The Beloved Master

SOMEDAY a real biography of the Master will be written; a comprehensive, penetrating biography that explores in details and depth the life of the most extraordinary man of our time; a biography that treats Master’s life with the same insight and understanding that his life story of Baba Jaimal Singh does for that great Saint. We may all hope for that biography; and when it is written, this very interesting and useful little book will be one of its primary sources. 

For, while The Beloved Master, which was published in 1963 and now reissued, is not a real biography (and does not pretend to be) it is probable the most complete collection yet assembled of the pertinent factual matter pertaining to Master’s life. Its author, Bhadra Sena (The Editor Emertus of SAT SANDESH) has been associated with the Master since the latter led him to Baba Sawan Singh Ji in 1935, and he draws upon those years of companionship and service most profitably. He has also utilized the “generous assistance” of Mrs. Harbhajan Kaur Duggal, the Master’s Daughter-in-law. Between them, they have had access to many sources of information that would be inaccessible to most.

Beginning with birth and childhood, the threads of Master’s life are traced through a series of anecdotes, some very revealing. We learn, for example, that while the Master was born into a meat- eating household, he instinctively refused to eat meat from early childhood; that his spiritual precocity did not prevent him from being a voracious reader in his youth; that the virtues of love, truthfulness and selfless service found reflection in his life from the earliest times. We Saints Baba Sawan Singh in sharp relief in a few incidents not recorded elsewhere: for example, when the Head Master in the school at Sayyad Karsran (Kirpal Singh’s village) asked Baba Sawan why he initiated the undeserving as well as the deserving, the Master replied, “Brother, if you talk of the deserving candidates, I can tell you in confidence that even I was not deserving when Babaji bestowed on me the riches of Naam.”

The book includes some reminiscences of other people, also: one of the many miracles which the Master has caused is beautifully recounted by the Princess Narendra; Mrs. Lucille Gunn contributes a poignant remembrance of her first stay at the Master’s feet; and Mr. Vinos Sena, the author’s son, presents a moving eye-witness account of the ceremony in which the Master was invested with the order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta.

All initiates, and anyone who cares about the Master, will find this book of great interest.

Russell Perkins