THE UNIQUE MISSION

By Amrik Singh IAS (Retd.)

The Sant Nirankari Mission, as its name denotes, is a Mission of the Formless God. It is neither a religion nor a sect, nor a denomination of any conventional religion. It represents the religion in practice. The true religion always binds and unites man with the Supreme being (God). The word ‘religion’ is derived from the Latin word - ‘religio’ that means ‘that binds and unites’. It is a system of faith and worship that leads to unification with God.

The true religion always unites people of all religious faiths, beliefs, cultures and nationalities, it never divides them on grounds of religion, region, culture, caste, creed, colour, language, diet, dress and nationality. The true religion is the religion of love, for love is God and God is love. It knows no taboos and traditions, rites and rituals, omens and superstitions. It does not recognize any divisions and dissensions, barriers and barricades - geographical, political, economical, cultural, etc. It is cosmopolitan in nature and outlook, and all-comprehensive, all-pervasive, and all-embracing. The true religion is the religion is humanism. Nirankari Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji said, " I am an ordinary human being and humanism is my religion." In the holy Adi Granth it is stated:

                    Kaho Nanak Atal Eh Dharam."

This means one should shed all doubts and delusions and know and remember God-Nirankar; Nanak says this is the eternal religion. In ‘Avtar Bani’, Nirankari Baba Avtar
Singh Ji says,

                 "Rab Noon Hazar Nazar Takna Is Ton Wada Dharam Nahin,

                 Sadh Janan Di Sewa Bajhon Wada Koi Karam Nahin."

This means that there is no greater a religion than to perceive and realize God in front of us and all around; and there is no greater action than the service of saints.

The Sant Nirankari Mission is unique, unparalleled and matchless as it does not discriminate between people belonging to different religions and it takes whole humanity as one world family of God. One of its basic principles is "Vasudhaiv Kutumabakam", which means the whole world is one family. It enjoins upon every human being living in any part of the globe, speaking any language, eating any food and wearing any dress to know, to realize God, the Supreme Father through benign grace of the True master (Satguru).

The difference between the gurus and Satguru is that generally all other gurus only show the way or simply put their disciples on the track and prescribe certain rites, rituals, pilgrimages or penance, meditation, while the distinction with Satguru is that the True Master reveals God to the seeker in a moment and does not look into the disciple’s qualifications and disqualifications, his faults and failings, his caste, his creed, his social status, etc.. He unite the separated soul with the Supreme Being in no time just when the seeker bows down his head in humility at his sacred feet and beseeches the glimpse and vision of the omnipresent formless God.

The unique Nirankari Mission under the stewardship of the spiritual Mentor Nirankari Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj ensures instant revelation and visualization of God as enshrined in the sacred scriptures and enunciated by the founders of various world religions. The Mission says that Truth (God) is one and there is one method of God-realization i.e. thorough the benediction and grace of the True Master (Satguru).

            "By grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves,

It is also laid down in Shrimad Bhagwat Gita by Lord Krishna that the Universal Vision which was perceived by Arjuna cannot be attained by the study of Vedas, sacrifices, alms-giving, good deeds and austerity. It can be bestowed only by the grace of the Lord.

Nirankari Mission represents the crux, essence and fragrance of all religions and the truth expounded by the True Master of the time, Nirankari Baba Ji reflects what was revealed by the great Gurus, prophets and seers down the ages. We have the touchstones in the sacred scriptures the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Gita, the Bible, the Koran, the Adi Granth. They all testify that life without Gyan is meaningless, that the aim of precious human life is to know and realize the omnipresent formless God and that God can be perceived only with the divine grace of the True Master and by no other means.

Nirankari Mission neither imposes any conditions nor prescribes any rites and rituals and the unique privilege of the seeker here is that he can conveniently realize God which he/she has been worshipping without knowing. In the Holy Bible it is so stated:

"Ye worship what ye know not; we know what we worship. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

The Sant Nirankari Mission’s distinction also lies in that it unites all people of the world under the banner of the One formless God. All men and women are united together as members of the Universal Brotherhood. They live together in peace, enjoy spiritual bliss and bounties, love and respect all other human beings, who constitute one world family as the children, as the creation of God. The devotees of Nirankari Baba Ji are replicas of Divinity and they are imbued with divine virtues of humility, love, piety, tolerance and selfless service to the community.

Another unique feature of the Nirankari Mission is that it is creating ideal world citizens, who have transcended all bondages and barriers of religion, caste, creed, colour, language, race, region and nationality etc. The Mission’s endeavour is to create spiritual awareness among people all over the world and its lofty aim and object is to transmute men with animal instincts into true human beings so as to become angels of God on earth, to be harbingers of peace, love, humility and upholders of human values .

Another distinction with the Sant Nirankari Mission is that it provides one common forum and platform where people belonging to all religions the Hindus, the Christians, the Sikhs, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Jains and the believers of other faiths and sects do sit together to offer prayer and to sing the glory of the omnipresent all pervading formless God . In this Mission the beggar and the king, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the Greek and the Jews, the Palestinians and the Arabs, the Americans, the Europeans, the Indians, the Pakistanis, the Bangladeshis, the Chinese, the Japanese and the Australians, all are treated alike, they sip the same Divine Nectar and enjoy the same perpetual peace, bliss and salvation the aim of human life .

The uniqueness of the Nirankari Mission also lies in that it builds the bridges of understanding between men of different nations, different countries, different hues and cultures so as to create one world society, one universal brotherhood, one world family of God-realized people, where there is no place for hatred, jealousy, enmity, duality, lust, anguish, pain, misery, chaos, confusion, tumult and tension, discord and dissension, violence, war and domination of one over the other. All live together in peace as world citizens, as children of God, loving and respecting and helping one another, always trying to uplift the fallen ones, to provide succour and support to the weak and the down trodden, serving the saints and the mankind with all their might and strength in the name of God, in the name of Satguru. This is the glimpse of the heaven on the earth which the supreme architect and Head of the Mission Nirankari Baba Ji is wanting to establish by working day and night.

Yet another distinction with the Sant Nirankari Mission is that in this strife-torn society where we find plethora of religions and sects, with different faiths and ideologies, conflicts, clashes and contradictions, tumult, turbulence, war and violence, the Universal Brotherhood Mission is bringing about unity in diversity and endeavouring to replace pride with humility, war with peace, hatred with love, ignorance with divine knowledge, darkness with light, evil with good, vice with virtue, pollution with purity, sin with forgiveness, fanaticism with tolerance, sadness with happiness, lust with desirelessness, attachment with detachment and death with immortality. The Mission has the rare remedy of God-realization and it does escort the seekers of truth straight to the Kingdom of God, uniting them directly and constantly with the all-pervasive omnipresent omniscient God. The man is purged of the ego by Divine Knowledge, which cleanses and purifies the mind and divests it from pride and prejudice, false notions and convictions and pollutions of all types.

The Nirankari Mission practices the spiritual knowledge bestowed by the True Master and actually dispenses instant knowledge of God. It cordially invites people to come forward and know the Ultimate Truth (God) which it hopes will stand any touchstone of holy books they believe in and hold in high esteem.

In short, the Sant Nirankari Mission is unique in that:

- It arranges communion of man with God.

- It unites the soul (man) with Supreme Soul (God), dispels darkness and removes all doubts, delusions, pride and prejudices and superstition.

- It does not prescribe any rites, rituals, penance etc.

- It does not discriminate human beings on grounds of caste, creed, colour, status, diet, dress, culture and nationality etc.

- It fosters the concept of One God-One Religion-One Human Race and cuts across all bondages, barriers, divisions and dissensions, which divide men on sectoral, regional and factional grounds.

- It brings together people of all shades of opinion, all religions and faiths and makes them live amicably as members of Universal Brotherhood.

- It transmutes the depraved society and seeks to create a new socio-spiritual order based on human unity, equality and fraternity.

- It advocates practial saintly life imbued with divine virtues humility, piety, peace, love, tolerance and selfless service to the mankind.

- It provides a common platform, where all human beings professing different religious faiths, cultures and nationalities sip the same Divine Nectar (Amrit) of Divine Name and enjoy ever-lasting peace, bliss and solace.

- It holds the True Master in highest esteem as only He imparts Knowledge of God.

- It escorts seekers of Truth straight to the Kingdom of God and establishes direct and constant unification with omnipresent God.

- To make one's faith steadfast and stable, it enjoins upon its devotees to cultivate company of saints (Satsang), to render service to humanity (Sewa) and to always remember God (Simran).

- It shows the middle path i.e. neither to renounce the world nor to get too much entangled in it. The saints live in the world, yet do not become worldlings.

- It improves the quality of life by restoring human and moral values and translates into action the philosophy of Gyan (Divine Knowledge).

- It practises what it preaches and accomplishes what it claims.

Today when the world is surrounded by the gloomy clouds of ignorance, superstition, ego, jealousy, hatred and violence wherein every individual, group and nation feels insecure and unstable, the Sant Nirankari Mission shows the way that certainly leads to lasting peace and happiness. Transcending all religious taboos, caste prejudices and other layers dividing human society, it aims at uniting mankind as one single fraternity i.e. Universal Brotherhood based on the oneness of the Supreme father, God.

As a movement of spiritual awakening Sant Nirankari Mission dates back to 1929, when Baba Buta Singh Ji started it in Peshawar, now in Pakistan. Baba Buta Singh Ji was a man of simple living having absolute faith in the Formless God Nirankar. He started the movement so that every individual could realize the Ultimate Truth and gets rid of the shackles of superstition finding expression in all kinds of rites and rituals.

Baba Buta Singh Ji was determined to taker this message of Truth to every doorstep. This received the desired boost by the coming in of Baba Avtar Singh Ji who got initiated by him. The two worked day and night and the movement gathered momentum. Gradually, saints started coming in as the followers of their Mission and dedicated themselves for the propagation of its message of Truth.

When Baba Buta Singh Ji breathed his last in 1943, the responsibility to lead the Mission as its Spiritual Mentor fell on the shoulders of Baba Avtar Singh Ji. In fact, Baba Buta Singh Ji had already convinced one and all that no other disciple deserved this Divine Distinction. The followers of the Mission also saw the True Master (Satguru) manifesting himself in faith and reverence to him as they did in the case of Baba Buta Singh Ji.

Baba Avtar Singh Ji migrated to Delhi in 1947, when India was partitioned. He gave the Mission sound organizational base. He got the Sant Nirankari Mandal registered in 1948 with its Headquarters in Delhi, which went a long way to organize congregations and other activities of the Mission. The galaxy of Seven Stars, the chosen saints, as members of the First Executive Committee of the Mandal to manage the activities of the Mission proved a landmark in the history of the Mission. Avtar Bani, the book that is regarded as key to the Mission’s philosophy and is held in highest esteem by the followers of the Mission also remains one of his outstanding contributions to this unique Mission.

In 1962, Baba Avtar Singh Ji decided to revert and work as ordinary Missionary, while Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji followed as the next spiritual head of the Mission. Baba Avtar Singh Ji surrendered to him completely as the benevolent custodian of Divine Knowledge. By his conduct, he showed how an ideal disciple should live by the Divine Truth revealed by Satguru.

Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji had been brought up in an environment full of Divine grace and spiritual enlightenment. He acquired from the very childhood the noble qualities of love, tolerance, selfless service, discipline and above all, faith in God Nirankar. He spread the mission not only in India but overseas also. It was during his time that the first sapling of the Mission overseas was planted in UK in 1967 followed by a person to person contact by Baba Avtar Singh Ji accompanied by his gracious spouse Nirankari Rajmata Kulwant Kaur Ji and leading missionaries traveled far and wide almost every year for the propagation of truth, love and peace.

Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji carried the Mission close to the masses and linked it with their day-to-day life by holding two important conferences in Mussoorie first in 1965 and then in 1973. Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji streamlined the functioning of the Mandal so that it could cater to the latest requirements of the fast expanding Mission. He did not only provide diversification to its activities, but also founded structure for a disciplined growth and expansion of the Mission in a systematic manner. The Missionaries received all the requisite encouragement and they came forward in large numbers to work for the Mission voluntarily on whole time basis. Consequently the Mission became popular enough to touch upon welfare needs of the society along with its spiritual message, serving as a logical, legitimate and powerful instrument of communal harmony, social equality and human cohesion and integrity.

As in the case of any radical crusade for Truth and against falsehood or large - scale popular movement for spiritual awakening, social reforms and moral regeneration in the world, the Sant Nirankari Mission also had its share of opposition, false propaganda and violent attacks. Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, however, did not deter because he was always confident that the Truth was by his side and was bound to prevail in the long run. He fell to the bullets of the orthodox fanatics in Delhi on April 24,1980, along with Rev. Partap Singh, his bodyguard and a distinguished devotee of the Mission.

Perhaps the Mission could not pay a greater price for peace and human unity than the martyrdom of Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji. It came as a stunning shock which even the most devoted Nirankaris could not easily digest as a mere Will of the Almighty. In fact, every peace-loving person lamented and condemned the senseless act of fanatics as an attack on love and peace by the forces of hatred and violence. The world lost an apostle of peace, a Messiah of human unity and a true social reformer. Every right thinking citizen of the world felt that humanism had been ravaged.

Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji was succeeded by the present Head of the Mission, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, who came as the greatest source of solace to the otherwise disturbed minds of Nirankaris. He displayed an utmost sense of patience and tolerance. He went round the country and many other parts of the world to reiterate the message of the Mission consisting of love, peace and harmony and, of course, Universal Brotherhood. Eversince, he has continued to take the voice of Truth to the masses, realizing that the real happiness in life and peace of mind is what they need even in the mist affluent countries. His stress is on the fundamental unity, equality and fraternity of the mankind though the oneness of the Supreme Father, God. He asserts that once distance between man and god is removed, the distance between man and man is bound to vanish. No wonder, the Mission is flourishing by leaps and bounds day by day across the globe, under the divine stewardship of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj.