Baba Nand Singh Mission

It was decreed by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru that there would not be an embodied Guru as his successor. He proclaimed the divine order for all his followers to worship Sri Guru Granth Sahib as the living embodiment of the Gurus.

The lives of Sant Baba Nand Singh ji and Sant Baba Ishar Singh ji are the rare examples of worshiping Sri Guru Granth Sahib as the living embodiment of the Ten Gurus. More importantly, their depth of understanding of the scripture and the conviction with which they spread its messages has been unparalleled. Their audience base transcended all religions, ethnicities and socio-economic statuses. It comprised of the rich and the poor; Maharajas of princely States, Cabinet Ministers as well as common folk. This stands as a testament to their communication prowess in presenting the soul-spirit of Guru Nanak in front of ordinary men. The audience remembers, “Guru Nanak is still with us. His voice still rings in our ears; his figure lies before us; his eyes meet our eyes; his feet we touch.”

Mission's Vision

In the history of human civilization, studded with divine jewels like Christ, Krishna, Rama, Mohammed and other illustrious prophets, the name of Guru Nanak shines out with brilliant luster. Appearing on the scene of Medieval India in the sixteenth century, Guru Nanak emerged as a beacon of light for those groping in the dark. It was as if all common folk burst out with the song "Dhan Guru Nanak Pargateya, Mitti Dhund Jag Channan Hoya" meaning thereby that Guru Nanak's appearance brought forth the destruction of darkness and emergence of divine light on the entire world. This light shone forth for ten generations as Nanak's spiritual-self passed into the body and mind of his nine successors- Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Har Gobind, Guru Har Rai, Guru Har Krishan, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. During the ten generations of Gurus, their teachings and that of other select devotees (Bhagats) and bards of that period were being knit together into the Holy Book "Guru Granth." It began with the compilations by the fifth Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 A.D. and ended with the final additions made by the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh. It contained some of the sayings and hymns of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru. The tenth Guru did not nominate any embodied Guru as his successor, as he proclaimed the divine order for his followers to worship Guru Granth as the living embodiment of the Guru. It is in this letter and spirit of the divine order that all of Nanak's followers recite this before every Ardas (Prayer). "Guru Granth Ji Maanyo Pragt Guran Ki Deh” meaning thereby that Sri Guru Granth Sahib should be worshipped as their living Guru.

In our times, Sant Baba Nand Singh, and later his disciple and successor Sant Baba Ishar Singh represent two of the most brilliant examples of following the letter and spirit of the divine proclamation. They were popularly known as Sants of Kaleranwala, Nanaksar. Nanaksar emerged as a small township in the Ludhiana district of Punjab State of India, after Sant Baba Nand Singh held his congregations here. Later, Sant Baba Ishar Singh built the Gurudwara Nanaksar -Sifti Da Ghar (House for the Praise of the Lord) and a water tank for pilgrims to take the holy dip. Many followers are living testimony to the scenes of Guru Granth tasting the food offered by the saints, before the food was distributed among the Sevadars (Servants) and followers as Prasad. As Sant Baba Nand Singh once said in one of his discourses "if the food offered to the stone God by his devotee Dhanna Bhagat could be consumed by the Lord, why would not Guru Granth accept the food offered by his true devotees?" Their lives abound with many such examples of viewing Guru Granth Sahib not merely as a Holy Book but a real living embodied Guru. For instance, in extreme hot weather, the saints would spend the whole night fanning Guru Granth Sahib and, in severe winter they would serve upright with a fire-pot nearby, to provide warmth to the "Guru".

Mission's Coverage

The Mission's main devotion is spiritual upliftment by spreading far and wide, in India and abroad, the teachings and messages embodied in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and the highest noble ideas preached and practiced by the two Great Saints, Sant Baba Nand Singh and Sant Baba Ishar Singh of Kaleranwala, Nanaksar, Tehsil Jugraon, District Ludhiana in the Punjab State of lndia.

The geographical coverage of the Mission has spread beyond Punjab to all parts of India and even abroad. Many devotees of Babaji, after their visit abroad, have reported the prevalence of great admiration for the teachings and messages embodied in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. They have been amazed to hear the life stories of Babajis and also the miracles experienced by the devotees in their day to day interactions with them. The foreigners expressed a desire to learn more about these two great saints but, unfortunately, the foreign seekers thirst for more knowledge has remained largely unquenched because of the lack of sufficient literature in English.

A similar problem plagues many Indians and even some Sikh families who have settled abroad. Their children have not had the opportunity to learn the Gurmukhi script and even though they have grown up looking at large framed pictures of the two saints, they have little knowledge about their practices and preaching. They have just heard anecdotes and oral references about them made by the elders who have had the occasion to meet the saints personally or read about them in books written in Punjabi (Gurmukhi script).

Keeping the above things in mind, one of the Mission's aims is international linguistic coverage with a view to bring out as much valuable literature in English as possible about our two Great Saints of Nanaksar. The Mission also endeavors to make adequate arrangements for dissemination of such literature both in India and abroad. With the expansion of the Mission's resources in due time the work on the production of similar literature may also be undertaken in Hindi and other major regional languages of India. UNESCO has also been approached for the translation of the Biography of Sant Baba Nand Singh into three other official languages used by UNESCO, namely French, Spanish and Arabic.

Mission's AIMS

The following are excerpts from the Memorandum of Association of the Mission: The Mission will try to inculcate human values and work for the all- round development of each and every one in the light of the lives of the Great Gurus.Under the jurisdiction of the Mission, efforts will be made to create an environment of One World Religion, Religious Tolerance, Universal Brotherhood and World Peace through the four- fold essence of :

• One God
• One Humanity
• One Universe
• One World

a begining....

The Mission's first venture of publishing the Biography of Sant Baba Nand Singhji in 5 volumes in English has received all India recognition by the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata. an Institute established by the Department of Culture, Government. of India. The Central Selection Committee of this Foundation chose this publication for readership in all the twenty seven Central and State level Libraries of India. The Mission has executed the purchase order and the saint's biography is now benefiting thousands of readers throughout these libraries. The biography was translated from the original classical work in Punjabi (Gurmukhi Script), by Bhagat Singh,

It is, thus with this noble task of documenting the lives and teachings of these two Great Saints and to continue their mission to disseminate the messages embodied in the Holy Book that this "NANAK-DAR SANT BABA NAND SINGH -SANT BABA ISHAR SINGH SPIRITUAL MISSION" has been established. , The devotees that have established this mission have done so with the humble prayer to the Lord to bless them with strength and courage of conviction to be able to carry forward this Mission.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji

Sant Baba Ishar Singh Ji