-By: Amrik Singh I.A.S. (Retd)

The clouds of war and violence can be seen hovering in various parts of the world. Hatred, jealously, greed, discords and dissension continue to defile the society. Humanism and human values have been forgotten. The concept of love, light, and unity seems to have disappeared. In spite of tremendous progress in the field of science and technology, the Man continues to remain bewildered. Why?

Obsessed by ego and lust for the mammon, man behaves like a beast. Forgetful of God-the Ultimate Reality – man is crazy after pelf and power. The wisdom, wealth and manpower are being harnessed for promotion of selfish ends for oppression of the weak and for acts designed to cause tumult, turmoil and devastation. The world is on the brink of disaster. There is chaos, confusion and degeneration in society. The whole humanity is anxiously looking for peace, bliss and tranquility:-

                                        AAG LAGI AKASH MEIN
                                                    JHAR JHAR PADEN ANGAR;
                                        SANT NA HOTE HAGAT MEIN
                                                    JAL MARTA SANSAR.

There is fire in the sky and burning embers are falling on the earth. Had there been no saints, the world would have been reduced to ashes.

The fire in the sky here apparently points out to the man’s ego, the root cause for degeneration of society. It is for saints, God in human form, to dispel the darkness of ignorance, to establish righteousness, to uphold the truth, to eliminate falsehood, to establish peace, love and light in this world and to extricate man from the mud puddle of materialism, and unite hin with God:

                                        TARWAR, SARWAR, SANT JAN,
                                                    CHAUTHA BARSEMEH;
                                        PAROPKAR KE KARNE,
                                                    CHARON BHARYEN DEH.

The trees, the lakes, the saints and the rains do appear for the good of others.

One needs a Teacher, a Guide, to know about a person, place and the environment. Likewise, for seeking the omnipresent God, one does need the guidance and grace of the True Master (Satguru). True Master is indispensable in the process of God- realisation. 'None has been able to attain Divine Knowledge without the True Master’ and none shall see God without the True Master' is the law of the Kingdom of God. Even Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Hazrat Mohammed, Guru Nanak and other great spiritual masters had to follow this tradition. The True Master holds the key to the Kingdom of God and he can reveal God to every seeker.

God has two forms; one is the visible manifestation, the Nature, the living and non-living objects; and the other is the invisible, formless, all-pervading spirit of God. True Master dispenses God-knowledge to redeem the ignorant and the wayward. He is like the sun transmitting light to all the people of the world. He belongs to the whole humanity and not for any particular sect, community and country:

"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one cometh unto the Father but by me."
                                                                                                                                    (Bible)

"The true Guru has broken the shell of the egg of delusion and my mind has been illuminated. He has cut all the shackles and my captive soul has been liberated."
                                                                                    (Adi Grasnth)

"Nirankari" means the Formless Omnipresent God. Every human being who gets initiated and receives the Divine-knowledge with the grace of the True Master is a "Nirankari". The Sant Nirankari Mission represents the essence and fragrance of all the religions known to the world.

"The is no religious faith greater than beholding God face to face; there is no act better than serving the saints."
                                                                                                                                                           (Avtar Bani)

The Mission strives to bring about unity in diversity. The people of the world are united together through a common spiritual chord irrespective of their caste, creed, colour, language, region and nationality being different. The Mission preaches peace, love, humanism, tolerance and universal brotherhood. All human beings here constitute "One Word Family" despite their different sings and symbols. Everybody is respected and love irrespective of his or her being a Hindu, a Christain, a Muslim, a Sikh, a Buddhist, a Jain and a Zorastrian, etc.

God-knowledge is the panacea for all ills and ailments afflicting the mankind. Luckily the Nirankari Baba is amidst us to bestow Divine-knowledge and to grant perpetual peace, bliss and deliverance. The Sant Nirankari Mission is unique in terms of making possible the coveted goal of God realisation. The Mission does not subscribe to religious forms, symbols, dogmas and rituals.

A key to the Nirankari Mission 'Avtar Bani' is a unique contribution of Nirankari Baba Avtar Singh Ji. It contain the germs and jewels of divine wisdom, in a simple language and easy style. The teachings of the True Master have been embodied in 376hymns covering a wide range of spiritual topics, such as attributes and glory of the Formless God, the need of the True Master, the aim of human life, the life-style of a devotee, the fundamental principles, the true religion, the real devotion, man without God-knowledge, life of wayward person, futility of rites and rituals, the grace of the True Master and the message to every human being "Know God Ye Worship".

Avtar Bani explains the philosophy about God and also breaks the wrong beliefs and superstitions which the people and framed about God. It seeks to dispel the misapprehension and m9sunderatandings of those who were either ignorant or misguided anout the true religion. It stresses the basic Truth and inspires men to understand and fulfil the real purpose of human life.

Not only Baba Avtar Singh Ji tries to reestablish the faith of the people in God but also tells them that they too can realise God buy approaching the Lord Master of the time. To the society which is suffering from the most dangerous disease called untouchability, the Nirankari Baba preaches that all human beings are the children of the one and the same God and there is no use discriminating on any ground between one person and the other living in any part of the world. With this, the Baba not only eliminates the seed of hatred from the human mind but also strengthens the doctrines of fraternity, love and humility, which are the backbone of a healthy society.

The Sant Nirankari Mission has always endeavoured to promote patriotism and social reforms. The Nirankari Baba and the Missionaries authorized on his behalf have dispensed God-knowledge and worked for ushering in and era of peace, truth, love, light and Universal Brotherhood. They have always worked for such social reforms as may adorn the life of the people with divine virtues, such as humility, nobleness, piety, sweet language of love, righteousness, fair deeds and dealings. The Mission has introduced multiple social reforms for the welfare of the people especially the poor and the needy.

The Nirankari Mission has a corps of volunteers known as Sant Nirankari Sewa Dal. As is clear from its very name it is an organization of volunteers engaged in the service of Mission without any pecuniary interest or any other material compensation. To serve humanity is considered as the sacred duty by every volunteer of the Nirankari Sewa Dal. To them it is as good as devotion to God. Even for their uniforms, they spend from their own resources.

The Nirankari Sewa Dal symbolises the Mission's commitment to the spirit of self-discipline and selfless service to humanity. Today, the Nirankari Sewa Dal has thousands of volunteers, men and women in their respective uniforms. They come from all communities, from all classes of the society. They are businessmen, doctors, teachers, professors, officers, engineers, architects, craftsmen, workers, laborers, and rather people from all ranks. They work shoulder to shoulder least conscious of their social, economic or official status.

Sant Nirankari Sewa Dal volunteers play vital role in organising Blood Donation Camps, where thousands of Nirankaris donate the blood to save lives of the sick and the wounded. The Sewa Dal volunteers also render useful services during rescue and relief operations in emergent situations such as floods, earthquakes, cyclones, train disasters, and violence-oriented distress.

Other social welfare measures and reforms introduced by Sant Nirankari Mission include simple and dowry-free marriages, observing austerity and refraining from extravagance and exhibitionism, rising above social barriers, complete ban on the use of liquor and other intoxicants in any form, monetary help and other relief assistance to the old, the poor, the destitute and the widows etc.

Sant Samagams

It is rightly said:

                                        SUT DARA AUR LAXMI PAPI KE BHI HOYE;
                                        SANT SAMAGAM HARI KATHA,
                                        TULSI DURLABH DOYE.

Son, wife and wealth can be possessed even by the sinner, But one rarely comes across the mamoth gathering of the saints (Sant Samagam).

Holding of annual Nirankari Sant Samagams at Sant Nirankari Mandal Headquarters is a regular feature of the Mission under the divine inspiration and blessings of the True Master. Lakhs of devotees of the Mission from all over the world gather in Delhi for three-days in October or November every year. The panoramic view of the huge congregation of saints depicts a sea of love, humanism and Unity in Diversity and presents a pleasing festive look, which thrills the mind with joy and peace.

The significance of this world spiritual meet is unparalleled and cannot be described in words. Only those who are drenched in the divine nectar of the True Master, Nirankari Baba can visualise and enjoy the bliss of this wonderful Samagam. This peace and bliss is of everlasting character, does not diminish, rather gets accentuated every day, every time, as one gets intoxicated with Divine name and sings the glory of God in the lap of the Holy Congregation. The sermon of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj towards the conclusion of the congregation culminates the daily deliberations. Everybody longs to listen to the holy words of the True Master, which provide life to the lifeless and transform the mind even of a pervert.

Gift to Mankind

The Nirankari Mission is the greatest gift to mankind. It stands for redemption of the teeming millions. It aims at refurbishing of the errant society; and providing solace for the desperate humanity.

This Mission is reviving the moral and spiritual values, which are vital to nation building and for the spiritual development of the individual and the society. The Nirankari Baba is building bridges of understanding among people of all nations. The man is divested of the ego and pride and God-knowledge instilled in mind, which brings peace and prosperity forever. The fabric of the strife-torn society is being rewoven to establish a new social order where every one can live in peace, loving and respecting one another.

The miracle of Nirankari Mission is that the people belonging to different religious faiths, cultures, and nationalities have come together under the divine umbrella of one Formless God. The much-talked about unity of mankind despite religious and social disparities has been made a reality. The Nirankari Baba transforms the mind, without interfering with or altering the outer form, appearance, signs and symbols of any person. The massage here is that this voice of truth is the need of the time and one should not waste the precious human life in wavering. One must realise God for which purpose one got the gift of human life. This is only way to get peace, bliss and salvation.