This great soul has gone home and is now in the lap of the Guru. He managed to live until 2015. Below are some gems from his life which was extraordinary and full of devotion.
Bhai Jeevan Singh jee is one the Panth's jewels who is the image of humility and saintliness. Bhai Sahib's life has been devoted to the sevaa of the Panth and humanity. He has served as the Head Granthi at Takhat Sri Patna Sahib and has done keertan sevaa with the Akhand Kirtani Jatha for about 40 years. Since 1977 Bhai Sahib has toured different countries to spread Gurmat (the Guru's teachings) and has inspired countless to become the Sikhs of the Guru through his exemplary character and behaviour. For the last couple of years, with old age and ill-health, Bhai Sahib has not been able travel and is very frail. Sadly, I have never had the opportunity to have Sangat with Bhai Sahib jee, however Guru jee blessed me with Bhai Sahib's darshan last February in India at their home in Amritsar. Due to Bhai Sahib's health at the time he was unable to move around or talk. Waheguru. May Guru jee keep such Gursikhs in Chardi Kalaa and may we all become inspired to improve our own jeevan (spiritual life) with Guru Sahib's kirpaa.
Bhai
Sahib Randheer Singh jee doing keertan alongside Bhai Jeevan Singh
jee in 1953 at Model Town, Ludhiana.
SOME
INSPIRATIONAL ACCOUNTS FROM
BHAI JEEVAN SINGH JEE'S
LIFE
(Collected from Gursikhs and from the Internet)
Meetings with Giani Baba Kartar Singh Jee (Bhindran Wale)
Bhai Jeevan Singh jee used to be invited by Giani Baba Kartar Singh jee Bhindran Wale to do Keertan at Mehtaa. It has been said that Baba jee would wait at the train station for Bhai Sahib and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha Singhs to come. When Bhai Sahib jee used to get off the train Baba jee would rush to the train to greet Bhai Sahib. When they would meet they would embrace one another with so much pyaar. Baba jee held Bhai Sahib jee in great regard. Baba jee himself would serve Bhai Jeevan Singh jee langar with his own hands. Whenever Bhai Jeevan Singh jee would enter the Diwaan where Baba Kartar Singh jee would be doing Kathaa, Baba jee would stop the Kathaa and say request Gurmukh pyaare Bhai Jeevan Singh jee to do keertan for the Sangat.
There was a young Singh in England
who had taken Amrit for about a year. His Amrit-velaa (habit to wake
up early) started getting slack. He used to do Amrit-velaa with
Gursikhs regularly at a Gursikh's house but he gradually stopped
attending daily. One day, early in the morning at Amrit-velaa, the
Singh was asleep and hadn't woken up for Amrit-velaa. His father was
at work on the night shift and his mother was up doing her paath when
suddenly the phone rang. Bhai Jeevan Singh jee said, "Is
bhaji there?" The Aunty jee replied, "No, he is
working on a night shift." Bhai Sahib said, "No,
I am not talking about Pita jee. Is Bhaji there." (Bhai
Sahib always makes himself out to be the youngest, such is his
humility). The Aunty jee rushed up to wake up the young Singh and
tell him to answer the phone. The Singh shared the Guru's Fateh over
the phone with Bhai Sahib and then Bhai Sahib said, "Bhai
ji, you haven't done kirpaa (mercy) on me today, it is Amrit-vela,
and you forgot to wake me." There was a silence. The Singh
felt so embarrassed for missing Amrit-vela. The Aunty jee and son
looked at one another wondering how Bhai Sahib living in Canada knew
that he had missed Amritvela that day.
Accepting
Akaal Purakh's Will
Bhai Sahib visited a family in England in the
late 1980s and stayed at the house for Akhand Paath sevaa. Bhai Sahib
listened the Paath for many hours and corrected the Paathis (readers)
when they made a grammatical or pronunciation error. Seven or eight
years later Bhai Sahib came back to England and was invited to the
same family. Several years earlier the Singh whose house it was had
passed away. When Bhai Sahib jee asked the lady about her husband she
became emotional and as soon as this happened Bhai Sahib jee went
upstairs in Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee's room and stayed there. He
never came down and after a good 4-5 hours the bibi asked her
daughter to ask Bhai Sahib jee to come down. The girl went upstairs
and found Bhai Sahib jee sitting in smaadhee (meditative pose). She
asked them to come downstairs, to which Bhai Sahib replied that she
should tell her mum that he will only come downstairs after her mum
accepts the Bhaana (Will) of Akaal Purakh and not to become emotional
about her husband. The Bibi agreed and Bhai Sahib jee came down and
later did keertan at the house.
Bumping
into a Mona
One evening, the Gursikhs had just finished doing
kirtan at Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Slough (England). A Singh phoned and
said that had booked kirtan in Hounslow, and that the Gursikhs should
come straight away. Bhai Jeevan Singh jee said, "Lets go
quickly, we should always be on time". As Bhai Jeevan Singh
jee, his singhni (wife), and two other Singhs walked downstairs into
the shoes section, a mona (man with hair cut) was walking in to the
Gurdwara. Accidentally, he bumped into Bhai sahib. He
said "sorry," and looked into Bhai sahib's face.
Those who know Bhai sahib know how enigmatic his smile is, and how
his face always shines. Bhai sahib said to him, "I came
here especially to see you, I have something for you." Bhai
sahib then took off his dastaar (turban) and handed it to the youth.
The mona youth could not believe his eyes; Bhai sahib said these
words to him with so much honesty, pyaar (lovingness) and humility
that from that day on the boy kept his kesh and came into Sikhi.
Bhai
Sahib at World Sikh Samellen
In 1995 Professor Manjit Singh, the
then Jathedaar of Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib called a World Sikh Samellan
(conference). Every Gurdwara, Sikh organization and jatha (group)
from around the world was invited and many days were spent discussing
Panthic (Sikh national) issues affecting Sikhs. Thousands of Sikhs
gathered, including all the big leaders and personalities within the
Panth. Many people such as political leaders were centred on
themselves and wanted special treatment, but everyone was treated
equally. No dignitary received special attention. However for some
reason the Panj Jathedars of the five Takhats sat on a sofa in the
complex where this was happening. As the A-Z of Sikh leadership sat
in the sangat on the floor, a simple Gursikh walked into the complex
building. He walked in humbly, did matha tekh, and went to sit in the
sangat. However straight away, the Jathedaars got up and ran over to
him, and said to him, he must sit on the sofa. Totally embarrassed he
refused. But they brought him over and sat him on the sofa. He sat
uncomfortably because he was not one for that kind of attention. That
Gursikh was Bhai Jeevan Singh jee. It goes to show how highly Bhai
sahib, his jeevan, his seva, and his nimarta is respected in the
Panth, that only he was singled out for such attention. It is the
virtues of Guru, such pure humility, that pulls at peoples
hearts.
Great
humility
A Muslim man passed by Bhai Sahib somewhere and he
stopped and looked at Bhai Sahib's face. The man goes up to Bhai
Jeevan Singh jee and says "I can see 'Allah Da Noor' (the
Light of God) in you". Bhai Sahib folded his hands and
humbly said,"O great man! Can you please give me your wonderful
eyes with which you see such wonderful things." Another
time, there was Sangat sitting in Canada and someone approached Bhai
Sahib with a question in front of others. He said, "Bhai
Sahib, you tell us - as you have met God." Bhai Sahib
replied with a humble and astonished "Achaa? (O
really?)" and walked away.
Despite
ill-health
Bhai Jeevan Singh jee now lives 5-10 minutes away from
Sri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. Bhai Sahib would occasionally go and do
keertan seva there whenever it was his turn/duty. One day his wife
locked the door of his room to make sure he didn't go to do keertan
seva that day because Bhai Sahib was very sick and she knew that Bhai
Sahib would still want to go to Sri Darbaar Sahib. When his wife
turned on the television she saw Bhai Sahib doing keertan (I think it
was Asa Di Vaar keertan). She brought someone else to the television
and showed them and they said it's probably a recording. Still in
doubt they opened the locked room and went in and found that the
window was wide open and Bhai Jeevan Singh jee no where to be found.
He had jumped out of the window somehow and went to do keertan seva
even though he was really sick. This was the dedication of a beloved
Gursikh for his Guru.