PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY
No knowledge is complete till it comes to fruition through action. Likewise, spiritual discourse can also, rather only transform us if we follow the teachings of our Masters in our life. It is a thumb rule for every Nirankari devotee to follow the three-fold path of Sewa (Selfless Service), Simran (Mindful Remembrance of formless almighty God) and Satsang (company of enlightened beings) as a part of practical spirituality. But it also has a deeper root in the five basic principles or vows that a seeker agrees to follow in his life before attaining God-Knowledge from Satguru.
The five vows, which were presented by Baba Sajjan Singh Ji and were later formally approved as a precursor to receiving Brahmgyan by Shahenshah Baba Avtar Singh Ji, are nothing less than the preamble of Practical Spirituality. Baba Sajjan Singh Ji was the younger son of Baba Avtar Singh Ji. He was not only a prodigious young boy, but also exemplary in his vision for the Mission, having initiated a magazine of the Mission, which later became the monthly Sant Nirankari that we get to read today. We unfortunately lost him at an early age of 16 years due to an illness.
These five tenets, that guide a soul through a journey of self-introspection, emptying it of every dimension of ego, vanity, illusion and hatred, effectively form the foundation for receiving Gyan.
FIVE TENETS
The Mission preaches and expects its followers to abide by the following five pledges:
These five principles, as mentioned above, not only establish the foreground for receiving God-Knowledge, but also create a paraphernalia for its permanence in our conscious and sub-conscious existence. They act as moderators in times of excesses, tranquilizers in times of pain and mentors in times of illusion or fear. They in a way bring us back to zero, giving direction and peace to the mind, because zero is where the journey starts from, and zero is where it ends.
The journey of Gyan as initiated by Baba Buta Singh Ji, took forward by Baba Avtar Singh Ji, upheld by the sacrifice of Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, embellished by the love and grace of Baba Hardev Singh Ji, nurtured by the affection of Mata Savinder Hardev Ji, is being today carried forward with contemporary understanding of the same eternal message by Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj.
THE SEVEN STARS
Though the Sant Nirankari Mission had started sowing seeds of Spiritual bliss from 1929, when Baba Buta Singh Ji Maharaj took on the mantle of reforming the society that was acutely divided on the basis of caste, colour, race and religion etc, it’s formal structure as an administrative body was formed in the year 1948 with the establishment of Sant Nirankari Mandal by Baba Avtar Singh Ji Maharaj. With an ideology based on values like love, compassion, tolerance and brotherhood, Shahenshah Ji selected seven devotees to become the functionaries of the first Executive Committee of the Sant Nirankari Mandal. Each one of them was an epitome of unflinching devotion to Satguru Nirankar, selfless service and compassion for all. Here are the names of the esteemed committee members who lived spirituality in the most practical way possible:
THE SPIRITUAL TEXTS
Spiritual texts have played an integral role in the enlightenment of man. They act as beacons of knowledge and wisdom for generations to follow. The Nirankari ideology believes that instead of finding differences in the messages of the Holy Books, we should focus on the common solutions laid down by the spiritual masters, so as to make our lives, and incidentally the society and the world a better place to live. The two spiritual texts of the Mission continue to guide and enlighten human mind towards the path of salvation and righteousness.
SAMPURAN AVTAR BANI
Scripted and blessed by Baba Avtar Singh Ji, Sampuran Avtar Vani is a collection of 376 pious verses that gently take a seeker from the state of oblivion, illusion and fear to the most coveted identity of being One with One. The purpose with which Shanehshah Ji came up with this spiritual text was nothing else but to make the same old eternal truth understandable to everyone in simple day-to-day language. Originally written in Punjabi, the Sampuran Avtar Bani has now been translated into many regional and international languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali etc
SAMPURAN HARDEV BANI
A gift of Baba Hardev Singh Ji to humanity, the Sampuran Hardev Vani is a collection of 301 sacred verses, originally scripted in Hindi, that deal with many contemporary complex issues that disturb and distort the human psyche. The world knows for sure that Baba Hardev Singh Ji use to practically explain each and every dimension of a topic during his blissful discourses. Reading the Sampuran Hardev Bani makes us realise that we are actually listening to many of his pearls of knowledge and wisdom.
THE CURRENT BLESSING
The present Satguru of the Sant Nirankari Mission, Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj has a deep focus on making the spiritual lessons practical for the life of its devotees, especially the youngsters. Many social initiatives and programs, that not only focus to bring a sociological change, but also condition the young sewadars with values of selfless service, compassion and nation building have been a direct blessing of Her Holiness Mata Ji. The Covid-19 crisis saw lakhs of our affected brothers and sisters across India and abroad being served food and other necessary items by the volunteers of the Mission. With the blessings of Satguru Mata Ji, the Mission also donated in the PM Cares Fund along with CM funds of some other states.
Practical Spirituality is not always being in a perfect state of joy; rather it is being empowered to rise up with every fall to the state of balance and bliss. The continuous journey of Nirankari Youth Symposiums has been driven essentially on the above motto; wherein the youth are free to ask anything and everything under the sky and find solutions to their everyday problems. Because if spirituality fails to answer our so-called ‘trivial’ problems, it turns ritualistic and mundane. At NYS, the youth of the Mission express their views and ideas in a variety of artforms and modules. Group Talks, Panel Discussions, Skits, Dances, Musical Performances etc make it look like a Spiritual Fest, wherein learning comes naturally.
ONLINE PLATFORM
The Covid-19 lockdown forced the world to stay indoors. It has not been easy for many who were accustomed to meet and greet many people on daily basis. This emotional connect has been a source of joy and support for many, rather most of us. With the new norms and guidelines, when we were all worried about what would happen to our daily dose of Sangat, Satguru Mata Ji gave us the platform of Online Gyan Charcha Programs, which magically connected saints from across the world on the digital front. Devotees from even the remotest village of India to the urban centres of the western world were all connected to spiritual thoughts on regular basis. Satguru Mata Ji also blessed the Sunday congregations for almost 2-3 months with an array of virtuous topics ranging from Tolerance, Faith, Loving Devotion and Practical Spirituality etc. Even the 73rd Annual Samagam is being held virtually with the most valuable message of ‘Sthirta-The Eternal Stability’. All this establishes the fact that Her Holiness Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj wants a grassroot level change in the perception and attitude of the spiritual seekers, irrespective of age, gender, economic condition or cultural differences.
MAGAZINES AND LITERATURE
The fortnightly and monthly magazines of the Mission have been a source of perennial learning for the masses for a long time. Ek Nazar, Sant Nirankari, Hansti Duniya are regular magazines of the Mission which are published in many languages. The Nirankari Publication has published a huge number of books in many languages over the last many decades that introduce the history, ideology and activities of the Mission along with presenting a generic view on many spiritual topics. Some texts also touch the social and scientific dimensions in a comprehensive way.
The five vows, which were presented by Baba Sajjan Singh Ji and were later formally approved as a precursor to receiving Brahmgyan by Shahenshah Baba Avtar Singh Ji, are nothing less than the preamble of Practical Spirituality. Baba Sajjan Singh Ji was the younger son of Baba Avtar Singh Ji. He was not only a prodigious young boy, but also exemplary in his vision for the Mission, having initiated a magazine of the Mission, which later became the monthly Sant Nirankari that we get to read today. We unfortunately lost him at an early age of 16 years due to an illness.
These five tenets, that guide a soul through a journey of self-introspection, emptying it of every dimension of ego, vanity, illusion and hatred, effectively form the foundation for receiving Gyan.
FIVE TENETS
The Mission preaches and expects its followers to abide by the following five pledges:
- The body, mind and worldly possessions are a blessing of God; and should be used as such, without having any ego or vanity because of these.
- One should not have ego or vanity because of one’s caste, creed, colour or race etc.
- One should not discriminate or hate against anyone because of their food habits, dressing or lifestyle.
- One should not renounce family life to become a recluse and be a burden on others. Rather, one should fulfil all responsibilities of family and society.
- One must not divulge God Knowledge as bestowed through the True Master without the consent and blessings of the Master.
These five principles, as mentioned above, not only establish the foreground for receiving God-Knowledge, but also create a paraphernalia for its permanence in our conscious and sub-conscious existence. They act as moderators in times of excesses, tranquilizers in times of pain and mentors in times of illusion or fear. They in a way bring us back to zero, giving direction and peace to the mind, because zero is where the journey starts from, and zero is where it ends.
The journey of Gyan as initiated by Baba Buta Singh Ji, took forward by Baba Avtar Singh Ji, upheld by the sacrifice of Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, embellished by the love and grace of Baba Hardev Singh Ji, nurtured by the affection of Mata Savinder Hardev Ji, is being today carried forward with contemporary understanding of the same eternal message by Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj.
THE SEVEN STARS
Though the Sant Nirankari Mission had started sowing seeds of Spiritual bliss from 1929, when Baba Buta Singh Ji Maharaj took on the mantle of reforming the society that was acutely divided on the basis of caste, colour, race and religion etc, it’s formal structure as an administrative body was formed in the year 1948 with the establishment of Sant Nirankari Mandal by Baba Avtar Singh Ji Maharaj. With an ideology based on values like love, compassion, tolerance and brotherhood, Shahenshah Ji selected seven devotees to become the functionaries of the first Executive Committee of the Sant Nirankari Mandal. Each one of them was an epitome of unflinching devotion to Satguru Nirankar, selfless service and compassion for all. Here are the names of the esteemed committee members who lived spirituality in the most practical way possible:
- President- Shri Labh Singh Ji
- Vice-President- Dr.Des Raj Ji
- Secretary – Shri Ram Saran Ji
- Vice- Secretary – Babu Mahadev Singh Ji
- Publication in-charge – Shri Santokh Singh Ji
- Treasurer – Shri Jugal Kishore Ji (a.k.a. Kabir Ji)
- Langar In-charge – Shri Bhagat Ramchandar Ji
THE SPIRITUAL TEXTS
Spiritual texts have played an integral role in the enlightenment of man. They act as beacons of knowledge and wisdom for generations to follow. The Nirankari ideology believes that instead of finding differences in the messages of the Holy Books, we should focus on the common solutions laid down by the spiritual masters, so as to make our lives, and incidentally the society and the world a better place to live. The two spiritual texts of the Mission continue to guide and enlighten human mind towards the path of salvation and righteousness.
SAMPURAN AVTAR BANI
Scripted and blessed by Baba Avtar Singh Ji, Sampuran Avtar Vani is a collection of 376 pious verses that gently take a seeker from the state of oblivion, illusion and fear to the most coveted identity of being One with One. The purpose with which Shanehshah Ji came up with this spiritual text was nothing else but to make the same old eternal truth understandable to everyone in simple day-to-day language. Originally written in Punjabi, the Sampuran Avtar Bani has now been translated into many regional and international languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali etc
SAMPURAN HARDEV BANI
A gift of Baba Hardev Singh Ji to humanity, the Sampuran Hardev Vani is a collection of 301 sacred verses, originally scripted in Hindi, that deal with many contemporary complex issues that disturb and distort the human psyche. The world knows for sure that Baba Hardev Singh Ji use to practically explain each and every dimension of a topic during his blissful discourses. Reading the Sampuran Hardev Bani makes us realise that we are actually listening to many of his pearls of knowledge and wisdom.
THE CURRENT BLESSING
The present Satguru of the Sant Nirankari Mission, Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj has a deep focus on making the spiritual lessons practical for the life of its devotees, especially the youngsters. Many social initiatives and programs, that not only focus to bring a sociological change, but also condition the young sewadars with values of selfless service, compassion and nation building have been a direct blessing of Her Holiness Mata Ji. The Covid-19 crisis saw lakhs of our affected brothers and sisters across India and abroad being served food and other necessary items by the volunteers of the Mission. With the blessings of Satguru Mata Ji, the Mission also donated in the PM Cares Fund along with CM funds of some other states.
Practical Spirituality is not always being in a perfect state of joy; rather it is being empowered to rise up with every fall to the state of balance and bliss. The continuous journey of Nirankari Youth Symposiums has been driven essentially on the above motto; wherein the youth are free to ask anything and everything under the sky and find solutions to their everyday problems. Because if spirituality fails to answer our so-called ‘trivial’ problems, it turns ritualistic and mundane. At NYS, the youth of the Mission express their views and ideas in a variety of artforms and modules. Group Talks, Panel Discussions, Skits, Dances, Musical Performances etc make it look like a Spiritual Fest, wherein learning comes naturally.
ONLINE PLATFORM
The Covid-19 lockdown forced the world to stay indoors. It has not been easy for many who were accustomed to meet and greet many people on daily basis. This emotional connect has been a source of joy and support for many, rather most of us. With the new norms and guidelines, when we were all worried about what would happen to our daily dose of Sangat, Satguru Mata Ji gave us the platform of Online Gyan Charcha Programs, which magically connected saints from across the world on the digital front. Devotees from even the remotest village of India to the urban centres of the western world were all connected to spiritual thoughts on regular basis. Satguru Mata Ji also blessed the Sunday congregations for almost 2-3 months with an array of virtuous topics ranging from Tolerance, Faith, Loving Devotion and Practical Spirituality etc. Even the 73rd Annual Samagam is being held virtually with the most valuable message of ‘Sthirta-The Eternal Stability’. All this establishes the fact that Her Holiness Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj wants a grassroot level change in the perception and attitude of the spiritual seekers, irrespective of age, gender, economic condition or cultural differences.
MAGAZINES AND LITERATURE
The fortnightly and monthly magazines of the Mission have been a source of perennial learning for the masses for a long time. Ek Nazar, Sant Nirankari, Hansti Duniya are regular magazines of the Mission which are published in many languages. The Nirankari Publication has published a huge number of books in many languages over the last many decades that introduce the history, ideology and activities of the Mission along with presenting a generic view on many spiritual topics. Some texts also touch the social and scientific dimensions in a comprehensive way.
