Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
(1894 – 1974)
Sant Kirpal Singh was born to a Sikh family at about 9 P.M.
on a cold winter night on February 6, 1894 in the Punjab
village of Sayyad Kasran in the Rawalpindi district (now
part of Pakistan) at about 9 P.M. on a cold winter night on
February 6.
Master Kirpal remarked about his childhood attraction to
solitude and meditation: “It was not written for me to play
on this Earth.” In reference to his early meditations he
stated, “In those days I saw the inner Light and many
wondrous scenes of one inner stage or another; always such
scenes were before me.”
From an early age, Master Kirpal had a very high standard of
morality. When his father asked him why he would not eat
meat Master replied, “Meat is dead flesh, and I do not want
to make a burial ground of my stomach.”
As a young boy the Master developed the power of
clairvoyance. Once when he was in the fourth grade he told
his teacher that he must go home because his grandmother was
dying. The teacher was sceptical at first, but soon had a
change of heart when a message was delivered to the teacher
asking for the dismissal of the Master because his
grandmother was on her death-bed, he also had similar
premonitions regarding the passing of his mother, his elder
brother and the wife of his elder brother.
From early childhood, Master Kirpal was able to function on
very little sleep. He often stayed awake for the entire
night studying or engaged in meditation. Master Kirpal Singh
was fond of meditating on the bank of the Ravi River and
would return home in the early hours of the morning.
Upon graduation from high school, the Master considered
furthering his education by studying medicine, particularly
homeopathy, or agriculture. Financial considerations made
this pursuit untenable, so Master began a career in
government service. Master joined the Military Engineering
Service at Peshawar in 1911.
In 1917 Master began seeing Baba Sawan Singh in his
meditations. “In May 1917 God appeared in my meditations in
the form of a holy man whom I took to be Guru Nanak. He
would speak to me and lead me into the higher planes
In February of 1924, while living in Lahore, Master decided
to visit the River Beas. One Sunday morning, he arrived at
Beas railway station. From the station master he learned
that a Saint was living on the bank of the river. Master
went to the Dera where he met Baba Sawan Singh and
recognized him to be the same figure that had been appearing
to him in his meditations for the past seven years.
From time to time I had divine visitations. I always took
the form of the holy man who used to visit me in my
meditations as Nanak. In those very days, I composed a poem
in which I beautifully described the lovely features of the
Divine Guide who kept guiding me all these years from day to
day on different planes. This state continued for about
seven years. It was only in 1924 that I happened to go to
Beas and met that visionary figure in the form of Hazur
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. All I mean to say is that God
listens to our prayers provided they are genuine, deep, and
sincere. When I inquired from Hazur as to why he had taken
so long a time to draw me to his Lotus Feet, he simply
replied that it was the most opportune time to do so.”
Master devotedly and tirelessly served his beloved Hazur for
twenty-four years until Hazur’s physical departure from the
earth plane in 1948. During the years of his discipleship,
Master conducted satsangs and initiations, wrote letters and
books for his Master’s mission, and engaged in physical seva
at the Dera.
In the fall of 1947 Baba Sawan Singh’s health began to
deteriorate. On October 12th, at seven o’clock, Hazur called
Master Kirpal into his room and said, “Kirpal Singh! I have
allotted all other work but have not entrusted my task of
Naam-initiation and spiritual work to anyone. That I entrust
to you today so that this holy and sacred science may
flourish.”
“During his illness, in the last days of February 1948,
Hazur inquired, ‘How many souls have been initiated by me?’
Registers were consulted and after counting was finished
Hazur was informed, ‘Up till now about one hundred fifty
thousand souls have been awakened by Hazur.’ The same day
Hazur said, ‘Kirpal Singh! I have done half your work and
have given Naam to over one and a half lakh persons and the
rest you have to accomplish.’On the morning of April 2,
1948, at 8:30 Hazur Baba Sawan Singh left his physical body
for the last time.
Master Kirpal settled in Delhi and began his public mission
as he had been directed by his Guru, Baba Sawan Singh.
Master set us residence at No.1 Kingsway Road, Radio Colony,
Delhi. People often came to visit the Master and to get his
darshan. It was five miles to where the satsang was held and
he used to travel there by bicycle. From here he would make
frequent trips to visit disciples of Sawan Singh who were
living in Delhi.
In 1955, Master Kirpal made his first foreign tour, spending
several months in the United States and Europe. This was the
first time that a Saint of his stature had visited the West,
and the first time that Surat Shabd Yoga had been explained
there by an authentic Master of the system
In India the mission continued to grow at a rapid pace as
the Master's reputation as a holy man and genuine Satguru
spread throughout the world. As the work increased in the
West and more and more seekers after truth were led to
Kirpal Singh, many of them developed a strong yearning to
study with him in India over an extended period of time, and
to get to know him in a personal way.
During his last year, the number of visitors to Sawan Ashram
increased dramatically. Knowing he was leaving, he threw
open the gates and issued a general invitation to all his
non-Indian disciples. Throughout the winter and spring of
1974 there were from two to four-hundred disciples from
countries outside of India consistently at his feet, in
addition to the thousands of Indian
followers who flocked to his door.
At the huge celebration in honor of his Master, at the end
of July 1974, Sant Kirpal Singh gave his last Initiation,
giving Naam to 1,067 souls who had been accepted by him for
the inner experiences of Light and Sound. On the evening of
August 21, 1974 Sant Kirpal Singh chose to enter Maha
Samadhi. |