Wahegurujikakhalsawahegurujikifateh

One time during the summer some sangat were sat under a tree outside a Gurudwara Sahib talking about the weather. As they spoke about the heat one of the sangat members said that he wished they could get some badam from somewhere so that they could make some cool Badam Milk.

All the sangat members agreed with him but began to mourn the fact that badam were currently not in season. As they said this one moorakh sat over there saidwhile laughing, “Why don't you climb up this tree and shake it? Badam will surely come falling down!” (In reference to the test set by Satguru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj for Bhai Lehna Ji)

Sant Teja Singh Ji whowas walking near by overheard what the moorakh said and immediately told him not to utter such stupid remarks. Santji then began to tell the sangat that the house of Dhan Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj lacks nothing as Satguru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj is Nirankar himself.

After saying this Santji began to shake the tree and badam began to fall down. Santji then very lovingly collected all the badam and made Badam Milk which he offered to Sant Baba Attar Singh Ji.

When Sant Attar Singh Ji saw the Badam Milk he looked at Sant Teja Singh Ji with surprise and told him where did you get the badam from? Sant Teja Singh then narrated the events above. Sant Attar Singh Ji admired Sant Teja Singh Ji's love for Guru Sahib but also gave an updesh about using such atmik shaktis.

Khalsaji never doubt the events that unfold till today at the beautiful feet of Dhan Dhan Dhan Dhan Dhan Satguru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj.

Loose translation based on katha, originally transcribed in a book written about the Jeevani of Sant Baba Teja Singh Ji.

Wahegurujikakhalsawahegurujikifateh

Setha, Gobinda and Bhaga wrre three rich merchants. They lived at Chaniot. Chaniot is a small town in Pakistan. All the three brothers were Hindus and the offered Sharadhs every year. They gave corn, clothes and coins to the Brahmans as Dakshana. Sometimes they wondered if all these things were really reached their forefathers in the next world.

One day they came to Guru Arjan to find out his views about the Sharadhs and Dakshana. "O Guru," said Gobinda "We give Dakshana to the Brahmans in the name of our dear forefathers every year. Tell us whether all this reaches our forefathers or not?"

"No man can tell whether your forefathers are in heaven or hell." said the Guru smilingly. "No one can tell which Brahman will go to heaven and which to hell. Moreover even if a Brahman reaches your forefathers, how can he recognize them out of the millions of dead people? Stop thinking about such things and stop offering Sharadhs. Work hard, tell the truth, help others and remember God."

The three brothers agreed to act upon the Guru's advice and were satisfied, but there was another man, named Chuhar, who couldn't understand the Guru's advice. He said "Sir, how can a merchant like myself and people like Gobinda always speak the truth? Merchants have to tell many lies between sunrise and sunset every day."

“Go back to your village, Chuhar,” said the Guru. “Do your trading and try to act upon my advice. Everyday count your lies and good deeds, write them down on a piece of paper and show me that paper at the end of every month.” Chuhar agreed to act upon the Guru’s advice and went away.

From that day onwards. Chuhar counted and wrote down his lies and good deeds on a piece of paper. At the end of a month he came with it and showed it to the Guru The Guru asked him to read it out to the Sikhs and Chuhar did so. He had done no good deeds and had told a number of lies. He felt small and thought that he should have done better. The Guru however smiled and said, "Chuhar, leave your paper here and keep on trying."

At the end of the second month, Chuhar had really done some good deeds and had told fewer lies. And so it went on. At the end of the eighth month, Chuhar's lies and good deeds were added up. This showed that although he had done only a few good deeds, he had told no lies. Everybody was surprised. Guru Arjan said, "All advice falls flat on those who never think of acting upon it. People have been listening to good advice for thousands of years. The important thing is to act upon it. Cart-loads of books and all the learning in the world are of no use if we do not care to follow them."

All the Sikhs understood the Guru's advice and promised to act upon it.
"As a child is satisfied by drinking milk; As a poor man is happy on finding wealth; As a thirsty man is refreshed by drinking water; So is my soul happy with God."
(Guru Arjan)

"To forget God is death;
To meditate on His Name is life.
Nanak, God is found in the company of the saints."
(Guru Arjan)

The people of Punjab, both Hindus and Muslims, rose against the terrorist rule of the Nawab (Governor) of Sirhind. The Nawab was killed in 1710, i.e., just half a decade after he murdered the two innocent sons of Guru Gobind Singh. This brought a rule of peace and justice in the area of Punjab, east of Amritsar.

To again take over the control of Punjab from Banda, a strong army was sent from Delhi. The army generals feared to fight a battle with Banda, hence they tricked him with the pretension of having a dialogue with him for peace. They unarmed him and arrested him. His 700 men were also made prisoners along with a teenage boy, Hakikat Singh. All of them were taken to Delhi and asked to surrender to the Emperor. They refused bluntly. The government ordered the murder of everyone. About 100 Sikhs were murdered every day near Chandni Chauk, Delhi.

The mother of Hakikat Singh, whose only support and hope of life was her son, submitted a petition to the government to save the life of the boy. She narrated that her son was not a Sikh but was there in the Sikh camp when he was arrested. The Emperor ordered the release of the boy if the boy himself denied being a Sikh. The mother dashed with the release orders to the place where the Sikhs were being murdered. Her son was still waiting for his turn to be killed. Presenting the Farman - the order of the emperor - to the Kazi (Judge) supervising the murdering of the Sikhs, she requested the release of her son.

The Kazi called Hakikat Singh and asked him if he was a Sikh. The boy replied that he certainly was a Sikh. His mother intervened and told the Kazi that the boy was her son and she knew that he was not a Sikh. The boy emphasized that he was a committed Sikh. The son and the mother started arguing with each other. Khafi Khan, a Muslim historian, an eye witness who recorded these horrifying killings, was very surprised to hear those arguments.

The mother again asserted that her son was not a Sikh. However, the boy raising his voice retorted immediately that his mother was telling a lie in order to save his life. His father was dead, and he was the only support for her. Being a Sikh, he wanted to be murdered without further delay so that he may not be left behind by his Sikh associates already murdered. Before another word could be said by his mother, the boy was standing with his head bent before the butcher. The sword in the hand of the butcher lowered and Hakikat Singh attained his martyrdom.

Such blood curdling events of Sikh history made Sikhs stronger and even more fearless of the oppression let loose against them. Even today Sikhs don't hesitate to die for justice and human rights.

Even under a threat to their life, Sikhs do not tell a lie. They love to live as Sikhs or, they would prefer to die.

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh



SINGHS WAIT FOR THE IMPERIAL ARMY

They solidified the bunga and constructed defenses around the bunga. After getting all set, they just sat there together and did massive paath and bhagtee. They used to do paath all day long and since they knew that their time was near, they had no other thoughts coming to them. All they cared about was paath, paath and more paath. One or two singhs out of them did up the langar work and the rest just stayed immersed in paath.

They had already chalked out the strategies to combat the Turks and they had assembled any weapons they could find. Many days passed before the army moved in and all that time singhs accumulated massive Naam and Gurbani treasure for themselves.

SITUATION AT LAHORE DARBAR

The Patti army went straight to Lahore and narrated to the Nawab all that had occurred with them. They told the Lahore ruler how Hakim Khan�s nephew got killed by Baghel Singh and how others got injured and killed.

Hearing this the ruler of Lahore got furious. He said that he had thought that he had got all rebelling singhs killed, then where did this (Bhai) Tara Singh come from. He said that he had got tired of killing the singhs who just would not finish. More he killed them, more strong they were getting.

According to Panth Parkash, the Kaazi replied by saying that with every drop of blood that falls on the ground, one singh was born as a result of it. He said that it would be best to kill them in some other way. He said that it would be best to capture them alive and imprison them instead of killing them.

Hearing this remark from the Kaazi, one of the soldiers who knew how hard it was to capture singhs alive, said that it would be most suitable if the Kaazi himself took the lead and captured some singhs. He said that this Kaazi had no idea what kind of fighters the singhs were. If he had any idea, he would not have talked about capturing them alive.

Hearing this from the soldier, the Kaazi (Islamic law-maker), got very embarrassed and totally got quiet. He knew that he could not face any singh in the battlefield. His head went downwards in shame.

After this the Nawab of Lahore, challenged all to volunteer to capture Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan. He challenged asking them if there was any warrior who would be willing to capture or kill Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan. When no one volunteered to come forward, the Nawab chose Moman Khan to take lead and capture or kill Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan.

MOMAN KHAN MARCHES TOWARDS SINGH JEE

Moman Khan had the best of the Lahori soldiers � 2200 in total, all cavalry. He himself was seated on an elephant. He moved out of Lahore and camped just outside Lahore to chalk out strategy to fight Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan.

Some residents of Lahore who sympathized with the Singhs heard that Moman Khan was about to leave Lahore to capture Singh jee. They decided to send a messenger to Singh jee to evacuate the Bunga and come back later, once the things cooled down. These messengers reached the Singh jee and pleaded with him to evacuate his bunga and leave.

When Singh jee heard this, his face became red with Bir Rass. He said that he could not wait to combat the Turks. He said that he was having hard time waiting for the Turks to arrive. He said that he was not going anywhere and would attain shaheedi right at his bunga. He declared that Satguru jee had shown him clearly that his time to attain shaheedi had come.

Hearing such fearless response from Singh jee, the messengers came back little depressed thinking about the shaheedi of their beloved singh � Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan. The singhs with Singh jee got in even more chardi kala when they heard Bhai Tara Singh jee in such high spirits.

MOMAN KHAN REACHES SINGH JEE�S BUNGA

Moman Khan decided to attack the singhs at midnight, hoping to catch them while sleeping. As the army reached the outskirts of Pind Vaan, they met a Jatt of Uppal caste, who was a big enemy of the singhs. He assured the imperial army of leading them to Singh jee.

Moman Khan was leading the army but he did not want to fight the Singhs. He called two of his confidants and asked them to go and tell Singh jee that it would be best if they avoided any clash and that the imperial army would return back, if they did not find him there. The two confidants arrived at the Bunga and pleaded with Singh jee to leave the Bunga and that the army would return back immediately. They asked him why he wanted to lose his life for nothing.

Singh jee whose face was shining because of his massive bhagtee, responded to them by saying that maybe what they were saying was right but that he had made up his mind for shaheedi and that he was not willing to leave his bunga out of fear of anyone. He said that now the eyes of whole panth were on him and that if he backed off, he would not be able to show his face to the singhs again. Saying this he sent them back with full respect.

HUMAN BODY GETS PURIFIED WITH WOUNDS FROM WEAPONS

A Singh too reached Bhai Tara Singh jee and pleaded with him to leave. He said that he was only concerned about one thing. He said that he did not care dying or living but he had one wish in his mind. He said that Bhai Tara Singh jee had done too much sewa of Singhs living with him and that it was now singhs� turn to do sewa of Bhai Tara Singh jee. He said that many singhs wanted to do sewa of Bhai Tara Singh jee and this way get their body purified.

Singh jee whose face was so bright that day that it was hard to even look at it, did a very precious bachan (saying). He declared that the bodies of Singhs and warriors get pure and sacred when they are cut by the weapons in the battlefield. In Panth Parkash, it is quoted as follows:

TAU SINGH JEE, UNN KAHEE SUNAAYE||
DEH PAVITTER HOYE, SHASTER LAGAAYE||

He further said that when the weapons cut the body of a singh in the battlefield, the sins of the singhs are washed away as a result of this.

SINGHS BEAT THE NAGAARA TO DECLARE WAR

After hearing Bhai Tara Singh jee, all singhs said a huge jaikaara and beat Nagaara along with that. Their jaikaara was so loud that it reached the Turks who were quite away from there. Many of the Turks felt their senses failing them after hearing the jaikaara of the singhs. Many wanted to leave as they did not want to lose their lives fighting off the Singhs. Conscience of many soldiers was pricking them for killing innocent Singhs for no reason.

On the othe side, Singh jee ordered the Singhs to leave the bunga and stand in the battlefield, ready to face the Turks. From both sides the warriors got ready to fight to death.

HAND TO HAND COMBAT BEGINS

First of all, Bhai Bulaaka Singh moved forward to stop the advancing army. He fought very valiantly and killed many. Finally he was killed by a arrow that hit his chest.

The singhs now stood behind their first defense line and as the Turks moved forward, the Singhs pushed them back. It was still midnight and it was hard to see clearly and this went in the favour of the singhs. Then the Turks decided to move forward using their cavalry. They moved forward with full force and destroyed the first defense of the singhs but the singhs still fought them back and came to the second defense. Many Turks died in this first attack. All singhs except for Bulaaka Singh were still alive.

The imperial army was extremely hesitant to move forward and do hand to hand combat. They started shooting from far and some singhs got shaheed this way.

A WARRIOR CHALLENGES SINGH JEE

Moman Khan was getting increasingly impatient at the foot-dragging of his army. A very brave officer under Moman Khan sensed Moman Khan�s impatience and moved his horse forward. He loudly challenged Singh jee to come out and fight him alone. He moved his horse forward fearlessly. Singh jee asked his singhs not to attack him and loudly asked him to come forward and that he would meet him soon.

As he was moving forward, he saw Singh jee. He took out his bow and shot an arrow aiming Singh jee�s Dumaala. Singh jee was too fast for the warrior. He came forward like a lightening and caught hold of the horse�s reins. He noticed that the officers� body could not be seen as it was covered with armour all over. The only thing that was without cover was the small part of his face. Singh jee hit his mouth area with his sword and managed to give it a deep cut there. The officer fled back.

�TARA SINGH IS GIVING OUT FREE PAANS�

When Moman Khan saw his officer�s mouth red with blood, he jokingly said, �Are you eating paan.�. Paan is a leaf that non-Sikhs eat. It makes one�s mouth red and one spits out the red residue of Paan. It is a very popular candy for non-Sikhs. When others heard this remark they all started laughing.

The officer felt insulted and shot back at Moman Khan saying, �yes I am eating Paan. Tara Singh is giving out free paans and if you want one, you too should move forward to get it. Why are you talking standing so far from the battlefield?� He said it in such a hilarious way that the whole imperial army started laughing. This dialogue became so famous in Punjab that to date it is remembered by all Punjabis, particularly the people of Majha zone (around Amritsar, Lahore).

SINGHS BATTLE THE TURK ON ELEPHANT

Another one of the officers who too had an elephant, thought of moving forward and killing the Singhs by crushing them under the elephant. He and another warrior got on the elephant and moved the elephant forward very fast.

When the singhs saw the elephant coming towards them, they got excited over getting an opportunity to fight off an elephant. The Turks on the elephant were shooting arrows at the Singhs. Bhima Singh moved forward like a lion moving to hunt. Bhima Singh was so strong that he caught hold of the elephant by his ear and made him sit right there. Then with his sword he killed the driver (mahaavat) of the elephant. The driver too hit back Bhima Singh before dying and Bhima Singh got unconscious with the blow. The Singhs pulled him back to the Bunga.

The elephant got up again and moved towards the Singhs. Now Singh jee said to Bhai Lakhmir Singh, �Do you not remember those days when we both used to herd cows and buffalo�s together? You used to jump across lining up two buffalo�s. How big is this elephant anyways? Why don�t you jump up on the elephant and kill the Turks sitting on it�.

Bhai Lakhmir Singh responded, �This exactly what I was thinking Singh jee. If you look at me with an eye of grace, I will do just what you have said�.

Saying this Bhai Lakhmir Singh jee jumped on the elephant and killed the two turks sitting on it. The elephant got scared and ran back towards to imperial army. When Moman Khand saw the elephant without the turks, he knew what had happened.

MOMAN KHAN CALLS IN POORBIYE (RESIDENTS OF BIHAR, UP)

Moman Khan decided to test his Poorbiye soldiers who were known for their valour. Their name were Mansha Ram and Daiya Ram and their titles were �ikk Hazaari� (officer to whom one thousand soldiers report). They both moved forward along with a group of selected soldiers to fight off the Singhs. Three Singhs came out to combat them. These three singhs killed both Mansha Ram and Daiya Ram and the army that came with them fled after that.

SHAHEEDI OF BHAI TARA SINGH JEE AND OTHER SINGHS

After the fall of Mansha Ram and Daiya Ram, the soldiers of the imperial army got depressed and did not want to fight. Moman Khan could not have gone back empty handed. By now, sun had risen and there was more light now.

The Turks now could see the singhs more clearly and they decided not to move forward but shoot the singhs from far. Most of the 22 singhs by now had gone shaheed. The remaining Singhs decided to attack the imperial army voluntarily.

When Bhai Tara Singh jee entered the imperial army, there was a storm in there. He killed countless before he was shot from far. He still would not fall and kept fighting and slicing the soldiers. It was felt as if he was accompanied by thousands of more hands. He sent several to Dharam Rai and finally attained shaheedi there.

THE AFTERMATH

The shaheedi of Bhai Tara Singh jee rejuvenated the dejected Sikhs after the shaheedi of Baba Banda Singh jee and many came into the fold of Khalsa and regrouped again to fight off the foreign rule in Punjab. Bhai Tara Singh jee will always be remembered by Khalsa and a memorial in village Vaan has been errected in his sweet memory.

END OF SAAKHI

The story of Bhai Tara Singh jee Vaan is most inspiring to the Sikhs. Bhai Sahib was greatest of all and I don�t have the capability to describe even the dust of his feet. What can I write about him? I know that I have not been able to do justice to his story, but I have tried nevertheless. Sangat Baksh lave.

Daas,
Kulbir Singh

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

Rangalay Sajjan: Bhai Giaan Singh Jee
By Pr. Gurmukh Singh in Say Piaaray Mael
Translated by Admin www.tapoban.org

Introduction

Bhai Giaan Singh jee was a naam-loving Gursikh and a very big lover of keertan. He was born in village Joieeaa(n) in Sargodha (now Pakistan). He was born in 1885. The area he was born in was on the banks of the Jehlum. He was the middle child of four boys and one girl. The children were quite young when his mother passed away.

Bhai Giaan Singh received bhagtee almost like an inheritance from his father Bhai Amar Singh. Bhai Giaan Singh used to take everything as God's will and remained satisfied in it. It was his nature not to slander anyone or speak badly about anyone nor have enmity. At the same time, he was also not close with any worldly friends. He would spend his time in satsangat with the other Gursikhs. If someone came to him and started to gossip he would simply say, "Everything is in his will. Whatever he does, he does it for our own good."

Once Bhai Sahib's son became ill with typhoid and his fever was over 105 degrees. The doctors said that the child could only survive if his kesh were cut. Bhai Giaan Singh answered that this could not be done. He said, "this is God's gift and he can take it back when he wishes. But will we be able to get the Guru's blessings by making him a patit?" It turned out that the child recovered by himself. Sachay Paatshah tests our faith and this was such an occasion. Many other tests came in his life and he passed them with steadfast courage.

Tests of Faith

Bhai Giaan Singh was an A-Class Guard on the NorthWestern Railway. He was posted on the Frontier Mail train. This train used to run from Peshawar to Bombay. Bhai Sahib stayed at Rawalpindi at this time. One day, a jealous co-worker betrayed him very badly. He gave a bribe to a railway worker and had him detach the last compartment from the rest of the train. The Guard waved his flag and the train set off. At the next station, Bhai Sahib was informed that one compartment had been left behind. For a normal, worldly person, such an incident would have been very worrisome but Bhai Sahib remained calm in the divine-will. This was a very serious incident and he could have been fired from his job, but he did not waver. He was suspended pending an inquiry but did not feel sad and said, "We'll work for the true "sarkaar" (Vahiguru) now" and spent his days in naam simran and keertan. When the inquiry was completed, the guilty parties were punished and Bhai Sahib was exonerated completely and even given a promotion. "Pooraa niaao(n) karai kartaar. Apunay daas ko raakhanhaar.1.Rahaao" (199).

Another time Bhai Sahib was in a difficult situation was when the topmost officer of the NorthWestern Railway came to Rawalpindi Station. When the train stopped at the station, Bhai Sahib was lost in simran. He exchanged some important papers with the Stationmaster and returned to his personal compartment for rest. When the whistle blew to move the train, he waved the flag and was again lost in simran. The British officer of the NorthWestern Railway was standing in the veranda watching Bhai Sahib and when Bhai Sahib walked by him, he did not salute. The Officer took this as an insult and asked his assistant to note down Bhai Sahib's name and information so that he could be reprimanded when they returned to headquarters.

When they returned to headquarters, the assistant gave Bhai Sahib's information to the Officer along with his personal file. The next day, the file was returned without any reprimand written on it. The file was sent a second time and it again returned unchanged. The third time, he personally brought the file to the Officer and reminded him that Giaan Singh did not salute and was to be reprimanded. The Officer laughed and said, "Whenever I try to write something on his file, I get dizzy and feel afraid. For God's sake, just close that file and find out who this person is."

The assistant collected full information about Bhai Sahib from Rawalpindi station and told his British Officer about him. The Officer was very surprised to hear about everything and was thankful that he had not done anything against him. "Jeh jeh kaaj kirat saevak kee, tahaa(n) tahaa(n) outh dhaavai.1. Saevak ko nikTee hoi dikhaavai. Jo jo kahai thakur peh saevak tatkaal hoi aavai.2.rahaao." (403).

Personal Life

Bhai Atma Singh of Patiala and Dr. Harbans Singh tell us that Bhia Giaan Singh jee was a very big lover of naam and baaNee. His head would sway in ecstasy and his lips would always be moving with "Guru Guru". Those who heard him doing nitnem can attest that he would recite it very slowly and in bairaag, taking a full two hours to do so. When he would take a Vaak from Guru Maharaj, his eyes would be teary and he would read each line many many times like he was personally conversing with Guru Sahib.

A Gursikh is of course ordered to give dasvandh, but Bhai Giaan Singh was so genours that he would give half his income to the Guru's cause. Bhai Sahib loved listening to keertan and whenever a Singh or Singhnee did keertan, he would become very excited. Sometimes while listening to keertan, he would even become late for his train. Someone would remind him about the train and only then would he get ready and go to the station. Whenever this happened though, the train itself was late and so he was never in any trouble.

Meeting Bhai Sahib Randheer Singh jee

How could such a person like Bhai Giaan Singh not meet Bhai Sahib Randheer Singh then? Whenever the Jatha would have a smaagam at Rawalpindi at the home of Dr. Pargat Singh and Bibi Indar Kaur, Bhai Giaan Singh would certainly come and enjoy the keertan. He retired from his job in 1940 and after that he moved to Sree Amritsar Sahib. When Bhai Sahib Randheer Singh jee would come to Sree Amritsar Sahib and do smaagams, Bhai Giaan Singh would always attend.

Once it was at Gurdwara LohgaR Sahib that the Jatha was having a keertan. Bhai Sahib was doing keertan and Bhai Giaan Singh arrived in the divvan, matha tekked and then went to the back of the hall. Who knows when Bhai Sahib saw him, but while doing keertan, he sent a Singh to Bhai Giaan Singh and asked him to come sit at the front. At the conclusion of keertan, Bhai Sahib met Bhai Giaan Singh and said, "Piarayo, when you come, come sit in front of us. Seeing you brings us into chaRdee kalaa." A divinely inspired soul can always recognise another.

Keertan Today vs. Keertan Before

There is something that all of Bhai Sahib's companions know that is that at Jatha Smaagams, the front lines were always filled with Gursikhs. Many would be gathered around Bhai Sahib and lost in divine colours. It was a sight to be seen. They would be facing Guru Sahib and singing to them, "Too(n) Satguru choho jugee, aap aapay parmayshar" (1406).

Today, we are happy to do keertan in a big crowd but don't feel excited to do so in a small gathering. Those Sachkhandee Souls were singing keertan for Satguru jee. In those days, the way Singhs and Singhnees did keertan was totally different. Whoever sat and did keertan or listened, it was as if they were sitting before Satguru jee and addressing him face to face. Now we don’t do keertan for Satguru jee, we address the Sangat instead and give parmaaNs (examples) to explain to them. This custom was started by Bh. Mohinder Singh SDO in 1958-59 and has continued until today.

There are many examples from Bhai Giaan Singh jee's life that should Guru Sahib was always with him. After retiring, he made a Gurdwara Sahib in his native village. He also brought many people to the path of Gursikhi. On May 22, 1951 the divine call came and he left for the Guru's feet. Bhai Sahib's son lives in Ranjit Nagar Amritsar.

For quite sometime I wanted to write the Gurmukhi jeevan of Baba Khazaan Singh, the father of Sant Sunder Singh Bhindranwalay (11th Jathedhar of Guru Ji's Damdami Taksal). Sant Sunder Singh jee Bhindranwaalay was a great Gursikh who led an exemplary life, did massive parchaar of Sikhi, inspired countless to take amrit and taught Gurbani and Gurbani meanings to countless students, in his short life of 42 years or so. While many have heard about the Gurmukhi life of Sant Sunder Singh jee, few are aware of how great his father was. This is a feeble attempt by this insect to write something on the great life of Baba Khazaan Singh jee. This is based on Dr Sher Singh's book on Sant Sunder Singh, Sant Gurbachan Singh's coverage of Sant Sunder Singh's life and oral narrations from Gursikhs from time to time.

Baba Khazaan Singh was the middle son of Baba Makhan Singh the grandfather of Sant Sunder Singh jee. Here are some highlights of Baba jee's jeevan:

1) Baba jee was a simple farmer who worked hard to earn bread for his family. He was from village Bhinder Kalan in Ferozepur district of Punjab.

2) Baba jee was extremely honest. He never let even a grain not belonging to him, come to his home. While working in his fields, he used to constantly do Naam Simran and Gurbani paath.

3) He got married to a very Gurmukhi bibi Mata Taab Kaur jee. She was not educated but due to her husband's satsangat, she developed keen interest and love for Gurbani.

4) Baba jee had great urge to have darshan of Guru Sahib. In year 1887, a year before the birth of Sant Sunder Singh jee, at the time of Avtaar Purab of Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee, Baba jee decided to go all out for darshan of Guru Sahib. He committed to doing strict amritvela and doing one Siri Sukhmani Sahib standing on one leg, 3 hours and 45 minutes before sunrise. Just few days had passed while engaging in day night paath like this that Baba jee was hit with extreme Bairaag. He gave up all interest in world and started doing bhajan day and night. At the behest of some gursikhs, who asked him to come in Sehaj Avastha, he started taking care of his worldly duties again.

5) Before the birth of Sant Sunder Singh, Baba jee did 36 lakh (3.6 million) jaap of Mool Mantr.

6) Later in his life he did 125,000 jaap of Siri Jap jee Sahib.

7) Later in his years he did 101 Paaths of Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee in the span of 3 years. This means about 3 Sehaj paaths a month. Along with this he did 36 lakh paaths of Mool Mantr, all within 3 years. This means massive paath a day, for three years.

8) He used to do at least 100 angs worth of baani a day.

9) He used to do 3300 jaap of Mool Mantra a day.

10) He had about 100 angs of baani fully memorized.

11) He used to wear only Khaddar.

12) He was a very strict amritdhaari.

13) He never let a day pass without going to Gurdwara Sahib.

14) He used to eat only once a day at 10am.

15) Before eating food, he used to look for someone to share with.

Reading the life of Baba jee, I was surprised. So much kamaayee and no one knows his name. I have no doubt that even today there are many gupt gursikhs out there about whom we know nothing. Hearing about kamaayee of Baba jee I feel like putting my nose in a chapnee and dying.

May Guru Sahib do kirpa on us and may we lead our life like Baba jee and other great gursikhs.

By Bhai Kulbir Singh Ji

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

By Bhai Kulbir Singh Ji

The Amar Katha of Bhagat Dhru jee

Dhru was born to the first wife of Raja Uttanpad. The king had two wives but he was most fond of the second one. Dhru had a step-brother from his step mother the second wife of the king. Since the king was more fond of Suruchi the second wife, Dhru and his mother Suniti stayed in one corner of the palace, seldom going to the main chambers of the palace.

When Dhru Bhagat was about 5 years old, he wandered off to the chamber of his father. There he saw his step brother sitting in the lap of his father. He longed for the love of his father and his father too loved him but he was hesitant in expressing his love in front of his second wife. Since she was not around at that time, Dhru Bhagat rushed forward to sit in his father’s lap. His father dandled and played with him. Right then, the villain, the second queen of the king walked in and was horrified to see the king playing with her step son – Dhru Bhagat. She was furious. She got hold of Bhagat jee by his arm and threw him on the ground. The impotent king, who was blinded by lust for his second wife, reluctantly kept quiet. The queen made a very heart-piercing statement:

“If you want to sit in your father’s lap, you must take birth from my womb”.

Dhru jee was greatly hurt. He started crying. He slowly walked out of the cabin towards his mother. The king helplessly watched his son’s plight. Dhru Bhagat came to his own quarters. As soon as he saw his mother, he dashed towards her and cried. His cry was so moving that his mother too started crying. Even a person with stone heart would have melted. She asked him what happened but he would not speak. After much cajoling and coaxing, Bhagat Dhru jee tearfully asked her:

“tu Sawaani hain ke Sarita” (O Mother, tell me that truth. Are you a queen or a maidservant)

Suniti (his mother) was taken aback. She asked him what had happened. He replied:

“I went to play with Pita jee but chhoti ma (step mom) told me that I could sit in my father’s lap only if I took birth from her womb. O Ma, am I not a son of Pita jee? Why did he keep quiet? Why are you never with Pita jee? Why do you live alone? Why doesn't Pita jee ever come to our chamber?”

All these questions perturbed and vexed Suniti. She did not know what to say. She started crying. Seeing her cry, Dhru Bhagat jee forgot about his pain and started calming her. Suniti finally said the truth very painfully:

“Sawaanit haan janam dee, Naam na bhagti Karam drideeta” (I am a maidservant in this life because I did not do Naam roopi Karam).

Bhagat Dhru jee was very surprised to hear this answer. He did not know anything about Bhagti. His mother explained to him that without Bhagti and without good karma, no one can be at places of power and happiness. She said that she must have lacked these karma in her previous life and now she is forced to live the life of a maidservant despite being a queen.

Dhru Bhagat was moved and at the same time he was greatly motivated. He knew the answer by now but still asked his mother:
“Kis uddam tey Raj Milai, Shatru tey sabh hovan meeta” (With what effort will I get Raj and how can I turn enemies into friends).

Suniti was a great woman. She gave the right lesson to her son and transformed him into a great Bhagat. Today, we need mothers like her who teach their children paath, simran and sewa instead of cheering their children when they dance at Filmy songs. She said, “Parmeshar Aradheeai, jidoo hoeeai Patit Puneeta” (Worship Parmeshar through whom sinners become pure).

This was enough for Dhru. He did not want to wait a minute now. He was greatly motivated to do Bhagti. He wanted to restore his mother to the spot she deserved and he wanted to bring back honour to himself. He had found a way and nothing was going to stop him now. Five year old Dhru walked out of his palace towards the forest. He did not know how to do bhagti but he had faith that Vaheguru will show him the way. Such faith is vital for a seeker of Vaheguru but no one can get this faith on their own. Vaheguru alone is the bestower of such faith to his chosen Bhagats.

So there he was, a five year old Dhru, amidst a dense jungle that was full of fierce animals like reptiles, snakes, lions etc. Sensing Dhru jee’s determination, he was blessed by Updesh or Naam by Narad Muni, who in turn was divinely inspired by Vaheguru himself. He was given Kirtam Naam since Satnaam had not appeared at that time. Satnaam appeared in Kalyug through Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee Maharaaj. Kirtam Naam too is powerful, just not as powerful as Satnaam.

Anyway, having received Naam from Narad Muni, Dhru started japping Naam with extreme determination and concentration. He was so absorbed in Naam that he became totally oblivious of wild animals wandering around. He didn’t even care for eating. He sat for hours in a stretch. He had only one aim – to please Vaheguru and get what he desired.

Within couple of days of his leaving the palace, his father felt really bad for how his son had been treated. He could not forget the gait of his son as he left after being hit and scolded by Surichi the step mom to Dhru Bhagat.

When the king found out that his son Dhru had left the palace to do bhagti he was deeply moved. He sent his officers to bring his son back. They reached Dhru and found him absorbed in Naam. They tried to bring him back but he refused. He did not want to come back. In the end, the king promised to give Dhru half of his kingdom immediately upon his return. Bhagat Dhru was very happy to hear this. He realized that with only one day of Naam Abhyaas he was getting half of his father’s kingdom, what would happen if he continued to japp Naam. He refused to go and told the officers not to bother him again.

The officers left and Bhagat Dhru changed his place of dwelling. He went deep in the jungle to practice austerities. He would eat only leaves and wild fruits whenever he felt hungry. Nearby there was a pond from where he drank water.

He went on for some time and nothing significant happened. Bhagat jee was fully determined to attain the darshan of Vaheguru. He stopped eating food and started relying only on water. He thought this would please Vaheguru. He became very weak. Then he gave up water too and started relying on air only. Even then he did not get darshan. Finally he gave up breathing also. He had done so only for few moments that the Earth and the sky shook. People in the world could not breathe. Calamities befell on the world. The balance in the world was shaken.

Finally, Dhru got darshan of Vaheguru, the form he knew and longed for – the Chatubhuji Darshan. It’s only after Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee that people found out about Nirgun Darshan. All his wishes were granted. He was given the Raj of the whole world. He ruled for numerous years. Everybody bowed before him. His honour was restored. Everyone had to bow before bhagti.

Daas,
Kulbir Singh

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Oh ON hoyi jado yahoo tae.
par gaya akhan ch nasha barda.

Kade haar galh odi changi lagdi c
hun haar galh chub di aae.

Dukh dil nu v ponchaya
nale ohnu nu v.
o chal na saki dukha nu shad k tur gae aa.

na hun o sade yahoo ch aa tae na asi ohde ch.
bas Lagda va k galh athae ada aayi muk gae aye.
 :sad:

A Very Special Meal
Mirabai Chrin


Once there was a very poor and devoted woman who always prayed to the Glory of God, asking very little, if anything for herself. But one thought, one desire continued to recur and finally she asked: petitioning the Lord, that if it were possible she would love to prepare a special meal and have God share at her table. And God, in His Love for this goodly woman, said He would indeed come the next day and share a meal.

Filled with ecstasy, the woman went out the following morning with her meager purse and purchased such delicacies that she felt would please the Lord.

Returning home, she prepared a banquet and waited patiently for her most honored guest. Soon there was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, there stood an old beggar asking for something to eat. Being a woman of God, she could not turn the beggar away, so she invited him in to partake of her table. The beggar felt as if he was in a dream - such a feast set before him. He finished all the food, thanked his hostess and left.

The woman was only slightly disheartened, she gathered up her purse, her coat, and hurried back to town to get more food for her special guest. Her funds were less now and so the food was not quite so elaborate. Nonetheless, she lovingly prepared another meal and sat to await the arrival of the Almighty.

A few hours went by and there was a loud knock on the door. This time it was an old gypsy woman with no teeth, who was deaf, who spoke quite loudly and was, rather rudely, insisting that any true believer in the Lord would not deny her something to eat.

Though the woman had no more money with which to buy more supplies, she invited the woman in and offered her a seat at the table. The gypsy ate everything, did not even thank the woman and left without closing the door.

By now it was beginning to get dark both inside and out. The woman's faith was strong, so that, though somewhat distraught, she did not give up, but rather, looked around her humble house to see if there was anything she could sell in order to buy more food to set before the Lord.

She hurried to town with a little silver cup that had been in her family for several generations, but she was willing to part with it for the great honor that God was going to bestow on her - the sharing of a meal.

Late in the night she rushed home to prepare yet a third meal. She waited and waited until, once more, there was a knock on the door. Holding her breath, she slowly opened the door to find yet another poor man in the guise of a wandering monk, in search of a meal.

Again, she offered hospitality, with as much grace as she could muster in her disappointment. This man also ate all that was set on the table and left after blessing the woman for her kindness. So discouraged and dismayed was she that all she could do was nod slightly, in acknowledgment of the thanks.

Now it was too late, with no way to buy any more food and no more money with which to buy it. She got down on her knees, weeping such heart-broken tears. She asked God what she had done wrong. Why had God not come to share at the table as He had promised?

And God, in all His Divine Compassion and Mercy, lifted the woman off her knees, and holding her close to His Heart, said, "My child, I enjoyed your hospitality so much that I came three times!"