Become how singh/singhneea are suppose to be and imbue the khalsa spirit with Naam/baNee. Bhai Sahib use say this to the Sangat. Bhai Sahib & the Tyaar-Bar-Tyaar Gursikhs planted the seed in each village and it reaped many Gurmukhs. There character resembles Puratan Gursikhs.
Narrated By Companion Giani Hazoora Singh - Uploaded By Seva2TheMax
IntroThe following is an attempt to narrate the life of Bhai Fauja Singh – a great leader in the Sikh Panth. I was fortunate enough to spend a short time in the company of Bhai Sahib. But from what I witnessed in that short time, it was clear that only a rare individual was capable of such heights and achievements. His sole desire was to serve the Panth with his heart and soul. He was most approachable and his speech was of such a sweet nature. But when he witnessed any violations in terms of Gurmat, he would tackle the situation head on. He had no desire to own lots of land or be wealthy; rather he remained steadfast in channelling his thoughts towards serving the Panth. He welcomed all with love and his humility was quite evident. Those who listened to his speeches and questioned him on Gurmat issues remained influenced by him for the rest of their lives.
Beginning & VisionaryBhai Sahib longed for young Sikhs to come forward and take on a life in the Khalsa army. He would feel great pain whenever he heard of any act of contempt against Gurmat principles. His lifestyle was a throwback to our great forefathers and Sikh ancestors and his speech and conversation levelled on the theme of a warrior lifestyle. He had no regard for his own prosperity and wealth and recognised everything as the property of the Khalsa.
Bhai Sahib’s father once visited him at the Khalsa Farm. He wanted to send a parcel to the village. Fauja Singh told his father to give up the attachments to his sons and daughters and to come and serve the Panth at Khalsa farm. To Fauja Singh, the Khalsa Panth were his brothers, sisters and family.
Fauja Singh was born on 17th May 1936 in Gurdaspur. He gained a great deal of Gurmat knowledge in his childhood while in the village. Later he went on to study at Khalsa college in Amritsar. Fauja Singh was baptised with Amrit in 1944. In 1960 he got married to Bibi Amarjeet Kaur. He began his missionary work in the villages in 1970. From a very young age he was fearless and very brave. When he came to the Jatha he forgot all his worldly duties and remained committed to the interests of the Khalsa Panth. First he and some Sikhs from Amritsar began giving discourses and spreading the Sikh message in towns and villages across Punjab. In the evenings, the Singhs would do Kirtan in the congregation until midnight and in the daytime they would do work and earn a living. They recognised that Gurdaspur and surrounding areas were in great need of attention.
Bhai Sahib’s land was a few kilometres from the Pakistan border and was about 50-60 acres in size. The land was a thick jungle and was not in any condition to be used for agriculture. He decided that this land would be attended to and would become the base from where they would do parchaar. He took some Singhs with him an within a few days there was major progress. One afternoon in May 1973 he came to my village (which was only 2-3km from his land). It was the afternoon. I had just returned from work that day. They told me of their plans to start a great mission of Parchar. I was taken back by his shining character; I had never met such a man before in my life. Even though he wore a shirt and trousers, he wore his Kirpan on the outside. The Kirpan was very beautiful. It was evident that he had the full blessing of Guru Sahib.
He gathered the youth together and told them of their plans. Many gathered together to hear his discourse after which they decided to help clear a section of the land to initiate the work. My whole life took a turn at that point. I felt that there was little to gain from worldly duties and decided to live with the Singhs. Khalsa Farm began in 1974 and in those days there were no Amritdharee Sikhs in the surrounded villages. The first Keertan programmes began in our village. Bibi Amarjeet Kaur would perform Keertan and Bhai Sahib would prepare the food for the Langar. After the Keertan, Bhai Sahib would address the Sangat with a discourse on Gurmat. A revolutionary change took place in the villages. Those who spent their whole lives drinking and smoking now began to adopt a life of righteousness. Bibi Amarjeet Kaur was the first women that the villagers had seen that was crowned with a Dastar/Keskee. The women began to tie Dastars before they were even baptised.
First Harvest at Khalsa FarmAt the first harvest of the land, Bhai Sahib and I were working on the farm. Bibi Joginder Kaur came to the farm from Amritsar. She always regarded Bhai Sahib as her eldest son and he respected her as his mother. While she was cooking some food, the wind began blowing hard and the fire spread out of control. The kitchen area and surrounding hut was set on fire. A lot of materials for the farm were ignited. Bibi jee called out to Fauja Singh telling him it was on fire. He just laughed and consoled her telling her not to worry. This was a sign of his character; he just regarded it as the Guru’s will and a minor setback.
Kirat Karoh!Bhai Sahib was very physically fit. He would spend many hours per day uprooting plants and doing other tasks around the farm. Because of the heat, he would be dressed in just a Kachera and his Dastaar. The heat would severely tan his body but he would never step back from his service. This was his daily routine and in the evening he, along with the Singhs, would go out and spread the Sikh message in the villages.
Sarblohi Langar & ThugsOnce while in Amritsar, while the Bibiaan were doing seva, some drunks came past and threw bottles into the kitchen area. Bhai Sahib and the Singhs set out to reprimand them for their actions. They did not fear the consequences. Some of the drunks ran away others were not so lucky. The Singhs were sent to prison for their actions which upset Bhai Sahib a great deal. I visited them in prison, but Bhai Sahib asked me not to waste time doing so. He instructed me to take care of the day to day running of the farm. He told me that that would be more beneficial, since it may attract more youth who could protect the honour of their sisters and mothers and also fortify the Khalsa Panth.
Many Singhs were suspended from their work, but the general feeling was the same. If while we lived, our sisters and mothers rights and the general rights of the Panth were being violated, then death would be a better option. The effectiveness of the Parchar programmes increased. There would always be at least five Singhs together with Bhai Sahib. The walk to Amritsar was 5 km and had to be done by foot. In those days, Bhai Tejinderpal Singh Doola and other youth would come to the farm and perform Keertan. Many Singhs would go from village to village to teach Keertan. Many men and women learned Keertan in this way. Areas where the Sikh message was rarely even heard began to blossom forth. Those who were addicted to narcotics were now encouraged to take Amrit.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥
even the young girls are eager to come to bibi jee's home and do her seva. you can see that while she has no children of her own, she is definitely a mother to many!
