Joginder Singh Noor
Amrit Kaur Anand Ji

 

Rev Amrit Kaur Anand, one of the founder members of the All-India Working Committee of the Sant Nirankari Mandal since 1979, was born in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on November 29, 1930.  At that time, her father Rev Dr. Jaswant Singh Anand, was a District Health Officer.  Her mother, Rev Ram Rakhi Anand, also came from a top bureaucrat family of Uttar Pradesh.

Besides being a brilliant student, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand was active in athletics and adventurous by nature.  In badminton, she represented her district, Dehra Dun.  She was excellent in skating.  She learnt driving also at a very young age.

Rev Amrit Kaur’s marriage took place on October 8, 1946 with Rev Manmohan Singh Anand.  Her in-laws, a landlord family, lived in Gujjarkhan, now in Pakistan.  The family shifted to Dehra Dun just before partition.

It was in Dehra Dun that Rev Amrit Kaur Anand’s mother-in-law Rev Veeranwali Anand came in touch with the Sant Nirankari Mission and recived Brahm Gyan from Baba Budha Ji (Rev Bhag Singh Ji of Patiala).  Rev Veeranwali persuaded her sister-in-law Rev Madan Kaur Anand who also received Brahm Gyan and became spirituality enlightened.  It was Rev Madan Maur Anand who motivated Rev Amrit Kaur Anand; she received Brahm Gyan from Baba Avtar Singh Ji Maharaj in 1949.

In 1950, the family shifted to Delhi and both Rev Amrit Kaur Anand and her mother-in-law Rev Veeranwali Anand began to actively participate in Satsang and other activities of the Mission.  When the Mission organized its first Samagam for Women, presided over by Param Pujya Nirankari Rajmata Kulwant Kaur Ji in Delhi, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand, being the most experienced driver among ladies at that time, was given the privilege of driving Rev Rajmata Ji’s vehicle during the grand procession.

Rev Amrit Kaur Anand was blessed with three children - Rev Harvinder Singh Anand alias Vitty Ji; Rev Savinder Kaur Ji (the gracious spouse of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj); and Rev Parvinder Singh Anand.

In 1970, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand and the family shifted from Delhi to Yamunanagar and settled there.  Here too, she took active part in the Mission’s activities.  In 1978, she was made Pramukh of the Yamunanagar Branch.  And in 1979, she became one of the founder members of the All-India Working Committee.

While discharging her day-to-day responsibilities, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand regularly used to visit all those devotees in Karnal Jail, who were falsely implicated in the 1978 case and later acquitted, during the course of trial.

On April 26, 1999, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand lost her elder son Rev Harvinder Singh Anand.  Following his death, she provided her daughter-in-law with the gentle care she had demonstrated towards her own children.  While based at Yamunanagar, she often used to visit her younger son and his family in Delhi.  It shows her loving and caring attitude towards her commitment of discharging her duties and responsibilities for the family.  On April 9, 2003, she lost her esteemed husband Rev Manmohan Singh Anand.

In March, 2004, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand was diagnosed with cancer.  Even after knowing the fate, she continued to reflect full faith in destiny.  In an interview in January 2008, she said, "I know, I don’t have much time left in my life.  I beg and pray before Nirankar to give me strength and courage to face the truth.  I pray that I continue to live life as a true devotee."

Fighting the disease with courage and strong will and with the blessings of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand finally passed away in Yamunanagar peacefully in the afternoon of 12.06.2008.

Moments before she breathed her last, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj had arrived to see her in hospital.  Survived by her daughter Savinder Kaur Ji, son Parvinder Singh Anand and grandchildren, Rev Amrit Kaur Anand was cremated with full honors on 13.06.2008.  Besides thousands of devotees, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, Rajmata Kulwant Kaur Ji and Pujya Mata Savinder Ji led the funeral procession.

"She lived an exemplary life to be followed ever.  During her whole life span, she lived as an apostle of love and compassion.  In spite of many ups and downs in her life, her faith in Nirankar was commendable and exemplary."  This was mentioned by His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj after the cremation was over.

Thereafter, tributes were paid to Rev Amrit Kaur Anand with deep sense of love and respect at a special congregation in Delhi on Sunday, June 15, 2008.  She was remembered as a distinguished disciple of the True Master, a compassionate mother-in-law, a very helpful member of the society and a staunch missionary.

Addressing a huge gathering of devotees on the occasion, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj said that saints do not demand respect; they command it.  They may not utter a word; their action speaks for them.  They do not wait for the Day of Judgment.  For them it happens everyday.  They see to it that every action they do, produces happiness not only for themselves but others also.  They treat everyone as their own and work for their welfare.

His Holiness said that Smt. Amrit Kaur Anand, who in worldly relations was his mother-in-law, received Brahm Gyan while she was young and ever since she lived a life of a true disciple - Gursikh.  She never allowed the worldly relation to come in her way.  She devoted herself to the Mission and as a founder member of the All India Working Committee since 1979, she gave useful suggestions to take the Mission forward.  She was known for her love and compassion towards not only the followers of the Mission, but others also.  She was always in the forefront when it came to social welfare.  She would help everybody who approached her.

At home, Baba Ji observed, Smt. Anand treated her daughter-in-law as her own daughter, and the servants as the members of her own family.  As a matter of fact, every action of Smt. Amrit Kaur Anand was a source of inspiration for others.  She had her own share of adverse circumstances, but she faced every eventuality with courage treating it as the will of God.  She always remained steadfast in her faith in the Almighty Nirankar.

 

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