Sawan Singh (27 July 1858 - 2 April 1948), also known as The Great Master or Bade Maharaj ji, was an
Indian Saint or ''Sant''. He was the second spiritual head of
Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of
Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his own death on 2 April 1948.
Before he died, he appointed
Jagat Singh as his spiritual successor.
Honorifics
Although he did not refer to himself with these, the following appellations and honorifics have been used to refer to Sawan Singh:
*Bade Maharaj Ji
*Hazur Maharaj
*Sawan Shah
*The Great Master
*Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj
Life
Sawan Singh Grewal was born into a Grewal
Jat Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
family in his mother's home at the village of Jatana, District Ludhiana, in pre-partition Punjab. Sawan Singhs ancestral village was Mehma Singh Wala, District Ludhiana in Punjab. His father was Subedar Major Sardar Kabal Singh Grewal and his mother was Mata Jiwani Kaur. He was married to Mata Kishan Kaur and together they had three children. He passed engineering at
Thomason College of Civil Engineering, Roorkee and later joined the Military Engineering Service.
He studied scriptures of various religions but retained a strong connection with the
Gurbani of the Sikh religion.
[Spiritual Gems, Letter No.1.]
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
Jaimal Singh, who said to his companion that he had come to initiate Sawan Singh. After much philosophical debate, discussion and several conferences with Jaimal Singh, Sawan Singh became thoroughly convinced and received initiation from Jaimal Singh into the practice of
surat shabd yoga
Surat Shabd Simran is a type of spiritual meditation in the Sant Mat tradition.
Etymology
''Surat'' is "attention" or "face", that is, an outward expression of the soul; '' Shabd'' or ''Shabda'' has multiple meanings including ‘sacred song’, ...
on the 15th day of October 1894.
Sawan Singh retired on government pension in 1911 to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh (Beas), the "camp of Baba Jaimal Singh" where Jaimal Singh had settled in 1891. During his ministry the Dera expanded greatly, with houses for both permanent residents and guests, a library and a Satsang Hall. Sawan Singh sheltered victims of the communal holocaust of the
Partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
. His following included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and for the first time, thousands from abroad. He had initiates from America, England, Switzerland, Germany, most notable of whom being the Americans physician-surgeon
Julian Johnson and chiropractic-osteopath
Randolph Stone and the Swiss physician-homeopath Pierre Schmidt.
Books
He wrote following books.
* Tales of the Mystic East (English)
* Spiritual Gems (English)
* Philosophy of the Masters (English) (five volumes)
* My Submission (English)
* Discourses on Sant Mat (English)
* The Dawn of Light (English)
* Shabd Ki Mahima Ke Shabd
See also
*
Radha Soami
Rādhā Soāmī Mat or Sant Mat is a sampradaya, spiritual tradition or faith founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in January 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India. p. 90 note 5, Quote: "The date of Seth Shiv Dayal's first public discourse is Ba ...
*
Surat Shabd Yoga
Surat Shabd Simran is a type of spiritual meditation in the Sant Mat tradition.
Etymology
''Surat'' is "attention" or "face", that is, an outward expression of the soul; '' Shabd'' or ''Shabda'' has multiple meanings including ‘sacred song’, ...
*
Shiv Dayal Singh
*
Charan Singh
*
Kirpal Singh
Further reading
*Maharaj Charan Singh, ''Spiritual Heritage''.
*Baba Jaimal Singh, ''Spiritual Letters''.
*Kapur, Daryailāl, ''Call of the Great Master''.
*Kapur, Daryailāl, ''Heaven on Earth''.
*Kirpal Singh, ''A Brief Life Sketch of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj''.
*Moss, Cami, ''Glimpses of the Great Master''.
*Munshi Ram, ''With the three Masters''.
Notes and references
External links
Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB)Science Of The Soul Research Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawan Singh
People from Ludhiana district
1858 births
1948 deaths
Radha Soami
Sant Mat gurus
Punjabi Sikhs
Scholars from Punjab, India
People from Punjab Province (British India)