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Charan Singh (Sant)

2022-01-03T14:44:00Z

2409:4055:2E89:6CA0:CD41:658C:9AC6:C51C:

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name = Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji
| image = Charan Singh Grewal.jpg
| location = Beas, Punjab, India
| Title = [[Satguru]]
| religion = [[Sant Mat]] , [[Radha Soami]]
| Period = 1951 - 1990
| Predecessor = [[Jagat Singh (chemist)|Maharaj Jagat Singh]]
| Successor = Baba [[Gurinder Singh]]
| birth_date = 12 December 1916
| birth_place = Sikanderpur, Sirsa, Punjab, British India (at present Haryana)
| death_date = {{d-da|1 June 1990|12 December 1916}}
| death_place = Beas, Punjab, India
| alias = Hazur Maharaj Ji
}}
'''Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji''' (1916–1990), was the spiritual head of [[Radha Soami Satsang Beas]], Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, after he was named successor by the preceding Beas guru [[Jagat Singh (Sant)|Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh Ji]] , in 1951. Maharaj Charan Singh served as the guru for the Beas [[sangat (term)|sangat]] for almost four decades, until his death from heart failure in 1990 at the age of 73. Before his appointment in 1951, he had practiced law in Hisar and Sirsa, India. He was an initiate of [[Sawan Singh|Maharaj Sawan Singh]]’s, who was his paternal grandfather and the predecessor of [[Jagat Singh (Sant)|Maharaj Jagat Singh]]. Maharaj Charan Singh assigned the duties of his successor and guru to his initiate and nephew [[Gurinder Singh|Baba Gurinder Singh]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#1|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

Maharaj Charan Singh was born in 1916 in his mother’s home at Moga in the Ferozepur district of Punjab. His father, Sardar Harbans Singh Grewal, was the youngest son of Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji, who was affectionately known as the Great Master.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#2|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

At the age of 22, Charan Singh completed his B.A. degree from Gordon College, Rawalpindi, and went on to study law at Punjab University, Lahore. After receiving his LL.B. degree in 1942, he started to build his own practice as a lawyer in the town of Sirsa, near the family home. In 1943 Great Master arranged his marriage to Harjeet Kaur, the daughter of Rao Bahadur Shiv Dhyan Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#3|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

By the time Maharaj Ji was appointed as the Satguru, the Dera had grown, and many satsang centres had been established throughout India. His practical understanding of administrative matters allowed him to make changes to the administrative structure that would carry the organization smoothly into a fast-changing, modern world. In 1957, Maharaj Ji placed all Dera assets into a Charitable Trust, the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Society. Maharaj Ji himself helped frame the constitution and rules and regulations for the Society. His leadership in this matter created an administrative framework under which the Dera and its activities continue to be administered.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#4|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

As the spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Maharaj Charan Singh was noted for his succinct and clear explanations of the Sant Mat teachings, a reflection of his legal training and practice. He had many disciples from foreign countries as well as India, and would often give discourses and hold question-and-answer sessions with them, both at the Beas International guest house, as well as on his frequent overseas tours. Many of these sessions were published in books and as audio recordings, and offer a comprehensive understanding of the path of Sant Mat. Under his guidance, books on Sant Mat were published in almost every Indian language, as well as the main languages spoken globally such as French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Greek, Italian, Indonesian, and many others.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#5|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

Most of the activities of the Society take place in the form of seva – voluntary service to the Lord through service to humanity – which is a key foundation of the teachings of the Beas masters. Maharaj Charan Singh initiated the launching of a Medical Eye Camp, a network of charitable hospitals, disaster management projects, and free food distribution programmes, which have continued as his legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#6|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

On 1 June 1990, Maharaj Charan Singh died at Dera, Beas. He entrusted his authority and responsibility as Patron of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Society and the Maharaj Jagat Singh Medical Relief Society Beas to Gurinder Singh Dhillon who, at 36 years of age, has taken on the same responsibilities that had been assumed by Maharaj Charan Singh forty years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maharaj Charan Singh|url=https://rssb.org/Maharaj_Charan_Singh.html#7|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Radha Soami Satsang Beas|language=en}}</ref>

== The Philosophy of Radha Soami Satsang Beas ==
As the fourth guru in the Radha Soami lineage of gurus of Beas, Maharaj Charan Singh taught the spiritual philosophy that a morally upright life together with daily [[surat shabd yoga]] meditation can lead to self and God realization.
Like his predecessor gurus he taught that this is a continuation of the teachings of all true saints ([[Sant Mat|Sants]]) of whatever religious background, which they thus call [[Contemporary Sant Mat movements|Sant Mat]], meaning 'the way of Saints'. Maharaj Charan Singh lived most of his life at the [[Radha Soami Satsang Beas]] ashram called 'Dera Baba Jaimal Singh' which was founded in 1891. It is located near the town of Beas, in the northern India state of Punjab.

== Ancestors ==
* Sri Harbans Singh Grewal (Father)
* [[Sawan Singh|Baba Sawan Singh Ji]] (Grandfather)
* Sri Kabal Singh Grewal (great-grandfather)
* Sri Sher Singh Grewal (Great great grandfather )

Maharaj Charan Singh Ji’s ancestral village was Mehma Singh Wala, District Ludhiana in Punjab.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.rssb.org Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB)]
* [http://scienceofthesoul.org/ Science of the Soul]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charan singh}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Surat Shabd Yoga]]
[[Category: Sant Mat gurus]]

{{india-reli-bio-stub}}

Shiv Dayal Singh

2022-01-03T14:31:23Z

2409:4055:2E89:6CA0:CD41:658C:9AC6:C51C:

{{more footnotes|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name = Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh Ji Maharaj
| image = Shiv Dayal Singh Ji.jpg
| alias = Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soami Ji Maharaj (honorific used by devotees)
| religion = [[Sant Mat]], [[Radha Soami]]
| sect = Uttari Bharat ki Sant Parampara (Sant Tradition of North India)
| Title = Sant Sat Guru
| Period = 1861-1878
| Successor = [[Baba Jaimal Singh]]
| birth_date = 25 August 1818
| birth_place = Panni Gali, Agra, [[Ceded and Conquered Provinces|Ceded Provinces]], British India
| death_date = {{death date and age|1878|6|15|df=y|1818|8|24}}
| death_place = Panni Gali, Agra, [[North-Western Provinces]], British India
}}

'''Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh Ji Maharaj''', called by the honorific "Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soami ji Maharaj" by his disciples and devotees, was born on 25 August 1818 in [[Agra]] in the colonial era [[British Raj|British India]] (present-day [[Agra]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]), and died on 15 June 1878 in the same city. His parents were followers of a spiritual guru Tulsi Saheb. Seth Shiv Dayal Singh founded the [[Radhasoami]] movement – a 19th-century spiritual faith.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark Juergensmeyer|title=Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=slX3eRycszMC| year=1991|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01092-7|pages=15–19, 38–42 with footnotes}}</ref>

==Early life==

The parents of Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh were residents of Punjab, but moved to Agra at the behest of the colonial British government who had set up a major military center there and relied heavily on Sikhs from the Punjab region to staff the base.<ref name=mj15>{{cite book|author=Mark Juergensmeyer|title=Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=slX3eRycszMC| year=1991|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01092-7|pages=15–16 with footnotes}}</ref> At the age of five,Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh was sent to school where he learnt [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Gurumukhi]], [[Arabic]] and [[Sanskrit]]. His father, Seth Dilwali Singh was a Sahejdhari Khatri.<ref>''Jivan Charitar Hazur Maharaj'' by Ajodhyā Parshād, p. 36.</ref><ref>''Jivan Charitar Soāmiji Mahārāj'' by Partap Singh Seth, p. 6.</ref> His family including his father, mother, mother-in-law, sister and his wife Nārāini Devi (called "Rādhāji" by followers and devotees) were followers of [[Guru Nanak]], which would make them [[Nanakpanthi|Nanakpanthis]] or Sikhs, states Mark Juergensmeyer.<ref name="Juergensmeyer1991p16"/> In addition, during Singh's childhood, the family also sought the spiritual tutelage of a local living guru named Sant Tulsi "Saheb" of Hathras, India.<ref name="Juergensmeyer1991p16">{{cite book|author=Mark Juergensmeyer|title=Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slX3eRycszMC|year=1991|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01092-7|pages=16–17 with footnotes}}</ref>

==Adulthood==

His marriage to Nārāini Devi (later called "Rādhā ji" by followers and devotees), daughter of Izzat Rai of [[Faridabad]] was arranged at an early age. After Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh completed his education, he became a Persian language translator to a government officer.<ref name="Juergensmeyer1991p16"/> He left the job and became a teacher of Persian language. Once his brother gained an employment at Indian post office, he left his Persian language job, and joined his father's moneylending business. He spent increasing amount of his time, to religious pursuits. He began giving spiritual discourses based on the scriptures of [[Sikhism]] and writings of Tulsi Sahib.<ref name="Juergensmeyer1991p16"/>

==Practice==

After the death of Sant Tulsi Saheb in 1843, Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh practiced [[Surat Shabd Yoga]] for 15 years in almost total seclusion in a room within a room. He started holding [[Satsang]] (spiritual discourse) publicly on [[Vasant Panchami]] (a spring festival) in 1861, and continued for 17 years. Thus Basant Panchami is a very special day for the followers of the Radhasoami Faith.

==Teachings==

Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh originally referred to the Supreme Being with the names "Sat Nām" (True Name) and "Anāmi" (Nameless). The term Rādhāsoāmi ("Rādhā"="Soul" and "Soami"="Lord", hence "Lord of the Soul") was used after [[Hazur Rai Saligram Bahadur ]] became a disciple. On the request of Saligram Bahadur , Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh declared Satsang open on Basant Panchami Day on 1861.<ref>[http://elearn.mtsac.edu/dlane/rs1.html The Radhasoami Tradition by David C. Lane. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, 1992.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517171315/http://elearn.mtsac.edu/dlane/rs1.html |date=2011-05-17 }}</ref> The yoga system taught by Shiv Dayāl Singh is known as [[Surat Shabd Yoga]].

Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh described the secret of the True Name (Sat Nam).
[[File:SethShivDayalSingh.jpg|thumb|230px]]
[[File:Dayal-bagh-12.JPG|thumb|Soami Bagh - Soamiji's Samadh]]
[[File:Soami Bagh in Agra - June 2001 rs1.jpg|thumb|Soami Bagh in 2001]]

His ''bani'' (poetical compositions) and sayings from satsang were published in two books after he died. Both are called ''Sār Bachan'' or ''Sār Vachan'' (meaning 'essential utterances') :<ref>[http://www.radhasoamisatsang.org/sm/sm_detail.htm Radhasoamisatsang.org: Books by Swami ji Maharaj]</ref><ref>[http://www.radhaswamidinod.org/lineage.htm Radhaswamidinod.org: Books by Swami ji Maharaj] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008112319/http://www.radhaswamidinod.org/lineage.htm |date=2008-10-08 }}</ref><ref>"I have a book in my collection called the Sar Bachan written by Sardar Seva Singh, which is the teachings of the Sound Current, and acts as practically my Bible!" —[[Paul Twitchell]] in a letter to future wife Gail, 8 July 1963; in Paul Twitchell, ''Letters to Gail'', volume II, Menlo Park: [[ECKANKAR]], 1977, page 149. ("Sardar" Seva Singh was the [[Radha Soami Satsang Beas]] translator of the ''Sar Bachan'' into English.)</ref>
* Sār Vachan Vartik (Sar Bachan in prose)
* Sār Vachan Chhand Band (Sar Bachan in verse)
Sār Vachan Vartik is in two parts: part one being an introduction written by [[Salig Ram]] and part two compiled of notes taken from the discourses of Seth Shiv Dayāl Singh, which he delivered in satsang up to 1878. They cover important teachings of the faith.
His poems in Sār Vachan Chhand Band are replete with emotional appeal - a successful blending of popular poetic expressions from different languages of north India such as, Khari-Boli, [[Awadhi]], Brijbhasha, [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]] and [[Gurumukhi]].

== Soami Bagh and Dayal Bagh ==

The locality called "Soami Bagh" ("Soami's Garden"), the former home of Seth Shiv Dayal Singh and the present location of his tomb-shrine, is currently owned and controlled by the twin organizations known as the Radhasoami Satsang Central Administrative Council and the Radhasoami Trust (called "the Council and the Trust" for short). Its across-the-street neighbor "Dayal Bagh" ("Garden of the Merciful") is owned and controlled by the organization Radhasoami Satsang Sabha [[Dayalbagh]] . Dayal Bagh and its founder-guru Sir [[Anand Swarup]], Kt. were broadcast to the Western public by [[Paul Brunton]] in his famed ''A Search in Secret India''. Sir Anand Swarup received a knighthood for the massive social construction work performed at Dayal Bagh. The two organizations, Council/Trust and Dayalbagh, are both existent and functioning. The major dispute between the two groups is due to two divergent views: The members of Council/Trust claim that Council/Trust is the "parent stock" of Radhasoami faith.
The members of Dayalbagh Sabha want access to the tomb-shrine of the revered Seth Shiv Dayal Singh. The tomb-shrine (called ‘Samadh’), was built over 100 years by efforts of the Council/Trust. Soami Bagh Council/Trust allows all satsangis and tourists to visit Samadh, but does not allow religious processions in the Holy Samadh from anyone outside the Council/Trust.
In this light, Dayalbagh Sabha organised "SPIRICON 2010", a conference of various organizations who revere Seth Shiv Dayal Singh (boycotted by Council/Trust), to promote mutual respect and to petition access to the tomb-shrine of supreme guru Seth Shiv Dayal Singh.

==See also==
* [[Contemporary Sant Mat movements]]
* [[Dayalbagh]]
* [[Sant Mat]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* http://www.radhasoamisatsang.org
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080410220324/http://www.radhaswamidinod.org/faith.htm
* http://www.aors-dbbs.org/index.html
* http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/movements/radhasoamis/The%20radhasoamis.htm
* http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/chakras/chakras-SantMat.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080509170243/http://www.seekersway.org/seekers_guide/radhasoami_1_g.html
* http://www.radhasoami-faith.info/Books_Frame.shtml
* [http://www.rssb.org/ Radha Soami Satsang Beas]
* [http://www.scienceofthesoul.org/ Science of the Soul]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050911034118/http://www.santmat-meditation.net/guru/chart.html Sant Mat - Surat Shabd Yoga: Contemporary Guru Lines & Branches]
* http://radhasoamidayal.net/GuruIntro.html
* http://eacharya.inflibnet.ac.in/data-server/eacharya-documents/548158e2e41301125fd790cf_INFIEP_72/110/ET/72-110-ET-V1-S1{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Sant Mat}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiv Dayal Singh}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:People from Agra]]
[[Category:Radha Soami]]
[[Category:Sant Mat gurus]]
[[Category:Surat Shabd Yoga]]
[[Category:Indian yoga teachers]]
[[Category:1878 deaths]]