The Story of Bachan Singh Bachan Singh
is a carpenter- Satsangi- a disciple of Baba Sawan Singh Ji. He works in Sawan Ashram any time he is
needed and accepts no payment.
Sometimes he gets a strong urge or inner pull- in his own words “becomes
helpless”-and makes his way to the Ashram, taking up any work required
there. It appears that his son has
taken over the business of cabinet making and earns enough to keep the family
going, so Bachan Singh is happy to be able to serve the Ashram. Here is his
story-how he came to feet of his Master and various incidents in his life- as
told to the Sat Sandesh staff. From childhood I had a strong desire to find God. As a small boy I promised myself that one
day I would meet God and I would put my arms around Him, and He would also hold
me tight and I would say, “Hello God, who are you?” Those were childlike
thoughts, but the desire stayed with me and when I grew into manhood I was
still searching for God. Being a Hindu I frequented the temples and, with
unswerving constant faith and sincerity of heart, offered my devotions to the
various images installed there. Many
years went by without any experience of God, who it seemed did no choose to
come to me. Finally I thought that
perhaps god did not come to Hindus, so I joined the Sikh faith and started
attending the gurudwara to listen to the sacred words of the ten Gurus,
contained in the holy book- the Guru Granth Sahib. The words of this great book served to increase my devotion, and
would listen enrapt in the chanting of the verses. However, as time wore on and was no nearer to the Truth, or any
real experience of God, I began to suspect that God was not to be found in
buildings. Although the Sikh religion
had given me added incentive to desire God-knowledge, and had been the means of
increased devotion growing in my heart through the beautiful words of the great
Gurus, the words were just words after all, and I was still far from God. Once again my mind filled with confusing
thoughts, so I stopped frequenting all holy buildings, concluding that there
was no God anywhere. Life was frightening, having no God. I felt alone and very bewildered. With no God and no Truth in the world, what
was the purpose of living? These thoughts went round in my mind for days, until
at last I decided that the best thing was to commit suicide and finish my
purposeless life. I made my way to a
deep well outside the town. Before
making the jump I suddenly remembered that I had read somewhere that one should
sit down quietly with closed eyes and think deeply before starting any
important task-so I sat down beside the well, deep in thought. While in this position, I saw a smoky haze
come in from of me, through which a figure emerged-a thin-faced man with a
turban and white beard. I thought that
it must be Guru Nanak (the first Guru of the Sikhs). He smiled at me and told me not to worry. When I opened my eyes, there was no one
there, but I felt strangely at peace, so I got up and went back to the
city. Some days passed without seeing
any more of the beautiful figure, whose presence had given me a surge of hope
within my heart, so I began to presume that it was not really a vision but a
dream. The thought of ending my life again arose and I resolved
that the second time I would make the jump.
As I reached the vicinity of the well once again, with my eyes open I
saw the hazy mist coming and then the same figure of the bearded saint
appeared. This time he comforted me,
telling me not to worry- “You will get what you want,” he said, and with this
he left me. Such demonstration of the
power before me, without even closing my eyes and sitting quietly, impressed me
greatly and I felt that God was telling me that He really did exist. So I turned around and went home. Some years went by without any further experience, and
although my faith in God had been somewhat restored, I kept away from religious
places. My work as a carpenter took me
once to a building in Daryaganj, Delhi, where I was working on the first floor.
A fellow carpenter was also working there and one day he said to me, “My Guru
has come to Delhi, and he is going to hold
Satsang on the floor above.” I told him that I had no desire to go, but
due to the loudspeakers I could hear the talks from where I was working. The sound of the speaker’s voice and the
nature of his talks were very attractive and seemed to draw mw from inside
myself. My friend was missing from work
for four or five days and when he finally turned up I was a little annoyed and
asked him why he had left the work without any warning. He told me that his Guru had taken the train
to return to Beas, and he had suddenly jumped aboard also, to spend some more
time near his Guru, and had therefore been staying in Beas. I told him that it was very strange that a
man could leave his work to run after a guru, but my friend assured me quite
confidently that his Guru was God Himself in human form. “How can you be sure?”
I asked. “Because he gives practical
experience and shows you the Truth inside yourself,” replied my friend. A peculiar feeling filled my heart and I
quickly asked him to describe his Guru.
He then described perfectly the same holy figure I had seen some years
before. “You must take me to him!” I
said, full of excitement. My poor
friend explained that he had just returned from there and could not afford
another trip immediately, but when I offered to pay all his expenses, he would
not hear of it. “What, take another man’s money to have the darshan of my
Guru-never!” He said he would gladly take me and pay his own expenses. When he arrived at Beas station it was very hot and we
had to walk a considerable distance to the Dera (something like an ashram ),
and after a few minutes walking I began to feel sick with the heat. Just then a huge cloud came and obscured the
sun’s rays, and remained overhead until we reached the Dera. Satsang was going on, and there, seated on
the dais, was the man whom by now had come to mean so much to my anxious hopes
for the future. My desire to get near
him was very strong. At that moment the
rain started to fall in large drops. The Master stood up, saying that the
Satsang would be postponed to enable the people to go to shelter. Everyone stood up, and I took the
opportunity to push through the crowd until I was right at the front, very near
the Master’s feet. Suddenly the rain
stopped, and the Master sat down again.
All the people including myself sat down also, and the Satsang, was
resumed. Baba Sawan singh Ji, the great
Master who had appeared to me at the most difficult moment of my life, looked
directly at me and smiled-in that moment I knew that I belonged to him. That is how I met my Guru and was initiated
there at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, afterwards returning to Delhi a much happier
man, having found that which I had been seeking for so long. Regularly I would visit Beas to have the blessing of my
Master’s darshan. His private farm was
at Sarsai, and the followers were delighted when they were allowed to visit
there help in whatever work was going on.
We used to take one month’s leave each year to spend there on occasions
when the Master was in residence. This
selfless service was done with great love in our hearts and an overflowing joy
at being near him. During one visit I
was spending my days doing some carpentry work, and in the night I would help
with the building that was going on.
One night we were building a high wall, and the Master was sitting in a
chair nearby, watching the work. The
kitchen bell rang suddenly and the Master advised us to go and have our evening
meal. Everyone left, but I was anxious
to complete the section I was working on, so I thought I would go in a few
minutes time. However, I went on laying
bricks, and forgot everything else, until realized it had become dark. I was on the top of a ten-foot high wall and
there was no ladder to climb down. My
head started to spin-if I slipped I would fall on the stones and probably break
my neck. Some yards along the wall the
height was only about six feet, and if I could get to that place, perhaps I
could jump to the ground from there.
Slowly, feeling very frightened, I walked along the wall, looking only
at my feet that I might not lose my balance.
Being so deeply engrossed in all this, I had not noticed that the Master
himself was standing some distance away, watching my movements. As I started to walk, he also walked toward
me. When I finally jumped from the
six-foot wall I jumped right into the Master’s arms, which were extended to
catch me. He held me, and I was so
surprised I was speechless. He smiled
and said, “Now you can ask me who I am.” My thoughts flashed back to my
childhood, and I knew, deep in my heart, that my Master had always been with
me. I remember once
when I was walking along the street in Sarsai I saw the Master’s car travelling
toward me. Baba Sawan Singh Ji was
sitting inside and I folded my hands, delighted to have his darshan. The car stopped and the Master put out his
hand to beckon someone. Although he was
looking in my direction, I never imagined that he wanted to speak to me, so I
quietly stood there. Again he gestured,
and wondering who the person could be I turned round, but there was no one in
sight. The realization dawned upon me
that the Master was calling myself- the life just left me and I trembled,
thinking, “What have I done now?” The Master was waiting, so somehow I managed
to push myself to the car. The Master
said, “Bachan Singh, go to Delhi and settle down there. Do not live in your village any more.” (I
had been staying in the village where I was born, for some time.) “ I am going
to be in Delhi and there will be work for you there.” I left my village and went to Delhi. Not knowing anyone and having no money, I
built a small temporary hut from mud to live in, and with my carpenter’s tools
I went from house to house looking for work.
My efforts were successful and with my Master’s grace I found plenty of
work. Some people even trusted me with
large sums of money to purchase wood. I wold ask them, “Why trust me with so
much money-you do not know me, I might steal it,” but they would insist that it
was all right. So with all the blessing
from my Master, I prospered. We should
be grateful for material, blessings, but they have little value compared to
spiritual things. Great sorrow came
upon me, when the news came from Beas that my Master had left the world. It was
a blow that took the joy out of working and indeed from every phase of life. It
was something that a person cannot describe. Several months later I learned that Sant Kirpal Singh Ji,
my Guru’s most devoted disciple, had come to live in Delhi to carry on my
Master’s work. I went to Radio Colony
where he was living to have his darshan.
Naturally there were questions in my heart as I went- would that same
Power be in him, as it was in my Master? Was he truly the appointed one to
continue the great work of giving the holy gift of Naam to the seeking souls?
From the first meeting I was given such strong assurance, that has never since
been broken. While sitting at his feet, his face changed completely, and there
appeared the face of my own Guru, Baba Sawan Singh Ji. I saw this not once, but many times. Although I lived many miles from Radio Colony, I would go
there every evening after my day’s work, to sit for one or two hours with the
Master. One evening, for some reason
the Master was very stern with all the people present, telling them to go to
their work, and not to while away so much time there. Pondering over the Master’s words, I walked slowly to the gate,
but on hearing my name I turned and saw the Master coming towards me. “Bachan
Singh, come at 7:00 A.M. tomorrow, for there is some work for you.” My mood changed at once to happy rejoicing,
that the Master was not annoyed with me, but had actually called me for some work. The next day I arrived at his house sharp at
7:00 A.M. and the Master was waiting.
He climbed on his bicycle, telling me to do the same, and I followed
him, cycling for about four or five miles across a wilderness, which nowadays
is fully built up. Eventually we came
to a plot of wild land near a railway line.
There waiting, were four or five other people and we all went around the
plot inspect it. There was an old well
in one corner in a half-ruined condition, and a bucket and rope beside it, which
presumably some people were using to draw water for washing clothes, etc. One of the disciples picked up the bucket,
cleaned it with water and clay and drew some clear water from the well. After
standing it on the side of the well he folded his hands to the Master and
requested that the Master please quench our thirst. Straight from the bucket, the Master poured water into our cupped
hands- and one can say that this was the very first blessing from the Master upon
the future Sawan Ashram site- that very place where he would quench the thirst
of ages for many thousands of souls. The work began soon after that, clearing the plot,
cutting unwanted bushes and trees. The
willing devotees carried clay on their heads to level out the surface. I am reminded of one instance when the
Master himself picked up an empty basket and put it in front of those who were
filling up. But they all folded their
hands in protest saying, “No, no, Maharaj Ji, not you.” The Master asked, “Is
there no one who will obey, and fill up this basket for me?” I was there, and I
stepped forward, “Yes, I will obey, “ and I filled it up, pressing down the mud
until it was overflowing. Then with
difficulty I lifted it up and placed it on the Master’s head. Folding my hands together I said, ‘Maharaj
Ji, you can take any burden.” The Master laughed and walked away with the
Basket. Many people came to serve, and the Master gathered them
around and said, ‘I do not want people who are conscious of their wealth. I
only want the poor and humble. Those
who work will have to forget their homes, clothes and money and come in
humility as a poor man. This the kind
of work I want.” It was very beautiful to see men and women, sometimes coming
in cars and wearing expensive clothing, but not caring at all, bending their
backs to the muddy work. Everyone had
smiling, soil-streaked faces as they blended the work with joyful singing of
holy hymns. Those were very wonderful days,
not easily forgotten. I worked there
day and night. I had Rupees 100 when we
started, which I spent gradually, on myself and others, so I borrowed 100 more,
and that went too. The news reached me
that my hut had blown down in a storm, so I had no home, little clothing and no
money; but inside me there was a deep sense of happiness and well-being from
the privilege of working near the Master. In those days there was a small group of people who were
against the Master starting an ashram and were trying to break the satsangis away through
various means. They came to me frequently,
and repeated many times that the Master was Baba Sawan Singh’s true follower,
but was instead the negative power.
After many attempts in vain, they almost convinced me one day, and I
began to wonder about it. However, I
thought that before making up my mind I should go the Master once more. Arriving at the Ashram, the building of
which was now basically complete, I saw the Master standing there as if
awaiting me. He looked at me as I
approached, and suddenly I could go no further, for there, standing behind him
was my Master, Baba Sawan Singh, and behind him was Baba Jaimal Singh Ji. Baba Sawan Singh Ji looked at me
significantly, and putting his hand on Kirpal Singh’s shoulder he said to him,
“This is all yours; you have to look after many souls.” I saw Sant Kirpal Singh
Ji fold his hands and bow down to his Master, saying, “Whatever you wish.” With
deep sadness I realized how foolish I had been to allow people to influence my
thought, and faith in the Master. Many
many times have I had this wonderful experience of seeing my Master appear with
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji. I have never told
these things to anyone, but today I feel there is some purpose in doing
so. I pray that I will always be
grateful to my Master and to the present Master, for the kindness, love and
protection they have showered upon me. |