It all started in India back in 2010. This was the first time dass had been to India as an Amritdhaari, the last 2 times I went I was a mona. I wanted to meet as many Gursikhs as possible.
I was really interested the Nihang Singhs and their way of life. However the majority of the youth (and elders thinking about it!) in the UK haven given the term "Nihang" such an awful, awful reputation. Therefore I wanted to go and see some real Nihang Singhs and get some Vidhiya from them.
I had never heard of Baba Nihal Singh from Harianbela before. I came across the website when I was on Google one day. The first ever picture I saw of Baba Jee was...
When I got to India I was hoping to visit them as soon as possible. I rang Bhai Gurdev Singh Jee pretty much every other day just to make sure I could still see the Singhs. The days were passing away and still no Darsan. This was because we were staying with family and they had wasted so much valuable time - I've never been to so many Punjabi restaurants in all my life! I managed to get Darsan and spend a bit of time with other Gursikhs so it wasn't a great loss.
Eventually we had 2 days left in India. My mum was not Gursikh at the time though I had told her numerous times I really wanted to see as many Gurmukh Pyaare as possible. She was getting really agitated that I was bugging her about going to Harianbela. She eventually agreed to let me go with my cousin and a good family friend.
When we got there we were greeted by a group of Nihang Singhs in Guroo's Bana. The all said Fateh with big smiles and folded hands. As we entered we met Bhai Gurdev Singh who seemed really nice and even offered us a glass of milk! He told us that Baba Nihal Singh was very busy and had just popped out. He said we could wait for a while until he returned. 10 minutes later as we sat down drinking our milk, we saw a Nihang Singh step off a horse. He was very tall, with a great big Dhumalla, he was dressed in all Blue and had such an amazing smile.
I was totally lost just by looking at him. His Farla was flowing brushing his Shaster he had in his Dhumalla. He immediatly started walking towards us. I was panicing inside. Without saying Fateh to anyone else, he came up to us and said the loudest Fateh with pyaar that I have ever experienced. Who was I that Baba Jee should come up to me first!?
ਹਮ ਰੁਲਤੇ ਫਿਰਦੇ ਕੋਈ ਬਾਤ ਨਾ ਪੂਛਤਾ!
I was so nervous at that point that I can't even remember what he said to me at that point! Vaheguroo. I knew he knew what I was thinking. He said "Come inside and we'll talk" (not in English obviously!). As soon as we sat down Baba Nihal Singh gave me a Blue Dastaar, some Blue Hazooria, a nice big Sarbloh Kara and a free Nihang Singh magazine! I was nobody yet I was treated like a king. All in all we talked only for about 15/20 mins.
First I told Baba Jee about my Nitnem and how bad it was, and some other issues regarding Amrit. I wanted to re-take Amrit from there and experience proper Nihang maryada. He said don't worry we'll make it happen. Unfortunately it never did happen as I had to go back to the UK the next day.
He told me "Try your best to do you Nitnem, thats what makes us who we are." Baba Jee then gave me strict hukam to wear Bana everyday. This made me think. The Bana must be so much more important than what we make it out to be! I was told to wear it everywhere apart from work if we have a uniform. I was then told to wear my Dhumalla everywhere and at work. I was told never to wear a different style or to change it. Once again made me think about the importance of Dhumalla and Bana and our Roop. Nowadays pretty much everyone seems to be wearing this uniform but their actions speak something else. I was really happy/struck back at the hukam I received.
I then asked Baba Jee "So what do you think about bhang and jhatka? Do the Singhs here do it?" This is the important thing to take on board, I know there are videos out there that claim that Baba Jee said it is an ok thing to do. I know that other messed up "Nihang Singhs" say that he says it's ok, but this is what he told me directly:
"No, it is totally anti-Gurmat and if any of our Singhs are caught doing it, they are thrown out immediately. I know that there are messed up people in the UK that are doing these things - including that Niddar, but it's not right." As you can tell, at this point my love for Baba Jee just hit the roof!
As we left Baba Jee and the Singhs told us to keep coming back and to consider Harianbela as my 2nd home. So much pyaar! As we said our last Fateh, out of nowhere Baba Jee gave me a big hug! Vaheguroo.
Later on I learnt the reason why Baba Jee was given the title "Jinda Shaheed".
Back in 1984 (I think) Baba Jee was doing Chaur Sahib of Guroo Granth Sahib Jee. Some police officers suddenly broke into the Gurdwara and starting firing at the sangat. Baba Jee was shot a total of 3 times in the head, but would not stop doing Chaur Sahib!! When he went to the hospital he was told that if he did not have the bullets removed, he would die. He said, Challo that's Hukam and did not get them removed. To this day he still has the bullets in his head. Vahegurooo! Dhan Guroo Dhan Guroo Pyare!
Here are some pictures from the day:
The Singhs from Harianbela
Dass and Baba Nihal Singh
The million Dollar shot!
Recently I have been having dreams about meeting Baba Nihal Singh Jee again. I have had a total of 7 now. If Guroo does Kirpa I would love to stay there for a few days in the future.
Vaheguroo
Very inspirational!
ReplyDeleteBeanti Veerji, please could you provide the contact number for Bhai Gurdev Singh? vjkf
ReplyDeleteThe events that resulted in "Jinda Shaheed" were from 1964. See this link for the story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/37015-baba-nihal-singh-ji-jinda-shaheed/
He wasn't shot in the head. I know he was shot in the finger and side of his stomach, as he has mentioned in the interviews. WJKK WJKF
ReplyDelete