Sawan Singh (27 July 1858 - 2 April 1948), known as The Great Master, was an Indian Saint or Sant. He was the second spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his death on 2 April 1948.
Early Life
Sawan Singh Grewal was born into a Grewal Jat Sikh family in the village of Jatana, Punjab.
From a very early age, Kabul Singh kept the company of holy men, serving them with sincerity. Because of this, his son, Baba Sawan Singh, had the opportunity to do the same, remaining constantly at His father's side until 1870. The passion to serve and to be near godly men developed within Him, and from 1870 to 1878, he spent every available spare moment in this way. After passing His tenth class in 1878, He took some employment but became sick and called home, where he stayed for two years.
In this period of two years, Hazur met a great renunciate, Bhoop Singh Ji, an expert in Vedanta and Yoga, and he benefited greatly from the time spent in his company. As a result, Hazur was filled with the desire to renounce the world and become a sadhu. From a very early age, conscious awareness was deeply embedded in Baba Sawan Singh's heart, and His predisposition toward spiritual things and an aversion to worldly affairs was deeply embedded.
Preparation for Initiation and Teaching
However, truly exalted souls conceal their inclinations and perform whatever tasks worldly duties demand. Whenever he had a tendency to renounce the world, he would trust aside the noble inspiration in consideration of his parents, for being the only son, he preferred to serve them. He knew that a renunciate might not serve according to his choice but must be prepared to serve humanity at large—wherever its needs may call Him. This indicates Hazur's great wisdom, for he who shirks his duty will never reach perfection.
Until 1883, when the Master was twenty-five years old, his time was spent as described.
Baba Sawan Singh was married in early life, but his wife died even before the marriage ceremony. He was married again after completing twenty-five years of Brahmacharya. This time, he married Shrimati Kishan Kaur and had three children.
He passed engineering at Thomason College of Civil Engineering and later joined the Military Engineering Service. He studied scriptures of various religions but retained a strong connection with the Gurbani of the Sikh religion.
He had contact with a mystic of Peshawar named Baba Kahan, who he hoped to get initiation from but was refused:
"I associated with him for several months, and he showed supernatural powers on several occasions during that time. When I asked him if he would shower grace upon me by initiating me, he answered: 'No, he is somebody else; I do not have your share.' I then asked him to tell me who that person was so I could contact him. He replied: 'When the time comes, he will find you.'"
Later, when Sawan Singh was stationed at Murree, he met Jaimal Singh, who told his companion that he had come to initiate Sawan Singh. After much philosophical debate, discussion, and several conferences with Jaimal Singh, Sawan Singh became thoroughly convinced and received initiation into the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga from Jaimal Singh on the 15th day of October 1894.
Sawan Singh retired on a government pension in 1911 to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh (Beas), the "camp of Baba Jaimal Singh" where Jaimal Singh had settled in 1891.
Guru Sawan Singh’s Teaching Years
This sacred and grand Master traveled throughout the length and breadth of India, and His spiritual messages worked like a balm to hundreds and thousands of hearts. His innate desire was to bring together all the religions on a common platform, knit together the entire humanity in one thread, and then put them all on the one ancient path of spirituality, which leads to the common goal of all religions.
He said, "The essentials of all religions are the same. God is one. All humanity are His children and are thus related as brothers. The whole creation is just a manifestation of that one Reality – one Soul that stretches its force and influence everywhere – one Light spreading its radiance in the entire universe – one Sun that shines upon each atom."
Hazur Baba Sawan Singh unfolded the Divine mysteries with such easy and facile grace that His words went home, penetrated deep down into the hearts, and made an everlasting impression. This is possible only when a really competent being with practical personal esoteric experience within expounds the Truth of the actual spiritual experiments and has the competency to infuse into the innermost recesses of the brain not only mere words but the results of His own vast spiritual experiments along with the pith of the essential principles thereof.
During his ministry, the Dera expanded greatly, with houses for permanent residents and guests, including a library and a Satsang Hall. Sawan Singh sheltered victims of the communal holocaust of the Partition of India. His following included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and, for the first time, thousands from abroad. He had initiates from America, England, Switzerland, and Germany, most notably the American physician-surgeon Julian Johnson, chiropractic-osteopath Randolph Stone, and the Swiss physician-homeopath Pierre Schmidt.
The Divine Light and Sound Current
Sawan Singh also spoke on the matter of the Divine Light and Sound Current, with the following discourse:
“The sum total of these observations is that there is one power and one only — the Divine Light and Sound Current — which leads us from the eye center to our Spiritual Home. All other powers (without exception) keep us confined to the material and mental planes, giving us forms according to our actions. If, during the lifetime, an entry has been made into the eye center and the Sound Current (Bell Sound) has been grasped (in Anda), life has been usefully spent. If this has not been done, even though all else has been done — and most successfully — then life has been wasted. This done, all is done; this not done, all else done is as if nothing is done. Such is the finding of Sant Mat, and it is a fact. It is not an arbitrary mandate…
“The higher one rises on this Current, the greater the strength. There are many who excel others in this field and go beyond their reach. You can realize the truth of this statement if you work your way up. The physical, astral and causal bodies are the cages, one inside the other, to keep the soul from escaping and flying to its Home. It is a parrot in a triple cage. When the cages are cut off, it comes into its own and is free to fly. This is freedom of man, to be attained in human form while alive…
“At this end, in the physical plane, the Light and Sound are lost in gross matter. On the finer planes — astral, causal and spiritual — Sound is audible and Light is visible. At the upper end, the Sound is the finest music — unheard by human ears — and the Light is of millions of suns and moons in one ray…The Reality is beyond description…”
End of Life
He had 'Gurmat-Siddhant' written under his specific instructions by Sant Kirpal Singh Ji to distill the knowledge of God. He entrusted the task of 'Naam' initiation to Sant Kirpal Singh Ji in late 1947 and approved his proposal for setting up 'Ruhani Satsang' for the spiritual upliftment of mankind.
He transferred his spiritual wealth to Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, telling him that people would flock to him, and passed away on 2nd April 1948 after initiating 125,375 souls.
His disciple, Sant Kirpal Singh, was elected the first president of the World Fellowship of Religions, an organization recognized by UNESCO, comprising representatives from all the major world religions. He initiated over 80,000 followers, and as of 2002, approximately 200,000 adherents of groups were related to Kirpal Singh.
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