For the next nine years, Sawan was Baba Jaimal Singh’s most devoted student. Though, at Babaji’s insistence, Sawan kept his job with the military engineering department (like all Sant Mat Masters, Jaimal insisted that his students work at real jobs), Sawan took any opportunity to visit Babaji at his hut by the Beas River whenever he could. From 1894 to 1903, Sawan and Jaimal maintained regular correspondence, many letters of which were preserved in the classic book, “Spiritual Letters” (published by Radhasoami Satsang Beas). Jaimal’s counsel, concise and to the point, helped to form the foundation of what has become modern Surat Shabda.
“When you are doing your Bhajan or Simran, do not have any worldly cares in your mind nor let yourself be distracted by any thoughts. First, do your Simran for a quarter of an hour. Then, gradually, fix your attention in the Shabd Dhun. Then give up Simran, and anchor your mind and soul in the Shabd. You will then experience great bliss, and Supreme Grace will descend on your from the highest region.”
In instructing Sawan Singh about his daily routine regarding living a spiritual life, Jaimal could also be quite stern, to which this classic letter from October 17, 1902, will attest:
“You do not seem to understand that when your official duties are over, you are not to talk to anyone. In the evening between six and eight, you should sit for Bhajan as long as possible – be it half an hour, an hour, fifteen minutes, or an hour and a half – and keep the surat (attention) on the inner planes. Then hold Satsang from eight to 10:00 P.M., after which you may get to sleep or talk, as you please.
Then, at 4:30 in the morning, you are to sit for Bhajan and continue up to 5:30 A.M. Then, throughout the day, you have to attend to your official routine and may, if you like, talk during those hours. But as soon as you are free from office duties, you must not waste time in idle talk or in the company of non-Satsangis. You should have your meals in private . . . You are never to have your meals cooked from non-Satsangis in your kitchen, especially if they take meat and drink. If you associate with non-Satsangis, you will have to suffer the effects of their company.”
Do not mistake Jaimal for being mindlessly caught up in his own dogma, or cultic. He was just very particular about the soul he had chosen to succeed him as an instrument of Shabda and God. His basic message was actually quite moderate. Beyond the trappings of spirituality, he knew that it all boiled down to:
“Listen to the Shabd Dhun, calling in your heart, every day with great love and devotion, for fifteen minutes, or ten minutes, or five minutes, or an hour or two, according to the time at your disposal. But you must listen to IT every day for a while.”
On December 29, 1903, Baba Jaimal Singh passed away. But before doing so, he established Sawan Singh as his spiritual successor. As noted earlier, Jaimal never gave Satsang from the Satsang hall Sawan had built. Sawan was the first to do so, while Babaji was still alive (one of Babaji’s ways of pointing out that Sawan was his successor).
One thing which is interesting to note here is that, even after he assumed the mantle of spiritual mastership, Sawan continued to work as a military engineer and Satsang at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh whenever weekends or vacation time would permit. He continued to do this until April 1911 when, much to his employer’s distress and students’ delight, Sawan took an early retirement from his day job and began serving as a full-time Sant Satguru at the Dera until his passing in 1948.
In the LightSong of Eternal Love,
Have a Beautiful Day!
Michael Turner
http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org