United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America and Canada
August 12: Ireland, Belfast
Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj Visits Parliament in Ireland On August 12, 2011, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj and his gracious spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji visited both the Houses of Parliament of Ireland in Belfast. The historic visit took place at the invitation from Lord Rana who played
a leading role towards Power Sharing Agreement between Catholics and Protestants which ended the 40-year long armed conflict between the two sects of Christianity.
No wonder he is greatly respected by the people of Ireland today.While the officers welcomed the Divine Couple with a deep spirit of warmth, Lord Rana introduced Baba Ji and and Pujya Mata Ji to both the houses of Parliament. He also explained to the Divine Couple the organizational set up and working of
various Ministries. His Holiness blessed all the Hon’ble Members as well as officials so that they may uphold the cause of truth and peace for the people of their country.
Later, Lord Rama invited the divine couple to his residence where he served them like any devotee of the Mission. Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji also saw the famous ship – Titanic which was built by 16000 workers. A film has also been made on this ship. Later, His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji were seen off at the airport by Lord Rana and the Mission’s devotees. And on their arrival in Birmingham (UK), they were led to the Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan in a colourful procession. While Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji adorned an open vehicle, the devotees led them with band, drums and Bhangra dance.
Addressing the devotees at the Bhawan briefly, His Holiness said,
“While remembering God devotees go beyond their physical bodies and enjoy the bliss at soul. This unites them in this divine cord of devotion"
August 14: England, Birmingham
On August 14, 2011, after the conclusion of his spiritual tour to Ireland, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj arrived at Birmingham. A 'Mukti Parv' Samagam, organized at a national level, was celebrated there the same day. The West Midland Police and Sewa Dal volunteers helped make traffic and parking
arrangement for the occasion. Devotees started reaching Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan, the venue for Samagam, at 9.00 a.m. A Nirankari Exhibition, installed at the left of the venue, was a point of focal attraction for the new members, VIPs and devotees during the programme. On the other side of the Satsang Bhawan, arrangements had been made for 'Langar' or community kitchen for the all.
The programme for the Samagam started sharp at 11.00 a.m. The Hon'ble Mayor of Sandwell David Wess, Mayor of Dudlee Dr. Bangar, Counsel Genral of India Shri Guru Raj and many other representatives from religious and social organizations attended the Samagam and clearly showed Mission's respect for all the religions.
The Hon'ble Mayor of Sandwell read out an honorary message of the Parliament for His Holiness and also said that the message of love and peace as given by His Holiness is all the more needed in the present circumstances.
Blessing the congregation His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj stated;
“Unless man attains knowledge of his self, Salvation is not possible. Devoid of the knowledge of Truth man can not attain self-realization and considers himself only a physical entity. Living with pride and hatred, he is always ready to harm others to make a gain for himself; he cuts others down to prove himself taller
than others! But true height is attained only by living a high or lofty life.
King Martin Luther said, 'I will not permit anyone to cause a downfall of my soul'.Saints do not nurture hatred for anyone on account of anything; rather they love all. The teachings of saints and sages provide a remedy to the disease of pride
and hatred. Even when man treads a path contrary to the one shown by saints and sages, he still proclaims himself to be their follower! It is only by adopting the teachings of saints and sages that we can live with love, peace and brotherhood.
August 15: England, Birmingham
His Holiness Attends Independence Day Reception In Birmingham as Chief Guest On August 15, 2011, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj participated in a Reception hosted by High Commission of India to celebrate India’s 65th Independence Day. The Counsel General Shri Guru Raj Rao had invited His Holiness
while attending the Mukti Parv Samagam organized by the Mission in Birmingham on August 14.
The special function was being attended by Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Deputy Mayor of Sandwell, Deputy Mayor of Dudley, Chief Constable of Police, Lord Lieutenant representing the Queen, High Sheriff, Central Ministers, the Leader and Deputy Leader of Birmingham and Heads of various political, social and religious organizations. While Counsel General welcomed His Holiness, all guests came forward to meet Baba Ji and seek his blessings. Smt. Sudha Rao, wife of Shri Guru Raj Rao said that the arrival of His Holiness has converted the whole place into a temple.
Blessing the gathering, Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj said, “In every age, saints, Gurus and prophets gave the message of love and peace to every human being. The Sant Nirankari Mission is also endeavouring to promote their teachings so that humanity is saved from getting fragmented and we live with the spirit of human unity. Even though violence may take place in one part of the world, the rest of mankind just cannot escape. It is, therefore essential that every human being contributes towards this aspect. I am proud to be an Indian but hope that the message of love will go all over the world.”
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham thanked Baba Ji and other guests and hoped that the relations between the people of India and UK will strengthen further. His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji took their dinner with the guests. Everybody seemed to be approaching Baba Ji and seeking his divine blessings.
August 16: Bradford, North England
Blessing a congregation on August 16, 2011 at Bradford in Yorkshire, North England, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj stated.
“Every object and reason which distracts man from his source, Lord Formless can be called 'Maya' or falsehood; it is not worldly wealth alone which is called 'Maya'. All the saints have told man that life in human species and human breath are extremely valuable. Man should realize the true value of every single breath of
his human life by living in God-awareness every moment. By living in such a manner man will make his life blissful which does not get disturbed by any ups and downs of life. Saints live a devoted life within Divine-Will; their exemplary life also inspires many others.”
Prior to this, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj also blessed the family of Rev Sohan Lal Ji, a devotee of Mission who left his mortal frame at the young age of 49; all the members of Bhai Sahib Jawahar Singh Ji's family have been devotedly serving the Mission since many decades.The same day, Baba Ji also
visited Leeds and spent sometime with local saints."
August 18: Leicester, East Midlands, England
On August 18, 2011 a congregation was organized at a hall, Platinum Suits in Leicester. It was attended by City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, Deputy Mayor Manjula Sood, Queen’s representative High Shariff Sardar Resham Singh Sandhu and representatives from Afghan Society, Jain Society, Brahmkumari Society, Gurudwara Sahib and many other organizations. All of them welcomed Baba Ji by presenting him
floral bouquets.
The programme was also attended by a large number of eminent Muslim brothers and sisters. A mention has to be made of the fact that Muslim brothers are keeping 'Rozas' or fasts for the month of Ramzan these days; to facilitate them to open their fast at 8:28 p.m. while the congregation was still going on, a special arrangement had been made for them in the same hall to offer their prayers and open their 'Roza' according to their custom! Such an effort on the part of Sant Nirankari Mission clearly conveyed the message that the Mission aims at the transformation of the minds instead of the religions of people!
Hon'ble Mayor of the city also highly appreciated the Mission's efforts and contribution for the social welfare in the city and the world. Hon'ble High Shariff asked and implored all to embrace and imbibe the message of love as given by Baba Ji. Hon'ble Deputy Mayor mentioned that of the hundreds of pledges they had made with the citizens of the city, it was still the Mission's five pledges which were more significant and valuable! In his blessings His Holiness Baba
Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj stated;
“Life becomes lofty not with material wealth, name, fame and worldly achievements but by attaining God-knowledge and imbibing divine virtues. True religion is to imbibe the virtues of tolerance, love, humility etc. while living one's life; only then can man prove himself to be worthy of being called human; to be human is to be truly religious. Saints and sages gave their message and teachings so that man could live as a true human. But strangely man has some how always moved in a direction contrary to saints' teachings! Seeing man go astray from true path, saints and sages always called upon man to move in the true direction. If man was already moving in the true direction, there was no need for saints to give him the message to move in true direction; a person who is already sitting does not need any message to tell him to sit down. The company of saints bestows true wisdom; man's life gets transformed in the company of true saints; a demon by the name 'Kauda Rakshasa' got completely transformed into a saint through God-realization. Through God-knowledge man rises above the feeling of difference and discrimination and looks equally upon all as
his own. It is the feeling of pride and hatred based upon differences and discrimination which is the root-cause of every evil.”
Prior to the programme, His Holiness also visited the Media Center. After the conclusion of the programme, Baba Ji arrived at the local Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan and blessed the assembled devotees there
August 21: England, London
Nirankari Sant Samagam Held in LondonLondon hosted a huge Nirankari Sant Samagam on Sunday, August 21, 2011 in the Byran Hall known for its vast capacity. The Samagam was graced by His Holiness
Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, his holy mother Nirankari Rajmata Kulwant Kaur Ji and his gracious spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji. Other saints from India who participated in the Samagam included Rev K.R. Chadha, Vice-Chairman Central Planning and Advisory Board, Rev Joginder Kaur Ji, Member Incharge Prachar Vibhag, Rev Sandeep Khinda Ji of Foreign Department and Rev Jagtar 'Jagga' Geetkar. Even though the Samagam was to begin at 11.00 a.m., devotees started pouring in right from 9.00 a.m. They represented various cultures of India. Among local VIPs, the Deputy Mayor of London Richard Barnes, Member Parliament Virender Sharma and heads of several religious and social organizations were present to welcome Baba Ji, Nirankari Rajmata Ji and Pujya Mata Ji.
Welcoming His Holiness on behalf of the citizens of London, the Hon'ble Deputy Mayor said, “The youth today is so misguided that we find the tendencies of plunder and violence on the increase. We witnessed the riots here only few days back. It is a matter of concern as to why the youth should act so violently while there is no dearth of material wealth. It seems the elders are failing to adopt human values and that is why the youth is also going astray. Let us all seek the blessings of His Holiness so that there is peace and harmony all around.”
Addressing the Samagam, Rev Nirankari Rajmata Ji stated, “Human life is as precious as diamond. But man seems to be wasting it like shells. No doubt, shells can be found anywhere, while we get a diamond with great difficulty. Just as animals understand the language of the animals, human beings understand the language of human beings. For God-knowledge, therefore, man must approach the one who is familiar with the same and he is the True Master, Satguru.”
Blessing the gathering, His Holiness said, “This time, I am visiting UK for 13 days and addressing 13 congregations at different places. As already pointed out by the Hon'ble Deputy Mayor of London, man's social behaviour is causing concern for every right thinking person. It seems that man's behaviour has deteriorated because he has ignored the role of spirituality in his daily life. Spirituality is being defined as a set of rites and rituals or dogmas, whereas it is the supreme source of all noble human values. Since elders have ignored this aspect, the youth is also moving towards downfall. Children will always speak the language they listen from elders and do what they learn from elders.On the other hand, saints have always endeavoured to redeem humanity. It is very easy to spread hatred, jealousy and violence, but very difficult to promote peace, unity, harmony and respect for each other. And it is the saints who do this difficult task. They may live anywhere, speak any language, but the noble values they promote remain the same. As we look around, we find the tendencies of violence increasing everywhere. They are bringing bad name to religion also. That is why common man is moving away from religion. Naturally, he would not like the religion that spreads hatred or divides humanity. What we need today, therefore, is to understand true religion and promote the same. Let us follow the teachings of saints, Gurus and prophets. That will be the best tribute to their efforts.”Earlier, His Holiness visited Oxford and blessed the devotees there. He visited the family of Lachhman Singh Ji who lost their young son recently. Baba Ji blessed the family so that they accept this will of God as it is.
August 24: Toronto, Canada
Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj’s first stop on His North American tour was Toronto, Canada. On Wednesday August 24, 2011, hundreds of devotees gathered in the pouring rain at the Toronto Bhawan to welcome Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, His esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji, Rev Sandeep Khinda Ji and Rev Jagtar Jagga Ji, all arriving from India, after spending time spreading the message of
the mission of peace and unity in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Toronto devotees performed many artistic acts for the Divine Couple, including traditional Indian dances. Small children did a performance with ribbons, while youth played instruments in a band. The Chinese dragon dance was performed by professionals. Many age groups participated in the welcoming of the Divine Couple, and each person was engrossed in the love bestowed upon them by His Holiness. The enthusiasm of the devotees was building up since news of His Holiness’ visit was announced.Since that time, on a daily basis devotees were dedicated to practicing and organizing for the visit. Sewa Dal was dressed in their uniforms ready to serve in every corner of the event.
The entire program was colourful and creative. During the evening congregation, Satguru Baba Ji said, “Whichever location he toured in whether it was Nepal, Nicobar Islands, Punjab, Maharashtra, all saints were hued in the colour of devotion even living in less than fortunate situations. Yet their spiritual bliss and faith in God provides a guiding light in their lives. Today in Toronto and elsewhere saints are spreading the message of the Mission. For this the saints ask for blessings so this light may spread in everyone’s life. His Holiness explained how saints of all ages in UK and here in Toronto, the kids and elderly are also spreading this mission. Making reference to the rain, His Holiness said that when it rains the peacock dances. Similar feelings were felt by all even in the rain, with feelings of spiritual bliss.
His Holiness expressed happiness to be in Ontario, and to continue into Quebec and Western Canada. His Holiness said, he’s very glad to be here after two years and many have travelled to Samagams. It’s not possible for the whole city to travel to India. We should continue on this path and work to move this Mission forward with compassion and humility. The tour will continue with His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji and saints travelling across Canada, until September and ending the tour in the United States of America in late September.
August 25-26: Barrie, Canada
After a gap of several years, Barrie a smaller city north of Toronto was graced by a two day visit from His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji, Pujya Mata Ji, Rev Sandeep Khinda Ji, Rev Jagtar Jagga Ji, and Rev Vivek Sharma Ji.The families who started Satsang in Barrie were the children of the late Rev Rishi Vyas Dev Ji’s family from Mumbai, India. His children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, four generations in the Mission presented His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji with skits, and poetry.
A Mahapurush who had moved from Baroda, India performed an Aarti for the holy couple in their home. They spoke about the visit and explained that upon leaving Baroda and settling in Canada, their biggest fear was not being able to serve His Holiness in Canada. On this day, His Holiness blessed the family in their new home in Barrie, Canada and the family prepared dinner for the holy couple.The two day stay was filled with tears of joy and bliss. Each family member felt sheer gratitude that the holy couple had given them the opportunity to serve.
One saint commented to Baba Ji that she could live without everything in life, but always wanted to be blessed with more Sewa (selfless service), Simran (prayer) and Satsang (congregation). This saint later commented that her new house, only now felt like a home after the visit of His Holiness and the saints
August 27: Toronto, Canada
On a bright sunny afternoon, more than two hundred Sewa Dal from Montreal, Toronto and USA gathered for a Sewa Dal Rally on Saturday, August 27th. Each centre took part in the rally and cohesively showed the discipline required of Sewa Dal during the exercises. Even Bal Sewa Dal from Toronto under the age of 16 were fully dressed and participating. While wearing the uniform, members competed in exhibition games.
The games played were, musical chairs, and tug of war. During a skit, the Sewa Dal illustrated how even in sleep they are committed to the discipline required of a Sewa Dal member.
The Sewa Dal members built human pyramids to show how team work is important to reaching an end goal. When His Holiness Baba Ji addressed the Sewa Dal he said: "The selfless service that is being performed is part of devotion. Devotees perform selfless service with their body, mind and wealth. They feel gratitude for this opportunity to do service. Youth feel blessed if elders request Sewa of them, and elders hope not to dishearten youngsters. One should never be disheartened.The type of service given should never be ranked. Whether it is removing snow in the winter, even if Sewa is being done in the cold, it should be done in a selfless manner. If devotees have this humility then they will never be disheartened. One has to keep this humility and never avoid Sewa. This does not only include inside the Mission but outside too.Youngsters have played a huge role in the social services area. They are contributing to social services with dedication which is highlighting the Mission.
As a watch is worn there are many moving parts. There are small/big cranks, wheels, various springs and dials. When all these moving parts do their jobs, we all benefit. They are all different parts but work together cohesively, just as volunteers serve without paying any attention to who has the bigger job or the smaller job. No service is too small or too large.In India, in Samagam, Sewa Dal youngsters come from all over India without luxuries, as they put everything aside and volunteered. People tend to ask if they are paid volunteers. It is explained to them that all volunteers have their own sources of livelihood, encompassing jobs ranging in management or owing businesses. People respond by saying that the services have been performed in such
a simple manner. This is because volunteers forget their social status. When people see this they get shocked. In today’s age people only think about themselves.
A tree gives everyone shade, so should devotees. Devotees should never get weak about Sewa.Kids with very small hands are doing Sewa in this young age too. Many parents are concerned that kids are looking to vices and misusing their energy. Instead of virtues it's vices occupying their time and this energy could be channelized in a proper way to become an asset to society.”The evening continued with families doing Namaskar to the holy couple. Many devotees arrived from Eastern Canada and America to attend the Toronto samagam.
August 28: Toronto, Canada
Toronto welcomed thousands of devotees and guests on Sunday, August 28th at the Apollo Convention Centre. His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, his esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji were in attendance.Many of the Sewa Dal members had stayed up all night preparing for the Samagam which included sewing the backdrop by hand, to meticulously arranging the audio/visual equipment, seating, stage and live telecast. Each Sewadar with discipline successfully brought the entire program together with the blessings of His Holiness.
Upon arrival, many welcomed His Holiness, including the Honourable Member of Parliament Mississauga-Streetsville, Brad Butt. He thanked the Mission for standing up for peace, love and unity. In addition, Gordon Randell, from the Salvation Army presented a certificate of appreciation to His Holiness for the continuous donations made on Guru Puja Diwas. Karry Kwan from the Canadian Blood Services presented the Mission a Partners for Life Award for their over 10 years of blood donation support. The city of Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell sent a letter welcoming the holy couple. Toronto Area Interfaith Council President Zul Kassamali along with Reverend Leslie Mezei of Universal Worship, also greeted the holy couple.
Many young devotees from Eastern Canada and America shared thought-provoking messages. Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji was referenced when he once said that the source of our anger and violence can be traced to our mind. Another discussed love being the highest stage of spiritual blessings. It was said that one must only be sincere in the desire to know God in order to get God knowledge. One devotee engaged in dialogue about examining a spiritual and moral crisis within. Then the conversation continued with a thought that Einstein once said mystery is the greatest experience. It was also said that we need to see the greater purpose today which is why His Holiness is here, for the awakening of mankind and to spread love. Lastly, Rev Sandeep Khinda Ji explained that in chemistry a catalyst is required for a reaction to begin. The catalyst here is the removal of the ego.
Addressing the congregation, His Holiness said:
“In this lifetime God gave us a life but man did not manage it properly. God gave man a precious life like a jewel that man has squandered off. Humans turn their backs to the truth and instead choosing to burn in anger. Humans live this way, he himself makes his life bitter. The veil of ignorance is the reason we define
ourselves with certain religious identities. Our true entity is the soul from over soul, neither Christian, Jew, Sindhi, Punjabi, fair or dark. The soul is from that over soul that is our true identity. With that feeling, then there is no reason to hate one another. Ignorance has disunited us from God. Since we are already
disunited from God , it cannot be expected that we will be in unity with mankind.The space between the moon and Earth, Sun and moon, and planets have millions of miles of distance. This earth itself is homogenous it is in continuity, as there are many languages and cultures. But it doesn’t mean that we have to see others as aliens or not equal to myself. The diversity is the beauty. The creation of God Almighty is the beauty. Imagine if everything was the same. The universe is diverse so are all the planets.There was a time that no one thought the Berlin wall would disappear. The cold war was going on. Nobody could imagine that the Berlin wall would crash. Then steps were taken and wisdom prevailed. That barrier came down. In our minds we have walls that are manmade. In our beliefs we give them physical shape. That’s why there is no harmony.
One person remarked that how could anyone say that civilization has not advanced, it has advanced because in every world war we kill men in a different way than before. Unfortunately, that’s the advancement today. In the United Kingdom it was said - ‘let’s globalize love not hatred.’ Prejudice is a lock to the door to
wisdom. It is said that love is God. Build relationship with love. When the Butterfly advances and grows it will always grow towards the flowers. When it rises and when it comes down it will onto flowers. Even when it parishes it will onto flowers. It knows how to live and die amongst flowers.”After the end of Samagam devotees who had travelled great distances continued on their journey home with blessings in hand
After the Samagam was held in Toronto, many youth were ready in the evening to perform for the holy couple; skits, songs and dances for a cultural program. The youth had been preparing for several weeks, meeting on evenings and weekends to perfect their roles. Dressed in traditional Indian sarees, youth were celebrating unity in diversity. Dances included a classical theme, Sufi dance and Punjabi Bhangra.
The skits illustrated and gave messages of practicing what you preach. Other skits while humorous still conveyed the message of not judging others. The songs were praising the Lord Master, expressing the attitude of gratitude and some were singing farewell songs.His Holiness Baba Ji said, “Since arriving in Toronto devotees’ hearts have been filled with love. In India we get to see even in rain devotees are dancing and singing. From afar in the rain devotees are doing Sewa. Here on Wednesday night there was rain and in everyone’s hearts there was love.
Saturday there was a Sewa Dal Rally where youngsters asked for blessings. Then after a beautiful view of devotees who were attending from far places we had an opportunity to meet. Today as well as a family we are celebrating.In Birmingham the Indian high commission did a dinner where Ministers, Counselors and Mayors were invited in the city centre. There were dignitaries who had attended the congregation in Birmingham, for the first time and ones that had attended before and they were speechless.
They said they were still feeling the bliss of the Birmingham congregation.Whenever possible don’t let small things keep us away from congregation. We spend so much time wasting our lives on small things, we end up giving those small things importance and we stop attending congregation. Through conversations with
devotees that left the congregation and came back, they deeply regretted it and wonder how they will ever get those years back. Our focus is on .2% of someone saying something negative. What about the other 99.8% that is positive and has more value? We should value those things that do well for people. Our faith gets stronger with positive things. Devotion should always be from the heart. The brain is full of ego. When we look down upon others it is either we are looking from far away and not seeing the full picture or because of ego.
Don’t let the thread of love break. Stay with love. Often there are feelings of love in our heart but those perish the moment brain interferes. Just like a river which is full of water until it hits a desert. At that very moment all the water gets soaked into the sand and the existence of the river itself ends.
Kids are participating and learning musical instruments so that they can contribute to the congregation. When we leave India the congregation gets together they say you’re leaving but my heart is not filled. I think this is the love that should never be filled. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a thirst. “
August 30: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj’s second stop on His North American tour was in Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday August 30th. Saints started gathering as of 2 PM in the afternoon, eager to welcome Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, his esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji, Rev. Sandeep Khinda Ji and Rev Jagtar Jagga Ji and seek the blessings of His Holiness.
Upon arrival of His Holiness at the Bhawan, he was enthusiastically welcomed by the local Sadh Sangat. The Bal Sangat performed cultural folk dances which expressed their love towards Satguru and their happiness and joy in seeing him. His Holiness was officially welcomed to Montreal by Ms. Carola Haney, the Special Assistant to Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament, who acknowledged the
efforts of the Sant Nirankari Mission to the welfare of society. Ms. Kettley Beauregard, the President of the Canadian International Haitian Group, expressed her sincere appreciation towards the efforts of the Sant Nirankari Mission in supporting the Haitian community after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010. She also presented His Holiness with a plaque that recognized the Mission for their Humanitarian efforts.
During the evening congregation, Satguru Baba Ji said:
“The Nirankari Mission is a mission of love and peace, with its main goal to bring about Harmony in this world. Wherever the Sadh Sangat is, they not only serve this mission selflessly, but they also serve and contribute to their local community by giving a helping hand whenever it is needed, such as relief efforts after a natural disaster.”His Holiness made reference to the Haiti Earthquake relief efforts in 2010, and stated that what the Sant Nirankari Mission strives to is continuously making efforts in serving on humanitarian grounds.”Following the congregation, the families did Namaskar to His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji and sought their blessings
September 1: Edmonton, Canada
His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj arrived in Edmonton on Thursday, September 1, 2011. He was welcomed at the Sant Nirankari Bhawan there by saints from Edmonton and Calgary. The Edmonton children expressed their joy and happiness in the form of Bhangra. Later that evening, the Alberta level Samagam was held from 6pm to 8pm at the ACCA centre in Edmonton. Several invited guests and dignitaries were present here to meet His Holiness and welcome him to the province of Alberta. Included in these dignitaries were Kerry Diote, Councillor, City of Edmonton, and Honourable Dave Hancock, Q.C. Government House Leader, MLA, Minister of Education, who both graciously welcomed His Holiness during the Samagam, while also commending the efforts of the Sant Nirankari Mission to better all of humanity. Other than that, there were several speeches and hymns delivered by Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto saints in the languages of English, Hindi and Punjabi, which were related to the teachings of the Mission and the blessings of the True Master. There was mention about how His Holiness was visiting Edmonton after a lapse of 5 years, and the love, bliss and contentment in the eyes of the local saints was extremely overwhelming to witness. As always, the Samagam concluded with a sermon from His Holiness.
Babaji expressed in his words:
“Today in the city of Edmonton, I feel great happiness to see you saints after 5 years. I have had a chance to come to Calgary regularly, but over here the opportunity has come after some time. There are many such places that I have been on this trip where there has been a huge lapse between visits, whether that be in UK, Ireland or North America. Nonetheless, wherever I go, the same message of humanity and love is being spread. Also in India itself, there are many regions speaking different languages who are speaking about the betterment of humanity. We witness here today how young kids were also providing inspiration to all of us. At the same time, so were the youth and elderly saints. They were all talking about the purpose of human life. This is essentially the life of a saint; he not only receives blessings himself, but he provides this same bliss to others too. This has been spoken about for ages and ages. If we talk about the Satyug, a young kid such as Prahlada understood the truth, but his father, Hiranyakashyap never could understand this. Now let us question ourselves: who do we remember and look up to today? Is it the saintly son, Prahlada, or his vicious father, Hiranyakashyap? Thus, it is clearly evident that from time to time there have been some people who
follow this path, but the question is the number of people who actually do? In today's world, many follow a path of hatred and jealousy. There are rituals being performed, prayers being rendered, and pilgrimages being walked, yet our mind is still wandering aimlessly. The faster we realize the Truth and rise above such ritualism, the faster we will make our surroundings beautiful.We heard about the same message of love from those who were born in this Mission, those who joined it and the respected dignitaries.”
His Holiness then reiterated in English:
“It is a very happy time to be here in Edmonton after a gap of 5 years. I am pleased to spend this time with you. May good senses prevail. Let us prove that we are a higher species than the rest of the animal kingdom. Man has to prove this. That is what is being said by all present here today. The dignitaries in attendance are also working for the betterment of the community and country. It is important to work for this and the betterment of humanity. For example, the sun has had its importance throughout the ages. Similarly the path of righteousness has had importance before and is also important today. Whatever disunites us from God disunites us from humans. We are not close to God because we have barriers of regionalism. Wise are those who break these barriers. They do not differentiate amongst others, considering each and everyone their own. They realize that we are all souls who come from the same Over-Soul.God has given us brain and heart. Whether it is a heart or brain, both are being used to breed hatred. Although we are born as humans, we are not living in such a manner. This is because we have not established love in our hearts. Peace is in
pieces now.
I had the opportunity to go to the European Parliament a few years ago, and the Mission went with the slogan ‘Peace, not pieces, let’s work for it’. Peace is required everywhere. Peace is needed in our houses, in our neighbourhoods, and in our lives as a whole. That is why we pray to God that peace may prevail. This is
only possible if we have love in our hearts. That is what is required today; we have to create such an environment to establish peace.”
Baba Ji then went on to say:
“The words of prophets have always carried value, like the sun. Such thoughts have always had importance. We do say that we are living in the Kalyug, but we fail to realize that the importance of this should be more now rather than less. But the worldly people give so much importance to hatred and violence. They love hatred, not love, even though they know that it is for their own and others’ demise.There is a quote in English, ‘Separate yourself from that what separates you from others’. So why not separate such things? Why not embrace those thoughts which connect us with others?
Since we were a child, we were told what to do and what not to do. But for some reason our thinking becomes opposite. The opposite thinking of Raavan and Hiranyakashyap led to their demises. When wrong thinking prevails, there will be destruction. Subsequently, there will be no happiness. Only saints inspire us to
follow the right path. Adversely, we see the inspiration we receive from the world to walk in the wrong direction. That is why we are told to always keep the company of saints. We see that people reside in cities, villages and towns. They are populated and continue to grow, but there is no one populated with wisdom. This is because they follow in a direction of destruction. It has only been the saints and sages who
tell the right way of living. They talk about closing these distances between humanity. Even today, the same message is being taught. But again, the repetition of this message would not have been necessary if man easily understood. Conversely, man looked down upon those who were on the right path. Saints always try to make humans understand, but only a rare few truly comprehend. If all actually understood, then there would be no reason to quarrel. Consequently, an enlightened soul tells us a way of life, and all quarrels eliminate themselves.
A rabbit came to a locksmith and asked him for a carrot. The locksmith annoyingly told him, ‘I mend iron and don’t sell carrots’. The rabbit repeatedly continued to do this for many days, until the locksmith got frustrated one day and punched out the rabbit’s teeth. The following day, the rabbit came back once again to the locksmith, but this time he said: ‘Since I have no teeth left now, can I have carrot juice instead?’
What this comical story is trying to explain is that just like that rabbit, humans have become so stubborn. They are not ready to shed their vices. They are not ready to embrace a new way of living. And just because of this stubbornness, the world is in harm. Man will continue to sleep in ignorance and get looted. However,
an awakened soul can still salvage something. In this world, if you stay asleep, you will lose everything, but if you wake up, then you can receive everything. What are you waiting for? What life in the future are you looking forward to?
What will guarantee us salvation in the future? Let us realize that the time is here, the time is now.It is due to this darkness of ignorance that we consider a rope as a snake. The darkness created a misconception in our minds, created a fear in our minds. But when there is light, we can clearly see that it is a rope and all misconceptions and fears eliminate themselves. Then we can say that all that was not mine has been forfeited, since I have found the company of saints. No one is an enemy, neither a stranger. Now there is no one being seen as a lower being. It is the same soul in all beings, regardless of the gender, regardless of the race. Then we become a contributor to a more beautiful environment. This is the talk of the time; this is what is needed now. Time doesn't stop for anybody. We pass our whole life, and yet we still do not truly
know how to live life. It is like an elderly person who has seen many summers and winters, but still doesn’t understand what to do. Wisdom does not come with age. An aged/experienced person is not one who has lived for many years. For example, the child Prahlada was wiser than his father. Furthermore, it is neither about the wealth we possess materialistically; it is about having a wealthy heart. We need to be open-hearted. In this way, prophets have lived a great life as they never faltered from the path of righteousness.
They stayed in that state, regardless of the circumstances around him. May God bless everyone with such thinking so that they can understand the words of the prophets. Words can carry on, but time has limits. Hence, in the end, I would like to express my happiness once again of being here in Edmonton. When I left India, the saints there conveyed their love and wishes, and now after visiting England and Ireland, the saints there have also added their wishes. May this continue as this trip progresses. May we celebrate this happiness ourselves and also share this happiness with others. My first trip to the province of Alberta was in1976, where we did Satsang in Calgary. There was only one family there. Subsequently, I had more chances to come here from time to time. In the last year, no countries in the Western World could be visited. Nevertheless, wherever I'm going, I am getting immense happiness to see the love, devotion and selflessness of the saints, and how they are working to establish true religion, which is the religion of humanity. I am happy to see the steps that are being taken to spread this message. We have to work together to strengthen this aspect. With these good wishes and prayers, I ask for your leave.”
September 2: Calgary, Canada
His Holiness departed by road from Edmonton on Friday afternoon, and arrived in Calgary. Upon arrival, His Holiness was welcomed by Calgary and Edmonton saints at the local Satsang Bhawan, which was followed by a Bhangra performance.Subsequently, His Holiness proceeded towards the opening of the exhibition set up by the Calgary youth and children. The exhibition was based around the theme of "Rise & Awake - Let's change ourselves to change the world..." Various art pieces were created with different aspects of what His Holiness and the Mission focus on, such as "Rise & Awake for Self-Realization", "Rise & Awake for Environment", "Rise & Awake for Community", "Rise & Awake for Noble Actions" and so on. The exhibition concluded with a "Walk of Enlightenment" where the exhibitors creatively displayed
the lives of various prophets and saints throughout history.
As part of the opening of the exhibition, Babaji unveiled the curtain to the main entrance, hoisted a "flag of flags" made by the Calgary children, and added more painting to a canvas that was originally started by him on his previous trip in 2009. At the end of the exhibition, His Holiness wrote in the guestbook, blessing all those who were involved with the exhibition. The Calgary youth presented a small gift as a white wristband reading "Peace not Pieces" to Babaji and Pujya Mataji, which was worn by them throughout the night's festivities. The opening of the exhibition was followed by a cultural program which included various devotional songs, a skit prepared by the Edmonton kids, a Giddha performance by the Calgary girls, a music video made by the Calgary kids, and an Antakshri of devotional songs.
This was followed by a sermon from His Holiness, in which he said:
"Once again today, I have the opportunity to see you saints. Two years ago, this Bhawan was gifted to you. There were a lot of efforts made by the saints to build this Bhawan, whether it be the contributions of the young or old, with proper facilities so that we can comfortably do Satsang, while utilizing the Bhawan for other activities for the betterment of humanity.
As I mentioned yesterday that since Baba Gurubachan Singh Ji's time, I have been visiting Calgary. There used to be Sangat at Rev. Narinder Sood ji's house. Also, who can forget the commitment of Rev. Kanwal Ji, a great saint who dedicated his whole life to spread the message of the Mission? You witnessed the enthusiasm of the younger kids from Edmonton today who performed a skit. We have heard about Rev. Navneet Ji, the daughter of the Parmukh of Kolkata, who in such a short time, created such a warm space in the hearts of the Edmonton Sangat. It is very true that there are some lives that create a special place in our hearts. This is not possible to do through other forms such as constantly chanting slogans. Most people demand respect, but there are some who command respect.
Those who tread on a saintly path command respect. Let us question: does a flower have to ever ask for respect? It is the flower's attributes that automatically make it stand out, commanding respect. Or when did the diamond ever say that I am valuable? It is the attributes of a diamond that make it valuable. Similar are the tendencies of saints. Let us decorate our lives with the attributes of God; saints just pray for this. It is true that they do pray, but they also actually perform actions. There are individuals, such as athletes and artists, who have certain forms of strength in them. These strengths do not come natural. Athletes have to endure pain and push themselves to their limits for long times so that they can gain perfection. Dedication and determination is needed. In devotion (Bhakti), doing prayer is great and God does give us strength, but we still have to take a step forward ourselves.
The one who actually respects and builds relationships with saints, performs selfless service (sewa), which strengthens the saintly qualities of humility and love. I pray that everyone's lives are imbibed with such qualities. Since we were kids, we have heard about the same stories and examples of many great saints who not only received the Truth, but they lived the Truth. The ones who live life according to the will of Guru (Gurmat), they automatically live the Truth. We see a change in their lives. Their voice becomes soft and sweet. If we follow the will of our minds (Manmat), then we will become intolerant. The lives of saints are truly great. The moment you praise them, they become humbler. Opposite is the tendency of the world. A worldly person becomes more boastful. For example, a tree that bears fruits will always bow lower. Similarly, the more and more a devotee becomes humbler, the more and more attributes are imbibed.
Wherever I have visited, I have seen a lot of commitment and devotion. May God bless all with more power of devotion. May a devotee always be motivated to come to Sangat. May his hands come to the use of Sewa. Happiness is always achieved when we see saints. O Lord, you have given us these eyes to see the beauty of the world, but let us remember that we seek the company of saints. Let us long to always see the Creator, and not just the creation. We hear the stories of disciples who talk about how they feel empty even if a day goes by without meeting a saint. From the days of our childhood, during the time of Shahenshah Ji, we got to see such great motivation. May God always make such moments.
May we always ask for love, may we always pray for humility.It was great to see the joy and happiness expressed by you saints earlier when we arrived. You could see the hard work and dedication of the kids and youth in the exhibition, using a very beautiful concept. I often say that God has filled so much talents in these kids. May these talents be properly channelled so they come to good use and they become a medium to preach the message of the Mission even further. Subsequently, now you saw how the kids used various arts and music to explain how we have to stay awaken while leading our lives.As I travel from city to city, I am getting very limited time to spend with you saints. Nevertheless, may we take full advantage of this time. Being inspired by this, may this inspiration even grow further. Dhan Nirankar Ji"
September 4: Calgary, Canada
A Satsang program was organized in Calgary, Canada on the Sunday morning from 11am to 1pm. There were many devotional songs, speeches and poems expressed in the languages of English, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi by saints. Mr. Rick Orman, ex-MLA, welcomed His Holiness, talking about how he was so impressed with the efforts of the Mission. He further mentioned how he was very pleased with the "Rise & Awake" exhibition.
Discourse by His Holiness:
“Saints say with love, Dhan Nirankar Ji. For the last 3 days, I have been in Alberta. Firstly in Edmonton, there was a beautiful sight to be seen. And then Friday night, in Calgary, there was another beautiful sight to behold, where many praised God with artistry. Again this wonderful moment is upon us. From young to elders through songs and other methods, a righteous calling has been made - a call to action that is necessary for the world today. Tonight, later there is another congregation: in Vancouver, two Satsang programms in one day. Also, the ex-MLA spoke and said that the principles of the Mission are commendable. The Mission has always held dear to these principles. Many have sacrificed for this purpose, for these principles, the purpose of higher living, higher state of living, a noble path.
To tread the noble path, one must follow the principles, the teachings of the saints and sages. Only with adherence to their teachings is treading this path possible. Only the followers of these teachings have attained worthwhile heights. In taking inspiration from the devotion of these legendary saints does one become a devotee.A diamond never says that 'I am so precious'. A saint similarly does not recognize his noble actions nor has ego because of it. The saints’ greatness is from the characteristic that he/she embodies. When you live in the world, the world affects you. When you see the saints’ life, you see the beauty in them. Their lives are noble, one gets inspired by them. Towards a slope water cascades down. It requires no effort for it to come down. But to bring water up a slope requires great effort - pumps, motors or physical manual labour (hand and pail). Similarly, to follow the worldly path is easy. It naturally happens for the mind to wander to these ways. Whether awake or asleep, it is easy for the man to tread the path of the worldly. Like, the example of a man who had a white sheet and he started tearing it one/two metres of sheets because during the day he was a garment manufacturer and even in his dreams he was tearing garments to size. Similarly man, is so immersed in worldly materialism, even his dreams are dominated with these thoughts.This has been the case from time immemorial. Materialism has been around for eternity. Neither materialism has ended, nor has ego ended, the body has demised (one dies but these things don't).
Those that have lived obsessed with materialism, even in the afterlife remain engrossed with material pursuits. Materialism has caused destruction, it has created walls between siblings. I don't get to watch TV often but when I see the news, I get Goosebumps looking at how much destruction is caused because of this pursuit. Needs can be fulfilled but greed cannot be. When I was in Ireland, there was rioting in England. The TV news stated that some of the rioters were 'well-off' and some of these members were after getting branded goods from the stores they looted. Needs can be fulfilled but greed cannot be. Even when we know there is suffering of the one next to us, even those that are helpless, we see people exploiting them. Even we hear of legal disputes where someone shows mercy to another, gives him a home. The one who is given a home, makes forged papers and takes advantage of the situation. It is saddening to see. We treat material wealth as if it is eternal, as if it will actually come with us. Like Guru Nanak Dev ji said, not even a needle will come with us into the after life. When Lord Ram, Lakshman ji and Sita Ji went into exile, Ram ji was ahead, Sita ji behind and Lakshman ji at the end - like in a single file line. But Lakshman ji kept going left and right behind Sita ji. If he was following Sita ji directly why is he moving left and right. Lakshman ji responded that if I follow directly where Sita ji is then I will lose sight of the Master. If I blindly follow the material, I may lose sight of God himself. A saint is like a lotus flower, he is in the water but above it still. Like a ship's purpose is to stay in water, but remain above it. While a boat remains above water it stays afloat. If water comes 'inside' the boat it sinks. Similarly, a saint remains in materialism, but if materialism comes 'into' the saint, he also sinks.
The saint shall stay in the world. But may the worldly ways not come in the saint. May we remember the Lord Almighty sitting and standing, at all times. That is the way to see if He is really truly in our heart. From our mouths we may recite endlessly, but if He is not in our hearts then it is useless. LIke if we recite 'milk' 'milk' - we don't strengthen ourselves from reciting its names, we have to sip it. but the one who is drinking is not reciting because he is busy drinking, strengthening himself. Geet from Shahennshah Avtar Ji's time: lyrics, 'that it resides all around me everywhere'. We remain in bliss because of this realization. Whether the material comforts are more or less - the bliss remains the same. The bliss remains because of the connection. Keep drinking from the nectar of knowledge. Let’s not make the mistake of just wetting our lips, let us drink from this nectar till we are saturated (full). The ways of the divine have always been clearly there. G O D - makes the word God, G first, O in the middle and D at the end. But if we turn the formula around it becomes D O G. When you remember Him, you become His reflection, you become like G O D. But if the path is forgotten then you become like the opposite. In every breath pray and remember the Almighty. No saint or sage has said that remember him for just a moment or for a while - rather ALWAYS in EVERY breath. It could have been said just as easily that remember Him for just a moment or just in the mornings. No, it was said to remember Him in EVERY moment. If there is true love for God He resides in our hearts. When man is in love with a woman, or a woman with a man - neither forgets the other. No one needs to remind the man or the woman, both in day or night, asleep or awake that you are in love. Similarly, the devotee doesn't need
reminding of the love for the Almighty, for the Lord. The saint is always reminiscent of his love for his beloved (God). Dont' just go with the flow, follow the saintly path. If their is no uniqueness in the form of righteousness between the saint and the sinner then what would the world come to. In this world there are few that are transactors of the truth.
There are few that follow the path of the truth, that are both after and motivated by the truth, by the noble and virtuous path. If we remember Him before every word, even the most negative thought by the time it reaches the lips it changes to a positive word because of the remembrance of Him before speaking. Because He is so deep, when we realize Him, we ourselves become vast (full of depth). It is vital for the saint to always remember the Lord at all times, before anything. You cannot see your reflection in a dry pond. When dryness is in our life, we see the dirt. (like a dried up lake) lips were soft like flowers petals, but the words that were said were still harmful enough to hurt and break hearts. May we keep the light forever lit. May we tread the path of righteousness continually. So that our lives may remain beautiful. Time is precious, we got a chance to gather in this congregation today.
Wherever I have gone, I have seen a passion in the youth and innocence in the children and the elders are following the path of righteousness - let this always remain. First UK was on the map of the Mission, then North America, then Eurasia and all the continents of the world. Even in India, in all the corners of the country, in all regions, in almost all languages the truth is being spoken, being recited, shared and being experienced by many. May we continue to spread the truth to all that we interact with. May we embody the virtues garnered by the truth in all our daily interactions. Within our Sangat as well, we have to treat everyone with kindness and respect. In Calgary, we had a wonderful example of a human being in the now departed Kamal ji, he was a living example of a saint. He played the administrative role of being Parmukh in Calgary. That administrative role will now be handled by Rev. Surjit Virk ji in Calgary.
May all remain positive in carrying out their responsibilities. May all remain positive that are delegated responsibilities. May all remain positive that are delegated roles. May all give their full attention to their responsibility. The most important responsibility is to remain a saint, to be a disciple. This responsibility rests on everyone's shoulders. It brings great happiness to be here, to see the love, the wonderful sentiments of
all. May these feelings always remain, whether I am visiting physically or not, day after day, year after year. Dhan Nirankar."
September 4, 5: Richmond (Vancouver), British Columbia
Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj’s fifth stop on his North American tour wasin Vancouver, Canada on Sunday, September 4th. Saints started gathering as of 3 pmin the afternoon, eager to welcome Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, his esteemedspouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji, Rev. Sandeep Khinda Ji, along with Vivek Sharma Ji,Sukhdyal Singh Ji and Jagtar Jagga Ji. Upon arrival of His Holiness at the Richmond Bhawan, he was enthusiastically welcomed by the local Sadh Sangat and by saints from Mission, Victoria, Kamloops and Seattle Sadh Sangat. The local Sangat performed folk dances such as Bhangra and Gidda in which saints expressed their love and affection towards His Holiness.
His Holiness extremely pleased with the efforts of the youth as he viewed the youth Sangat room and the exhibition. His Holiness was officially welcomed to Richmond by Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (seniors). Minister Wong is also Member of Parliament for Richmond, British Columbia, His Worship Malcolm Brodie, Mayor of the City of Richmond. His Holiness was also presented by greeting massages from Honourable, Stephen Harper – Prime Minister of Canada. Honourable Christy Clark – Premier of BC. Honourable Rob Howard – MLA, Richmond Centre and Honourable Linda Reid - MLA, Richmond East. All acknowledged the efforts of the Sant Nirankari Mission to the welfare of society and also acknowledged His Holiness’s efforts of bring unity in diversity. Addressing the congregation, His Holiness said: “Anyone who brings good wishes for the Mission brings good wishes for all of Mankind. The Mission is working to establish peace and universal brotherhood.
As we can see the brotherhood is a divided lot based on caste, creed, color, religion and nationalities. The dividing forces are working day in and day out. Yet despite this, the right minded people are working to break down these barriers and are devoting so much energy to do this. With the same material you can build walls and bridges. Religion has become a wall, a dividing force. The same religion that was supposed to fill the hearts with love, compassion, and teach to live in harmony. The greatness is in those people that look to building bridges, to bring people closer and devote their time and energy to accomplish this. Those people understand the teachings of the prophets and the sages and create the true universal brotherhood. A poet said, Looking at the world of the adults, a child is scared to grow up. We do the children a disservice when we fill their minds with the hatred and poison of the world. They are better off as children. Another poet said, ‘We see innocence in a child because they make mistakes but they don't create conspiracy.’ It is man, these adults that create conspiracies and the reason for destruction.
We speak of the recession during these economic times, but as a poet said, ‘I am not sad that the value of coin has fallen, but rather the value of man continues to fall.’ What is the value of man that remains? For a little money, he is willing to hurt and become a nuisance for another human being. Human values are falling, so much so that you cannot even forgive your own. Forgotten are those teachings of the saints and sages, but rather man has adopted teachings and ways that were never taught by them. Saints and sages still work to change the direction of man. Because if the direction can change, the way of thinking can change. Let it not be that all the years of life go by, and man does not change. ‘The question is not how many years in your life, but how much life is in your years.’ Are we actually living, or are we walking corpses? We have lived in this world, but what we refer to as love, we still don't truly understand. Life is living for others, living for love, living for the comfort of others. When we try to walk on the path of living for human values, that is when we are worthy of living. As it is said, 'when you cease to love, you cease to live,' because loving is living. There is a saying that ‘I did not know how to worship until I knew how to love’. We have to live this lesson of love and brotherhood. Brotherhood needs to be universal, not limited to the one language. We are all the same, from the same Over Soul.
We cannot limit our brotherhood to just this physical level. A new born child does not have a language, these languages that have become a dividing factor today. God is universal. God is not limited to any language, religion or other man made barriers. Man limits himself to these things and these become his focus. This becomes his world.” Following the congregation, the families did Namaskar to His Holiness and Puiya Mata Ji and sought their blessings. The next day devotees once again got a chance for holy Darshan.
Devotees came in large numbers with much happiness and enthusiasm to attain Baba Ji's holy glimpse and blessings. His Holiness blessed the Vancouver Sangat on Sept 5th with a day of picnic along with his esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji at Capilano River Regional Park in North Vancouver. Naturally the local residents' joy knew no bounds to find their True Master once again amidst them! Devotees continued singing along with Jagtar Jagga Ji, dancing and paying obeisance at Baba Ji's and Mata Ji's holy feet for hours together. His Holiness spent time talking to families as they did Namaskar to His Holiness and Puiya Mata Ji and sought their blessings. It was also amazing to see curious onlookers watching the gathering to see what was happening and were blessed with Darshan of His Holiness. Baba Ji, Pujya Mata Ji and other saints are on a 7-week World Salvation Tour covering UK, Ireland, USA and Canada.
September 7: Mission (Abbotsford) British Columbia
Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj’s fifth stop on His North American tour was in Mission (Abbotsford), Canada on Wednesday, September 7th, 2011. Saints started gathering as of 4.00 pm in the afternoon, energetic to welcome Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, his esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji, Rev. Sandeep Kinda Ji, along with Vivek Sharma Ji, Sukhdyal Singh Ji and Jagtar Jagga Ji. Upon arrival of His Holiness in Mission, BC, he was vigorously welcomed by the local Sadh Sangat and by saints from Vancouver, Victoria, and Kamloops. The local Sangat performed folk dances such as Bhangra and Gidda in which saints expressed their love and affection towards His Holiness and Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji. His Holiness was extremely pleased with the efforts of peace, love and unity from Mission Sadh Sangat. His Holiness was officially welcomed to Mission by Honourable Randy Hawes, Member of Parliament for Mission, British Columbia, along with the Pramukh of Mission Sangat Rev Sadhu Singh Gill. Mayor of the City of Mission also sent his greeting message to His Holiness and acknowledged the efforts of the Sant Nirankari Mission. The local MLA was also extremely thankful to His Holiness for efforts of welfare of society. He acknowledged the message of His Holiness towards embracing spiritually, which brings unity of mankind as children of one God. Addressing the congregation, His Holiness said: “May all centers of the Mission help one another to grow. Though some areas are small in size, their devotion, Sewa and hearts are very big.
May God bless everyone that they may partake in the Sewa and Sangat. As well always remember to do Simran to feel God almighty's presence all around and stay in the color of God-knowledge. May the mankind continue to grow with this. The purpose of life has been to attain this God Knowledge. It is important to know the creator. If everyone is linked with Nirankar, then why should anyone be left behind. Everyone should fulfill this task before last breath. Material wealth can come in many forms, don't get taken by these. Fulfill what needs to be done. Our focus should be on this. People know God exists but still give preference to material wealth. They lose sight of what is the real goal of life. They believe the truth to be a lie. We must fill our lives with good deeds. Material wealth should be used to help others. God is the creator and eternal truth. The sun, moon, stars weren't always here. All objects are born and they die. Everything has a beginning and an end. However, God wasn’t ever created or destroyed. Nirankar almighty is the highest supreme. He is eternal. Those who believe in this creator constantly remind each other of the formless supreme. When we say “Dhan Nirankar” to each other, it is for this very reason. We remind ourselves that only Nirankar is Dhan. Let me only see Nirankar as the highest being. If we cannot keep this in mind, then we are unplugged fromNirankar.
When we are unplugged, the ego prevails and we begin to exploit others. Then all the love, sweetness of the soul is lost and used in giving others pain and suffering. Anyone who throws away good food and carries with himself bad food is considered a fool. But we do this with God-knowledge. We put aside God-knowledge and carry the bags of pride, ego, hatred, jealousy. Carry the right bags. Some demand respect based or position or degrees. Others command respect based on characteristics, qualities, sweetness that create a place in people’s hearts. Use sweetness to create respect. It is easy to use the word 'Das' or servant for yourself but hard to follow through with it. But a saint remains a saint in all circumstances.” Following the congregation, the families did Namaskar to His Holiness and Puiya Mata Ji and sought their blessings. His Holiness and Puiya Mata Ji and other saints are on a 7-week World Salvation
Tour covering UK, Ireland, USA and Canada
September 8: Seattle, USA
On Thursday evening, September 8, 2011 Baba ji, Mata ji, and their party arrived to a warm and festive welcome at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bellevue Washington, USA. The welcome ceremony and Satsang was sponsored by the Seattle chapter of the Sant Nirankari Mission, and marked Baba ji’s first stop in the United States on his 2011 international salvation tour. After arriving by car from a very successful visit to Vancouver, Canada, Baba ji, Mata ji, and group were greeted by approximately 200 saints from the local area and many other locations in North America. The group procession was led dramatically to the hall by the sounds of bagpipes and drums as well as the children of the Seattle Sadh Sangat while others lined the way and followed along. At the entrance to the hall, a group of small children of the Seattle Sadh Sangat sang a welcome song followed by a cheer by some of the older boys. Once inside the hall, saints from the local area and from abroad sang uplifting devotional songs. Baba ji greeted the audience telling of his tour through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Canada prior to reaching Seattle. He mentioned that he had not been to Seattle since 1998, and was certainly glad to return. He recounted that at each stop of the journey, saints just like those there tonight, gathered to share their devotion to the one formless, Nirankar. He mentioned that his baggage has gotten pleasantly heavier with the love gathered from saints around the world. Also during the reception, Baba ji and Pujya Mata ji presided over the engagement of Raj Raheja and Rajvir Lashar in front of the room full of appreciative witnesses.
The evening was capped by a Bhangara performance by members of the Seattle Sadh Satsang, more songs, and a plea for Baba ji to return to Seattle many more times to bless the Satsang with his holy presence and divine word
September 9: Seattle, USA
Saints from across North America gathered at the B’hai temple in Bellevue, Washington on a beautiful Friday evening, September 9, 2011. It was a very good day for all since His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj had come to bless. The local Seattle Sangat welcomed saints from Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Terry, and many other locations across the USA and Canada. The Samagam opened with speeches from many saints – some of whom have been with the mission for many years, and some of whom had joined more recently.
Highlights of the program included:
• A song for Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji performed by members of the Seattle Bal
Sangat following their entrance into the hall.
• A sincere greeting from the Deputy Mayor of the city of Bellevue, Conrad Lee, who praised Baba Ji and the Sant Nirankari Mission as a whole for promoting universal brotherhood and active volunteerism throughout the world. He pointed out that his municipality of Bellevue shared the values of unity in diversity sinceseveral dozen ethnic backgrounds are represented in the local population.
• An uplifting speech by Imam Jamal Rehman of the Interfaith Church in Seattle who truly engaged the audience. Reverend Rehman delivered inspirational words about how the benefits of embracing an interfaith perspective help complete us as human beings. In addition to his moving speech, the Imam presented Baba Ji with an award certificate for Interfaith Vision for his tireless work that has inspired millions of followers around the world.
• Heartfelt words from Sandeep Khinda, who talked of the occasion in 2007 when Hans-Gert Pottering, head of the parliament of the European Union invited Baba Ji to speak to the parliament. He asked Baba Ji to give advice on how to achieve unity amid a diverse membership. Baba Ji’s advice to the head minister was that when each individual accepts God, they realize there are no real or important differences between people – only unity is possible for such people. Baba Ji’s discourse recounted many of the places he has recently visited within India and on his international salvation tour. At each of these locations, saints gathered to imbibe in the way of universal brotherhood and unity. Baba Ji lamented that in this world today, “Peace is in pieces”. His implication was that the world is torn by the strife that accompanies dwelling on our differences. At one point, Baba Ji asserted that these differences between human beings are only superficial– that none of us is truly separate from the other if we would only accept the fact that the one and the same God exists in all of us. This, he said, is the true God knowledge that gives us eyes that can see what the eyes of the material body cannot. To drive this home, he gave the example of his travels throughout India and the world. In India, one only has to travel a relatively small distance, and the language is completely changed. We can see signs hanging in these different languages all around us. We cannot, however, understand their meaning without the appropriate knowledge required to comprehend what has been written.
To make another point, Baba Ji quoted the venerable Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore who said: “I am ever busy building this wall all around… …day by day I lose sight of my true being…” He elaborated on Tagore by saying that these walls we create between ourselves and those of different caste, creed, color or faith are of our own making. We bear the ownership of these walls and the responsibility for suffocating ourselves within them. He went on to say that we possess the ability to tear these walls down, and accept the divine truth – that we are all connected to the One Nirankar, and through him, to each other. This acceptance is the path to both inner peace, and peace in our world. All the walls should fall and all the distances end. We should always wish well for each other.
At the end of the evening, saints queued up to pay respects to Baba Ji and Mata Ji to the sounds of joyous devotional singing and dancing by many saints culminating in an emotional display with all on their feet as Baba Ji and Mata Ji rose to leave the hall.
September 12: Los Angeles
A couple of hundreds of devotees gathered in Thousand Oaks on Monday, September 12, 2011 in the evening Monday evening to welcome His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh ji to Southern California. Looking at the enthusiasm of the crowd, one could not tell it was a week day and that people had traveled from afar to participate in the joyous occasion.
The reception began with music and dance to greet His Holiness and the accompanying saints. It was followed by some spiritual words of wisdom and holy songs. Reverend Santosh Tandon spoke about the importance of Gyan or God- knowledge. She said how much you utilize this knowledge, whether 10% or 90%, is how much fruit you are able to derive from it. The more you connect with Him, the more you will experience peace, love and joy.
A saint from Arizona recited a beautiful song “Hogaya Hai Tere Nal Pyar Sajana, Changa Changa Lage Sansar Sajana,” meaning “I have fallen in love with you Lord and now I see you everywhere and this world looks so beautiful to me.” Bhava, a saint from the Thousand Oaks area, compared His Holiness to a parent who loves his child and keeps giving and giving to the child, never expecting any recognition for those sacrifices and efforts. And by doing this, His Holiness guides us not only by his words, but his actions, encouraging us to spread the same love to all those around us.
Finally, everyone sat down and perked their ears to hear from His Holiness Baba Ji. He spoke of the joy he felt to see devotees in such high spirits, adding that this type of love and faith can only be expressed by those who carry such feelings deep in their heart. He stressed that this type of devotion and feeling is a higher-level feeling – above things material and temporal. He pointed to the type of devotion embodied by saints like Meera, Kabir and Bulleh Shah. For example, people couldn’t understand Meera. They called Kabir crazy because they didn’t understand him either. At this point, His Holiness shared a saying, “Those seen dancing were considered insane by those who didn’t have ears to listen to the music.”
His Holiness said the same has been happening for generations. The love and devotion expressed by saints is not understood by all; only those who have had a taste of it could appreciate. People who experience the divine connection enter a state of spiritual intoxication. They are focused on the divine love all the time. He explained that Meera had a very strong foundation in life, which was love. And that’s why she didn’t care about anything else. It gave her the power to rise above the material world.
His Holiness explained you don’t need holy beads or an idol near you to feel God closer to you. He is always with you and should be remembered at every moment. “The world promises to follow and support you, but time changes and the same world one day won’t even meet your eyes.” His Holiness says this happens often and what good is it if you lose your values for the world and the world then turns away from you?
Here, His Holiness shared the quote “Bheegna manzoor hai par kadam rokana nahi manzoor hai,” meaning “I may encounter struggles on this path, but I will not move away from this path.” His Holiness said devotees who are on this path pray to always remain connected.
He gave the example of athletes, describing how they make many sacrifices to stay on top of the game. A runner, often runs in the early mornings or late evenings constantly trying to improve his time. In the same way, in the world, to achieve something you have to make efforts and sacrifices. The same principle applies to this path of devotion.
How much sugar you put in your tea will determine how sweet your tea will be. He added that only in the deeper waters will you find pearls; you won’t find them on top of the water. His Holiness was alluding to the fact that one must never stop going deeper and deeper in this ocean of devotion.
When you taste a milkshake that you like, you drink more and more of it. But you can’t take one sip and just wet your lips and then wonder why you aren’t feeling the savory taste. You have to keep drinking it to get a feel for the flavour. His Holiness said it is the same with devotion. To experience the full peace and bliss, you have to keep connected with God and surround yourself with saints who bring you closer to the path of righteousness.
His Holiness said, no matter what age in history you refer to, there have been saints who were able to drown themselves in this type of devotion and rise abovematerial temptations. What do you do when you’re in a car and you have an uphill climb? His Holiness answered that you generally place more force on the accelerator and hit the gas. Similarly, He said when you are faced with a challenge in life, instead of backing away, you must dig deeper in your walk with God so that you don’t end up stuck in the middle of the hilly path.
His Holiness said those who keep at devotion, become shining stars in the world. They essentially become a lighthouse of love and peace for those around them. In Ramayana, the evil Ravana picks up Lord Rama’s spouse Sita. Many saints, including Hanuman, set out to find her and bring her back. When she is brought back safely, there is a celebration during which those who helped bring her back are honored and given credit, as it was not an easy task. When it was Hanuman’s turn to get the reward despite playing the biggest role in finding her and bringing her back to safety, he replies, “Lord, if you want to bestow something upon me, just bless me with more devotion.”
His Holiness said today Hanuman is worshipped all over the world, often even more so than Lord Rama. Hanuman exemplified that devotees do not have the same desires as worldly people. Their desires are of a higher level. In conclusion, His Holiness sought blessings for everyone to be filled with such devotion in their
life. The evening culminated with more hymns of praises and a chance for everyone to pay obeisance and to seek blessings from His Holiness Baba Ji.
September 15-17: Houston
The long awaited countdown ultimately reached to reality with the touchdown of Flight at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport at 5.20 pm on September 15.His Holiness Babaji, Pujya Mataji, Rev. Sandeep Khinda Ji and many other saints had arrived at Houston as part of World Salvation Tour. After a hearty welcome, the holy convoy, as per wishes of Supreme Master headed straight to the residence of Rev Sheelu ji and Rajan ji. Being close to airport their house is semi-official Arrival-Departure as well as Stay Lounge for Nirankari saints all the year round…
Baba Ji blessed the dedicated saints’ family and all other saints present. From here the holy convoy drove straight for the Welcome Sangat at the Arab American Convention Center. Texas and all USA saints were waiting eagerly for the divine presence at Houston soil after 10 years. The dream like magnificence and decor of the Convention hall was befitting to the King of all hearts, giving an impression of a mesmerizing grandeur of Royal Rajdarbar of a World Emperor - Shahi Faqeer. After welcome songs by young boys and girls, it was the time for all the waiting ears to tune to echoes of spirituality and love flowing from His Holiness.
Baba Ji impressed upon saints to live life like flowers - as flowers are for all occasions - birthdays or for sick in hospital or on deceased person or even after being broken down as petals on path of saints. Similarly, saints should always radiate love, compassion and happiness in every part of life. After Welcome Sangat, His Holiness and Pujya Mata Ji proceeded for night stay at the residence of the Houston Pramukh Rev. Raj Bhala ji at Sugarland. On September 16, 2011 Baba Ji spent the day closely with all the saints in the form of a Picnic in Oyster Creek Park, Sugarland. Saints were overjoyed to see Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji merging so closely with them in picnic mood. Soon the serene and lush green park environment was sounding with songs full of happiness with dholki and harmonium appearing out of nowhere.
By early evening, the picnic was over and it was time to get ready for the Main Samagam. Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji arrived at India House - the venue for the Samagam. In keeping with Nirankari Mission’s principles of Green and Clean Earth, Baba Ji planted a tree at lawns of India House, which would serve twin motives -
sweet memories of Baba Ji’s visit to Houston as well as reminder of his teachings to take strong roots in our lives as the tree grows. This was soon followed by visit to Exhibition where young saints were waiting to exhibit their hard work in making models to depict Nirankari Mission’s activities - Blood donation, Food bank service, world peace as well as scientific models. Baba Ji listened patiently to young saints telling about their models. After welcome and divine presence on Samagam stage, the huge hall, full far beyond capacity, was overflowing with mixed emotions of excitement + happiness + peace.
It can be observed here at this point that the record breaking attendance at India House was a testimony to the respect and goodwill Nirankari saints have earned in the American society, which compelled their friends, neighbors and co-worker visitors to attend the Samagam.
All the learned speakers expressed their happiness and spread the message of love, compassion and tolerance. In this series of speakers, Rev Sandeep Khinda Ji expressed the supreme importance of spirituality in life and it can't wait till the retired life post 65 yrs as nobody can guarantee till how long he or she will live. Bhakti is not an age dependent planning but has to be sown in young tender hearts. Pin drop silence was evident in the main Samagam hall now awaiting His Holiness Baba Ji about to start his discourse. Everybody in the hall with people of various colors or creeds or nationalities of origin was eager to hear the pearls of wisdom from Satguru. Baba Ji expressed the importance of thin demarcation between spirituality and the present form the closely associated religion is taking in the present context world. He stressed the importance of tolerance in family, tolerance in society and tolerance internationally. Baba Ji logically brought out the fact that non-saintly or negative shades of dominance were present even in Dwapar or Treta Yugas in form of Hiranaykashyap, Ravana, and Duryodhana. So, without blaming on present Kalyug, all should have enough wisdom to differentiate between right and wrong paths and to choose the correct spiritual way of life in the true sense. From the African Continent tour memories ,Baba Ji strengthened the resolve of all saints to work hard to make this world a heaven, if not completely but at least make a sincere effort to make difference in lives of some people and not giving up the hope in face of the present world full of hatred.
After the Divine Discourse, all the visitors and saints in a disciplined manner lined up for blessings of Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji. On September 17, 2011 the last day of the visit, with hearts loaded heavy with emotions and eyes full of tears, all saints gathered again at Houston Airport, this time to bid farewell to their beloved Baba Ji and Pujya Mata Ji for their onward (seems to never ending) journey on World Salvation tour, to bless the saints waiting in Chicago. As His Holiness waved again with smiling face from the final security gates, one was left wondering– what a great Mission with mammoth proportions Satguru has taken as his duty – to make this world full of international, intra-country, intra-society, intra-family tensions into a wonderful heavenly place overflowing with love, compassion, mutual tolerance for us and for our future generations. But as a poet has put it very correctly-“Rukjaana nahin kahin haarke, kaanton pe chalke milenge saaye bahar ke!”
For Texas saints, especially Houston, with hearts full of hopes and physiques dead tired from success of Samagam preparations hard work, it was now time to go back home, catch up with so deprived sleep and dream for the countdown of next Houston Samagam; hopefully it won’t take long like it took a decade for Houston Samagam2011.
Not to forget. As our young saints tell moral of the story in Sunday Sangats, Samagams like medical conferences, make a great learning and improvement occasions. Having seen His Holiness Baba Ji so closely, we all can learn from him, his fathomless ocean of energy, to work non-stop for longest hours everyday and with a smiling face.
His punctuality for reaching Sangat on time. Self sacrifice for comfort of saints. With very busy schedule permitting only post midnight long walks, as happy soul resides in a healthy body. Great horizons of knowledge about all aspects of life.
September 20-21: Washington DCOn September 20, 2011, the Washington, DC Sangat was graced with the long-awaited arrival of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji and accompanying saints. A reception was held at Diya Banquet Hall in Mclean, Virginia where the young children welcomed the holy couple with songs of love and gratitude.
His Holiness then addressed the congregation. He started by saying that moments are beautiful when we spend time with saints. Our heart’s desires are like a monkey, sometimes here, sometimes there. If we control our mind, we control our desires. We should, therefore, always be saying ‘Tu Hi Nirankar’. No doubt, we are concentrating so much on other things, but we need to feel God in every breath we take. We should have love and affection for everyone around the world.
The next day, Wednesday, September 21, 2011, His Holiness Baba Ji inspected the new Bhavan site in Chantilly, Virginia. In the evening, a congregation was organized at the Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, Maryland. More than 800 devotees came to listen to Baba Ji’s precious messages and receive blessings. Baba Ji was welcomed by Dr. Ranbir Singh, Counselor of Community Affairs from the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Dr. Singh thanked Baba Ji for coming to Washington DC and for spreading the message of love and unity. Similarly, Aruna Miller, State Delegate for Maryland, expressed her joy and gratitude toward Baba Ji for spreading peace and humanity around the globe. After many saints had expressed their views through devotional songs and speeches, His Holiness shared his love, blessings and his message for mankind.
Baba Ji expressed his happiness to be in Washington, DC and his thanks toward all the saints who had taken the time to come not only from the local Sangat but from various parts of North America and abroad also. He advised everyone not to ignore to give importance to the things that matter in life. We forget to make a connection with God because we are too focused on worldly luxuries. Those who are imbibing the qualities of love, humility and kindness are the ones who are connected with God. When we are health conscious, we eat healthy food and remain healthy. When we stray from a healthy diet, we get all sorts of problems such as high blood pressure, kidney problems, weaker bones, etc. Similarly, if our soul imbibes healthy spirit, it will remain healthy. Saints always pray to God for everyone’s welfare. If darkness in this world is increasing, then there’s need for more illumination, more candles are required. We need more love and humanity to remove the darkness of life. There are many negative things occurring in the world (violence, wars, hatred, jealousy, etc). Despite this, there is still goodness in this world and we must work to increase it.
His Holiness continued by saying, if we look at animals, they fight against other species. It is so unfortunate, disheartening, and sad because human beings are fighting against each other. They don’t need anyone outside of their species. A man is enough to hurt a man. When we look at a war going on at a border, we see that soldiers from each side get killed, but every time one falls down, his mother gets hurt. Similarly, God is hurt when any human being is hurt. Human beings must keep humanity alive even though it is not an easy task because human beings are too jealous about other people’s gains, profits and happiness. They are not able to bear the happiness of their neighbor. People in this world today are fighting in the name of religion. They are not able to understand the basic principle that we are all human beings first and anything else later. They forget this most important point and continue to fight in the name of religion. Rather than building bridges, they construct walls of hatred and increasing the distance between man and man. One has to connect with the eternal truth. Unfortunately, people today do not realize the truth and, therefore, they are not able to understand what is real and what is fake. Not everyone is able to see the difference between a real diamond and a fake one. Many people have bought a piece of glass and have been told that it is a good diamond. They are not aware of the truth. They don’t know that the piece of glass they have is not a real diamond. Truth is not given importance, only this illusion, fake world, Maya is given importance.
Looking back at history, all the prophets had the same message, but it is humans who are creating the differences among them. Regardless of the era they came in or place they were born, they all had the message that we are one. We have to realize the eternal Truth. We have to attain God-knowledge, and understand the meaning of human life.
Human form does not come again and again. We are not paying attention to why we are here and what the purpose of this life is. We put these questions aside and forget that these answers are most important. Attaining God-knowledge is possible only in the human form. We must arise and awake to achieve the goal of human birth – God realization. Man always forgets to give priority to God realization. For some, it doesn’t make the priority at all while for others it falls at the bottom of the list. The things from this materialistic world tend to fall towards the top of our priority list. Our relations, our families, our luxuries, nothing will stay with us in the end. Everything will be left behind. Saints are always reminding us of this connection with God and advising us that we need to reset our priorities. They show us how to love all and hate none, awake our souls and teach us to establish a connection with God.
Rather than building walls of hatred, jealousy, ego, revenge and to hurt others, we build bridges of love, tolerance, humility, and compassion. Today, the path of spirituality is getting overlooked.
His Holiness concluded with a famous quote: “I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him”. Baba Ji elaborated that we should not hate others no matter what influences are around us from the world. Saints should not be influenced by negativity; rather they should continuously spread love and humanity.
September 23-24: Fort Lauderdale
SEPTEMBER 23, 2011: After a lapse of seven years, the much awaited moment was finally here when His Holiness Babaji and Pujya Mataji arrived at the Quality Inn hotel in Plantation, around 8.30 p.m. The owner of the hotel along with the hotel staff greeted the holy couple and welcomed them. Sangat members also welcomed them into the hall for the scheduled Namaskar program. About three hundred saints attended the Namaskar program, majority of whom had flown in from out of State areas like Atlanta, Indiana, North Carolina, Houston, Tennessee, Chicago, New York, Washington DC., Toronto, England etc.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2011: A trip to the Everglades was planned around 1.00 pm. The local Sangat members got the opportunity to spend some time with the Divine couple as everyone enjoyed a Boat ride in the Alligator Alley. A small picnic was also arranged at the Everglades for lunch.
The evening of September 24 was the “Big Day” for the local Sangat members. This was the very First official Samagam to be held in Fort Lauderdale and the much awaited moment that everyone was waiting for. The Samagam started at 5.00 pm. Upon Babaji’s arrival, the temple staff welcomed the holy couple with great respect and devotion. An estimated seven hundred people gathered at the South Florida Hindu Temple in Fort Lauderdale to attend the Samagam. The temple committee members also participated and showed their full support for the program. A proclamation was presented on behalf of the Mayor of Fort Lauderdale. The Samagam was also watched by devotees all over the world via live webcast and the local newspaper gave local coverage on the morning of the event. An interview was also organized on the radio that morning shedding light on the details for the event. The theme for the Samagam was: UNIVERSAL PEACE through UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD.
The evening began with spiritual words from the Avtar Bani, and then followed by devotional songs. A devotee sang a song translating to, “Let us help those in need. Let us be of use to humanity. Today, human beings are growing far apart. Let us come closer to each other and be of help.” This is the very message of the Sant Nirankari Mission. The congregation continued with devotional songs and spiritual words of wisdom. Thoughts and views from both the youth and the elderly were portrayed in various forms of poems, songs and words. After listening to saints of all ages, everyone’s main focus was turned to His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji for the predominant discourse.
His Holiness expressed his happiness to see fellow devotees gathered at the temple. Emphasizing upon the importance of devotion, He said that we should constantly attempt to attain the pure state of a devotee, only then we can be of help to humanity. In order to beautify our life, we need to ask for devotion. He spoke about having realization and vision through God knowledge. A beautiful example was given about Arjuna ; who saw the glory of God only after he received God realization from Lord Krishna in the battle field. Once he was given God realization he then said “Namaskar to your left, Namaskar to your right.” Had he not received the vision from Lord Krishna, he would not have been able to see God. Not only do we have to see, we must also remember. Similarly, first we see food, but only after we eat it, that is when we know the taste of it. His Holiness said that this God, Nirankar, who is known by several names, should first be seen, and then devotion should follow. He beautifully compared this to motherhood, a child must first be born, and then a woman can become a mother. The motherhood is followed after the birth of the child.
A Guru is very much needed in one’s life. Babaji gave an example of Meera Bai; we all know how dedicated she was to Lord Krishna. When she met her guru, Ravidas Ji, she realized the omnipresent form of Lord Krishna. Her guru gave her the true vision of Lord Krishna.
Babaji spoke in both Hindi and English and concluded his sermon with the following; “We have to take steps towards that path which leads to our destination. If we lose this lifetime, then we have lost the opportunity. After attaining this rare life form, we have to place value on it”. In very beautiful words, He quoted Swami Vivekananda Ji and said “the desire to attain God should be like that of a drowning man in water who longs to come out of that water.”
