How an angry young man labelled as an enthusiastic fool by most, turned the
tables and bought himself 'near salvation'! The story of Jasbir Singh Sahni,
who today is a pillar of Sewa for The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib.
1981-1983
A young Jasbir blossomed into a teenage, with dynamic, non-worldly
and sometimes maverick thoughts on how to help others to alleviate their pain.
The angry young man’s exterior was cushioned with sharing the pain, anguish of
others and being sensitive to the needy. This compassionate aspect of his
personality generally landed him in many unsavoury situations just because
people around him never saw the reason of him trying to help a downtrodden or
even somebody who was passing through bad times. Plodding on gradually with his
own learning of every aspect of life seen through the words of wisdom of Guru
Granth Sahib ji, Jasbir started spending more and more time in the company of the
Spiritual Compilations of the Gurus
which lead him to he started realizing the third dimension in most day to day
affairs. Most of the time he was absorbed in self-contemplation in search of
inner peace, trying to find the ‘purpose’ in life.
In the back of his mind he
kept on searching for that elusive proverbial divine rainbow. The question
hankering his mind looped in and out while he tried to share this with many, to
seek his answers, but was mostly laughed away as being whimsical.
With that purpose to search, he was always
attracted to Saints and so-called learned people to find a simple reason for
his life. Some told him that he would enjoy the highest of wealth; some of them
said that he would have a long life but a few of them never talked about these
things. One fine day while cycling to his father’s shop, he overheard a
neighbor ‘Duggal Uncle’, talking about the visit of some Baba ji from Baru
Sahib. Curious as usual, Jasbir decided to switch his day’s errands and move on
to an audience with the holy man.
A baffling sight awaited him there, when he
saw an bespectacled elder dressed in achkan
(a buttoned Indian dress with a high band collar) with a white turban and
equally white beard. There was an ‘out of the ordinary’ peace radiating on his
face but he looked more like a well educated senior officer rather than a Baba as he was being addressed. Jasbir’s thoughts got more compounded
when he heard the old man speak. With a deep throat baritone voice, Baba Iqbal
Singh was discussing excitedly about developing a unique project on the land of
Baru sahib, Himachal Pradesh, that his own spiritual guide and teacher Sant
Teja Singh, (MA Llb, A.M. Harvard) had founded in 1956. Jasbir sat with rapt
attention and heard out Baba Iqbal Singh narrating his own experiences as a
youth and the inspiration that Sant Teja Singh had instilled within him when he
had first met him at Khalsa College, Amritsar in his student days.
The saintly person’s face reflected divine
radiance with his eyes brimming with energy, boring through furrowed white
brows. The youngster was amazed to know that Babaji was working as Director
Agriculture in Himachal Pradesh Government, a highly respected post and he was celebate
after a decision that he took when he was only 14, much younger than Jasbir was
during that time.
With both hands cupping his face, Jasbir
hunched with his elbows on his knees listening to Babaji; “Life is worthless
without a purpose” he heard Babaji say and a strange feeling arose in him since
this exactly was the question that was hankering him. The next words shook him thoroughly;
Babaji was gazing lovingly at him and asked “What is your aim in life young
man?” Jasbir could hardly mumble anything before Babaji continued “Life is
meant for a purpose. And without sacrifices no purpose can be achieved”.
Leaving the young man saddled with lot of thoughts, Babaji left for Himachal in
a few moments.
Tossing and turning around on his bed that night, the words kept on resounding in his ears; purpose, sacrifice, achieve!. It seemed to him that there was more than a message in these words and he could not agree any less that these were the most practical and simple words that he had heard since a long time. The composed face of Babaji had left a deep impact on his fickle mind. He had heard Babaji speak emotionally about Sant Teja Singh’s experiences with Sant Attar Singh; who showed him the true path of sacrifices and trained him to develop a humble mind despite being Harvard educated. This unpretentious humble old man seemed to be different from most of the others that Jasbir had come across since long.
Contd..... (wait for part 4)
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