Sant Baba Nand Singh (8 November 1870 – 29 August 1943) was a Sikh Saint. He is known as the founder of the Nanaksar Kaleran sampradya (Nanaksari sect) of Sikhism.

Early life

Baba Nand Singh was born on 8 November 1870 at Sherpur village in

Jagraon Jagraon is a city and a municipal council, a rural police district and a sub-division of the Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Jagraon is more than three centuries old. Jagraon is at almost the geographical center of the state, f ...

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are bicycle parts ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

to Sardar Jai Singh and Mata Sada Kaur. It is reported that he displayed a proclivity for meditation from a young age, once being found doing so while sitting at the edge of a well in the middle of the night.

Life work

Nand Singh left his house to do

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at Gurdwara Sahib in

Firozpur Firozpur, (pronunciation: ɪroːzpʊr also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in the Firozpur District of Punjab, India. After the Partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan bor ...

. He acquired a distinct group of followers during his lifetime. At a very young age, he left his family to seek enlightenment and became a disciple of Maha Harnam Singh, another great Saint of great spirit. There he met

Harnam Singh Raja Sir Harnam Singh Ahluwalia , KCIE (15 November 1851 – 20 May 1930) was a member of the Kapurthala royal family in the direct line founded by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. He was the first president of the All India Conference of Indian Chris ...

, who was impressed by his spirituality. He mentored him in the ways of devotion and the spirit of sacrifice. It is said Singh went to a forest for further meditation. After some time, he returned from the forest and stayed outside nearby village. The villagers constructed a temporary shelter for him. After some time, dwellers of the Kalera village approached him with an invitation to their village, which he accepted. En route, he stopped at a well located between Kalera and Kaunke. He made his camp there, and a small hut was made for him by the villagers. Singh started his meditation there. Nand Singh established his

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, now known as Nanaksar, near Kalera. The food (

langar Langar may refer to: Community eating *Langar (Sikhism) *Langar (Sufism) Places Afghanistan *Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan *Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan *Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan *Langar, Herat, Afghanistan *Langar, Wardak, Afghanistan ...

) was provided by nearby villagers, a practice which is in place to this day. Unlike other

gurdwaras A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurd ...

, no financial offerings are made by the devotees in front of the

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at this Sri Nanaksar Gurdwara.

Death

Nand Singh left his bodily form at Nanaksar in Punjab which is now recognized as the central dera although his devotees have established Gurudwaras under the name of Nanaksar across

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Nand Punjabi Sikhs Sikh saints 1870 births 1943 deaths

Early life

Life work

Death

See also

References