Shaheed Bhai Sahib Bhai Fauja Singh Jee - Part 3
We apologise to the Sangat for not uploading more parts of the Interview more quickly. We will post the parts much more frequently. In this part of the interview, Bhai Sahib Hazoraa Singh explains the way Bhai Sahib Bhai Fauja Singh Jee thought about money and the way the Singhs used to do Parchaar around the villages in Punjab. Please read on its Truly Amazing!!
The Singhs would wake up between 1:00am and 2:00am and begin the day with Simran. Then after Nitnem they would eat breakfast. Then they would begin the days work on the farm. If any Sikh needed any financial help, then Bhai Sahib would be prepared to give his last penny. He obtained great happiness by helping the needy. He would never count his earnings or even accumulate them himself. I would look after the finances and he would give me all his earnings. Before going to Amritsar he would ask for the fare to get there because he had no money himself. Whenever he would go anywhere, he would ensure that the Singhs wore his new Cholay and Dastaars, he would simply wear the old ones. Bibi jee would ask him why he wears old clothes. He would reply that these Singhs have come from far and left their worldly duties to do seva here. How can we walk around in new clothes? They should wear them and not us. Their service is much more than ours. That is the least we can do and the minimum they deserve.
Once they were visited by some villagers who told them that they were very poor. They could not live day to day. Bhai Sahib advised them to take Amrit and all their affairs would be dealt with by the great Guru. They took Amrit and Bhai Sahib gave them both some land. Their land has now grown to six times the amount. My parents once begged Bhai Sahib to persuade me to take on a proper career because they felt I was was wasting my life. He responded stating that anyone who has a job working for the Tenth Guru has no need for a worldly job. But I respected the wishes and took on a career in the army. Later on I took on a career in the Air Force. On both occasions, Bhai Sahib’s love led me right back to work on the Khalsa Farm.
One day we went to a small village to do Parchaar. On reaching the village all the youth had already left and only the elders remained. There was not Gurdwara so a marquee was set up for the programme. We had brought Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee with us. The programme started but nobody apart from some small children arrived. We all wondered why nobody had turned up to listen to Keertan. Bhai Sahib asked an elderly woman who arrived why nobody had come. She stated that a rumour had been spread that you have an iron bowl, whoever drinks the Amrit you prepare in that bowl never comes back home again! The Singhs laughed out loud and explained that this was not the case. The bowl contained water for washing hands! Others were persuaded to come but they all sat at a distance in a fearful manner. They had never seen Singhs before and there had never been a programme held there. Bhai Sahib explained why they had come and what the real objective of life was. The reason for writing this is to explain that Bhai Sahib did not visit those with great wealth, expensive cars and mansions. They only went to those who had a great need and were never given a chance to learn about the great faith. These same villages can be visited now and the results of those efforts are now evident. Those who had never even seen Singhs doing Seva before are now doing so themselves with great commitment. The doubts of those who listened to his discourse were removed forever. Many were saying that Fauja Singh was corrupting the youth and was guiding them incorrectly. He makes them take Amrit and totally changes their thinking.
There was seva, Keertan and Gatka displays at the farm. Once Bibi Amarjit Kaur asked Bhai Sahib to buy a small house so that she could bring her possessions and put them there. Bhai Sahib told her that Guru Jee had protecting them from these worldly attachments and that they should concentrate on spreading the message in the villages. He told her that they should make a small caravan and they could bring the possessions in that. He told her that she could recognise that as their home.
July 21st, 2006 at 8:13 am
very inpiring