By Peter Holleran


   Devotional


   Sant Kirpal Singh (1894-1974), was a Master of Surat Shabd Yoga, or the yoga of inner light and sound. From my humble experience in his company, he appears to have been was a true Sat Guru, grounded in a realization of non-dualism as well as a perfected adept in the celestial yoga he publicly taught.

   To write the story of a great saint, especially when one has not spent many years in his company, is difficult if not impossible. Even then one will never truly penetrate and understand the inner life and character, the sacrifices, struggles, and trials spanning many lifetimes that go into producing such a personage. It has been said, moreover, that the only way to truly write such a story is to embody it in ones own life. I regret that I can only do small justice to the life of such a great soul. I wish that I could have spent much more time with him, knowing Him, serving Him, loving Him, and imbibing his life impulse and wisdom.

   Along with Ramana Maharshi, Atmananda, and Paramahansa Yogananda, Kirpal Singh belongs to a past generation of great Indian Godmen. He began meditating at the age of four, and was gifted with transvision, or clairvoyance, and could see things happening in other places and also in the future. He later joked, telling us, “I had background, you see.” In his twenties, however, he prayed to God that this power be taken away so that he might lead a more natural life, and not be distracted with such things in his search for God. He also prayed that if any good ever came out of him for others that he would know nothing about it. Kirpal was a vegetarian from boyhood, although his family ate meat, and when he was five years old he told them that he would not eat meat because he didn’t want to make a graveyard of his body. He became a voracious reader of books and had an intense desire for knowledge. In his ninth class he went through all the books in the school library. Sawan Singh, his master, also was an avid reader, with thousands of books in his personal library, many with copious notes in his own handwriting. Kirpal also said that he read all the books of a college library during the two years of his study there. His sole purpose was for the sake of knowledge and not the pursuit of a worldly career. Nevertheless he was at the top of his class, and he impressed his teachers with the depth and thoroughness of his study. For instance, he would not just read the assignment at hand, but also the contrasting opinons of other writers on the subject.

   He was an open-hearted personality who cared for the sick and poor. A true Aquarian soul, to Kirpal Singh humanitarianism was never an empty abstraction. As a young man he helped to organize a service league to aid victims of the influenza epidemic of 1919, and after work he would visit hospitals to comfort and give assistance to people, many of whom he had never met. Later on when his daytime hours were taken up with work and service, he did his meditations (up to five hours a day) in the hours after midnight, resting very little. When others mentioned to him that his son Darshan Singh was sleeping only an hour and a half a night, Kirpal remarked, “An hour! Fifteen minutes should be enough!” - this being an example of the profound energization these masters receive through deep communion with the spirit-current.

   When he was seventeen Kirpal went through an intense heart-searching for days on end to determine his course in life. He arrived at the firm decision, “God first, world second,” and actually made a pact with his brothers that if any of them found a spiritual Master they would share their discovery with each other.

   ”I was so anxious to meet God, I used to weep from morning til night. Even while working in my office, tears would involuntarily flow from my eyes and my office papers were spoiled by tears. I could not sleep at night. I would ask, “O God, what is happening?” At home, my family could not understand what was happening - I had recently been transferred from the place of my parents and everyone thought the tears were due to this. What can other people know of the condition of one’s heart? Once the enigma of the mystery of life enters the heart, a person knows no peace until it has been solved.” (1)

   Kirpal had a strong desire to study medicine, particularly homeopathy, but it was financially difficult for his family, so he went into government service, eventually rising to be Deputy Assistant Controller of Military Accounts. He retired after thirty-five years of service, with his supervisor announcing that he had to hire three men to take his place. During his career years he was a stickler for honesty and once refused bribe money offered him for favors expected of him at his office. When he was encouraged to take the payment, being reminded that it was common practice there, he again refused, and forcefully threw the coins after those who had left them on his desk, thus alerting the entire office to the questionable ethical behavior they condoned. He believed strongly on standing on one’s own two legs, and once went so far as to say that a man capable of supporting himself yet living off of others might as well be dead.

   On many occasions Kirpal stood up for employees with families who were let go for various reasons, advocating their case before his supervisors, reminding them that to err is human, to forgive divine, and that it would be a great hardship for all concerned if they should lose their jobs. He then guided persons to improve themselves and their performance. He once coaxed an opium addict off of his habit by convincing him to hand over his opium, and then let him give him some of it every day, a little less each time, until he could do without it. His way was never an extreme, ascetic demand, but, rather, he tried to win over people with compassionate love. He was not sparing with himself, however. His personal discipline was exacting and almost superhuman. Even his grade school notebooks show a daily study schedule broken down into specific timed segments from morning to late at night. He slept very little, as previously mentioned, and meditated many hours nightly, even before meeting his master, Baba Sawan Singh. He engaged strenuous yogic practices as well, including at one period, meditating in chest-deep waters in a flowing stream. Of this period he later commented that “the water helped cool the fire of the kundalini!” It was as if he was stretching the ‘muscle’ of his body so that it would later become a clear channel or vehicle for the spirit-current, which, in my opinion, is just what it became after he adopted the superior method, as considered by the Sants, of shabd yoga under Sawan Singh. During this period of initial search, Kirpal spent some time frequenting a reclusive sadhu named Baba Kahan who lived in a forest and would throw stones at those who came near him. Kirpal saw something of value in the holy man, however, and exhorted his brother to go see him “even if he kills you!” Overall, Kirpal's personal discipline (tapas) was great, and he even later said with a smile, that during his married life he “had his own room.” He believed strongly in the traditional view in the power of ojas (continence), although he did lead a normal householder life, having three sons, Darshan, Jaswant, and Harwant, the latter who unfortunately died at three years of age.

   Kirpal was fond of telling a story of the devotion his mother had for him. One time he was returning after a long absence and she was so excited on hearing his voice that she absent-mindedly ran and fell off the balcony of her house. He would say to us, "That's what love is all about."

   When he was in his twenties his father had a debilitating stroke, and Kirpal nursed him back to health. This required the pain-staking task of teaching him to walk and talk again, saying, “this is a fork, this is a spoon, etc.” After recovering, the grateful father told his son to ask for anything he wanted. Kirpal replied that, as his father knew, his only wish was to commune with God. His father thought for a while and then said, “If a father’s blessing has any effect (and in Indian culture such blessings are considered to be very auspicious), you shall certainly meet God.” Kirpal confessed that from that very day onwards he began to have the daily vision (or inner darshan) of his future Master’s radiant subtle form (gurudev), which at first he took to be Guru Nanak. It was not until seven years later, however, that he met Sawan Singh in the flesh, and he was surprised to find the same saint he had been seeing in meditation. To the question of why it had taken so long to meet him, Hazur Sawan Singh simply replied that this was the most opportune time. Then followed twenty-four years of service to his Master, including the holding of public satsang and even actual initiations in Sawan’s presence on numerous occasions, and the transcribing of the Philosophy of the Masters series, received from Sawan Singh by inner dictation.

   As a disciple under Hazur, Kirpal gave his entire salary to his Master, who in turn dispensed to him whatever he needed for his personal and family needs. When his own mission expanded worldwide, such a traditional practice was unworkable, and Kirpal encouraged his followers to be responsible for the right management of their own affairs. A formal tithe was never asked for, nor was I, or anyone else that I am aware of, ever charged a cent for educational or spiritual services, or even for room and board while on spiritual retreat at any ashram connected with his name. In Sant Mat, God is the giver, and all the Master's live off their own earnings. I spent three months at Sawan Ashram in Delhi, India, in 1973, without once being asked for a donation, and, remarkably, one of the last things Kirpal Singh said to me, on the eve of my departure for the United States, was, “Do you need any money?” (I actually didn’t need any, but I feel now that it would have been a big mistake to refuse his offer if I had. A friend of mine counts one of the most poverty-stricken times of his life as a period following the refusal of an offer of money from Kirpal, when he was, in fact, in desperate financial straits). Initiated disciples were asked as part of their sadhana or spiritual practice to donate some of their earnings (but not necessarily a tithe) to charitable causes, or to the Master’s work, but it was up to them to decide where the funds would go.

   For many years leading up to Sawan Singh’s death, many people attested to Kirpal Singh’s inner help and intercesson on their behalf, including petitioning Yama, the Lord of death, for a reprieve of their fate (death, or time of death)! Thus it was no surprise to many when Kirpal Singh claimed to have been given the mantle of successorship when Sawan passed on. However, the Radhasoami group at Beas claimed that there had been a legal document drafted by Sawan Singh assigning the power of guruship and the administration of the ashram to Jagat Singh, who only lived a short time before then transferring it to Charan Singh, Sawan Singh’s grandson. I don’t want to get into that controversy here. Some have claimed that Charan Singh confessed he was inadequate for the task. But then, after Kirpal Singh's passing, his son Darshan Singh also said the same thing. This could all just be the humility of the Masters, for who would want such a thankless job? Kirpal Singh once said, "he who wants to be a guru, I feel sorry for that man." At any rate, he confessed:

   ”On the morning of 12th October, 1947, at seven o’clock he called me. When I was in his august presence, he said: ‘Kirpal Singh! I have allotted all other work but have not yet entrusted my task of Naam-initiation (connnection to the inner light and sound current) and spiritual work to anyone. That I confer on you today so that this holy and sacred science may flourish.’ Hearing this my eyes were filled with tears, and afflicted as I was, I beseeched: ‘Hazur! The peace and security that I have in sitting at thy feet here cannot be had in higher planes...’ My heart was filled with anguish; I could not speak anymore and sat staring - Hazur encouraging and caressing me all the time.” (2)

And of the moments before Swan Singh’s death, on April 2, 1948, he adds:

   ”Hazur’s forehead was shining resplendently. He opened his mercy-showering lovely eyes intoxicated by God’s ldivine love and cast a glance at my humble self - both eyes gleaming with a radiance like a lion’s eyes. I bowed my head in solemn and silent adoration and said, ‘It is all Hazurs’s own benignity.” Hazur steadily kept gazing for three or four minutes into my eyes, and I, in silent wonderment, experienced an indescribable delight which infused a beverage-like intoxication down to the remotest corners of my entire body - such as was never before experienced in my whole life. Then those mercy-showering eyes closed not to open again...Thus, in his ninetieth year, on the morning of April 2, 1948, at 8:30 a.m. this brilliant sun of spirituality, after diffusing his light in the hearts of millions, disappeared to rest below the horizen at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh.” (3)

   Kirpal Singh’s grief was heightened by the fact that many years before he had a pre-cognitive vision of his Master’s death. He confessed that from that time onwards he had not had a moment’s peace, as he was constantly in touch with the pain of being parted from the human form of his guru. One would think, since he was spiritually advanced, and able to have regular contact with the subtle radiant form of his Master within, and himself helped many people in such a capacity himself, as stated above, that he would have been somewhat philosophical about his guru’s eventual death, or about life and death in general, having himself died daily and transcended to higher planes. Yet this was not so, and it remains a spiritual mystery, or rahasya, why and how he felt as he did, and why he had told his Master that the peace that could be had sitting in his physical company could not be had in the higher planes. Sawan Singh had expressed a similar sentiment, as Kirpal relates:

   "When Baba Sawan Singh once wrote that he did not even yearn for Sach Khand (literally “True Region,” or the home of the Soul, a dimension of Sat Lok) but only prayed that he had “Love and faith at the Satguru’s holy feet,” Baba Ji was extremely pleased and replied that such self-surrender was “indeed the highest karni” (discipline) and assured him that “he who had such a love for the Master would certainly reach Sach Khand, and passing through Alakh, Agam, and Anami-Radhasoami, get merged in the Wonder Region.” (4)

   This last remark probably contains the heart and supreme, but as yet unexplained, secret in all of Sant Mat. Sant Mat teaches an emanationist philosophy/theology in which the fallen soul must retrace its journey back from realms of varying densities of matter to those of pure spirit. The technique, considered superior to other paths and unique to itself alone, is to concentrate at the ajna chakra (third eye) and withdraw the attention from the body, catch the inner light and sound current, and ride that upwards to the fifth and, by their system, first divine and indestructible, plane, Sach Khand. Param Sants go further, to three more planes, Alakh, Agam, and Anami, where there is less and less light and sound until merger into Anami, which is defined as being nameless and formless, God-Realization. Some schools of Sant Mat teach that 'Radhasoami' is a stage beyond Anami, but it is not well defined metaphysically or ontologically in the literature. The suggestion, through use of the terms "wonder region," or by saying that it is not a region per se, but the "source and reality of All", etc., is that it may refer to a non-dual realization, but it is not made clear, and is therefore difficult to compare to the teachings of other paths. Exactly WHAT is this “Wonder Region”? Is it the “Nirmanakaya” of the Buddhists”, the “One” of Plotinus, or the “Emptiness” of the philosophers? Is the word “merger” at this level to be taken literally, being thus in conflict with the teaching in the Lankavatara Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism, which rejects the concept of merger, but not with certain of the Vajrayana and Sufi schools which use the word somewhat more loosely? Is the “Wonder region” a region at all, and is it the achievement of further inversion beyond Anami, or the Mind opening or awakening to its true intrinsic nature?

   After the death of Sawan Singh, Kirpal retired for six months to the Himalayan foothills where he meditated up to eighteen hours a day (“in two sittings”, he humorously recounted). After this he returned and, due to the controversy over successorship, left the colony at Beas (and a house which he had paid for with his own money) and moved to Delhi to begin his own spiritual work, with the formation of the organization known as Ruhani Satsang. Over the course of the next twenty-five years he initiated over one hundred thousand souls into the practice of surat shabd yoga, wrote over a dozen books (all of which he insisted contain “no rights reserved”), and went on three world tours, in 1955, 1963, and 1972. He was not one to make access to himself difficult or to seclude himself behind a coterie of "buffers". He was the first spiritual leader to be given the honor of addressing the members of the Indian Parliament, and was friends with Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, several Presidents of India, including philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and many other government leaders. At one point King Hussein of Jordan asked him to be his minister of state, but Kirpal politely refused, saying that his disciples were his primary responsibility. He was also friends with many religious leaders and spiritual teachers. Among the latter whom he was in communication with or either visited or were guests at his ashram were Yogi Bhajan, Swami Sivananda, Anandamayi Ma, Pir Vilayat Khan, Meher Baba, Sri Daya Mata of SRF, the Shankaracharya, H.H. Nichidatsu Fuji, and many Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian leaders, including Pope John Paul VI. His position on this was refreshing, clearly stated, and a warning to those engaged in cultic spirituality everywhere:

   "The first condition I would say, of a Master, when he meets another Master, is that he will embrace him; he will rejoice. There's no question of high and low...Why should not those who are on the way embrace? Why should they not feel joy? The very fact that they do not want to meet together shows that they are blowing their own pipes - they have not seen God, I tell you." (5)

   Kirpal left his mortal coil on August 21, 1974, ten to fifteen years earlier than had been expected. In 1972, while visiting Boston, he was examined by macrobiotic healer Mishio Kushi, who remarked that he had the constitution of seven men. In later years he suffered constantly (often with deep, racking coughs, the result of an injury suffered while working in the medical corps in World War I), yet would be remarkably transformed and radiant in the course of a few minutes. One must assume that his whirlwind pace and sympathetic acceptance of devotee’s karma on his own body led to his early demise. He often mentioned that he had broken the laws of nature, but that such was the compassionate impulse of the Saints, working as they do for the liberation of all beings.

   Although Kirpal Singh was extremely well-read in comparative religions and spiritual traditions, and was the person Sawan Singh would send people to if they wanted an intellectual understanding of Sant Mat, he was first and foremost a practical man. His frequent recommendation was for seekers to study the of great men, and not just philosophy. As a young man he read over three hundred biographies of spiritual figures, and admitted that he had read only two novels in his entire life: Ivanhoe, and Pilgrim’s Progress.

   Kirpal Singh started two traditions in his lineage within Sant Mat: one, that an experience of inner light and sound was to be granted at the time of initiation, both as proof of the Master’s competency and as a boost on the Way, and, two, that the Master was pledged to come in his radiant form for the soul of the disciple at the time of death, neither of which were previously promised by the Radhasoami group at Beas. In former times it was explained that the disciple must be adequately prepared, physically, emotionally, mentally, and morally, before he received initiation from a spirtual master. The Shiva-Samhita, Hathayoga Pradipika, Bhagavad-Gita, Vedanta-Sara, and other texts describe long lists of qualifications an aspirant must have to be considered worthy of acquiring the Master’s spiritual help and regard. Ramana Maharshi commented on this himself, saying that there may not be even one disciple on earth anymore who lives up to such qualifications. Therefore, the modern “dispensation” in this dark age or Kali Yuga, according to Sant Mat, was essentially to be “initiation first, purification later.” It is also promised that once initiated by the Master, it will take a maximum of four lifetimes for the disciple to reach Sach Khand.

   Of course, the requirement of ego-transcendance cannot be bypassed indefinitely, for without that the “dream of life” continues, and experience, the Guru, and God are known only through the filter of “self”. The teacher makes the student face himself, and persists until that one knows himself and surrenders. What makes Sant Mat successful, in any particular case, is not fundamentally its meditation technique per se, in my opinion, but the sacred relationship between the Master and disciple, in those lineages where the masters are genuine.

   While Kirpal Singh gave more or less standard talks at public events, His real work, like most masters, went on in private with small groups, and in day to day contact with those close to Him. He often said, "it is difficult to become a man, but easy to become God." Of Sawan Ashram itself it has been said, “that is the place where men were made.” Like all masters, he also worked universally through spiritual transmission and by telepathic communion with devotees. Once he came out of samadhi and even proclaimed to his son Darshan that he had just been giving initiation to souls on the inner planes! This suggests that in Sant Mat, souls who have not yet undergone the "second death" (whereby the subtle and causal bodies disintegrate into their constituent elements and the being with a new personality incarnates) may do spiritual sadhana after death through the help of a Master-Soul, and the question of their need to eventually incarnate again might vary from individual to individual. Kirpal Singh affirmed that in fact is the case:

   "The initiates have a great concession: at the time of death, your Master will come to receive you, and not the angel of death. He usually appears several days or weeks before death to advise you of your coming departure from this world. I'm talking about those who keep the precepts! For those who do nothing with the gift of Naam, he may or may not appear before they leave the body...In your final moments, and much beforehand if you have gained proficiency in meditation, Master's radiant form will take you to a higher stage where you can make further progress. At the time of death the initiate will be as happy as a bride on her day of marriage! He may then place you in the first, second or third stage, or he may take you direct to Sach Khand. In some cases, where worldly desires and attachments are predominant, he will allow rebirth, but in circumstances more congenial for spiritual growth." (5)

   This would be something difficult to reconcile within the Buddhist tradition, for instance, wherein it is generally assumed that all who have not attained enlightenment in this life face complete egoic or skhandic dissolution followed by reincarnation until they realize enlightenment in the waking state, and is certainly one of the great spiritual mysteries yet to be illuminated for the present age. [Note: it is not always mandated in Buddhism canon that one must reincarnate on the earth-plane to attain enlightenment; exceptions are noted: see "The Four Levels of Sainthood" and "The Ten Fetters of Buddhism" as presented by the Wanderling on his website.]

   When asked about other teachers, Kirpal Singh's usual response was often, “gold is gold.” Before initiations he would weed out those who were disciples of other teachers, only accepting them when they had made an honorable separation in the interests of pursuing something they felt was higher. While wearing a mantle of supreme tolerance and uniting all under one fold, however, on rare occasions He was not averse to privately commenting on other teachers. Kirpal's successor, Darshan Singh, was also reticent to criticize, but did, for instance, upon surveying the rise of many contemporary , especially so-called non-dual, western teachers, simply and directly state, “they’re NOT sages.” He also remarked, "Is it such an easy thing to take a soul to Sach Khand?"

   Despite his often awe-inspiring presence and regal bearing, Kirpal had a fathomless depth of humility. When some devotees asked if they were being too much of a burden on him he replied, “no, you are my solace.” For me, such a statement inspires thoughts too deep for words. Sometimes I think its mere contemplation would be a complete spiritual practice in itself. Sitting at his feet and looking into the eyes of Kirpal Singh was like gazing at ones dearest heart-companion, ones own deepest self, and into the soul of a being a million years old. The effect was at the same time spiritually uplifting as well as sobering, as exemplified in the description given by Alcibiades about the company of his master Socrates:

   "At the words of Socrates my heart leaps within me and my eyes rain tears when I hear them. And I observe that many others are affected in the same manner. I have heard Pericles and other great orators, and I thought that they spoke well, but I never had any similar feeling; my soul was not stirred by them, nor was I angry at the thought of my own slavish state. But this Marsyas [Socrates] has often brought me to such a pass that I have felt as if I could hardly endure the life that I am leading; and I am conscious that if I did not shut my ears against him and fly as from the voice of the siren, my fate would be like that of others - he would transfix me and i would grow old sitting at his feet. For he makes me confess that I ought not to live as I do, neglecting the wants of my soul, and busying myself with the concerns of the Athenians; therefore, I hold my ears, and tear myself away from him. And he is the only person who ever made me feel ashamed, and there is no one else who does the same. For I know that I cannot answer him or say that I ought not do as he bids, but when I leave his presence the love of popularity gets the better of me. And therefore I run away and fly from him, and when I see him I am ashamed." (from Plato's Symposium)



   For a heartfelt and detailed account of time spent with Kirpal Singh by a long-time devotee, see Journey to the Luminous by Arran Stephens (now available on-line free as The Moth and the Flame).


(1) Portrait of Perfection (Bowling Green, Virginia: Sawan Kirpal Publications, 1981), p. 1
(2) Kirpal Singh, The Way of the Saints (Sanborton, N.H.: Sant Bani Ashram, 1976), p. 27
(3) Portrait of Perfection, op. cit., p. 44-45
(4) Kirpal Singh, A Great Saint: Baba Jaimal Singh (Delhi, India: Ruhani Satsang, 1968), p. 79
(5) Arran Stephens, Journey to the Luminous (Seattle, Washington: Elton-Wolf Publications, 1999), p. 41


   The following on-line book contains many accounts of devotees' experiences with Sant Kirpal Singh.

       Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj: The Ocean of Grace Divine (1)
       Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj: The Ocean of Grace Divine (2)
       Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj: The Ocean of Grace Divine (3)
       Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj: The Ocean of Grace Divine (4)

   Click here for a short You-Tube pictorial of Sant Kirpal Singh and Baba Sawan Singh.

   The current Master in this lineage is Sant Rajinder Singh.