Sawan Singh

Sawan Singh (1858-1948), also known as "The Great Master" or Bade Maharaji, was an Indian Saint or Sant. He was the second Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of Baba Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his own death on 2 April 1948.[1]

Sawan Singh
TitleParam Sant Satguru
Other namesSawan Singh Grewal
Personal
Born27 July 1858
Mehma Singh Wala, Ludhiana, Punjab, British India
Died2 April 1948(1948-04-02) (aged 89)
Punjab, India
ReligionSikhism, Sant Mat, Radha Soami
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipBritish subject
Ethnicitycaste Grewal Jat
LineageSant Mat of Sant Tulsi of Hathras
EducationThomason College of Civil Engineering
Other namesSawan Singh Grewal
Occupationmilitary civil engineer
OrderUttarī Bhārat kī Sant Paramparā (North India Sant Tradition)
PhilosophyNam bhakti or Gurmat siddhant
Senior posting
Period in office1903–48
PredecessorBaba Jaimal Singh
SuccessorSardar Bahadur Jagat Singh
PostSatguru

Before he died, he appointed Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh as his spiritual successor.[2][3]

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[4]

Life

Sawan Singh Grewal was born into a Grewal Jat Sikh family in the village of Mehma Singh Wala, District Ludhiana, in pre-partition Punjab. His father was Subedar Major Kabul Singh Grewal and his mother was Jiwani. He was married to 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.[5]

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'."[5]

Later when Sawan Singh was stationed at Murree, he met Baba Jaimal Singh, who said to his companion that he had come to initiate Sawan. 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 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. 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 Dr. Julian Johnson and chiropractic-osteopath Dr. Randolph Stone and the Swiss physician-homeopath Dr. Pierre Schmidt.

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See also

Notes and references
  1. Sondhi, S. L. (Ed.) (1981). Radha Soami Satsang Beas: Origin and Growth. Dera Baba Jaimal Singh: Radha Soami Satsang Beas.
  2. Radhasoami Reality: the logic of a modern faith by Mark Juergensmeyer. p.52. Princeton University Press, 1991
  3. David Lane. The Radhasoami Tradition: A Critical History of Guru Successorship (1992). Garland Publishers, New York ISBN 0824052471 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "A brief life-sketch of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj". www.ruhanisatsangusa.org.
  5. Spiritual Gems, Letter No.1.

Further reading
  • Sawan Singh, Dawn of Light.
  • Sawan Singh, Discourses on Sant Mat.
  • Sawan Singh, My Submission.
  • Sawan Singh, Spiritual Gems.
  • Charaṇ Singh, Spiritual Heritage.
  • 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.
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