| The pursuit of Truth is a universal phenomenon. Religious faiths all across the world proclaim to preach it, and amongst them they agree that there is no greater Truth than the Supreme Being, the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty Formless One - Nirankar. The many and varied names for God all represent an omnipresent, all-pervasive, omniscient, and Supreme Entity. All the sages, seers, saints, gurus and prophets from across time have, therefore, preached the same Ultimate Truth; God. The approach, however, might have been different. The various Holy Scriptures are the milestones representing the flow of Divine Thought. These writings and teachings were meant to reveal the Ultimate Truth. History, however, shows that rituals and dogmas overwhelmed the essential Truth behind these teachings, creating confusion and division between religions, sects, and communities. Baba Buta Singh Ji, the founder and first Satguru of the Sant Nirankari Mission, recognized that adhering to rites and rituals does not enable humans to realize God. That can happen only with the grace of a God-realized soul. In 1929 Baba Buta Singh Ji began to show the path of uniting with God. This is how the Sant Nirankari Mission and Satguru tradition began. The Satguru tradition states that God-realization is possible only through the Satguru, the teacher of God Knowledge. The mission of the Satguru is eternal, for there is always another candle to light, another life to transform. |
- Baba Buta Singh Ji
- Baba Avtar Singh Ji
- Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji
Baba Buta Singh Ji Maharaj (1873-1943) |
A good orator on Gurbani, he was equally sincere and serious in understanding the same. This trait helped paving his way to reach and realise the Truth. It is said that whenever he used to recite Gurbani or sing the same, he would be so lost in it as to forget even his physical self. His views and concepts was so clear and strong that nobody could utter even a single word to negate his view-point.
On a day in 1913, Baba Buta Singh was singing at a congregation. With tears in his eyes, he sang: Mohan ghar aavo, haun karon jodariya (O Lord, come home, I humbly entreat.).Those sitting in the congregation were enjoying the delightful recitation. One of them, Bhai Sahib Kahan Singh Ji, who was also listening to Baba Buta Singh Ji with rapt attention, noted the repetition of the above line.
The Sant Nirankari Mission had its formal beginning on May 25, 1929, the day when Baba Avtar Singh Ji received God-knowledge from Baba Buta Singh Ji and joined him in taking the spiritual light to as many people as possible.The orthodox elements of the time did resist them but indirectly served to make the Mission known to more and more people.
It is said that Baba Buta Singh Ji knew about his end. In 1943, he was convalescing at a popular tourist resort, Koh Murree (now in Pakistan). Some of his disciples were looking after him. He asked Baba Avtar Singh Ji to call other disciples also. When most of the disciples assembled, Baba Buta Singh Ji asked Baba Avtar Singh Ji to arrange for some white sheets, etc. normally required at the time of funeral.
Baba Avtar Singh Ji (1899-1969)
Baba Avtar Singh Ji was born in a small village named Latifal in Jhelum District ( now in Pakistan) on December 31, 1899 in the family of Shri Mukha Singh Ji and Smt. Narayani Devi Ji. He was being brought up with due affection and indulgence, but when he was just 6 years, his father died after brief illness.
| On 25 May 1929 came the turning point in the life of Baba Avtar Singh, when he met his guru Baba Buta Singh in Peshawar. Ecstasy took hold of him and he was all praise for the Master and Nirankar, the Formless God all around. He surrendered himself completely to Baba Buta Singh Ji and announced that hereafter his life would follow the way as Baba Buta Singh Ji would lead. | ||
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| Expansion | ||
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| Baba Avtar Singh Ji succeeded Baba Buta Singh Ji and preached the divine message during the period from 1943 to 1962. He was all out for the uplift of mankind through dissemination of the divine word. He faced opposition from different fronts in carrying out his missionary obligations, but he remained moulded and welded to the Truth. He appeased the flood of opposition with his deep spirit of humility and love. He possessed wonderful skill to convince his critics, provided they chose to listen to him. There are many instances where critics, after listening to Baba Ji, joined the Mission and dedicated their lives to the propagation of its message. | ||
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| Organisational Set-up | ||
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| To give an organisational outfit to the expanding Mission, Baba Avtar Singh Ji founded Sant Nirankari Mandal in 1948 and got it registered with Headquarters at Delhi. Establishing branches in various cities with Pramukhs-incharge also came in the priority agenda of the Master for holding regular congregations and taking forward the message of the Mission. For this very purpose, Sant Nirankari Sewa Dal also came into being in 1956 with Chacha Pratap Singh as its Head. | ||
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| Devotee Once Again – A rare example | ||
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| One of the unique things related to Baba Avtar Singh Ji is that during his life time itself he took a decision to revert from the Satguru to an ordinary devotee. The Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam which opened on November 5, 1963 was, of course, the first occasion when devotees from all over saw Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji as the Spiritual Head of the Mission. With this, the Satguru stood manifested in Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji. | ||
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| Last Journey | ||
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Going by worldly norms, having been the spiritual head of the Mission for about 20 years, many devotees insisted that Baba Avtar Singh Ji be given a grand funeral with sandal wood etc.
Head of the Mission On December 3, 1962, while addressing a gathering of devotees at Paharganj in Delhi, Baba Avtar Singh Ji declared that hereafter they should address Gurbachan Singh Ji as Satguru, the True Master. On November 5, 1963, the entire Nirankari world saw the Satguru already manifested in him when they assembled in Delhi for the 16th Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam. Organisational ReformsWith the passage of time, the fast growing number of devotees needed some organizational reforms. For this purpose, Baba Ji convened the First Mussoorie Conference on July 17 and 18, 1965, which was attended by the organizers and the preachers of the Mission. A number of important decisions were taken to streamline the administrative outfit and to spread message of Mission. To this end, the administrative work of the mission in the country was divided into four zones.A Multidimensional Vision Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji believed in prompt execution keeping both short-term and long-term objectives in mind. He implemented his vision by taking small steps and never delayed short-term actions simply waiting for long-term plans to materialize.That is why he was able to turn the apparently impossible looking into the possible. A little ahead of the Sant Nirankari Colony, the Mission had a large piece of wasteland. In 1965, when the country was facing a severe shortage of food grains, Baba Ji thought of contributing his mite in this direction by bringing the said wasteland under cultivation.Resistance Quite predictably, the voice of truth first raised by Baba Buta Singh Ji and Baba Avtar Singh Ji and now spread by Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji was resisted by the orthodox.The rapid progress of the Mission had sometimes upset these elements to the level of desperation. Many a time, Baba Ji called upon them to first understand the Mission and then point out if there was anything wrong. But all his gestures fell flat on them. Congregations were disturbed at many places. Violent attacks were also reported from several centers. | ||
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