Around 1995/96 I heard about Sant Baba Mani Singh Ji from a member of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha. He told me that Baba Ji was an enlightened being who had meditated with unbroken, effortlessly, samadhi and Oneness for a year or more. I was intrigued, but had no way at that time to even meet such a great soul.
Around 1998 I heard stories about Baba Mani Singh, and like the first person I talked to, that Baba Mani Singh was a reincarnation of a previous Sant Mani Singh who was a spiritual friend of, Dhan Baba Puran Singh Ji Brahmgiani Kericho vale. A photo of Baba Ji is on the right.
With great fortune I went to India again in 1999 to meet the Nihang Singhs, with a group of chardikalah Gursikhs from the UK. One of them introduced me to Baba Ji, he took me to the Dera of Baba Ji. It was somewhere around Garshankar if I remember correctly. Baba Ji had just meditated again for a whole year underground. What I felt when I met this divine being I shall never forget. Firstly each word he spoke was from his heart, there was no arrogance or ego in his words. Each word was like coolness, that would permeate your heart like sandlewood. Like a cool breeze, you could sense and almost see a divine glow around Baba Ji. His eyes were so intoxicated, always red and glazed, like two shiny rubies! When he looked at you, you felt naam, pumping through your body. I stayed with Baba Ji for a while, and many things he said and did are just beyond words. There are a few things though that can be narrated. He stayed with Nanaksar for a while and thought extremely highly of Brahmgiani Baba Nand Singh Ji:
He loved the way that Baba Ji did Seva of Sahib Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and did Seva in the same way. He looked at me and said ' I am an Udasi type, I am a hermit. But different people need to do different things, meditate to find your own path.'
The Elephant.
At that time the unrest in Punjab was still on. Baba Ji was visited by police and Indian government agents, as a big Sangat had built around his parchar of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj. Often people asked him about 1984, Baba Ji was fearless and told them that the Indian Goverment had no justification in their sacriledge of the Akal Takht Sahib and hundreds of Gurughar around Punjab. He spoke openly of women who were raped, and men who were killed and tortured. One of Baba Ji's heroes was a Puran chardikalah Gursikh Sant, Bhai Fauja Singh Ji. Bhai Fauja Singh was an embodiement of Naam bani and Seva. He saw all the Singhs from all Jathas as One, Baba Ji acted and thought along the same lines. At the time of the Shaheedi of Bhai Fauja Singh, Baba Ji organised a huge Nagar Kirtan. He insisted that elephants should be used with a Palki to take Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj. The night before we went near one of the elephants, he was trumpeting very loud and he charged at us. We were standing with Baba Ji, me and the other Singhs literally ran. The elephant was swinging its trunk wildly, smashing things up. Baba Ji just stood on the spot, I thought my God, the elephants gonna kill Baba Mani Singh! The elephant was going straight for Baba Ji, then the strangest thing happended, it just stopped literally a couple of centimetres infront of Baba Ji. Then it got down, and sat infront of Baba Ji. Baba Ji spoke to it and said ' Bhai, dont get angry, we haven't come here to harm you.' The elephant made noises, like it understood the conversation, its one of the most surreal moments of my life. Baba Ji then said 'Singho, laughing'. He said don't be scared, because animals feel your inside. He gestured for us to come nearer, which we did. The elephant seemed another being!
Baba Ji about the future
Baba Ji told me and the Singhs that he would not live long, and had completed what he was meant to do. He told us to see Guru Gobind Singh in each other, and every Singh we meet, regardless of Jathebandi. He told us Kalyug would get increasingly worse, but that there was nothing to worry about. He mentioned this as the elders members of the Sangat kept saying to Baba Ji to get married. He said I cant, I wont live long, they kept saying dont say things like that. He looked at us and smiled, we sensed he was telling the truth.
Baba Ji and the Singhnee with no nitnem.
A Singhnee came, she had so many problems, and kept crying infront of Baba Ji. Baba Ji said what is the matter? She went through a whole list of problems, and wanted Baba Ji to miraculously sort them out. He looked at her, and said how can you complain? She was shocked....Baba Ji went further and told her exactly how many months and weeks she had missed nitnem for! She cried so much, Baba Ji told her, read nitnem, and accept hukam. If that doesnt change your karam, I am nobody to interfere in the Divine Plan. Amazing!
Baba Ji sadly passed away, his prediction was exact. He left this mortal frame after ishnan and Nitnem, fully tyar bar tyar. Dhan Dhan Baba Ji who showed us lost people the way. Listen him beautifull sing a shabad with all his heart:
There is another story of Baba Ji from a blog:
He was the first one we met who really inspired and helped us. In about Nov 1987, we were 18 at the time and knew ABSOLUTELY nothing about God, except that God was the True Love. Our punjabi was rubbish, we understood none of the GurBani, we knew none of the rituals or ceremonies except what we saw our mum do at home and at the gurdwara - which was very boring and strange as far as we could gather. however we had become broken hearted and all we thought at that time was to meet God we had to give our head and get initiated. We had just started living away from home for the first time and had become very sad and lonely and reading Japji paat slowly along with the meanings in our little room at Uni. We just took Sikhi Pahul (initiation) at a local Gurdwara - understood absolutely nothing of what they said or told me to do , but just inside we said to God we give you our head now, now you take care of everything. A few weeks later we were on the bus trying to get to the Cape Road gurdwara were we got initiated but missed the stop, ended up at another Gurdwara in smethwick. On the way home we waited at the bus stop and Sant Mani singh ji was also there. At that time his name was still Resham Singh. He was dressed like a Nihang in blue uniform, blue turban and 3 foot long sword. We greeted him and to our surprise found he spoke in english and could answer all of our questions. We ended up spending the whole day with him, we loved being with him. He was one year younger but knew so much, was very kind and had so much faith - almost crazy faith. He was trying to get to a religious programme on the other side of Birmingham, but didnt exactly know how to get there.
so we took buses and ended up walking alot. He talked and walked right across the roads without even checking if cars were coming or not, with me frantically looking both ways. At times he paused to see which way to go, and we said lets just ask someone, he said that he only had faith in the Guru and didnt need to ask anyone. So we kept following him and got there eventually. He told us he had spent some time in 1984 with Sant bhindrawale and now he was back he was required to go to college, but he had no interest or motivation for that. We had no interest or motivation in doing our universtity course either at that time, but our Dad used to motivate us that its important to work and raise a family etc like the Guru jis. So we told these kind of things to Resham ji, but he wasn't interested at all in pursuing that kind of life - he was already well on his path. He was so strict , he would keep his turban on when going swimming, he did not care at all what people thought of him or said to him about how he looked - he was true to his guru that was all that mattered. He told us that the Nanaksar Gurdwara had young monks who stayed there permantly and they were trying to recruit him too - but he just wanted to do His simran. He would go there in the early hours to do simran and they would bug him, so he was going through all kinds of tests. We bumped into Him a few times with Gods grace over the next year. He told us a sad story about one of the Gursikhs who he treated as a father - he was murdered by his own family. The GurSikh was devout and even knew that he was going to die in that way. When the time came his son started arguin with him at the top of the staris and pushed him down. He died, the son and mother panicked and bundled his body in to the boot of the car to dump it in a field, but they got caught stopped on the side of the motorway. He ended up with the keys to the house. He was already well engrossed in the world of relgious people and groups and was already on the way of going beyond it.
A few years later in southall, we heard some AKJ guys talking about him , saying "he's converted and slandering him" when i asked more, they said he had converted to Nishkaam Seva Jutha - and was know called as a Sant. We also met another AKJ camp organiser who used to slander him, saying we should just wear white and call ourself a sant as well and get a following. He used to say he is half my age and I knew him when he was just messing about and now they call him Sant!! He was just jealous.
We saw him once again briefly at a camp, he was a Sant, very confident, he knew what he was and had a completely different aura about him - that was around 1996. After readin his lifestory below we no realise he had become a true lover of god, he had realised SatNaam.
Here is a quote from below.
"Muslim Sufis invented ninety-nine names of God that are so beautiful, but why not a hundred? Ninety-nine looks a bit incomplete. There is a certain reason the hundredth name is kept silent and that is the true name of God, which of course can't be uttered. That is why Guru Nanak said 'Satnam'. Your name is thee truth. But in reality you can't utter it because it will lose its' beauty. It remains un-uttered at the deepest core of the heart. What is God's true name? Nobody knows that all the names are man's creation. The true name of God is the existence that surrounds you." !
We were so lucky to hav ebeen blessed with His sangat even for a blessed day at the beginning of his journey. Although we also remember him telling us that he had been a Sant in his last four lives as well. And when he had returned to India he had gone to people's houses who were past disciples and got copies of the photos of himself in those four lives. we think he died young in all those lives. We were also told that he knew he was going to die young in this life too.
Amazing souls, glad we crossed his path even for a day, we were so inspired to follow the path like he was 100%, full faith in Guru in even the smallest daily acts, no care for worldy money or job or status. But our destiny is our own, our path has taken longer, but he was already super blessed from past lives.
After Baba Ji left this world, this was published:
Sant Mani Singh was named Resham Singh at birth at St Chads Hospital Birmingham on 4th November 1970 at approximately 1am. He was raised and bred in Smethwick, West Midlands until he graduated from Secondary High School. Between his childhood and teenage years he remained unattached from materialistic objects just as a lotus blossom remains untouched by the water. He was to join the British Royal Marines, but had no idea what royalty awaited his existence. Whilst throwing away the career of the Royal Marines and serving the country, he instead decided to serve the whole of humanity.
Following enlightenment Sant Mani Singh stayed in deep meditation from 25th December 1990 to 13th April 1991 at the invitation of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha, Soho Road, Handsworth. In absolute deep meditation, he was drunk with the divine. During this period no thirst or hunger disturbed him, a great ecstasy took over him.A question was asked at the time, what was the significance of this mediation? He smiled and said "I must have lost my consciousness, so drunk, so drowned. I must have been so drunk in the beatitude of realization that I must have forgot the wide world."On 15th April 1992 he came into the congregation at Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha when Bhai Sahib Bhai Nurung Singh stated "you are a mirror that reflects so marvelously and as such your name should be Mani Singh rather than Resham Singh."Sant Mani Singh spent the last ten years researching into the Sikh Scriptures with the desire to write the Sikh Scriptures using twenty four carat gold, which would be placed on the throne at Sri Harimandhar Sahib. Due to the complexity and intricacy of this task it was only this year that the technique for producing the scriptures was perfected. The first four Ang (pages) where shown to the congregated two months ago and the methodology to complete the project was described to their close associates. With the blessings of the Almighty this project will continue to fruition to produce the first ever Sikh Scriptures in gold.When a Mahapurkh (enlightened soul) leaves the earth he always leaves something behind. Sant Mani Singh has left behind for us all the methodology of how to serve our living Guru, Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This is a unique gift for the Sikh Panth and should be treasured.
The first Sant to be born in the UK left this earth to merge with the one creator on 13th August 2008 in California, USA.
Enlightenment
A great pain arose in Sant Mani Singh in 1990 that so many years had passed yet enlightenment had not arrived. He was crippled emotionally, tears were running down his eyes, he was going crazy from dawn to dusk, the heartache was accelerating just as the floods of the river in the rainy season flowing with such force. A great pain flooded his heart with sorrow and agony. In the east they call this phenomenon 'vairag'. Whilst describing this moment he said "Sadness has its own qualities. It can give you gifts that nothing else can; happiness never goes as deep as sadness because only sadness can take you deeper than anything else. The inner me was screaming I just could not tolerate it, it was getting to me. It was almost a state of madness." He went on to say "The craziness was I didn't know if I believed. I didn't know if I believed The whole phenomenon gave birth to enlightenment. Unexpectedly the phenomenon came into existence, something or some familiar energy arose that was pulling me towards the canal, and here near the canal was an embankment of trees, bushes and brambles. I tried to divert my mind to something else but I didn't succeed. The pull was like a magnet it became stronger and stronger. The whole situation was out of my control, I couldn't stay any longer and it became impossible! A gentle silence hung over the bank of the trees, I was thrilled by the place! it was a perfect place. My head was exploding with great force. I had never experienced this phenomenon before. Suddenly I lost all consciousness and dropped to the ground." About enlightenment he said "Enlightenment has always been sudden, nothing can really be said about enlightenment. There are no words to describe what is happening. The experience is far deeper than the words. The word enlightenment comes close to the experience but the closer comes blissfulness. Then even closer the word ecstasy. But beyond that there are no words. The experience is far deeper than ecstasy itself. Nothing can be said about enlightenment because all you know is from the outside. Enlightenment is from within. Once you are enlightened it is impossible for your enlightenment to fade. You wouldn't have to put a veil over your face the way Moses did, because enlightenment is not achieved and there is no technique that can bring enlightenment in existence. This is a great opportunity for us to learn. Now we can understand that Moses wasn't enlightened. Whatever Moses did was an effort to achieve and the essence to that is sadness. Paul describes his efforts in the Bible. He goes on saying 'Moses has spent forty days in the Mountain of Sinai, but what ever happened it was temporary.' For an example his face began to radiate, reflect light, but sadly it was all temporary. Enlightenment isn't temporary. Nor is it a dream the way Prophet Isaiah described. Enlightenment is a stage of awareness. For an example dreams only come into existence while you're asleep. There is no possibility of dreams coming into existence whilst your wide-awake. You can't be hallucinated because there is an experience. Dreaming is hallucinating, creating imaginations, and creating imaginations is a stage of fiction. Enlightenment is beyond hallucination. You will not be hallucinated the way the Bible records Elijah, the Prophet's events that he heard still small of God but saw nothing. Jesus said 'God is like love' Why has Jesus said this? Because nothing can be said about love. The only way to know is to become a lover. But the lover has to disappear, love can only be known when you love absolutely." "From this nightmare coming back into existence my body was so light, light as a feather. I was loosing gravity. Some energy was elevating me. I can't elaborate any more. It was happening I could not prevent it. It was out of my control. I was trying to avoid it. I had broken through the phenomenal. I was absolutely drunk on the divine, so drowned, and so drunk, in the beatitude of realization. Divine was flourish. I was intoxicated with divine. The ecstasy was uncontrollable; I was ruptured into eternal bliss. Sant Mani Singh had an amazing naïve character and would say "I am a very simple man. As a matter of fact, very ordinary, capable of making mistakes, don't have any qualities of any kind, I have something to be proud of, a ray of light penetrated upon me." His honorable beloved Mani Singh, had not just illuminated us on enlightenment but also talked on various other subjects; which in the age of darkness have been misunderstood because of our lack of intelligence. Some of these are elaborated upon briefly below.
Love
In San Francisco, California he said "What is love? It is madness, where you loose consciousness, the greatest drug even that exists on Earth. The only difference is it's an inner chemistry. Love is crucifixion. Only love is the light in which life becomes known, what we call resurrection. Only in love are you truly transformed. In reality you will only feel life when you are in love. Love opens windows towards the beyond. The love people talk about is the phenomenon of the mind. The love of the mind is like a dream because it is from the mind and only the mind can dream and the dream can't be reality. This love cannot be eternal. So what is eternal love? When love comes out of mediation, it's qualities are different from the ones of the mind. The love of the mind – thee essence of it is foolishness. You fall in love, the love of meditation, thee essence is wisdom, you rise in love. Wisdom can't be attained. You can gather as much knowledge, learn the scriptures by heart, still there will be no wisdom. Wisdom is that which liberates you. In this love there is a quality, just as a light surrounds the flame. The quality of love surrounds you. Whoever comes close, he/she will be enchanted, enriched, and this love of quality will shower around you. This is the real longing of the heart. Remember, once a person starts feigning, feigning is a stage of pseudo living. His whole life becomes false because love is the centre of life. Love is the ultimate purpose of life – the destiny of life." Then he said, "First you have to love yourself. Only then can you radiate and reach to others. When you are in love, it is illogical. There is no logic, no reason. It's irrational, that is why liking has nothing to do with loving, Liking has logic, there are many reasons as to why you like a person. Generations and generations have misunderstood the word love. Automatically they start thinking about sex, without them even realizing that sex has nothing to do with love." Then he goes on describing the phenomenon of love. "love is like a spring breeze. It comes and when it comes it brings a tremendous fragrance, the Odor of Sanctify. It gives you the feeling that it will remain forever. The feeling is so strong that you cannot doubt it. This love is divine. Love has always been God expressing himself. Love is the alchemy, where there is love, ego doesn't exist. That's what I always said, love is spiritual and only love can change lives. Only in love is there reconciliation and a great transformation. That is why a man of love faces more difficulties. That is the fundamental fact of life. Where there is no love, life is about to move smoothly. When asked if one can dissolve with another he replied, "When you burn two lamps in a room, they meet. The light meets. You can't divide the first light from the second light. Still there is a difference. You can bring them close, even then their flames will remain different. The light will dissolve into each other. You can't melt into each other. Only your light can melt in the other – your outer aura."
God
When asked about God at Orange County, California, sympathetically he replied, "You can't say its reality. You certainly can't say it's a fiction because something exists. That something needs to be experimented. Nothing can be said about God. You can study about God but nothing has been known because all you know is from the outside, what we would call external. Until you enter from within, the internal can't be known. By studying about God, you will miss the whole concept and the consequence to that is that you are left with knowledge only. To know is to enter the kingdom, to become one with eternity. Knowledge is from the outside and has nothing what so ever to do with God. Because God is happening." "Nothing is hidden from God because God is the inside of everything. The inside knows all. You can hide something from others, but you can't hide it from yourself. And it is there that God is hidden." He went on to say "Why have we invented so many names for God? There must be a certain reason, because God cannot be named, a name can easily be changed, but God remains the same. So why has God been addressed? Because there are moments when you would like to scream out your inner feelings to God in sheer joy. Some name is needed. Muslim Sufis invented ninety-nine names of God that are so beautiful, but why not a hundred? Ninety-nine looks a bit incomplete. There is a certain reason the hundredth name is kept silent and that is the true name of God, which of course can't be uttered. That is why Guru Nanak said 'Satnam'. Your name is thee truth. But in reality you can't utter it because it will lose its' beauty. It remains un-uttered at the deepest core of the heart. What is God's true name? Nobody knows that all the names are man's creation. The true name of God is the existence that surrounds you." How can one call Him by all His names? The wise give him names according to His manifestations – Jap Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji He goes on saying. "those kind (the irreligious) of people haven't known anything of spiritual experience. They've never felt any presence of God. The only way to receive God is to drop all your searching and seeking. The real question is recognition, not search, and the only way to know God is to live God."
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