There are some basic facts that should be known about the life of Maharaj Sawan Singh. He was born into respectable Grewal Jat family of Mahmansinghwala, District Ludhiana, Punjab. His father was Sardar Kabul Singh and His mother Shrimati Jiwani Ji. Like many devoted Sikh families, they prayed for a spiritually inclined son and were blessed on July 20, 1858, with the birth of Sawan Singh. In 1884 he was admitted to the Thompson College of Engineering at Roorkee. Upon graduation, he joined the Military Engineering Service, working at various time in Nowshera, Nathiagali, Cherat, Abbottabad and Murree. While also in his twenties, Sawan married Shrimati Kishan Kaur, with whom he had three sons, two of which survived.
Throughout his twenties and early thirties, Sawan divided his time between work and studying spiritual books and being with holy men. Regarding this spiritual fascination, Kirpal Singh wrote (in “Sawan Singh: A Brief Life Sketch”),
“The study of the basic principles of all religions was an article of faith with him. With his good knowledge of Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and English, he studied the scriptures of Hindus, Mohammedans, Sikhs and Christians, and paid great attention and devoted serious consideration to the writings of the Saints, the Sufi problems, the fundamental problems of love and devotion, and general ethical doctrines.”
While working in Peshawar, Sawan became acquainted with Baba Kahan, a local fakir, and asked him for the gift of true spirituality. Baba Kahan told Sawan “You will certainly have a spiritual benediction from the hands of a perfect Saint, but not from me”. When asked where he would find this person, Kahan replied, “All your efforts shall be in vain, but in the fullness of time that personage shall himself find you.”
Sawan’s job took him to the Murree hills in the early 1890s, where he remained stationed for a number of years. Being a key stopping point along the way to Amar Nath, a place of Hindu pilgrimage in Kashmir, residing in Murree afforded Sawan the opportunity to meet a wide variety of sadhus, yogis and other holy men. Daryai Lal Kapur notes that, during this time,
“With a Buddhist Bhikshu he studied the Buddhist and Jain sacred literature. But his hunger was not satisfied. He wanted to see the Lord, face to face, while living. If the Creator Lord was the Father and human beings were His sons, why should it not be possible to see Him and commune with Him during ones life time? An American missionary, with whom he studied the Bible, confessed that he did not know of any method by which this could be done. All others, however, tried to persuade him to join their own cults and tried to attach him to their rites and rituals, and various other modes of worship. He also came into contact with some Tibetan Lamas, but their methods did not seem to go any higher than Patanjali’s Yoga, which he had already studied.”
In 1894, while Sawan was stationed in Murree, Baba Kahan’s prediction was fulfilled. Baba Jaimal Singh was visiting the town, and passed Sawan on the street. Thinking the elderly sadhu to be someone attending to business with the local officials, Sawan paid Jaimal no mind. As they walked by, Babaji remarked to Bibi Rukko (one of his original satsangis and personal attendant), “I have come for this Sardar”. Bibi wondered how it could be, as Sawan didn’t even acknowledge their presence. Jaimal replied, “This poor fellow is not to blame. He is ignorant and does not know. He shall come to us on the fourth day from now.”
As Jaimal affirmed, four days later Sawan heard that a great holy man was in the area. Given his interest in spiritual matters, Sawan sought Jaimal out and spent the next several hours discussing all aspects of spirituality. After this, Sawan requested, and received initiation. Babaji remarked at the time of initiation that he had traveled all the way to Murree for Sawan alone, saying, “I was holding something in trust for him. That trust I have discharged today.”
In the LightSong of Eternal Love,
Have a Beautiful Day!
Michael Turner
http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org