-By J.S. Chugh, Secretary, Sant Nirankari Mandal

The Sant Nirankari Mission’s approach to spiritual enlightenment is quite simple and straight. It is not loaded with any rites and rituals and it prescribes no or the least restrictions. Its philosophy has no intricacy that may call for a scholarly exposition, elaboration or discussion. The seeker of truth here feels fully satisfied by the hint that is provided by the True Master, the living Satguru. No wonder, ever since Baba Buta Singh Ji launched it in 1929, the Mission has spread in India and abroad by leaps and bounds. Millions have already taken advantage of its message which is so easy to understand and so convenient to follow in day-to-day life.

Ignorance and superstition are, however, so widespread in this vast world that this Mission’s message of divine light and truth will have to be reached out to the masses with more vigour and speed. We must share the bliss flowing from the benevolence of the Satguru with as many people as possible within the shortest time. It becomes all the more essential when we find the world to be fast moving towards destruction due to the arms race in general and nuclear weapons in particular.

In fact, whosoever is blessed with the Mission’s message of God-knowledge and a way of life based on it, feels so thrilled and excited that he or she would be anxious to distribute the joy with as many people as possible. Every member of the Mission desires that its message of human unity understanding, love and tolerance should reach every human being.

Initially, congregation based on person to-person approach was the only mode of taking the Mission’s message to the masses. The Founder, Baba Buta Singh Ji and his close associate Baba Avtar Singh Ji would go round, meet the people and discuss the Truth they wanted to reveal to the world. Naturally, people had all kinds of queries and doubts, and the congregations would turn into group discussions. The approach, however, proved effective. While the message was simple, both Baba Buta Singh Ji and Baba Avtar Singh Ji were perfect orators and would answer every question to the satisfaction of the person(s) concerned. Consequently, many with spiritual leaning who were reluctant rather critical in the beginning, joined the movement and dedicated themselves to take its voice of Truth forward.

This inter-personal approach continued to be found useful even when the Headquarters of the Mission got shifted from Peshawar to Delhi in the wake of the partition in 1947. People from all faiths and castes rallied round Baba Avtar Singh Ji, because they had just seen what damage the communal disharmony and bigotry could inflict upon humanity. And the Mission offered its forum where all of them were received as equally respected and dignified members.

As the Mission grew, efforts began to be made to take the help of the mass media also. By the late fifties, the Mission was able to seek publicity not only through newspapers, though not many in number, but also over All India Radio and Films Division of the Govt. of India (Indian News Review). This subject was discussed during the Second Mussoorie Conference in May 1973 where it was felt that the mass media and other modes of publicity may also be utilised to create mass awareness about the message of the Mission. The then Head of the Mission, Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji loved to meet the media persons and answer questions, so that they could understand the Mission’s ideology and project it correctly.

The glimpses of our Samagam, particularly the processions, were included in the Indian News Review (INR) by the Films Division for many years beginning from 1962. The Samagams were also noticed by the global networks, including BBC and WTN, taking the message of the Mission to almost all parts of the world.

During Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji’s times, a number of documentaries were prepared and shown to the devotees at the time of Sangats. Although the number of such documentaries was not very large, yet they proved quite effective.

This media approach has been continued by His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj also. Today, the Department of Press & Publicity is in touch with the media persons on regular basis. Press Teams have been set up at important newspaper centres to keep the media informed about the Mission’s activities from time to time. The Annual Samagams in Delhi and State level Samagams elsewhere are not the only occasions to invite newspersons or issue press releases. The spiritual tours of His Holiness and senior Missionaries are also utilisied for media coverage. Baba Ji’s discoursed are now being splashed prominently by the newspapers of all levels of circulation.

The Mission is taking advantage of the News and other programmes over the electronic media also. Information about the Mission is available even on the Internet. Video-cassettes based on the discourses by His Holiness are run by several renowned TV Cable and satellite networks, with the result that they are viewed by devotees and others in almost all parts of the world. Baba Ji’s visits abroad are noticed with keen interest by the media in those countries and regions. There are instances where certain TV networks have devoted full slot of the programme of the Mission. Besides, our social welfare programmes’ particularly the Blood Donation Movement from 1987, have been receiving wide coverage through the newspapers and magazines. Another significant development is that while the publicity effort hitharts were mostly confined to Hindi knowing States, now the newspaper of all regions are giving prominent coverage to Baba Ji’s discourses irrespective of the places he visits. He is receiving ovation for his message of universal brotherhood all over India. The same is the case overseas also.

Press Meet

For the first time in the history of the Mission, an All India Nirankari Press Meet was held at Mussorie on June 23 and 24, 1997. Organised by the Press & Publicity Department of the Mandal, the Conference was attended by delegates and members of the Press Teams from Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan. His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj blessed the delegates both in the opening and concluding sessions. His Holiness appreciated the efforts being made by the Press Teams both at the Headquarters and in the regions. It showed, he said, that those involved in the task of media coverage possess the requested talent, aptitude, potential and the spirit of devotion and dedication. Commenting on the delicate nature of their job, Baba Ji suggested that they must keep themselves fully informed so that they are able to satisfy the media. Moreover, instead of criticizing or contradicting others, they must explain their own view-point in positive terms.

Baba Ji said that all the three media-print, audio and video are important and we must continue to take their help. He hoped that more and more persons with media aptitude would come forward and join the Press Teams.

His Holiness concluded that there is no better mode of publicity that our own conduct and behaviour towards others. From this angle, every member of the Mission is a roving newspaper, he said. We must, therefore, see to it that there is no discrepancy between our word ant the deed, he exhorted.

Nirankari Publications

Every effort has been made to keep the masses informed about the Mission’s activities through its own magazines, books and other literature. Photographs, audio cassettes and now video cassettes also from an important part of the activities of the Mission’s Publication Department.

Since the Mission is a spiritual movement, the principal commitment of Nirankari literature is to elucidate its spiritual aspect i.e. its ideology, philosophy and the principles. What is preached by the Nirankari Baba through his discourses and sought to be communicated by other missionaries and devotee Saints during congregations is made available in printed word also. This helps not only those who listen to Baba Ji or attend congregations, but also those who might have not been able to do so. The needs of elite or scholarly readers in different languages are also taken care of both by Nirankari periodicals and books. Moreover, the Mission is convinced that a truthful record of what is preached and practiced today will constitute the Mission’s history for succeeding generations.

To-day our magazine ‘Sant Nirankari’ is published in 10 languages. The English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, editions are published from Delhi while others are Marathi from Bombay; Singhi form Ahmedabad; Gujrati form Baroda; Telugu from Hyderabad; Bengali from Calcutta and Oriya form Cuttack.

Besides, we are publishing ‘Ek Nagar’, a news magazine, containing information on day-to-day activities of the Mission. It also contains the discourses of His Holiness and write-ups on on-controversial subjects of social interest. It is published from Delhi as a Fortnightly in Hindi and Punjabi, separately. ‘Hansti Duniya’ is another popular Nirankari magazine. It is published from Delhi as a monthly in English, Hindi, and Punjabi, ‘Hansti Duniya’ is primarily for children.

The Publication Department also brings out special Souvenirs on the occasion of Annual Samagams. Some of these Souvenirs have been devoted to specific theme such as Tolerance, Faith in God, Humility and so on.

So far as the Nirankari literature is concerned, the Mission has already entered the National Book Fairs. People have linked our publications not only for their contents, but also the prices, which they find more realistic rather subsidized than elsewhere.

Spiritual Tours

All these efforts, however, appear to be a more shadow when compared to the real force behind the Mission’s popularity i.e. the spiritual tours of the True Master. Initially, Baba Buta Singh Ji and Baba Avtar Singh Ji did not mind walking miles together to meet even a single devotee or the seeker of Truth. They knew that ignorant people caught into the web of ritualism would not be able to come out unless they were helped to do so. So they went from place to place, notwithstanding the poor means of transportation. Gradually people started listening to them and the number of devotees increased day by day.

Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji continued to visit as many places as possible round the year. The presence of his benign spouse, Nirankari Rajmata Kulwant Kaur Ji added further grace to these spiritual tours and encouraged women to come forward and share the bliss of spiritual enlightenment. Processions during their visit to various places become more and more popular as also colourful. On their part, the divine couple did not care for their comforts and blessed the devotees in far-flung places including those in hilly, rural and backward areas. The congregations that took off as virtual group discussions during the days of Baba Buta Singh Ji and became a regular forum for the praise of God during Baba Avtar Singh Ji’s attained the form of mammoth public gatherings proving that the Mission had become a mass movement of spiritual awakening.

The first spiritual tour abroad was also undertaken by Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, in July 1967. Accompanied by Rajmata Ji and some Missionaries, Baba Ji visited UK and several other countries of Europe, by road. This was followed by the first World Spiritual Tour in 1971 covering Far East, USA, Canada, UK and some other countries. Thereafter, the divine couple toured various parts of the world almost every year till 1977.

His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj has also maintained the same tradition of spiritual tours within the country and abroad. Ever since the took over as Head of the Mission in 1980, Baba Ji and his esteemed spouse Pujya Mata Swinder Ji have been undertaking long and hectic tour of different places all over India and visiting some countries of the world, for better part of the year. Even when in Delhi, Baba Ji addresses congregations in the nearby areas almost daily. Certain colonies, towns, villages, State and countries not visited earlier are included particularly in every itinerary. To-day almost every congregation addressed by Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj gives a look of a big Samagam. It is also a big occasion to attract the media persons who take the voice of Truth further to masses through their newspapers and electronic networks.

In addition, spiritual tour are also undertaken by Mukhis, Parmukhs and Parcharaks in their own areas. A number of Missionaries visit different States of the country as planned by the Headquarters at Delhi. Some of them go abroad also.

Thus the Mission which started with handful of devotees has encompassed millions of people all over the world. It shows that the efforts being made to reach the masses through person-to-person based congregations, the use of mass-media and the Mission’s own periodicals etc., and, above all through the spiritual tours of His Holiness and the Missionaries, have proved effective. With Baba Ji’s blessings, masses are now quite aware of the Mission’s message. But as stated in the beginning, the efforts have to be kept up rather accelerated, because the darkness of ignorance is still widespread in the world.