Baru Sahib

By Author: Winner Singh
Total Articles: 3
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Sant Attar Singh Ji The world has always been in need of prophets, Divine messengers, saints and sages for the uplift of mankind and acquiring Divine peace by extinguishing the fire of lust, wrath, avarice, attachment and vanity prevalent all over the world. Since the creation of this universe, the world has seen the reincarnation of divine souls from time to time for putting the bewildered humanity on the right path.
Discharge from the Army
Sant Ji was not yet fully discharged from the Army. So, he desired to complete the formalities and submitted to the Colonel of his Regiment at Abbotabad (now in Pakistan). The Colonel tried to persuade him to remain in the Army by giving assurances that he would be promoted to the higher ranks. Sant Ji told him that he had joined the service of the Divine Lord and was no more willing to serve any master other than Him. The Colonel put him in Army Jail and used to keep a vigil at him throughout the night but always found Sant Ji meditating in a trance, which continued for three days without ...
... taking even a drop of water. The Colonel was very much moved by this and discharged him from the Army with honor. The Colonel also gave away the first prize of Rifle Shooting Competition.
Promoting Education
Sant Attar Singh Ji’s vision in advocating education of girl-child, and blending worldly education with spirituality shows his foresightedness. Even a century back, he envisioned that mere scientific education would lead to destruction, and an educated girl would result in the whole family being educated. For this purpose, first he set up a school for girls in 1906 prior to a school for boys and the Akal Degree College at Mastuana. He laid foundation stones to establish a chain of schools and colleges. He invariably participated in several educational conferences motivating the establishment of a number of schools and colleges.
Laying Foundation Stone of Banaras Hindu University In 1904, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya thought of establishing a University and started working whole time for it leaving his lucrative law practice. During the same period, Annie Besant and other leaders were also working for a similar cause and established Central Hindu College at Banaras. In 1911, all joined hands and formed ‘The Hindu University Society’ under the leadership of Pandit Ji with its headquarters at Allahabad. Kashi Naresh Dr Vibhuti Narain Singh donated 1300 acres of land at Banaras for this noble causeThe news that Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was coming to Mastuana, spread like a wildfire. One of Sant Attar Singh’s followers, because of the summer heat and poor road condition, sent for a few mares, which the Pandit Ji politely refused.
On his arrival at the Ashram, Pandit Ji found Sant Ji reciting Kabir’s hymns:
Awal Allah Noor Upaya qudrat ke sab bande,
Ek noor te sab jag upjeya, kaun bhale, ko mande (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1349)
(From the One and the same Light, the entire universe came into existence..”
Suraj Kiran Miley Jal Ka Jal Hua Ram
Jyoti Jyot Rali Sampurn Thia Ram (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 846)
(Just like a ray becomes one with the sun and water becomes one with the ocean, the Divine soul (Atma) becomes one with the Infinite Divine Reality (Parmatama).
Sant Attar Singh Ji was such a great soul that he was perhaps the first Sikh personality to be affectionately accorded the holy title of ‘Sant’ by the Sikh Panth and Sangat in the 20th century, an honorific, which sadly is freely and frivolously bandied about nowadays and has, as a result, lost much of its original gravitas.