Bhagat Puran Singh was a great self-regulated person who made service to humanity his routine task; a great man who led an ordinary living in an extraordinary manner. Bhagat Puran Singh succeeded in his mission, born out of his faith in God, of building 'Pingalwara' which remains a living memorial of his life's work. Bhagat Puran Singh established a home for destitute, called Pingalwara in Amritsar. Pingalwara literally meant in several forms such as 'home for the crippled', 'home for the handicapped.
Ramji Das, who was re-christened as Puran Singh after he embraced Sikhism in the year 1923, was born on 4th June 1904 in Village Rajewal in Ludhiana. The basic fundamentals of social services to the mankind were taught by his mother, Mehtab Kaur, such as clearing harmful objects like thorns, pieces of broken glass, nails, other sharp objects, stones, bricks and such from the lanes and village tracks as they would injure pedestrians, beasts and passersby. These good qualities formed the foundation of kindness and concern in the young heart of Ramji Das very deeply. He cared for the despairing, disabled and destitute with his own hands. He even sought alms on the streets and outside places of worship, not for himself, but to ask people to help the needy. He had neither grants nor aids, nor any institutions to back him up. Puran Singh looked after for 14 years an abandoned boy, who was dumb, mentally impaired and physically deformed and was suffering from dysentery since at his age of four. Puran Singh named him as Piara and carried on his back wherever he went. Bhagat Puran Singh died on 5th August, 1992 but his magnificent spirit lives on in Pingalwara
(taken from http://www.sikhpoint.com/community/Articles/Bhagat_Puransingh.php)
Here are are just a few links
http://www.pingalwaraonline.org/
http://forums.waheguroo.com/index.php?showtopic=9690&hl=poora
http://www.davindersingh.ca/2005/07/bhagat-puran-singh-ji.html
12 comments:
Heyyy...I was working on that post :D Well, I am trying to collect whatever pictures of him possibly available and save it in my blog. Once I get my courses sorted out for this term, I'm gonna gladly make my very due additons to my blog.
But Bhagatji's acknowledgement just makes me so very happy :D:D Thanks for sharing!
sikhi seeker the more we mention Bhagat ji, the better, that's how I see it. If you go to the second link mentioned at the bottom of this post and scroll down you'll see some really good pichures of the great man.
I look forward to your more comprehensive post on Bhagat ji!
Waheguru
why do we believe in bhagats?
does guru granth sahib say to believe in them? who are they?
i am a confused young sikh who has just joined your faith now?
i am still practising ?
sorry can you answer me?
where does it say in the gurbani that we should believe and pooja for the bhagats?
okay theu did something butaint it a source of sewa??????
gurfateh
Anonymous (since you don't have a name)...I'll try to answer it according to my perspective...
1) Bhagat refers to a Holy Person who leads humanity towards God.
2) A Bhagat does not usually preach to attract supporters but preach to highlight injustices in practises of the world.
(These are the 2 main things that I picked off wikipedia)
WE respect them. WE hold them in awe and inspiration. Believing in them? We believe in their good deeds. And why we believe them is because we have witnessed their goodness, humility and kindness. We talk of them, and remember them with gratitude and somehow try to learn something off their magnificent lives...
I really hope it makes sense to you as it does to me:)
and...
~Welcome to Sikhism~
Oh, I just realized that I didn't mention one of the important questions or yours: why we pooja them?
We don't anonymous!
Sri Guru Granth Sahib included the banis from 11 (methinks) Bhagats, to respect their word for it brings us closer to Akal Purakh, God. But we are never asked to, and no one actually does pooja of them.
I respect and love Bhagat Puran Singh to such extent that I dunno where to define the line clearly between reverence and adoration. But it is different for me, he is my hero and my favourite man, which makes it personal and not part of religion.
Waheguru ji ja Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!!!
Anon what are you confused about, please share. Would be interesting to know a little bit about your joining the faith.
Hopefully sikhi seeker has cleared up any confusion you might have had. Sikhs only believe in guru granth sahib, and not in the pooja of any other.
However the sangat (company) of gursikhs is important on the road to sikhi, as this gives support and inspiration to us. This sangat includes reading the lives of great gursikhs such as bhagat Puran singh as well as going to the gurudwara, etc. In contrast we should avoid sangat of manmukhs, as this will only lead us away from sikhi.
Thanks sikhi seeker, interesting that you don't see bhagat ji as part of your religion, surely he's the embodiment of the concept of sewa (serving the needy) within sikhi?
Waheguru
Yes, he is indeed a spectacular example of a wonderous Sikh. When i say that I see him separate from religion is because although i adore to him like God, I don't pray to him for stuff (makes sense? This was mainly for the clarity of Anonymous).
Also there is this substantial difference, which some find offensive: His main religion was humanity. He loved Waheguru truly and took only the positive from Him and Sikhi. But unlike the innumerable other Sikhs, he does not see the difference between the people of other religions. He saw them all as the offsprings of one Guru. And that he did not throw the Hindu inmates of his derai, after the atrocities of '84. He was a true Sikh to me. But recently on one of the posts @ Prabhu ji's blog I learned that being a Sikh for others (not Prabhu)and still viewing people as separate Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims is so firm. And not just that, treating them different too (and sadly enough, mainly with hatred). I have begun to understand, how difficult it is to ever achieve the *prototype* definition of A True Sikh...
p.s.// It's your blog, and I hope I didn't come out too abrupt for your thoughts :)
Yjankyou, and thankyou again.......
will post a comment later
from anon
gurfateh
I know what you are saying sikhi seeker, it's often easier to 'go with the flow' and put down people of other faiths, but that's not sikhi. Unfortunately there will always be people in all religions/cultures who think this way, especially when emotions are involved such as the '84 riots. I have to admit that this tendency surfaces within me from time to time, I suppose I am a long way to go from the 'man niva, mat uchi' avastha. Bhagat Puran singh ji is a pretty good 'definition' of a model sikh - he wasn't interested in ammasing wealth and fame, had great humility, was involved in tru sewa, saw all as god's creation,....
But also let's be clear that if sikhs in India are being discriminated against, then we cannot give up our resolve to get justice, using methods condoned by our Guru. There's no justification for example of killing innocent people and children (like what is happening in Irag)or painting an entire people with the same brush. Of course if we are cornered, and in danger of our survival, then of course it is right to raise the sword.
Re 'it's your blog' - not the 'comments' part of it, infact the less input I make the better, I'm only too grateful for those who take the time to comments or respond to questions. Thanks!
Waheguru
Check out Bhagat Ji's rare pics and biography(which I am still putting in) at simransewa.blogspot.com
Thank you for visiting Harminder Singh ji, have to say youe site is excellent. Will add your site on the blogroll here.
Waheguru
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