Interesting overview of Baba Balbir Singh Seechewale's life

[tSingh]

I'm sure most of us have heard or seen Baba Balbir Singh's work at Kali Bein in his bhagva sadhu bana.

Two things to note in this;

While he is not your average Kankhal Nirmala in the learning department, he does continue a tradition that was there from the beginning with the likes of Baba Langar Singh Nirmala (who was the gurdev of Pandit Nikka Singh of Barnala dera, who was the teacher of the daughter of Baba Ala Singh in Patiala in the mid 18th century). Baba Langar Singh from the early 18th century is remembered more for his seva in building shrines, establishing the Muktsar shrines although he established a vidyala also, having studied with Bhai Kesar Singh, the shish of Baba Karam Singh (one of the five Nirmalay sent to Kashi).

Secondly, its interesting to note his comment about celibacy...a point also mentioned in Gyani Gyan Singh's 'Nirmal Panth Pradeepika' back at the end of the 19th century that Nirmalay generally are celibate but are not necessarily (unlike Sevapanthis who by definition have to be).

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http://www.santseechewal.net/BabaJisLife.htm

Few words on the life of Baba Ji

Sant Balbir Singh ji took over as the Mahant of Nirmal Kuteya on 6 June 1988. The rites of his Tilak and Dastar Bandi were performed by Sant Darshan Singh, Mahant of Shri Dev Pura Ashram Haridwar and Mahant of Panchayati Akhara Kankhal. On this occation the Sangat from Sant Ashram Lopon, Seechewal and Barsalan, apart from the members of Sant Avtar Singh's family, was present. It was under his charge that Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal became revolutionized in many ways. It came out of its ancient anonymity and became popular among the people of a large area of Punjab. Sant Balbir Singh Ji was born on 2 Feb, 1962 in Seechewal village. The name of his mother is Mata Chanan Kaur and of his father was Shri Chanan Singh. He had a religious bent of mind from the very outset, although there was no such atmosphere in the family. He used to recite Japuji, Rehras and Kirtan Sohila daily. But the experienced divine grace only after he came into contact with Sant Avtar Singh ji in 1981. He left his college studies without completing his graduation. For about three years he fully devoted himself to the service of his Guru. His parents and relatives were worried to "lose" their efficient and hard working son. But Sant Balbir Singh ji did not look back. By means of his devotion and with the grace of the Guru and God, he became a favourite and choicest disciple of Sant Avtar Singh ji. After Sant Avtar Singh's departure for Sach Khand he was anointed the Mahant of the Dera as desired by the Guru. In accordance with the tradition of Nirmal Kuteya so far, Sant Balbir Singh ji never married although it is not necessary for a Nirmal saint to strictly observe celibacy.

By bringing religion to the service of humanity, sant Balbir Singh ji has underlined the true spirit of Sikhism. His whole effort is directed to this end. In this, he was more impressed by Sant Darbara Singh of Lopon's social work. While Sant Darbara Singh's work was mainly in field of education, Sant Balbir Singh's work is multiple. For him, this is the only true way to remember God. To think of the welfare of all, to rise above the selfish motives, to share the sorrows of the suffering people and to help the needy, is, for him, the real meaning of religion. To meet requirements of the modern times in the light of such humanitarianism, sant Balbir Singh ji has grand plans:- to open new schools and colleges to eradicate intellectual and spiritual illiteracy, to provide technical training in the advanced fields like electronics and computer sciences, to introduce spiritual education with a view to boost up good moral character, and arrange sports programs to develop physical as well as mental health among the young people, and so on. Apart from attending to the building and maintenance work of the religious places he takes up an important task of preparing new roads, path and ways to join different people and places. To combat pollution he proposes a modern kind of sewerage system in cities and villages. Through his practical programs he shows the way how to clean and keep clean the polluted waters of our holy veins and rivers. All this is not an empty talk, a utopian dream. If you ever have an opportunity to visit Nirmal Kuteya or any of the different sites of practical work done by Sant Balbir Singh ji, or to see Sant ji face to face, you may very well realize the reality of this ideals and the feel the force of his positive thinking. He has a self confidence based on a firm faith in God that enables him to move forward in implementing his projects of constructive work even in the face of opposition from many people with vested interests.

Sant Balbir Singh ji is a simple, straight forward, clear-hearted, transparent personality who has nothing to hide from the people. He is the spiritual leader of common people. Numberless people daily crowd around him to pay their heartiest greetings to him and get his blessings. He is always ready to share their sorrows and sufferings and give them solace. People come to discuss with him their problems and get sympathetic and satisfactory solutions to them. The light that cheers up his bright face is the spiritual light that comes from God. The divine ecstasy that fills his soul and informs his speech is perennial source of inspiration for his followers. He is a great teacher and preacher of faith in God and total submission before God. He takes away the frustration and mental sorrows of the people who come to seek his divine grace. He is beloved of the Sikhs and the Hindus alike. In this he brings out the true spirit of Sikhism which embraces whole humanity. As is already mentioned, Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal was mainly a secluded place before Sant Lal Singh came to stay here. Being an ascetic, he did not take much interest in renovation and repair of Nirmal Kuteya. As a result, the building was in an utterly dilapidated condition when Sant Avtar Singh came over here. The first think he did was to get the central Kuteya building repaired. He also got some new construction work done during his time:-

1. A new Langar hall was constructed (hich was later on included in the school building ).

2. Two more rooms were built (one for Shri Guru Granth Sahib and the other for the residence if the Akhand Pathis).