Memories - Here and there with His Holiness Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

Several books and articles have been written about the Glory and the proactive efforts of His Holiness Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji. And several more will continue to be written in the future. But what underlined each story, each incident and each effort of His?

Was it just Him being a great Spiritual Master, an un-paralleled leader or as many of us would relate Him as our deity and God? If one was to scratch the surface and read between the lines, the underlying basis of everything was His promotion and growth of collectivity and within that the individual.

While every well known and successful Corporate house in the world draws from its experiences and treads the path well laid, a Spiritual Master like His Holiness's had the collective wisdom handed down from the lineage of the great Sikh Gurus right from Guru Nanak to Satguru Pratap Singh Ji. But what made it perhaps more challenging despite that was that each Guru has to take it beyond the previous Guru and not only tread the path well laid but create a path of His own that would not only accentuate and further the cause of mankind but benefit the individual human at large.

In every effort, in every endeavor of His the thought of how the individual would benefit would be underlined. A small incident, insignificant as it might sound in the larger scheme of life, but never the less significant to us illustrates this thought of collectivity and the individual.

It was 26 or 27 December 2001, when I visited Sri Bhaini Sahib and had the good luck of His Holiness divine audience as He walking out of His room. It had been a year since He had been convalescing from the stroke He had had a year earlier. He looked at me and unexpectedly said "Aren't you the boy from Hyderabad? Your house has mango trees, right? I nodded as He went sat under a big white umbrella in the well laid out garden across His room. I paid my obeisance to Him and in a moment of uncertainty I blurted out a strange hitherto unknown request. I requested Him to allow me to make a documentary on Him. It would be important to highlight the fact that at that point of time in my life, I was going through a low period professionally and emotionally, actually on the verge of suicide if I may say so. The thought of making a documentary in that state of mind was in my opinion today was nothing less than preposterous.

What was most amusing was the fact that I had no clue whatsoever of how I would go about it. It also dawned on me that I had never ever met Sri Satguru Ji at close quarters and here I was dreaming of making a documentary. Added to this was the matter of funds required to make something of this magnitude, it certainly was not going to be easy to conceive and execute the whole project given my financial status, however the illusion that I would be able to pull it off remained.

I was introduced to Harpal Singh Ji, hazuri sewak to Satguru Ji (personal aide to His Holiness), who was amused by the fact that I wanted to undertake a project like this. He was very forthcoming in his suggestions and tried his best to explain to me the amount of time and serious research a subject as vast as this demanded. I remember vividly, sitting in the garden of his house he mentioned that whatever I finally made, neither me nor him nor anybody else would be satisfied, given the innumerable, insurmountable efforts of His Holiness. Undeterred I requested for help in doing the same and was rewarded with a copy of the book “Sarab Kala Samrath” authored by him. I spent the whole night and the next day going through it, an effort compounded by the fact that although I was familiar with the Gurmukhi alphabet and had been taught as a child, I was not fluent and found it difficult to read.

The book was a blessing in disguise as it was to form the basis of the documentary and in fact much as I tried for a better title I would never get a better one and the documentary would also be subsequently named as “Sarab Kala Samrath – The Master of All Arts – Journey onto the path of truth”.

I boasted neither literary training nor accomplishments; this was going to be an attempt and more an emotional recount of personal faith and belief as a Namdhari, rather than solid historical research and documentation. In a more concise and practical way I would say this was an attempt to go back to my roots, to try and discover my own bearings, to try and find my way to the heart of the man who led us – His Holiness Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

One thing led to other and we landed up for filming in Sri Bhaini Sahib in January 2002. As the months rolled by, during the Holla celebrations at Sri Bhaini Sahib in March 2002, we presented our first cut to His Holiness. I was asked to complete it and as result of the screening, historical archive footage, pictures and a few videos were given to me for the same. Finally in June 2002, we presented the final cut to His Holiness.

It was evening; a VCR was quickly installed in His room. Pandit Gopal Singh Ji as asked to join His Holiness and along with His aides Racchpal Singh and Harpal Singh, the documentary was played. Through the screening I kept looking at His Holiness in anticipation, but His face never displayed any emotion. My stress levels went up and at the end of it I was hoping I had not made a mess. But lo and behold, as soon as the film ended He looked at me and with His irreplaceable smile said 'Well done', 'How did you find the time to do this?' I was stunned and overcome with emotion and frankly didn’t know how to react. I paid my obeisance and walked out relieved, satisfied that at least the film had not been rejected. What happened through the filming, editing and the release are stories in their own way, to be reminisced at a later date.

But what defines the whole event was that the documentary proved a turning point in my life and brought to fore the collective and individual factor of His Holiness Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji's each and every effort. The documentary threw open doors that I had not known, relationships that have become enduring and personal. While I grew independently, emotionally and gained my confidence back, it served as a means to share His Holiness with the rest of us as well. It brought me closer to my Lord spiritually and opened me to the vastness of His benevolence. If not for that one look of benevolence I would be not exist today. After having seen, heard and read His human exploits, I realize that 'Sarab Kala Samrath' wasn't even a drop in the vast ocean of His Holiness Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji, but He was benevolent and instead of looking at our short comings, motivated us to do more, making us feel proud of ourselves and take up a way of life that was more fulfilling than before. We are indebted to His ethos of personal development leads to collective development and drop in the ocean, even though a drop, still adds to the collectivity of the ocean.

I miss you my Lord, my Mentor, my Friend, my Colleague and if I may say my Heartbeat, the heart pines for you and longs for your benevolence.

Dhan Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

It has been a month... It has been 31 days... It has been 744 hours... It has been 44,640 minutes... It has been 2,678,400 secs

It has been a month... It has been 31 days... It has been 744 hours... It has been 44,640 minutes... It has been 2,678,400 seconds

If time was a measure of a human's love for God then nothing more would illustrate the fact more than the above. Each day of the month, each hour of that day, each minute of that hour and each second of that minute one image has dominated every thought since that fateful moment of history... His Holiness Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji.

As the time has flown, the outpouring of grief... Wait... No... this was no outporing of grief. It was and is the outporing of unending Love, an expression of one's hitherto unknown feelings for someone who until now was unobtrusively a part of everyone's life, a feeling that gave the faithful the strength to follow the path and the atheist the contradiction to doubt his doubts.

In the circle of one's life most of our moments are normally spent thinking about one's own welfare and our daily vocabolary is dominated by I, Me and Myself. And its rarely out of place to think thus. But a moment in life that makes you forget that and makes you think every second, minute, hour, day and month henceforth only about Him can only be termed as the moment of truth, that is extremely pious and reveberates one's Love for God. A moment that will last a lifetime and will continue to illustrate the unending, unfathomable and unparalleled Love that God commands and can only be His.

As we continue to run our race towards our Career's, Professions, Businees's... A moment brings everything to standstill, asking us to stop and reflect, what is it that made Him love and be loved so much?

The answer lies within our outporing every second since... To have lived a life for one's own self is human, but to have lived One's life for everybody else and to have made everyone's life His own is the trait only known of God. Its a trait that needs to be emulated every moment of one's life. A trait that will make one proud of not oneself but Him. A trait that will make one proud to be known as His faithful, His Stock, His Family, His Life... For in doing so we will continue to Live Him and His Godliness for our lifetime... Lets make Him and ourselves proud.

maan kara-o tuDh oopray mayray pareetam pi-aaray.
I take pride in You, O my Darling Beloved.

ham apraaDhee sad bhooltay tumH bakhsanhaaray. ||1|| rahaa-o.
I am a sinner, continuously making mistakes; You are the Forgiving Lord. ||1||Pause||

ham avgan karah asaNkh neet tumH nirgun daataaray.
I make mistakes each and every day. You are the Great Giver;

daasee sangat parabhoo ti-aag ay karam hamaaray. ||2||
I am worthless. I associate with Maya, your hand-maiden, and I renounce You, God;
such are my actions. ||2||

tumH dayvhu sabh kichh da-i-aa Dhaar ham akirat-ghanaaray.
You bless me with everything, showering me with Mercy; And I am such an ungrateful
wretch!

laag paray tayray daan si-o nah chit khasmaaray. ||3||
I am attached to Your gifts, but I do not even think of You, O my Lord and Master.
||3||

tujh tay baahar kichh nahee bhav kaatanhaaray.
There is none other than You, O Lord, Destroyer of fear.

kaho naanak saran da-i-aal gur layho mugaDh uDhaaray. ||4||4||34||
Says Nanak, I have come to Your Sanctuary, O Merciful Guru; I am so foolish - please,
save me! ||4||4||

Dhan Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

'All I ask of you is your Heart' HH Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

A single picture can sometimes create an avalanche of memories. Memories so fond and over powering that you realize their worth now, much later after the actual moment. The overwhelming emotion is such that your heart swells up with love hitherto you have unknown of, a longing of that smile that is now captured in the lens of your heart. 'These are the matters of the heart...' they say and they often last for a lifetime, for it is the timeless love that the heart cherishes, pure and unadulterated love that only the Lord and Master can give, despite the tantrums and impossble demands we place on Him. And what does He demand of it in return? or rather does he expect anything in return at all.

Legend says that when Sri Satguru Gobind Singh Ji formed the Khalsa, He asked for 5 human heads, 5 people who would sacrifice themselves at the altar of the Lord, the 5 who would become the chosen 5, the Punj Piaras, as we know them today. Times were tough, the Mughals were at their zenith, morale was at an all time low and here was the Guru asking for heads. As destiny would have it , the brave 5 rose to the occassion and the rest as we know is history and the rise of the Khalsa.

Three hundred plus years later the Moghuls are no more, the rule of the land is in the hands of the voted representatives and morale ? Depending on who you are and what your status is, could be on the either side of the pendulum. In an environment of relatively, comparably free country if a Guru was to ask for something today what would it be? a head? In a society wound with several faiths, surely that wouldn't be an issue now. Wouldn't several of us say and probably even offer our heads, if and when the Guru asked? Yes we would. But is this what He would desire? The surprising answer lies in a simple statement of His Holiness Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji...

In a poigant moment He had remarked with a smile that could be only His, I do not demand a head or a sacrifice on the altar, I know several will do it if asked for. What I ask for though is - your Heart, can you Love me as unflinchingly as I Love you, can follow the ideals of our relationship, can you adhere to the tenets of Sewa, Simran and shun jealously and falsehood. For if you can do that then you would have given me your Heart. After all a Sikh-Guru relationship is a matter of the heart. I don't need a Head, I need you, your Heart and your unconditional love, so that history can then repeat our folk lore and be an example onto others for generations to come.

May we all follow the path with His benevolence and make Him proud of us and may history remind the future generations here is a Satguru, the True Master who asked for the Hearts of His loved ones.

Dhan Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

He is our breath, our heart beat, our love and our destiny - HH Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

It was a friend and a fellow Namdhari who asked me to narrate an incident that I witnessed about Satguru Ji. Strange as it might seem, my whole life seems to be only incidents with Him. And stranger is the fact that these incidents continue to happen even now. It seems and feels thus every moment.

For in Him we see our parents and our Lord and our life, He is our breath and heart beat, He is our Love and our Destiny, He is our Satguru, The Lord, Master, Friend and our motivation.

Tears n even more tears, they say you shouldn't cry, but then we had never experienced so much love ever before, He always said you walk a step towards Him and He would walk not just the mile but a lifetime with us, and guess what He has done more than that, He continues to walk even today. There is not a single moment that goes past without Him being in our thoughts, is it a bane or a boon? It's probably a boon that we Namdharis were lucky to be touched by God Himself and we can proudly say we have seen God, we have spoken to Him, He has spoken to us, He lives within us always and guides us to walk His path, the path of truth, the path of Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji

May His benevolence be always upon us, May we be true to Him and His ideals even more so now, may we ring true His words and may we represent Him within our communities, families, friends, business, professions and humanity. May we live Him a life time.

Let the tears stop but the memories flow, for the day they dry, we would be astray from His path, lets tread His path, with Him arm in hand.

Dhan Satguru Jagjit Singh J