Baba Sawan Singh was born into a
Grewal Sikh family on 27 July 1858 in village Jatala,
District Ludhiana. His father was Subedar Major Kabul Singh
and his mother was Mata Jiwani. He was married to Mata
Kishan Kaur and together they had three children. He passed
Engineering from Thomson College, Roorkee and joined the
Military Engineering Service. His bearing was majestic and
attractive. He studied
scriptures of various religions but retained a strong
connection with the
Gurbani
of the Sikh religion.He had contact with a mystic of
Peshawar named Baba Kahan who he hoped to get initiation
from but was refused:
"I associated with him for several
months and during that time he showed supernatural powers on
several occasions. When I asked him if he would shower grace
upon me by initiating me, he answered: 'No, he is somebody
else; I do not have your share.' I then asked him to tell me
who that person was so that I could contact him. He replied:
'When the time comes, he will himself find you.
Later when Sawan Singh was
stationed at Murree, he met Sant Jaimal Singh, who said to
his companion that he had come to initiate Sawan. After much
arguing and discussion and several conferences with Jaimal
Singh, Sawan became thoroughly convinced and received
Initiation from Jaimal Singh on the 15th day of October,
1894. Sawan was very devoted to his master Jaimal Singh.
Sawan Singh retired in 1911 and
developed Dera Baba Jaimal Singh (Beas) the "camp of Baba
Jaimal Singh" where Baba Jaimal had settled in 1891-- and
built houses, bungalows and a Satsang Hall. Sawan sheltered
victims of the communal holocaust of the Partition of India.
His following included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,
and for the first time, thousands from abroad, the US, UK,
Switzerland, Germany, including Dr. Julian Johnson and Dr.
Pierre Schmidt. True to his name Sawan, the Season of Rain,
he showered his Master's wealth freely.
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