sin - akin to eating beef for a Hindu and pork for a Muslim.)
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