h a i - .: Bhai Jasbir Singh Khalsa :.. Both his parents were highly religious: his father Inder Singh was able to sing shabad kirtan; he was a accomplished paathi (able to recite

B h a iSahib, BhaiJasbir Singh JiK h a l s apopularly known

as “Veerji” was born in the earlymorning on August 16th 1944 athis mother’s village of Chakri(presently in Tehsil and DistrictRawalpindi, in Pakistan). Hisfather, Sardar Inder Singh, wasa businessman in the VillageBillol (now In Pakistan ). Hismother’s name was Jagjit Kauralso known as Parbati Kaur.Veerji has only one sibling : asister, Pritam Kaur who is eightyears older to him and who liveswith her family in Khanna,Punjab.

Before Veerji was born, Veerji’smother made it a practise tocomplete one Sehaj Path dabhog every month. When he wasforty days old, Veerji’s parentstook him to Gurdwara PanjaSahib (in Pakistan) to receive the

blessing of Guru Nanak Dev JiHe was less than three years ofage when the partition of Indiaand Pakistan took place in 1947.Like everyone else, his familywent through a great deal ofordeal during the partition. Theyinitially spent some time duringthat period in the care of SantMansa Singh at the village ofHardawal in Pakistan. After that,they found their way to Amritsarwith the assistance of themilitary.

After they got to India, Veerji’smother maternal uncle, (mama ji),Gurmukh Singh Musafir,managed to arrange for a job forVeerji’s father as a Custodian inSangrur. The whole family thenmoved to Sangrur.

At the age of five, he wasenrolled in a school in Sangrur.Veerji studied here till he finishedhis Matric (Grade 10).

When he was fourteen, Veerji’sfather passed away. As a resulto f t h i s , t h e f a m i l y ’ sresponsibilities fell on hisshoulders and he moved toLudhiana. In Ludhiana, Veerji

worked extremely hard to supportthe family and amongst otherthings, he completed a four yearscourse as an Overseear at theRamgariah College in Ludhiana.

Right from childhood, Veerji hadan inclination towards spirituality.He developed a passion forpoetry. He had a gift for writingpoetry. He was able to writeverses on any subject withoutany effort. The words wouldsimply flow by themselves. Andhe used to read poetry with suchvigour, fervour and passion thathe soon came to be known as“Joshi Ji” (meaning the “fervent”one). Veerjiwas a giftedpoet. Before heb e gan th epract ise ofs i n g i n gGurbani inkirtan style,Veerji madehis mark as a poet when he usedto reci te poet ry at SikhGurdwaras during Gurpurabs andon other important occasions.

Veerji grew up in an extremelyr e l i g i o u s a n d s p i r i t u a l

atmosphere. Both his parentswere highly religious: his fatherInder Singh was able to singshabad kirtan ; he was aaccomplished paathi (able torecite the Sri Guru Granth Sahibfluently) and was very well versed

in other religioustexts includingt h e S u r a jParkash.

Sant NehchalSingh

Veerji receivedhis blessing to

deliver sermons (katha) fromSant Nehchal Singh of JamnaNagar. This happened quitespontaneously when on oneoccasion, Veerji had gone tomeet Sant Nirmal Singh withsome friends of his. After all hisother friends had left thecompany of Sant Nirmal Singh,Veerji remained seated. Whenasked by Sant Ji as to why hehad not left, Veerji said that hehad stayed back as he had notreceived anything from Sant Ji.

Sant Ji then asked him what wasit that he wanted. Veerji

responded by saying that “youcan give me whatever youplease”. Sant Ji then patted himheavily on his back a couple oftimes and asked him whether hehad a feeling of having receivedsomething. Veerji responded in

the negative.Sant Ji thengave him onereally hardpat (thapda)and told him“from now on,your missionis to go andserve thesangat by

doing katha of Sri Guru GranthSahib”.

Veerji purely did katha (withoutkirtan) for a period of twelve yearsfrom then on.

Sant Naranjan Singh

Sometime in January of 1981,Veerji went to seek the darshanof Saint Scholar Sant NaranjanSingh of Patiala. Veerji had metSant Ji on previous occasions butit was after 1981 that theybecame close and Veerji used to

go regularly to Patiala to meetSant Ji.

Although Veerji used to singshabad kirtan without the use ofany musical instruments evenbefore meeting Sant Ji, it was inGuru Nanak Ashram in Patialathat he received his blessing fromSant Ji to do kirtan with the use ofthe harmonium.

During one of his meetings withVeerji, Sant Ji told Veerji that hewould require him to go toManimajare in two days toperform the kirtan seva in place ofSant Ji.

Without any hesitation, Veerjiimmediately in all humility agreedto undertake the seva. However,upon reflection he realised that hewould not be able to perform thekirtan seva and he informed SantJi that as he had never sung any

shabads and that as did not knowhow to do kirtan with the waja. Hebeseeched Sant Ji that he wouldonly be able to carry out this sevawith his (Sant Ji’s) blessings.

Sant Ji responded that there wasno human being who would beable to teach him kirtan withinsuch a short period of time andthat he should take his (Sant Ji’s)harmonium to Sri Guru GranthSahib Ji as it was only Guru Jiwho would be able to teach him.

Veerji complied and brought theharmonium to the SachkhandAsthaan where Sri Guru GranthSahib’s sukhasan was done atthe Guru Nanak Ashram atPatiala. It was here that Guru Jiblessed Veerji with the melody,comprising of just a few notes.Veerji was estatic when hereceived this blessing from Guru

Ji and shouted uncontrollably,“Aya Gya. Ay Gya”(“I got it, I gotit”)

It was melody that Veerji usedsuccessfully for man years andwhich totally captivated the sangatfor years to come. Veerji used thistune for his Simran and kirtanparchaar for many years all over

the country during his kirtan andsimran sessions.

He then began to do nishkaam (free,without monetary gain) kirtan in asmall group of Sikhs. Given themelodious and soulful nature of hissinging, the circle quickly grew byleaps and bounds.

It grew so rapidly that within just a fewyears, sometime in 1984, Veerjipurchased a small hall in Sohanawhich he used for his kirtan andsimran sangat.

Veerji made it a practise toconcentrate on only one topic duringeach of his kirtan and katha sessions.

Guru Nanak Ashram, Patiala

Move to Khanna, marriage

For economic as well as familyreasons, Veerji later moved fromLudhiana to Khanna, where hiselder sister, Pritam Kaur wasliving with her family. His sister is

married to Swinder Singh Kohli. InKhanna, he started his ownbusiness known as “Joshi TentHouse” along GT Road inKhanna, Punjab. His partner MevaSingh Gill used to trim his beardbut when he came to know aboutveerji, he became amritdharialthough Veerji had never told tostop trimming his beard.

Veerji transferred his interest in thebusiness to Meva Singh Gill withoutany cost many years ago. Mr. Meva

Singh Gill isstill runningthis businessin Khanna.

Once Veerjigave saropato a man whoused to trimhis beard andsome peopleobjected to

this. Soon after, that personbecame an amritdhari Sikh.

Veerji’s Family:

At the age of 23, Veerji got marriedon April 13th 1967 to Daljit Kaur,who is the daughter of Avtar Singhof Kalanor. They got married atNaarnul, Mahindgarh, Haryana.

Daljit Kaur is a well educatedperson. Inaddit ion tosucce ss f u l l yu n d e r t a k i n gand fulfillingh e rresponsibilitiesas a wife and amother, shehas also beena successful

educator. She used to be a teacherand then rose to be become a VicePrincipal in a government school.She now lives with her eldest son inMohali and is a writer.

Veerji had two sons: JagmohanSingh (known lovingly as “Happy”)who was born on July 25th 1971 atPatiala and Jatinder Mohan Singh

(known lovingly as “Vicky”) whowas born on February 2nd 1973 atKhanna.

The elder son, Jagmohan ismarried to Harmeet Kaur. They gotmarried on 6th March 1993 atJalandhar. Jagmohan lives inMohali where he runs a medicalpharmacy“ known as “VeerjiMedicos”. Veerji used to live withhim.

Ja gmohan S in gh has t wodaughters, Jagseerat Kaur born on13th June 1994 and HarnaindeepKaur, born on 28th April 2001. Theyare students in Chandigarh.Jagseerat Kaur has a good voiceand is also getting training in kirtanand the harmonium

Jatinder Mohan Singh is married toChanjot Kaur. They got married on24th Dec 1995 at Jalandhar.

Jatinder Mohan Singh has twochildren: a son and a daughter.Their son, Sanjampreet Singh wasborn on 24 th January 1997 and is

studying at the Guru Nanak PublicSchool in Ludhiana. He is alsoreceiving training kirtan andharmonium from Bhai SukhwantSingh of Jawadi Taksal.

Sanjampreet Singh accompaniedVeerji on the stage at several kirtan

programs during his lifetime. At hislast samagams in Ludhiana atGurduwara Dukhniwaran Sahib,Sanjampreet did Kirtan with Veerji.The cassette “Jan Paropkari Aaye”has a recording of a shabad “SoiSoi Deve” by Sanjampreet.

JatinderMohan’s daughter HarnoorKaur was born on 17th Dec 2002.She is studying in a convent schoolin Ludhiana.

JatinderMohan Singh lives inLudhiana where he has a garmentshowroom retailing gents garmentsknown as “KOUTONS”.

Veerji was a devoted and lovingfather, brother and husband. Hefulfilled all his worldly duties to hisfamily to the best of his ability. Hetook great care of his wife andsister. And he was amazing sontoo. He took extra ordinary care of

his mother. He used to give hermedicine every evening. Whenpeople used to ask him that why hedid not travel abroad he would saythat he was not prepared to leave hismother.

Practising Sikh:

During his life, Veerji practiced andlived by the basic principles ofSikhism, namely to earn one’slivelihood, share one’s earnings andremember the Name of the Lord. Forforty years of his life, he was anactive participant in Sikh religiousaffairs. He never accepted or tookany money for his kirtan services. Henever undertook the singing of theGuru’s hymns as a business, aprofession or a means of alivelihood. He undertook it purely asa form of a seva.

Akaal Ashram at Sohana

During the course of his business,Veerji was visited by many religious

individuals and saints from variousorganizations. Veerji always took theopportunity to provide selflessservice to all such individuals. It wasas if Veerji had received the gift ofseva from the divine. During thisperiod, Veerji met severalGurmukhs. He received theirblessings. In particular he was closeto Sant Baba Shyam Singh.

When Veerji used to be at JyoshiTent House, Baba Shyam Singhcame to his shop and the momenthe entered the shop he slappedVeerji. Veerji's worker, who wassitting next to him was about tostand up to stop Baba Shyam Singh.Veerji however prevented theworker. Baba Ji told him the reasonfor slapping him was to checkwhether he himself practisedrestraint and self control i.e. theattributes that he preached to thesangat during his katha. He toldVeerji that he was testing him.

As a young man Veerji used tospend, long hours absorbed inmeditation and in a religiousdiscussions with holy men who usedto come into his contact. Veerjithough worked during the day but inthe early morning he used tomeditate and recite Kirtan and makeall the Sangat pray to God by singing

and reciting Gurbani.

For twelve consecutive years, Veerjiundertook and provided the seva forGuru Ka Langar at GurdwaraSehra Sahib during the Hola Mahlafestival which takes place in Marchor April every year. During thosedays, there used to be a watershortage for langar and the sangathad to fetch the water from distantplaces. Veerji tirelessly undertookthe task of providing for a watersupply to that area. To facilitate this,he even arranged for theconstruction of a Hindu Mandhir in avillage in order to secure theiragreement to allow the flow of waterthrough their village.

Due to his commitment to provideselfless service without financialreward for his kirtan services as wellas his voluntary religious activities,there were times when Veerji had togo through very tumultuous financialtimes.

But he never wavered in hiscommitment.

Sri Guru Har Krishan Hospital

In 1983, with the support of thesangat, he purchased a piece of landat Village Sohana and laid thefoundation stone for the Akaal

Ashram over there. It was here thatinitially a beautiful Gurdwara was

set up.

Subsequen t l ywith the supportof the sangat,a n d m o s tno tab ly Dr .H a r i n d e r j i tS i n g h , ap r o m i n e n tspecial ist in

Ophthalmology, from Georgia, USA,the Sri Guru Har Krishan Hospitalwas established. The Sohanahospital was established in 1995with an ophthalmology wing.

Dr Harinderjit Singh was highlysupportive of Veerji both in terms offund raising for the Sohana hospitalas well as the supply of medicalequipment.

The hospital was later expandedinto a multi-specialty hospitalknown for providing treatment at areasonable cost.

A modern gynecology andobstetrics centre was inauguratedby the Jathedar of Takht Sri PatnaSahib, Giani Iqbal Singh in May

2002.

At the hospital, patients are treatedat very nominal fees and for thosewho are unable to afford it, theyare even treated at no cost.

It has all the specialties like Eye,D e n t a l , G e n e r a l S u r g e r y ,Gynaeco logy & Obs te t r i cs ,Orthopaedics, Urology, Ear Noseand Throat Department, Skin,Medicine, Psychiatry, Intensive CareUnit, X-Ray, Chemotherapy andComputer lab. It has 24-houremergency services and is

equipped with the latest equipmentfor doing complicated surgeries andevery day about 500 to 600 patientsvisit the OPD.

Fully trained doctors proficient indifferent fields are always busy inassisting patients who requiretreatment at the hospital.

Also with the inspiration andblessing of Shri Guru Granth SahibJi and with the support of the sangatVeerji has also been instrumental inproviding ambulance facility foraccident cases, trauma cases/firstaid facility at different highways.This also assists those living aroundthe area as well as to attend toemergency situations for the injured.

To assist the needs of the nearbyand distant villages, free eye checkup clinics and camps are arrangedon a rotational basis.

Branches of this hospital have alsobeen opened at Khanna andSarhind. Both of these are operatingsuccessfully.

Giani Iqbal Singh, Jathedar of TakhtPatna Sahib, with Veerji surveying theoperating theatre after the inauguration ofthe gynaecology wing of Sri HarkrishanSahib Eye Hospital, May 5, 2002

In April 2006, the managementof Guru Harkrishan SahibCharitable Hospital, Sohana, inassociation with the NationalAssociation for the Blindannounced the setting up of aninstitute where the visuallyimpaired would be given trainingfor different works to make themself-dependent.

Academic classes will also bestarted at the institute. The centreis to be named the ‘B

Centre for Education andRehabilitation of the Blind’.

Amongst other things, hostelarrangements are being made toaccommodate students fromother cities or countries.

Sri Guru Har Krishan SahibCollege of Nursing

Veerji was also the driving forcebehind the setting up of the SriGuru Harikrishan Sahib Collegeof Nursing at Sohana.

This college offers quality trainingboth in the classrooms and in thefield to its students to enablethem to Provide Quality Services

in the field of Nursing The Schoolprovides all the required facilities,training aids, material etc. andcreates a healthy environment forstudents to benefit not only intheir specific profession but inoverall development.

Guru Harikrishan Sahib College of Nursing

It is equipped to provide qualitynursing education and providesequipment to enable eachstudent to have adequate trainingwith various modalities fordelivering healthcare services.

Simran

Veerji never missed Simran inearly hours every day regardlessof any circumstances. It was hisfirst priority to advise Sangat toattend the Simran sessions. In1992/1993 Veerji encouraged theSangat to assemble for NaamSimran as daily routine. SimranSamagams began to take place

regularly in Jalandhar, Ludhiana,Rajpura, Sohana, Patiala andAmritsar. The time for suchSamagam was set at 4 am to 5am at all the venues

In the pursuit of his mainobject ive, which was thepropagation of Naam Simran, atask which Veerji commencedright from his childhood, after theGurdwara was built at Sohana,he started Simran sessions at theGurdwara Akaal Ashram inSohana. These Simran sadhanasessions as well as discourses inGurbani Vichaar were carried onby him in the early hours of themorning (amrit vela) for manyyears.

At present, at this Gurdwara, atAmrit Vela, Nitnem of the fiveban is , S im ran Sadhana ,continuous katha of Gurbani, andin the evening Sodar di Chowki,Katha of Suraj Parkash andkirtan continues to be done daily.This has been going on eversince the Gurdrwara was built.

For the benefit those pursuingtheir meditation practice, ameditation centre has also beenestablished there. This is locatedin a very peaceful atmosphere andwhere the devotee remains forseveral days in a retreat settingwhere they meditate and recite theGurbani. In this way they are ableto uplift their spiritual level in avery positive setting.

Guru ka langar is served round theclock 24/7 at the Gurdwara AkaalAshram.

Healing the needyThere are numerous occasions

where Veerji helped cure the sickand needy.

One of Veerji’s helpers, RavinderSingh became a victim of severetuberculosis. He had undergonethree separate surgeries and theleading medical practitioners wereunable to help him any longer.

When Veerji came to know aboutthis, he commented very seriouslyto Ravinder Singh that from nowon, he would be treated and curedby Guru Ji. From that day itself, aSehaj Path of Sri Guru GranthS a h i b w a s c o m m e n c e d .Arrangements were made forHarvinder Singh to be able tolisten to the entire recitation of thepath. Veerji made him commithimself to continually recite theverse “Dukh rog santaap utre,suni sacchi baani”.

As Harvinder Singh progressivelyheard the recitation of the Gurbani,his pain started to lessen. Only afterthe recitation of the first threehundred pages, the doctors tooksamples and found that the infectionhad disappeared. Within a few days,he was cured completely.

Veerji with his jatha at Crescent Beach

All of this was due to Veerji’s total

and absolute faith and convictionin the truth of the Guru’s word.

Rav inde r S ingh has nowundertaken the katha duty at theGurdwara Akaal Ashram,

Another incident concernedJaswinder Singh Khalsa headof the Guru Nanak Trust,Manchester, UK, who wasinfected with cancer and thedoctors had told him that hewould only be able to survive fora few days. Veerji lovinglyencouraged and guided him tolisten to Gurbani with faith.Khalsa Ji made arrangements tohave a paath at his ownresidence and upon being testedafter that, the cancer had totallydisappeared.

There are numerous otherinstances of other people whowere cured through Veerji’sintervention and assistance afterthey had placed their total faithand devotion in the Sri GuruGranth Sahib.

Amritvela

V e e r j i s t r e s s e d o n t h e

importance of getting up atamritvela. He narrated severalpersonal experiences that he hadat amritvela which got him out ofbed. One morning, when he wassleeping at home, all utensils inthe house began banging againstone another. Veerji got upsuddenly and he thought that itwas his mother in the kitchen whowas making the noise. When hesaw the time it was amritwela andthere was no one in the kitchen.On another occasion, he wassleeping and he heard someoneshouting loudly but when he wokeup, there was none there. It wasamritwela and time to rise.

He remained above all politicalfrays and retained a completelyuntarnished image.

His unconditional surrender anddedication to Sri Guru GranthSahib and the promotion of theconcept of “shabad Guru”touched a nerve amongst theSikhi masses who are under aconstant barrage by se lfproclaimed sants, dehras andbabas who themselves areforever eager to become the

subject to worship

Nishkaam

Veerji was exceptional in that he didnishkaam kirtan and katha i.e. purelyfor the love and joy of it and to spreadthe word of the Shabad Guru -without any expectation of financialrewards or other material gains.Money was never the motive nor thepurpose for which Veerji did kirtanand katha. It was purely to spreadthe word of the Guru.

And that is why when Veerji sung,he did so with passion and withfervour.

Amrit Sanchaar

Veerji placed a great deal ofemphasis on the importance ofbecoming a baptised Sikh byaccepting Khade Ki Pauhal fromthe panj pyare. He was deeplyupset by the large numbers ofSikhs who wer becoming patit.Veerji delegated duties toSewadars in various cities toidentify patit youth, educate themthe Sikh values in order to bringthem back to the Sikhi fold.

He took every opportunity in all

his programs both within India aswell as abroad to encourage thesangat to discard intoxicants, leada pure life and take Khande DiPahul.

In 1999, during the tri centennialanniversary of the Khalsa, Veerjigot 12,000 Sikhs to partakeKhande di Pahul at AnandpurSahib. He did this at a time whenall the other Sikh leaders werebusy with their political infighting.

In 2005, Veerji got another 2500Sikhs to become baptised Sikhs.

During his samagams he wouldalways ask the members of thesangat to indicate their readinessto be baptised by a show ofhands.

Veerji, during his meetings withGursikhs during his travels,identified suitable Gurmukhs inthe various towns and cities thathe went to. He spoke to suchindividuals at a personal level andarranged for them to act as partof the panj pyare during any amritsanchaar ceremony in theirrespective towns or cities.

Veerji’s goal, amongst otherthings was to have suitablequalified Gurmukhs in the variouscities who were ready, willing andable to perform this duty ofbaptising any Sikh who was readyto be baptised.

At Akal Ashram Sohana, Amritceremony is conducted everySunday whereas at GurdwaraNouve Patshahi at Central TownJalandhar, it is done everys e c o n d S u n d a y o f t h emonth. The Kakars are providedfree of cost.

Sehaj Paath

Veerji encouraged the sangat to dosehaj paths. He began a system inJalandhar from 1st March, 2006 inwhich he encouraged the membersof the sangat to participate in therecitation of the entire Sri GuruGranth Sahib at designatedresidences. Witihin a period ofthree months one Sehaj Path wascompleted. The path would bedone for one hour in the eveningin different homes where SikhSangat would attend to listen.

Help to the unfortunate

Every year Veerji helped needy

children from various areas inmany ways: he would distributeshoes to those children who wentbarefoot to schools; clothes andblankets to those who did nothave them; and school fees forexpenses to those who could notafford to pay and financialassistance to widows.

Anti Patit Campaigns

Veerji was very hurt andconcerned about the growingtrend amongst Sikh youth whowere cutting their hair. In order todiscourage Sikh children andyouth from cutting their hair andto inspie them to adopt the Sikhway of life, Veerji started the“Ghar Vapasi” (Back Home)campaign. This helped toconvince thousands of Sikhs toretain their Sikh identity.

Veerji was convinced once a Sikhlost connection with Gurbani, hewould not only discard the banabut would end up becoming apatit and rejecting the Sikhidentity altogether.

To prevent this, he began a“Gurcharni Laun” campaign as aresult of which thousand ofchildren began appreciating

Gurbani and the value of Sikhidentity.

With the assistance of the JalndharSangat, in particular Dr. ParamjitSingh and Bhai Amarjit SinghAnand of the Sikh MissionaryCollege and Guru Shabad ParcharSabha (Jalandhar Branch), Veerjilaunched the “Bhai Vir SinghAcademy” in Jalandhar. Theopening of the classes at thisAcademy took place in May 2007after a kirtan darbar that wasattended by Veer Daviinder SinghJi.

In August 2006, Veerji conductedprograms on the 23rd, 24th and 25 th

at the Gurdwara Dukh NiwaranSahib in Ludhiana at which he tookthe opportunity to inform thesangat about the setting up of theSukrit Trust. This was done inconjunction with Jaswinder SinghKhalsa ( Kohli, Bawa Ji) of UK andwith the assistance of the sangat inwhich Prof. Sarabjeet Singh,played a leading role.

The Sukrit Trust was set up to instill aspirit of competitiveness amongstSikh youth by getting them toparticipate in Akhand Path and kirtancompetitions. They also receivedcareer guidance and training.

Art Of Sikh Living:

Veerji was very conscious andmotivated to get the youth to livetheir ways according to Gurmat.He initiated the “Gurmat JeevanJugt” or the “Art of Sikh Living”.To commemorate and publicisethis event, a march was held inJalandhar in which thousand ofSikh ch i ldren and youthparticipated: all of them inscooters or motorcycles dressedin white with blue turbans anddupateys.

This was indeed a memorableevent.

Personal Openness:

Veerji was always open andaccessible to everyone. Neverdid keep himself aloof or makehimself inaccessible to anyonewho wanted to speak to him ormeet him.

Despite his very busy schedulein travelling all over India and hishis duties in the establishment,operation and supervision of thevarious organizations, on apersonal level, he always madetime to meet with the members of

the sangat and the visitors to theGurdwara. And he made use ofevery opportunity to encouragethem to connect with the Guru,with Gurbani, with Guru Shabadand to start doing simran.

Never at any time in his life didhe use the prefix “Sant”, “Baba”or any other honorary title toglorify himself. On the contrary,he was pleased just by beingcalled “Veerji”.

Because of his total, unflinchingcommitment, dedication and faithin Gurbani, he found all hisdesires and wishes fulfilled byGuru Ji.

Awards:

Veerji received various awardsduring his lifetime. Most notably,he was awarded the “NishkamKirtan” award on April 24th 1996by Akal Takhat Sahib.

During his talks, he always spokeabout the drug de-addiction andalways inspired the people forde-addiction, aids control, eyedonation, environmental pollutionetc. He was also instrumental inspreading the message of Shri

Guru Gobind Singh Ji for Amrits a n c h a r a n d u n d e r t o o kencouraged Sikhs wherever hewent to commit themselves forAmrit Sanchar. Thousands ofpeople were baptized as a resultof his encouragement. On theoccasion of 300th Anniversary offormation fo the Khalsa, Veerjiinspired more than 12,000people for Amrit and got thembaptized at Shri Anandpur Sahib.

In October 2003, the ShiromaniG u r d w a r a P a r b a n d h a k

C o m m i t t e econstituted a2 1 - m e m b e rR e l i g i o u sA d v i s o r yBoard (RAB),to frame rulesf o r t h eappointmentand removalof Sikh high

priests. Veerji was the leadingmember of this 21-memberReligious Advisory Board whosemandate also included theauthority to scrutinise thecomplaints being received byAkal Takht before they are takenup by the Sikh clergy. The

committee was also empoweredto initiate talks with other Panthicorganisations to resolve variousPanthic matters.

Veerji also encouraged, inspiredand blessed many others to dolikewise, including, most notably,Bhai Tejinder Singh of Simla. BhaiTejinder Singh, although not aprofessional ragi, is presently anishkaam kirtanea at SachkhandHarminder Sahib.

Veer Davinder Singh whoassumed Veerji’s Veerji’s seva atSohana after his passing wasanother individual who wasinspired to do kirtan by Veerji.

Just like this, many Sikhs invarious cities around India gainedinspiration from Veerji and formedthemselves into nishkaam kirtanijathas and are undertaking theseva of doing kirtan without anyfinancial rewards or other material

gains.

Just as Veerji focussed on one topic

during his kirtan and kathasessions, it was his desire thatother kirteaneas should likewiseconcentrate on only one topicduring each of their own kirtan andkatha sessions.

Many prominent Ragis drewinspiration from Veerji by havingtheir own annual kirtan samagamsin their own towns or residences.Included amongst them are BhaiDavinder Singh Sodhi who hasbeen having an annual samagam( the “Maha Pavitar GurmatSamagam”) in Ludhiana whereVeerji was, for the sixteen yearsbefore his passing, the first and lastperson to do kirtan.

Veerji was honoured with the BhaiNand Lal Award by Bhai Davinder

Singh Sodhi at the 16th annualMaha Pavitar Gurmat Samagam inLudhiana. As Veerji was unwell toreceive the award, Bhai Sahib wentpersonally the following day toSohana to hand it to him in person.

He was always humble andgenuinely accepted his role asbeing the servant of Guru and thesangat. Veerji did not subscribe tothe caste system and held strongbeliefs in the fundamental principlesof Gurbani.

He always preached the concept ofShabad Guru and repeatedlyencouraged the sangat to connectwith the shabad rather than physicalbeings. He provided practicalillustrations during the course of hiskatha to explain Gurbani to the layperson.

BHAI DALIP SINGH

Bhai Sahib first met Bhai JasbirSingh Khalsa Khaney Waley in 1989at Paonta Sahib. This was when BhaiJasbir Singh Ji had gone there for akirtan samagam.

They formed an instant attachmentand developed an intense love andrespect for each other that lasted for

the rest of their lives. After that firstmeeting, they continued to meetregularly at Paonta Sahib, as well asSohana. They also travelled togetherto samagams at Delhi, Mansuri,Shimla, Dehra Dun and Rishikesh.

Bhai Jasbir Singh made betweentwenty five to thirty visits toPaonta Sahib to meet Bhai Sahib.The marriage ceremonies of Bhaisahib’s elder son, Ratanjit Singh

as well as his elder daughter,Swarnjit Kaur were held atSohana and the kirtan was sungby Bhai Jasbir Singh Ji.

Such was the love and closenessbetween the two of them that

Bhai Jasbir Singh Ji attended allthe family functions of Bhai sahibat Paonta Sahib. Bhai sahib alsoused to visit Bhai Jasbir Singh at

Sohana every month or othermonth. They had a telepathicrelationship and whenever one ofthem felt a longing to be with theother, one of them would find hisway to meet the other.

Bhai Jasbir Singh was proud tostate in the sangat on variousoccasions that he accepted BhaiDalip Singh as his elder brother.He stated proudly that he receiveda gift from Paonta Sahib in thefrom of an elder brother

Travel:

As mentioned above, Veerj wasextremely close and affectionatetowards his mother. She passedaway in January 2004. It was onlyafter her death that Veerji madeseveral trips outside of India.

During his lifetime he traveledextensively within India to spreadthe message of Sikh Gurus. Mostnotably he made several trips toBombay where he is extremelypopular. He held samagams atvarious Gurdwaras from March 4th

to March 9th of every year whichwere attended by the sangat in thethousands.

He also visited Panipat as well as

the campus Akal Academy of theKalgidhar Society at Baru Sahibwhich is located at District Sirmore,in Himachal Pradesh.

Veerjiat Baru Sahib : May 2004

Because of his association with SantNaranjan Singh of Patiala, who was asewak of Sant Attar

Singh, Veerji had a very closeparticular attachment to the mission ofSant Attar Singh and the Akal

Academy of the Kalgidhar Society atBaru Sahib. He visited Baru Sahib inMay 2004.

Veerji regularly held samagams inSohana in the memory of Sant AttarSingh, an eminent Sikh spiritualleader.

Trips Abroad

After the death of his mother, Veerjimade three trips to England, in2004, 2005 and again in 2006; oneto Ireland, in 2006 two to Dubai,one to Kuwait and two to Canada,once in the summer of 2004 andagain in the summer of 2006.

The kirtan programs in Dubai wereheld in a warehouse and were verywell attended and appreciated bythe Sikh sangat of Kuwait.

In Kuwait, Mr Mohinder SinghSaini arranged for Veerj i ’sprograms which were held in thelarge basement of his residence.The basement was big enough toaccommodate the sangat of two tothree hundred Sikhs.

Veerji with members of Surrey, BC, sangat

His last trip outside of India was to theUnited Kingdom where he held

samagams at various Gurdwaras fromSeptember 5th to September 17th

2006.

All of the trips were highly successfuland thousands of Sikhs from thesecountries got to meet and listen toVeerji live; something they would nothave been able to do otherwise.

Wherever Veerjiw e n t , h es p e c i f i c a l l ymade it a pointto have hiskirtan programsin as manyGurdwaras aspossible.

He was always sensitive to the localpolitics that existed in the cities hevisited and went out of his way to avoidbeing embroiled in any frays. Hemade every effort to stay above allforms of politics and was particularlyaverse to the existing divisions withint h e G u r d w a r a m a n a g e m e n tcommittees. Not once was he evercriticized

for favouring any one faction againstanother.

The Sikh sangats of many othercountries, especially the USA and

Thailand made repeated requestsof Veerji to visit the thosecountries. The sangat in the UShad been longing to have him overto have kirtan functions both on theEast as well as the West coast,particularly in California.

The sangat in California were planningto welcome Veerji for Vasakhi in 2007.

In early August of 2006, after histrip to Canada, Veerji travelled tovarious small remote villages inIndia including Hassnapur, (UttarPardesh) Latifpur , Merrut etc. Bigcrowds welcomed Veerji to thesevillages where arrangements hadbeen made to organize camps foryoung children.

Sant Santokh Singh

Among the several notable Sikhpersonalities whoVeerji was fond ofand shared agreat deal of lovewas Sant BabaSantokh Singh ,Joti Saroop Wale.

He is known asJoti Saroop Wale

because his dhera is in front ofGurdwara Sahib Jyoti Saroop,

which is where the two youngersons of Guru Gobind Singh, BabaFateh Singh and Baba ZorawarSingh were cremated.

During his final years, Veerjibecame particularly close to SantBaba Santokh Singh Ji who is veryhighly regarded as a Bhramgianiamongst Sikhs who share into andwho are knowledgeable aboutSikh personalities. Veerji used tomeet Sant Ji as often as in couldin the last few years before hispassing.

Gurdwaras Sahib Jyoti Saroop

In March 2006, Veerji inauguratedthe premier show of ShaheedanDe Sartaj, a religious filmdedicated to the 400th martyrdomday of the fifth Guru of the SikhsShri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, in theauditorium of Shivalik PublicSchool, Phase-VI, Mohali. Whichwas produced and directed byHardeep Singh, from Mohali.

Inspiration:

Veerji acted as an inspiration tothousands of Sikhs worldwide. Hehelped needy people irrespectiveof caste and creed. His melodiousrecitation of Gurbani Kirtan isbeing heard worldwide through thecountless recordings that weredone during his lifetime.

Those who knew him, knew thathe was a tireless worker and onewho was always thinking, talkingand discussing about how to helpthe less fortunate, the under-privileged, the sick and the needy.

Lately he had become veryconcerned about the absence ofSikh individuals in their Sikhisaroop at high positions in the civilservice and the beaucracy in India.He had a strong desire to correctthis: by training and coaching,qualified candidates for the civilservice examinations in India.

He was always pleased to seeSikhs in Sikhi saroop who weresuccessful in business, in theprofessions or in the civil service.

He had a desire to create a“network” of such like mindedindividuals who could work

collectively for the panth.

There is not doubt that had Veerjimade a few more trips to NorthAmerica and Europe, he wouldhave helped establish a form ofn e t wo rk i n g amon gs t S ik hprofessionals from differentcoun t r ies . He took eve ry

opportunity tomention thenames of thepeople whoimpressed himso that thew o r l d w i d esangat got toknow suchindividuals andr e c o g n i s e d

their contributions.

He did not confine the gift of kirtanto himself but shared it withcountless others. As a result of hisinspiration, individuals fromvarious town and cities began tosing kirtan and set up “Nishkaam”kirtani jathas, Gurshabad ParchaarSahbas, and Gursikh Istri Satsangsabhas.

300th Gur ta Gaddi Celebrations

Veerji did his utmost during thevarious centennials that have

been celebrated by the Sikhpanth. He did all that he couldto spread and propagate themessage of the Gurus asstated in the Sri Guru GranthSahib. He was extremelyexcited about the upcomingtercentenary celebrations ofGur ta Gaddi to be celebratedin remembrance of the 300th

year of the consecration ofGURU GRANTH SAHIB in2008.

The tercentenary celebration ofGur-Ta-Gaddi to be celebrated is ofgreat relevance to the SikhCommunity. This involves theremembrance of the 300th year ofthe consecration of Shri. GuruGovind Singh Maharaj as eternalGuru of Sikh community by GuruGobind Singhji. The event will alsoc o m m e m o r a t e t h e 3 0 0 t hanniversary of the Parlok Gaman ofGuru Gobind Singhji.

To commemorate this event, Veerji,with the assistance of Bhai PrithpalSingh, the President of GurdwaraDukh Niwaran Sahib, Ludhiana,organized and participated incelebrations at Dukh Niwaran

S a h i b ,Ludhiana fromS e p t e m b e r22nd 2006 toSeptember 24th

2006 ( jus tthree weeksbefo re h ispassing).

T h i ss a m a g a m

was titled “Gurshabad BibekSamagam”. It was an occasiona t wh ich lead ing S ikhpersonalities and academicsgathered and spoke on themain ideas and top icscontained in the

Sri Guru Granth Sahib.Amongst others, the HeadGranti of Sri Harmandir Sahib,Singh sahib Giani

Gurbachan Singh Ji spoke onthe topic of “Guru Granth andGuru Panth”.

Veerji’s passing:

Veerji left for Sachkhand onOctober 14th 2006.

He suffered a heart attackwhen he was at Gurdwara AkalAshram in Sohana. He wasimmediately taken to Shri GuruHarkrishan Charitable Hospitalbut doctors were unable tosave his life.

Veerji’s body was kept in amortuary in Fortis Hospital for anight and the cremation tookplace the next day, i.e. October15th 2006.

In the morning the body wasbrought from the mortuary ofthe Fortis hospital to Veerji’sresidence in Phase VII, Mohaliand after rituals it was taken tothe gurdwara premises. Kirtanand prayers continued at thegurdwara and thousands stoodin long queues to have the lastDarshan.

A ‘shok’ march left from fromGurdwara Gur Shabad Parkash AkalAshram, Sohana at midday. It passedthrough Ambwala chowk, the PhaseVII market, the PTL chowk and thento the cremation ground in Phase VIMohali. Veerji’s body was carried in aflower-bedecked tractor-trailer fromthe premises of the Gurdwara.

Devo tees in la rge numbersaccompanied the body in differentvehicles and also gathered at someplaces along the route. Cold waterwas served to the sangat at differentpoints on the route.

Although the cremation wasscheduled for 1 pm, it got delayedby about three hours because ofthe rush of followers and othermourners. Kirtan was performedb y B h a i T e j i n d e r S i n g hShimlewale and Bhai Amrik SinghJakhmi at the cremation groundwhile the mourners waited for the

arrival of the body.

Amrik Singh Zakhmi

A huge number of mourners, whohad been waiting for hours at thecremation ground, surged forwardto have a glimpse of their belovedVeerji when the body reachedthere. They showered flowerpetals on the body.

A wreath, on behalf of the PunjabChief Minister, was placed on thebody by Mr A.S. Miglani,Additional Deputy Commissioner,Mohali. Another wreath wasplaced on behalf of the DeputyCommissioner by the SDM, MrSandeep Hans.

Shardanjali samagams:

After Veerji’s passing, Shardanjalisamagams to pay tributes toVeerji were held in various partsof the world. The main samagamwas held at Gurdwara AkaalAshram in Sohana on October

22nd 2006.

Among those who attended the bhogwere Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti,Jathedar Akal Takht, Giani TirlochanSingh Jathedar Keshgarh Sahib,Giani Balwant Singh Khalsa JathedarDamdama Sahib, Giani Iqbal SinghJathedar Patna Sahib.

The bhog ceremony was performedunder the guidance of new Chairmanof the trust Bhai Devinder Singh.

Veer Davinder Singh being honoured at theShardanjali samagam

Bhai Devinder Singh concluded theceremony with kirtan. He alsoaddressed the gathering and told thesangat that he would follow theguidelines of ‘Veerji’ and will fulfill all

his dreams.

Other personalities who performedkirtan on the occasion are SantAnoop Singh Unewale, Bhai HarbansSingh Jagadhariwale, Bhai DevinderSingh Riar, Bhai Jaswant Singh, BhaiTejinder Singh Simlawale, and BhaiManjit Singh, Bhai Ravinder Singh,Bhai Balwinder Singh Rangila andBhai Manpreet Singh Kanpur Wale.

Bhai Gurmej Singh atthe Shardanjali samagam

Bhai Gurmej Singh, former HeadRagi of Sri Harminder Sahib didkirtan and sang the shabad“Gurmukh Sadey Jaan AwanGhalleya”.

M a n y p r o m i n e n t S i k h

personalities who were unable toattend the shardanjli havesubsequently paid their respectsand recorded their tributes whichcan be heard in mp3 format onwww.panthrattan.com.

Samagams were also held inEngland, Vancouver, B.C and atToronto, Ontario.

A RainsbhaiK e e r t a n ,organised byA k h a n dKirtani JathaUK at SinghS a b h aG u r d w a r aS a h i b ,ILFORD, onSaturday 21stOctober to

commemorate the GurgaddiDivas Guru Granth Sahib Ji wasalso dedicated to Veerji.

In India Shardanjli samagamscontinue to be held at variouscities including Ludhiana andJalandhar.

Veerji was more than deservingof this award. No other Sikhduring the current times evencomes close to being able to

match what Veerji did andaccomplished during his lifetime.He was a nishakaam kirtean andone who was anxious to spreadthe concept of Nishkaam kirtan.

He was unique in that despite hisimmense popularity he never hadthe prefix “baba” or “sant” to hisname.

The Shardanjali samagam at Sohana

He was unique in that instead ofconstructing an endless number ofGurdwaras, he established andpromoted charitable causes to helpthe less fortunate, the under-privileges the sick and the needy.

He had the foresight and desire tobring about change where itmattered most i.e. in thepromotion of education andqualified Sikhs who could act asrole models to the youngergeneration.

Veerji also had the foresight to

realise that it was necessary andimportant for him to appoint a

successor during his lifetime –someone who could carry on withthe seva. On December 14, 2003Bhai Sahib, , while addressing alarge gathering of Sangatannounced the name of BhaiDevinder Singh Ji as hissuccessor.

The choice of Davinder Singhprovided some solace to thesangat in the knowledge that anoble and spiritual person hadbeen personally handpicked byVeerji and that all the good workthat Veerji had began will becarried on.

And After the demise of BhaiSahib, Bhai Devinder Singh tooko v e r a s C h a i r m a n , o nOct.17,2006, of Sri GuruHarkrishan Sahib (C ) EyeHospital Trust (established in1983) which runs Sri GuruHarkrishan Sahib Multi-Specialtyand Eye Hospitals at Sohana(1995), Khanna (2003) andSirhind (2003) under the auspicesof Gurdwara Gur-Shabad ParkashAkal Ashram (1983) Sohana andwas conferred the title of ‘Veer Ji'by Sangat .

Panth Rattan Award:

On 22nd October 2006 during theShardanjali ceremony held at

Sohana, Jathedar Avtar SinghMakkar, President of the of ShiromaniGurdwara Parbandhak Committee,announced the award of “Panthrattan”for Veerji.

The SGPC President also announcedthat the SGPC would cooperate in allrespects to complete the projectsstarted by Bhai Jasbir Singh Khalsa.

Panthrattan award ceremony

On July 17th 2007, the Secretaryof the SGPC sent a letter to BibiDaljit Kaur inviting her to attend afo rma l ceremony fo r thepresentation of the Panthrattanaward.

The award was fo rma l l y

presented at Sri Akal Takth

Sahib on August 4th 2007. It waspresented to Daljit Kaur, widow ofBhai Jasbir Singh, by Jathedar,Akal Takht, Joginder SinghV e d a n t i , B a l w a n t S i n g hNandgarh, Jathedar, TakhtDamdama Sahib, Giani TarlochanSingh, Takht Kesgarh Sahib, andSGPC chief Avtar Singh at Akal

Prof Darshan Singh at the Shardan-jali samagam held for Veerji in To-ronto at Dixie Gurdwaras Sahib on

Sangat at the Shardanjali samagam

held for Veerji at Sohana on October22nd 2006

Takht here.

She was given a silver plate, SriSahib, siropa and a cheque for Rs5 lakh.

In his speech at the awardpresentat ion ceremony, thePresident of the SGPC, AvtarSingh Makkar praised Bhai sahibfor his selfless and dedicatedservice to humanity. Mr,. Makkarsaid that Bhai Sahib had spent hisentire life preaching Sikhism andperforming seva. It was in

recognition of the noble work ofthis great Gursikh that the SGPChad decided to confer the award ofPanthrattan on him.

Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, theJathedar of the Akal Takth said hisspeech that Bhai Sahib was anillustrious example of a personwho was immersed in ShabadGuru. He was one with the Guruand had spent his entire life trying

to connect the sangat to the Guru.Bhai Sahib’s kirtan was blissfuland his spread the fragrance of hiskirtan throughout his life. JathedarVedanti mentioned that Bahi Sahibhad carried out all is work withoutany financial expectation and notfor any monetary gain.

Bhai sahib’s whole family including

his two sons, Jagmohan Singh andJatinder Mohan Singh were alsopresented with siropaos.

Prior to the formal presentation ofthe award, Bhai Davinder Singhj Jiof Sohana and Bhai Baldev Singhsang Gurbani kirtan at theceremony.

Others present at the awardceremony included Jathedar SinghSahib Tarlochan Singh (ofKeshgarh Sahib), Giani BalwantSingh Nandgarh (Jathedar ofTakth Sri Damdama Sahib,Talwandi Sabo), Giani Gurbachan

Singh (Head Granthi of Sri DarbarSahib), Giani Mohan Singh(Additional Head Granthi of SriDarbar Sahib), Singh Sahib MalSingh, Sahib Jaswinder Singh,Sukhdev Singh Bhaur (Secretaryof SGPC), Rajinder Singh Mehta,Suba Singh Dubwala (member ofSGPC) , Amrik Singh ShahpurGoriyan, Karnail Singh Panjoli,Hardalbir Singh Shah (Member ofDharam Parchar Committee),Inderjit Singh Bittu (NishkaamSevak Jatha, U.K.) , Dr. JasbirSingh Sabar, Harbeant Singh,Dalmegh Singh, Waryam Singh,Roop Singh (Additional Secretary,SGPC) , Joginder Singh Adliwal,Ranvir Singh, Dal j i t Singh(Assistant Secretary), Satbir Singh,Mahinder Singh, Harbhajan Singh(Manager of Sri Darbar Sahib), aswell as representatives fromvarious other Sikh organisations.