Kirpal Singh
| Kirpal Singh | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Personal | |
| Born | 6 February 1894 Sayyad Kasran, Punjab |
| Died | 21 August 1974 |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Punjab |
| Title | Sant |
Sant Kirpal Singh [1] (6 February 1894–21 August 1974) was a spiritual teacher ("Sant") who was born in India in the village of Sayyad Kasran, in the western part of the Punjab which now belongs to Pakistan. Further biographical information is available. [2]
His Mission: "To fill the human heart with compassion, mercy and universal love, which should radiate to all countries, nations and peoples of the world. To make a true religion of the heart as the ruling factor in one's life. To enable each one to love God, love all, serve all, and have respect for all, as God is immanent in all forms. My goal is that of oneness. I spread the message of oneness in life and living. This is the way to peace on earth. This is the mission of my life, and I pray that it may be fulfilled."
He taught the unity of all religions and the birthright of man to attain self-knowledge and God-knowledge. Sant Kirpal Singh was initiated into Surat Shabd Yoga, the spiritual path of Sant Mat, by his guru Baba Sawan Singh of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Through this method, and "by the grace of (his) Master", he says that he experienced what is described in the world scriptures about God. According to his disciples, he dedicated his whole life to the ideal of unity: the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.
PURPOSE OF HIS ORGANIZATION - RUHANI SATSANG: "My Master, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, a perfect Saint, had a great desire to form a common forum or platform, Ruhani Satsang [the words mean literally "spiritual gathering" - no denominational or sectarian connotations of any kind], at which all persons, even though professing different faiths and religious beliefs, could be imparted the principles of Spirituality and encouraged to practice spiritual disciplines, in order to gain salvation and peace here and in the Beyond." - Kirpal Singh
The booklet: "RUHANI SATSANG - Science of Spirituality" [3] gives further details on the nature and function of this organization.
(See also "A Brief Life-sketch of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji" [4] and "How I met my Master" [5])
He attracted disciples with diverse religious and cultural backgrounds from all over the world to his ashram (named Sawan Ashram) in Delhi, India.
Kirpal Singh wrote an extensive collection of books on the general subject of spirituality. They range from The Crown of Life (a comparative study of various religions and yogas) to such subjects as prayer (Prayer, It's Nature and Technique), the nature of spirituality (Spirituality: What It Is), finding a spiritual teacher or guru (Godman) and karma (The Wheel of Life). All of these books are available in their entirety as PDF files. [6]
Many recordings of talks given during his lifetime are available as MP3 files. English [7] and Hindi / Punjabi [8]
Contents |
[edit] Teachings
In 1955, Sant Kirpal Singh wrote an introduction to his teachings especially intended for Westerners, called Man, Know Thyself [9]. The principal teaching expounded the underlying thread of the esoteric Sound Current (Shabd), Word (Bani), or Name (Nām) as the root experience of the Saints, which is discussed in the scriptures and continues to be available. Kirpal also stressed the importance of a physically-living Master or Guru, as the seeker can only read about spiritual principles from the writings and records of past Masters (Saints or Masters who have died), but the seeker can receive personal instruction and Holy Initiation only from the Living Master, who gives the spiritual charging that links the Guru to an initiate and can guide this Soul home.
Kirpal expressed no interest in creating a new religion (see "No New Faith, Mind That" [10]) and would generally quote his Master who said "plenty of wells have already been dug. There is no need to dig another." His self-stated intention was to
revive the original knowledge, which is to be found in the core of all religions, and gave an experience of the true nature of man whose aim it is to return to his Source - God. By this experience every individual regains his inherent value and dignity and can reach the highest goal of human life.
During fourteen years, he was repeatedly elected President of the World Fellowship of Religions which came into being in 1957. On three world tours in 1955, 1963, and 1972 He visited major cities in the Western world, where he met religious leaders, politicians, and personalities of society. He preached about the importance of self-knowledge (self-realization) and God-knowledge (knowledge of God / God-realization) and emphasized the need of selfless service as a form of devotion.
[edit] World Conference on Unity of Man
He convened the first World Conference on Unity of Man[1] in Delhi, 3 to 6 February 1974 (see also His talk "The Remodeling of Our Destiny" delivered at the Inaugural Session here [11]). Religious, political, and social leaders from all over India, and delegates from some eighteen countries participated in the Conference. This World Conference was the beginning of the Unity of Man movement (see also last circular letter "On the Unity of Man" issued on May 15, 1974 here [12] or here [13]). As a result of the Conference, Sant Kirpal Singh was invited by the Government to address the Indian Parliament. When he spoke to the members of the Lok Sabha on 1 August 1974, it was the first time that a spiritual leader was given that honour.
[edit] Legacy and Successors
Sant Kirpal Singh was the first Living Master of the Sant Mat / Surat Shabd Yoga / Path of the Audible Lifestream lineage to visit the West (1955). He died on 21 August 1974 without publicly naming a successor. Hence, several individuals have been regarded as Kirpal's successor.
Sant Thakar Singh was installed February 1976 at Kirpal's Sawan Ashram by "Taiji" Hardevi. Sant Ajaib Singh established Sant Bani Ashram at Village 16PS, Rajasthan, India. Dr Harbhajan Singh founded a Unity of Man Centre for the West in Austria. Soami Divyanand opened a Centre for the World Religions in Herrischried, Freiburg, Germany. Judith Vanier established the Lamb-Lion Institute in the USA. Satguru Sirio Carrapa, a disciple of Kirpal and Ajaib, established Sant Bani Ashram in Ribolla, Italy. All these are separate from the case of Kirpal's initiate Paul Twitchell who founded his own Eckankar religion in the USA without acknowledging Kirpal.[2]
In physical and material contribution, Sant Kirpal Singh's legacy may lie chiefly in the wealth of books he wrote during his lifetime; the Master made all of these works available without copyright, saying "the gifts of God, like sunlight, are all free." Many of these works are mentioned below and are available in full on the internet. Arguably these are the most extensive introductions available on Sant Mat as a contemporary spiritual path.
[edit] Notes
- ^ now called the Human Unity Conference
- ^ Arran Stephens and Malcolm Tillis have written first-hand accounts of the succession period.
[edit] Bibliography
- Stephens, Arran (1999). Journey to the Luminous, Seattle: Elton-Wolf. Revised and re-titled Moth and the Flame, published on-line in pdf.
- Tillis, Malcolm. The Emergence of the New Master Darshan Singh, Delhi: privately published, 1975. (Out-of-print.)
[edit] External links
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