Sant Baba Attar Singh Ji Maharaj ~ A Tribute

The totality of Gurbani, especially Sri Sukhmani Sahib, explains the eternal truth of enlightened souls, and exhorts those who seek worldly benefits and spiritual salvation to join these souls with love and devotion in holy congregation. Gurbani also describes the state, nature and authority of the illuminated immortals, who have both transcended illusion and conquered their mind with the Satguru's Naam.

For realized souls, every revealed word of Gurbani is not a metaphor or myth but the eternal truth and experiential. Mortals, due to their subtle ego, rationality, and lack of Naam Simaran, are unable to comprehend the true essence of Gurbani. The Guru's word says where the intellectual realm of mind ends, the spiritual realm begins, and so does their existence.

Such realized souls are described as Sants, Brahamgiani, and Sadhus. These souls are blessed with all the divine attributes of the Akal Purakh. Their omniscient understanding of the cosmos is not intellectual but divine, experiential, and clairvoyant. Being omnipotent, they exercise ultimate authority over the entire cosmos.

Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj prophesized that his cosmic play will continue eternally and he will manifest himself 84 times, 10 as a Guru and 72 as Brahamgiani. Sri Guru Gobind Ji Maharaj in his Sau Sakhi, categorically named one such 72 manifestation, Baba Attar Singh Ji Gursagar Mastuana. To begin the Supreme Being's cosmic play, a seer visited Baba Karam Singh Ji and Mata Bholi Ji on their small farm in the village Cheema in the midst of a hot summer. The pious couple attended him with deep respect and offered hospitality. The seer gave them a small bottle of white scent, or attar, and told them to keep the bottle in their house, and prophesized that a boy will arrive in their family soon. The seer said he would return to take his bottle back. He further predicted that his son would be Bali Soorma (great eternal warrior), and Jagatnath (lord of the World) who would shake the sleeping populace out of slumber, and that the whole cosmos would bow before him.

As predicted, Nanak's messenger arrived on March 28, 1866, accompanied by divine light and mystical melodies, his face emanating light worth millions of suns. As promised, Baba Karam Singh Ji returned the bottle of scent to the waiting seer on the same spot. The seer reminded Baba Karam Singh Ji to not deem his son ordinary, as people from all faiths would prostrate before him with deep reverence and seek spiritual solace.

In his early childhood, Baba Attar Singh Ji used to engage in Naam Simaran, while taking care of cattle and the family farm. At a very early age, he was found engrossed in meditative trance for long hours. At the age of seven, he politely declined to go to formal school and insisted that he only wanted that education, which would lead to the realization of the Truth, and therefore was sent to a nearby theological school.

Indeed, Baba Attar Singh Ji was crucial in the expansion of Sikhi at a time when it was believed that Sikhi would just be limited to museums. In the 1840s, the numbers of Sikhs declined considerably. However, all the Gurus ensured the perpetuity of Sikhi, through their beloved illuminated souls who would nurture the Sikhi with the power of Naam. Sikhi faced and will face challenges when it deviates from the True Guru's Naam.

Baba Attar Singh Ji exemplified, by administering Khande De Pahul to estimated 1.4 million people of all faiths, castes, genders, and creeds, that only the power of Naam can nurture and expand Sikhi. He connected them to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj, and Naam Simaran so that their cycle of life and death would be ended.

In 1885, Baba Attar Singh Ji joined the army, and requested Amrit Sanchar from the army head granthi, Bhai Jodh Singh. At that time, only four Singhs were available for the ceremony, and they were in the need of a fifth one. Suddenly, a radiant Singh in complete blue bana appeared and told them that he had specifically come to complete the ceremony. During his stint in the army, Baba Ji was very active in his official duties but mostly remained immersed in Naam Simaran. Despite the attempts of the army leadership to persuade him to stay on, he resigned to dedicate his life to his beloved master.

With a kachera and shawl, he started to march in a deeply devotional state on foot from Dera Ghazi Khan (now in Pakistan) to Cheema Sahib, near Sangrur, Punjab. Baba Ji walked thousands of miles reciting 'Wahe' while putting his left foot forward and 'Guru' while putting his right one forward.

He would stay at various places for months and even years engrossed in thoughtless trance and connected to the holy lotus feet of the Supreme Being. At other places, he performed Sri Akhand Path repeatedly for days and months in a single sitting. In one of his trances at Sri Hazur Sahib, Kalgidhar Patshah Ji appeared to Baba Ji and asked him to go to Punjab, and flood it with Amrit and Keertan.

Following the command of his beloved, Baba ji came back to Punjab, and settled at an unexplored and dangerously dense forest called Mastuana, where fierce animals inhabited, cattle grazed, and hermits meditated. The 1st, 6th and 9th Gurus graced this place with their visits. He developed this place into a spiritual and educational center with kar seva by devotees, Singh Shaheeds, and liberated souls. Gursagar Mastuana turned into a spiritual center, as hundreds of sadhus and darweshes would be in uninterrupted mediation at any given time, in addition to ongoing dargahi keertan and langar. His immaculate fragrance started to spread far and wide, and attract the seekers from every faith.

In fact, Baba Ji was then called Mohini Avatar ("infatuating incarnation") and Bhuri Wale ("the shawl one"), and Gursagar Mastuana was added to his later. His Keertan Jatha performed darhgahi keertan, standing for many hours. Baba Ji's melodious, mystical, and spell bound voice reached more than 4 kilometers without any sound equipment. During his keertan, snakes, birds, and other living creatures used to congregate and listen attentively.

At the end of each diwan, one polite exhortation to the sangat for partaking Amrit resulted in hundreds and even thousands lining up. Baba Ji never asked the sangat twice for Amrit. Often, the supply of some kakkars dried up, and the sangat had to create miniatures of some kakkars on the spot.

The cosmic play of Nanak unfolded daily in the form of miracles with ordinary people getting their worldly wishes fulfilled and healed, and divine seekers getting blessed with the cessation of their cycle of birth and death.

The maya (illusion) had absolutely no effect on Baba Attar Singh Ji, and his place and sangat. Maya served Baba Ji, whereas everybody else in this world serves Maya. Baba Ji's presence was like a fire, which burns all sinful thoughts, distractions, dilemmas, doubts, and other mental sicknesses.

With a single divine glance, Baba Ji turned atheists turned into theists, rationalists into devotees, dacoits into enlightened ones, and dangerous animals into sangat. For him every creature of cosmos has a God's Light, hence his grace. He got a Muslim on death row freed the day before his hanging, and restored an abducted Brahmin girl to her parents. Along with Singh Shaheeds, lions and snakes escorted and guarded him when he was in trance or engaged in worldly endeavors.

During this period, the fragrance of Baba Attar Singh Ji reached Principal Niranjan Singh Mehta of Khalsa College, Amritsar, a rationalist Sikh who considered bowing before Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj to be idol worship, and had serious doubts on the relevance of the Brahamgian. Nevertheless, he was drawn to Baba Attar Singh Ji, and Baba Ji's one glimpse dispelled all his doubts and transformed him into a beloved Sikh, and unleashed his yearning for divine connection. Baba Ji administered Khande de Pahul and changed his name to "Teja" whose infinite love and dedication made him the great Sant Teja Singh Ji.

Baba Attar Singh Ji was not only expanding Sikhi in India but also wanted to reverse the trend of Sikhs cutting hair and drowning themselves in alcohol upon their arrival in the West. He also planned to lay the solid foundation of Sikhi in the western hemisphere for future generations. He blessed Principal Teja Singh to go abroad, particularly to the UK, USA and Canada, and spread Nanak's divine message of the spiritual unity of humankind and God.

Baba Attar Singh Ji told him to:

• Keep your entire original form of body and hair intact;
  
• Don't argue with anybody, and if a situation arises, simply say with folded hands, "What can this humble servant do?"
  
• Establish Guru Ghar;
  
• Convey the message to the people that the accumulation of Ridhi Sidhi (occult powers) is meaningless, and divine realization is higher; and
  
• Those with ego should desist from lecturing, and those who are free from ego may do so.

Principal Teja Singh left for England in August 1906, studied at the University College, London, Cambridge University, Columbia University, and Harvard University, and in all obtained two masters degrees in 1911.

Principal Teja Singh, a charismatic, humble, and divine youth, in his twenties established the first Guru Ghar in England, Canada, and the United States where he also organized numerous Amrit Sanchars.

Baba Attar Singh Ji's fearlessness from worldly powers was exemplified during King George V's coronation in Delhi. Baba Ji was seated among other dignitaries, when George V entered the venue. All of the dignitaries, according to protocol, stood up except Baba Ji. The King was wonderstruck, and took his hat off and bowed down in reverence.

Baba Ji's humility was par excellence, that whenever the sangat, out of their affection, tried to inform Baba Ji about ongoing slander against him, he would literally put his fingers into his ears and walk away from the conversation.

Baba Ji annually presided over Sikh Educational Conferences that he began with his dargahi keertan. Baba Ji advised that the progress and unity of the Panth will come when every Sikh will start taking bath in the early hours (at least 3 hours before sunrise) of morning in each house, village, town and city, and meditate on the Divine Name. There should be a common treasury and everybody will tithe their earnings and, then there will be no need to solicit donations for philanthropy. Five enlightened beloveds, whose command must be unquestionably accepted by all, should lead the Panth.

Baba Ji's whole existence was vibrating with the un-struck melody of Waheguru in each pore of his body. Being the repository of infinite divine powers, he attributed everything to Guru Maharaja Ji. He emphasized that every one should give priority to the recitation of the Divine Name, Waheguru, and he assured that if one does it with devotion and love, he will be liberated in no later than seven lives, and merge into the Supreme Being.

On 1 February 1927, at Sangrur, escorted by numerous divine powers including Singh Shaheeds, Baba Attar Singh Ji left his body, and merged with the Light of the all-pervading Almighty. Since his physical departure nearly 80 years ago, Baba Ji still continues to manifest himself whenever and wherever beloved devotees may yearn for him, and the results of his administering of Amrit Sanchar, which continues today, is uncountable. Baba Ji is from Sikh faith but belonged to each and every living creature of the cosmos.