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With the large number of "spiritual paths" and "techniques" facing the world of today it is of special value to consider the life and insights of one who truly embraced the simplicity, love and freedom offered through devotion to Christ (Yesu Bhaktan).
Sundar Singh was raised a devout Sikh, and consecrated from his youth to become a Hindu sadhu. However, his spiritual longings were not fulfilled until emotional and spiritual turmoil drove him to urgently ask the true living God to reveal Himself fully, lest he take his own life in the hope of finding peace in the next. The outcome was strikingly similar to that described in Acts 9:3-5 of the Bible's New Testament. Thereafter, the born again Sadhu became a living witness of the eternal security, peace and comfort he had freely received.
"Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)
The Sadhu spoke of his own experience -- the Rest and Peace which he enjoys (Bisram, Santi, Aram). Previously he had no lack of everything which the world could give -- wealth, family etc., but he did not enjoy Peace through them. But in Christ he had found peace (Santi) when he realized his relationship with Him. A doctor friend of the Sadhu's related that a man whose arm was broken through an accident came to him and said, "Doctor, my arm is very painful. Take the pain away for me." The doctor told him that first of all the two broken bones must be set and be knit together; then the swelling and the pain would go away of themselves. In the same way people want peace and they want blessings but they don't want to come into right relationship with God, the Giver of blessing. When we come into this right relationship with Him, our restlessness will go and in its stead we shall have wonderful peace.
"When a man is in a state of sin, he has no sense of sin. A man dives into the water. On his head are lakhs of maunds of water but he does not feel their weight at all. But on coming out of the water if he lifts a vesselful of water he thoroughly understands how heavy the water is. In the same way, when a man is sunk in sin he has no sense of sin, but once he is delivered he is conscious of the least sin."
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
"He was searching for me before I sought Him. Christ whom I had never expected came to me. I was praying, 'If there be a God, reveal Thyself'...I was praying to Hindu gods and incarnations. But when He came there was no anger in His face, even though I had burnt the Bible three days before. None of you have ever destroyed Scripture like me. He is such a wonderful, loving, living Saviour..."
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me...I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." (John 14:1-6)
"I am wholly and completely satisfied. Those who will follow Him will know Him, but we can't know Him unless we live with Him. For years I tried but I couldn't find. When I used to know about Him I used to hate Him, but He revealed Himself to me..."
"Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29)
"But," said the Sadhu, "the Lord had no other means but to appear to me personally, for there was just half-an-hour left before I should have committed suicide." I am not ashamed to suffer for Him, I know Him whom I have believed -- not I have known about Him or have heard preaching about Him, but I know Him. [Apostle] Paul could say this because he lived with Him and for Him..."
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His Family & Religious Background
One hundred and twelve years ago on September 1889, Sundar Singh was born to Sher Singh of Rampur, Punjab in northern India. His mother, a deeply religious woman, nurtured him in the noble traditions of the Sikhs. Sundar often spoke of his mother with much love and respect because of the good foundation she laid for his life to come. Little did anyone know what God was about to do with this keenly intelligent and disciplined young man.
He was raised in the luxury of his family's wealth. As a Sikh, Sundar was taught about Hinduism and came along with his parents to Hindu and Sikh temples. By the age of seven he had already memorized Bhagavadgita, the intricate Hindu dialogue containing spiritual life lessons. At sixteen, not only had he mastered the Vedas, the ancient sacred books of Hinduism, but he had also read Qur'an, the sacred book of Islam. He then got acquainted with some sadhus who taught him Yoga. A sadhu is a Hindu who devotes his entire life to his religion and forsakes all the worldly pleasures. Sundar remained single and jobless. He travelled all over India wearing a yellow robe without any food and without having any permanent residence. He lived only on the charity of others.
The life of Sadhu Sundar Singh was most remarkable in its Christ-likeness. Being born amidst the depths of Indian culture and religion, and into a Sikh family, during the early part of his life Sundar's mother would take him week by week to sit at the feet of a sadhu, an ascetic holy man, who lived some distance away in the rainforest. It was his mother who first encouraged him to become a sadhu. She once told him, "Do not be selfish and materialistic like your brothers, but seek for your peace of mind and hold steadily onto your faith. Be a sadhu." However, he never achieved peacefulness in his meditations. Owing to his mother's connections with some women from a British mission in Rajpur, Sundar was able to enter the school run by the missionaries. It was there that Sundar was first exposed to the Bible. He wasn't interested in the Bible at that time. Instead, he ardently buried himself in Hinduism and yogic practices.
His Encounter with Christ
But with the death of his beloved mother when he was only fourteen years old, his life had changed dramatically. The young Sundar grew increasingly despairing and aggressive. Convinced that what Jesus had taught was completely wrong, he tore the Bible apart and burned it. He even threw stones at preachers and encouraged others to do likewise. His hatred of the local missionaries and Christians culminated in the public burning of a Bible which he tore apart page by page and threw into the flames.
Still, however hard he tried, he couldn't find the peace he had been seeking for in his own religion. He reached a point in his life where committing suicide crossed his mind. Yet before long Sundar was intent on taking his own life. Sundar had arrived at a point of desperation: he had decided to throw himself under the Ludhiana express if God did not reveal to him the true way of peace.
Three days after he burned the Bible in front of his father, he woke up at three in the morning and went out into the moonlit courtyard for the ceremonial bath observed by devout Hindus and Sikhs before worship. He then returned to his room and knelt down, bowed his head to the ground and pleaded that God would reveal himself. Yet nothing happened. He was thinking of throwing himself in front of the train that would pass at 5 a.m. every morning behind their house, in the hope that he would find peacefulness in his future reincarnation.
He had not known what to expect: a voice, a vision, a trance? Still nothing happened, and it was fast approaching the time for the Ludhiana express. He repeated his prayer once again. He lifted his head and opened his eyes, and was rather surprised to see a faint cloud of light in the room. It was too early for the dawn. He opened the door and peered out to the courtyard. Darkness. Turning back into the room he saw that the light in the room was getting brighter. At first he feared that the room was on fire. But nothing happened. He then thought that it might be an answer to his prayer. While watching the light, he suddenly saw Jesus' figure in the radiance. To his sheer amazement he saw not the face of any of his traditional gods, but of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus Christ was there in the room, shining, radiating an inexpressible joy and peace and love, looking at him with compassion and asking, "Why do you persecute me? I died for you ..." [Acts 9:1-5] At that time, Sundar realized that Jesus was not dead but alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.
Thereafter his life was transformed. He wanted to be baptized. Although his family tried to prevent him from his intention, he was determined. In 1905, on his birthday, he was baptized in an English church in Simla. At that time, he decided to become a sadhu, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. As a sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others, abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to. In addition, he also wanted to be free to devote himself to the Lord.
Having become a Christian, he was renounced by his father and ostracized by his family. On October 16 1905, Sundar wearing a yellow robe, barefooted and without provisions, resumed his nomadic life from village to village, but this time he followed in Jesus' footsteps. From here on the life of Sundar Singh became most Christ-like. Being unwilling to denounce his Master in the face of his family's rejection, Sundar took the saffron robes of the sadhu and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.
"I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord," he said, "but like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all people of the love of God."
His Travel Experiences
In 1906, he went to Tibet for the first time. That country attracted him, primarily because of the great challenges it presented against evangelism. "There will be very strong opposition and persecution there. High above the tranquil snowclad Himalayan peaks, there will be a lot of time and opportunities to meet God and to read the Bible," he thought. On his way to Tibet, he met Stoker, an American missionary who also wore a yellow robe. Sometimes they spent the night together under a tree or in a mountain cave at an altitude of 5000 meters above sea level, without enough food. Happily they endured all the hardship for the sake of spreading the Gospel. When Sundar became ill, Stoker got them a place to stay in a house belonging to a European. Inspired by Sundar's faithfulness towards God and sincere love towards other people, the host repented his sins and gave his life to serving the Lord.
Following the advice of his friends, Sadhu enrolled himself in St.John School of Theology in Lahore. After studying for two years there, he resumed his travel. An eyewitness reported his experience with Sundar, "I encountered Sundar Singh as he was walking down a mountain trail to proclaim the Gospel to us. He then sat on top of a tree, wiped the sweat off his face and sang a hymn about the love of Jesus to us. The audience was not impressed by the song. One man came forward from the audience, pulled Sundar down from the tree and knocked him to the ground. Silently, Sundar got to his feet and began praying for these hostile people. He then told us about the love of Jesus who had died to redeem all sinners. Because of that I repented and so did the attacker." That was not the only time when Sundar won souls for the Lord by adhering to Jesus' instruction which says, "Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too." (Matthew 5:39).
One day in Nepal, Sundar was ambushed by four robbers in the middle of a jungle. One of them brandished a sword. Meekly, Sundar bowed his head thinking that his life was about to end. This attitude surprised the perpetrators. Since he was penniless, they took his blanket away from him and let him go. But then, one of the robbers called him back and curiously asked his name. Sundar introduced himself, opened his Bible and started telling him the story of the rich man and Lazarus the poor. The robber said that the end of the rich man's life was unpleasant and asked what would happen to himself. Sundar then told him about the Gospel and God's forgiveness. The robber took Sundar home with him and repented.
In 1912 Sundar decided to imitate Jesus' seclusion and fasting for 40 days even though his friends advised him against it. He failed to fast for 40 days because he became weak. However the experience strengthened his spirit. He could thus overcome all doubts, anger and impatience.
In the following years, he was often persecuted but he was also miraculously delivered by the Lord. In 1914, Sundar preached in Nepal, a country with a very strong root of Buddhism. In the town of Rasa, he was sentenced to death by a local Lama on the grounds of spreading a foreign religion. He was thrown into a dry well the top of which was then covered and locked from the outside. He was without food and drink, naked inside the well together with corpses of executed murderers. He stayed in the horrible well for 2 days until a stranger came and helped him out of the well. After relocking the well, the stranger left without saying anything. Not long after that, Sundar was recaptured and taken to the Lama. The Lama was very surprised since he had always kept the only key to the well with him. Realizing that Sundar was under the protection of a very powerful God, they became fearful of him and begged him to leave them.
In 1918, Sundar visited Madras where thousands of people gathered to listen to him preach. There Sundar focussed his preaching on Jesus Christ the redeemer. He testified, "Jesus' presence always brought astonishing peace to me no matter how bad the situations I was in. Whenever I was in a prison, he was always there for me. He transformed the jail into a heaven and the burdens became blessings. There are many Christians who do not feel His glorious presence as something real. Because for them Jesus only occurs in their minds and not in their hearts. Only when someone surrenders his heart to Jesus can he find Him."
Sundar often used parables in his preachings. He once said, "One day after a long journey, I rested in front of a house. Suddenly a sparrow came towards me blown helplessly by a strong wind. From another direction, an eagle dived to catch the panicky sparrow. Threatened from different directions, the sparrow flew into my lap. By choice, it would not normally do that. However, the little bird was seeking for a refuge from a great danger. Likewise, the violent winds of suffering and trouble blow us into the Lord's protective hands."
Sadhu Sundar Singh journeyed much. He travelled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe, Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and Amsterdam among others. Sundar remained modest despite his fame. His attitude made his father repent. Sundar never thought of himself. He only desired to follow Jesus' example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his enemies by love. This attitude often caused his enemies to feel ashamed of themselves. Once, he was preaching in a public market when a fanatic from a different religion suddenly punched his right cheek. Calmly, Sundar turned his left cheek towards the assailant. The attacker left. But that night Sundar received a message from the attacker asking for forgiveness. On another occasion, Sundar told some harvesters about the parable of the weeds. They became annoyed and cursed him. One of them threw a stone at Sundar's head. At that instant, the stone thrower was struck by such a painful headache that he had to lie down on the ground. Without hesitations, Sundar took over that man's chore and helped them harvest the crops. They soon became friendly to him and invited him home. Their hearts were then open to the Gospel. The next day after Sundar left, they noticed that their harvest became more abundant.
His Mission & Fate
Being unwilling to denounce his Master in the face of his family's rejection, Sundar took the saffron robes of the sadhu and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.
"I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord," he said, "but like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all people of the love of God."
He travelled India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer. In 1929, he visited that country again and was never seen since. Sundar manifested into his life the verse written in Mark 8:35 which says, "For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it."
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Sundar Singh was lauded by 20th century evangelical Christians for converting to Christianity around the turn of the century. Even in the 1970s Sundar was highly thought of by evangelical Christians. At that time I heard a Christian radio dramatization of the story of Sundar's miraculous conversion and his dangerous preaching journeys to India and Tibet, and I bought two books that told his story at evangelical Christian bookstores. The evangelical Christian apologist, Josh McDowell of Josh McDowell ministries, cited Sundar's conversion in the first and second editions of McDowell's book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. While reading the evangelical versions of Sundar's life and teachings, I never once ran across Sundar's universalistic statements, not until I read Sundar's own works, along with some of the in-depth biographies that had been written about him nearer his own day.
Sundar was raised a member of the Sikh religion. (Sikhism is a sect within Hinduism that was founded about 1500 A.D. that teaches belief in one God and rejects the caste system and idolatry.) Prior to his conversion, Sundar attended a primary school run by the American Presbyterian Mission where the New Testament was read daily as a "textbook." Sundar "refused to read the Bible at the daily lessons...To some extent the teaching of the Gospel on the love of God attracted me, but I still thought it was false." Though according to another testimony, Sundar confessed, "Even then, I felt the Divine attractiveness and wonderful power of the Bible."
In the midst of such confusion and while only fourteen years old, his mother died, and Sundar underwent a crisis of faith. His mother was a loving saintly woman and they were very close. In his anger, Sundar burned a copy of one of the Gospels in public.
"Although I believed that I had done a very good deed by burning the Bible, I felt unhappy," he said. Within three days Sundar Singh could bear his misery no longer. Late one night in December 1903, he rose from bed and prayed that God reveal himself to him if he really existed. Otherwise -- "I planned to throw myself in front of the train which passed by our house." For seven hours Sundar Singh prayed. "O God, if there is a God, reveal thyself to me tonight." The next train was due at five o'clock in the morning. The hours passed.
Suddenly the room filled with a glow. A man appeared before him. Sundar Singh heard a voice say, "How long will you deny me? I died for you; I have given my life for you." He saw the man's hands, pierced by nails.
Jesus was the last person Sundar was looking for. After all, Jesus was the 'foreign god' of the Christian teachers at his school… Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected form of Jesus, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Jesus was the true Savior, and that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.
To meet Christ was only the beginning for Sundar Singh. He was a Sikh. Sikhs had endured terrible persecutions in their early history. As a consequence they were fiercely loyal to their faith and to each other. Conversion to Christianity was considered treachery. Now every effort was made to woo or coerce Sundar Singh back to his ancestral faith.
Despite his family's please, bribes, and threats, Sundar wanted to be baptized in the Christian faith. After his father spoke words of official rejection over him, Sundar became an outcast from his people. He cut off the hair he had worn long like every Sikh man. Against great opposition, he was baptized on his birthday in 1905, in an English church in Simla.
Conventional Indian churches were willing to grant him a pulpit, but their rules were foreign to his spirit. Indeed, he felt that a key reason the gospel was not accepted in India was because it came in a garb foreign to Indians. He decided to become a sadhu, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to. As a sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others, abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. In this lifestyle, he was free to devote himself to the Lord. Dressed in his thin yellow robe, Sundar Singh took to the road and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.
"I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord," he said, "but like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all people of the love of God."
Sundar journeyed much. He traveled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe, Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and Amsterdam among others. Despite his growing fame, Sundar retained a modest nature, desiring only to follow Jesus' example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his enemies by love. This attitude often caused his enemies to feel ashamed of themselves, and caused even his father to become a Christian later in life, and to support Sundar in ministry.
He was quite independent of outward Church authority in all his religious life, thought, and work. He dropped out of a Christian seminary that he briefly attended. Neither did he attach much importance to public worship because in his experience the heart prays better in solitude than in a congregation. He was also highly displeased with what he found when he toured western nations that for centuries had the benefit of the Bible and whose central figure of worship was Jesus. Sundar proclaimed almost prophetic denunciations upon Western Christianity, and laughed at the way the West looked down upon religious men of the East as mere "pagans" and "heathens." "People call us heathens," he said in a conversation with the Archbishop of Upsala. "Just fancy! My mother a heathen! If she were alive now she would certainly be a Christian. But even while she followed her ancestral faith she was so religious that the term 'heathen' makes me smile. She prayed to God, she served God, she loved God, far more warmly and deeply than many Christians."
On another occasion, Sundar said, "I have seen many Christian women, but none of them came up to my mother." And, conversing with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sundar said: "If I do not see my mother in heaven, I shall ask God to send me to hell so that I may be with her." Sundar also made plain his view that, "There are many more people among us in India who lead a spiritual life than in the West, although they do not know or confess Christ. It is of course true that people who live in India worship idols; but here in England people worship themselves, and that is still worse. Idol-worshippers seek the truth, but people over here, so far as I can see, seek pleasure and comfort. The people of the West understand how to use electricity and how to fly in the air. The men of the East have sought the truth. Of the three Wise Men who went to Palestine to see Jesus not one was from the West.'"
He travelled India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer. In 1929, he visited that country again and was never seen again.
Sundar's Faith for All Mankind
Few Christians know that Sundar was not afraid to raise his voice in favor of "universalism." He could never deny to all non-Christians the possibility of entering heaven. In 1925 Sundar wrote, "If the Divine spark in the soul cannot be destroyed, then we need despair of no sinner... Since God created men to have fellowship with Himself, they cannot for ever be separated from Him... After long wandering, and by devious paths, sinful man will at last return to Him in whose Image he was created; for this is his final destiny."
In February, 1929, the year Sundar disappeared on his final missionary trip to Tibet, he was interviewed by several theology students in Calcutta, India, where he answered their questions:
(Question #1) What did the Sadhu think should be our attitude towards non-Christian religions? -- The old habit of calling them 'heathen' should go. The worst 'heathen' were among us [Christians]...
(Question #2) Who were right, Christian Fundamentalists or Christian Liberals? -- Both were wrong. The Fundamentalists were uncharitable to those who differed from them. That is, they were unchristian. The Liberals sometimes went to the extent of denying the divinity of Christ, which they had no business to do.
(Question #3) Did the Sadhu think there was eternal punishment? -- There was punishment, but it was not eternal...Everyone after this life would be given a fair chance of making good, and attaining to the measure of fullness the soul was capable of. This might sometimes take ages."
---This article was primarily written by Edward T. Babinski, with further editing and additions by Mercy Aiken
Additional Quotes by Sadhu Sundar Singh
"He was searching for me before I sought Him. Christ whom I had never expected came to me. I was praying, 'If there be a God, reveal Thyself'...I was praying to Hindu gods and incarnations. But when He came there was no anger in His face, even though I had burnt the Bible three days before. None of you have ever destroyed Scripture like me. He is such a wonderful, loving, living Saviour..."
"There is a great difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him... If we only know of Jesus as a good man, a great example, it is no help to us. Those who know Him know Who He is. When we know Him everything is different and we are living in a new world -- a new atmosphere. Heaven begins on earth for us. Those who know Him know that Jesus is everything to them. They can bear witness because they have been living with Him...If we live in Him He will reveal Himself to us and we shall bear witness -- not for a day or a night only..."
"For the first two or three years after my conversion, I used to ask for specific things. Now I ask for God. Supposing there is a tree full of fruits -- you will have to go and buy or beg the fruits from the owner of the tree. Every day you would have to go for one or two fruits. But if you can make the tree your own property, then all the fruits will be your own. In the same way, if God is your own, then all things in Heaven and on earth will be your own, because He is your Father and is everything to you; otherwise you will have to go and ask like a beggar for certain things. When they are used up, you will have to ask again. So ask not for gifts but for the Giver of Gifts: not for life but for the Giver of Life -- then life and the things needed for life will be added unto you."
"Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us."
"From my many years experience I can unhesitatingly say that the cross bears those who bear the cross."
"While sitting on the bank of a river one day, I picked up a solid round stone from the water and broke it open. It was perfectly dry in spite of the fact that it had been immersed in water for centuries. The same is true of many people in the Western world. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity; they live immersed in the waters of its benefits. And yet it has not penetrated their hearts; they do not love it. The fault is not in Christianity, but in men's hearts, which have been hardened by materialism and intellectualism."
"When Jesus entered Jerusalem the people spread their clothes in the way and strewed branches before Him in order to do Him honour. Jesus rode upon an ass, according to the word of the prophet. His feet did not touch the road which was decorated in His honour. It was the ass which trod upon the garments and the branches. But the ass would have been very foolish to have been uplifted on that account; for the road really was not decked in its honour! It would be just as foolish if those who bear Christ to men were to think anything of themselves because of what men do to them for the sake of Jesus."
"A newborn child has to cry, for only in this way will his lungs expand. A doctor once told me of a child who could not breathe when it was born. In order to make it breathe the doctor gave it a slight blow. The mother must have thought the doctor cruel. But he was really doing the kindest thing possible. As with newborn children the lungs are contracted, so are our spiritual lungs. But through suffering God strikes us in love. Then our lungs expand and we can breathe and pray."
"Just as the salt water of the sea is drawn upwards by the hot rays of the sun, and gradually takes on the form of clouds, and, turned thus into sweet and refreshing water, falls in showers on the earth (for the sea water as it rises upwards leaves behind it its salt and bitterness), so when the thoughts and desires of the man of prayer rise aloft like misty emanations of the soul, the rays of the Sun of Righteousness purify them of all sinful taint, and his prayers become a great cloud which descends from heaven in a shower of blessing, bringing refreshment to many on the earth."
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Sundar Singh was born to Sher Singh of Rampur, Punjab in India in 1889. His mother, a deeply religious woman, left an indelible mark on Sundar and nurtured him in the noble traditions of the Sikhs. Sundar often spoke of his mother with much love and respect because of the good foundation she laid for his life to come. Little did anyone know what God was about to do with this keenly intelligent and disciplined young man.
When Sundar was about fourteen, his beloved mother and elder brother passed away. This left the young boy in despair and spiritually restless. Sundar hungered for peace. He sought meaning for his life.
One night, a year or two later, after bathing in cold water in preparation for pooja he asked God, 'the all-pervading, impersonal, unknowable, incomprehensible universal spirit', to appear to him as an avatar. He wanted a divine revelation that would once and for all destroy his doubts and end his despair. His spiritual aggitation was such that he made a vow to throw himself in front of the early morning passenger train that passed by his village if God did not reveal himself. This vow was not empty words! Shaped by the disciplined life of a devout Sikh, this strong willed youth meant to do exactly that.
That night as he prayed he became conscious of a light shining in the room. He looked outside to make sure it was not someone shining a light. Gradually the light took the form of a globe of fire and in it he saw the face of Yesu.
Yesu was the last person Sundar was looking for. After all, Yesu was the 'foreign god' of the Christian teachers at his school. A zealous Sikh, Sundar had publicly torn up a portion of the Bible to protest its claims. Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected form of Yesu, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Yesu was the avatar in whom God reveals Himself.
Did Yesu speak to him? No one knows for sure; however, regardless of the nature of the 'conversation', Sundar threw himself on the ground and surrendered His life to Yesu. At once shanthi flooded his troubled heart. The weary struggle to seek enlightenment and moksha was over for Sundar, for in Yesu he found shanthi. This divine encounter with the Lord Yesu was to Sundar a rebirth into a new life.
The following months proved to be very difficult for Sundar and his family. Becoming a shishya of Christ was not taken lightly by his family nor his community. Misunderstanding his new found bhakti to be a betrayal of all loyalty to his community he was excommunicated. Sundar may have been ill advised by some 'Christians' to cut his hair, unnecessarily maligning an honorable Sikh custom. Unfortunately, he followed their advice and cut his hair, a gesture that did not make things any easier with his family. His family was convinced he had renounced his Sikh heritage. However, through this strife and turmoil God cared for Sundar.
A month after he accepted the water diksha of Christ in the year 1905, he took the vow of a sadhu. He gave away his meager possessions, put on a saffron robe and became a barefooted wandering man of God. Among Christians the world over, this barefoot Sadhu was later called the `apostle of the bleeding feet' because the soles of his feet were often covered in bloody blisters.
The life of a sadhu is hard and entirely dependent on God. Sadhu Sundar Singh's needs were met entirely through the kindness of people he met wherever he went. His life story has been written down for us by several of his friends and admirers. He also, reluctantly, agreed to put his teachings and experiences in writing saying that like His Satguru, he did not want to write a word. Sadhu Sundar Singh reflected the character of Christ in word and life; he had found ananda and shanthi in the abiding presence of Yesu his brother and Lord.
More details about the amazing life of this Sikh follower of Christ can be found in many books, some of which are still in print around the world.
from Riddle, T.E. The Vision and the Call: A Life of Sadhu Sundar Singh, 1987.
THE LIFE OF Sundar Singh
1889 - Born at Rampur, Punjab
1903 - Conversion
1904 - Cast out from home
1905 - Baptised in Simla; begins life as a sadhu
1907 - Works in leprosy hospital at Sabathu
1908 - First visit to Tibet
1909 - Enters Divinity College, Lahore, to train for the ministry
1911 - Hands back his preacher's license; returns to the sadhu's life
1912 - Tours through North India and the Buddhist states of the Himalayas
1918 to 1922 - Travels worldwide
1923 - Turned back from Tibet
1925 to 1927 - Quietly spends time writing
1927 - Sets out for Tibet but returns due to illness
1929 - Attempts to reach Tibet and disappears
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As I recall, it was in 1987, while standing at one of the major intersections in Augusta, Georgia, two female missionaries approached me. After a few minutes of conversation, they handed me a small paperback book with a photo of a Sikh looking person on the front cover. This was the first time I came to know of a man named Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929). As I read this book at a relatively fast pace my curiosity about the Sadhu deepened. Something attracted me about him and his devotion to Jesus. Though I liked him on a personal level, there were so many questions popping in my mind and over the years many Christians, especially from south India, have opened the subject of Sadhu Sundar Singh with me. With every conversation I had with them, I walked away with more questions. I recognize that Sadhu is well respected and highly revered among many different shades of Christians. I reproduce here his brief timeline copied from one of the web sites.
The Life of Sundar Singh
1889 - Born at Rampur, Punjab
1903 - Conversion
1904 - Cast out from home
1905 - Baptised in Simla; begins life as a sadhu
1907 - Works in leprosy hospital at Sabathu
1908 - First visit to Tibet
1909 - Enters divinity college, Lahore, to train for the ministry
1911 - Hands back his preacher's license; returns to the sadhu's life
1912 - Tours through north India and the Buddhist states of the Himalayas
1918 to 1922 - Travels worldwide
1923 - Turned back from Tibet
1925 to 1927 - Quietly spends time writing
1927 - Sets out for Tibet but returns due to illness
1929 - Attempts to reach Tibet and disappears
Soon after Sundar “met” Jesus Christ in 1904, he was baptized in 1905 and four years later in 1909-10, he spent a whole year at St. John’s Divinity College in Lahore. Thereafter he opted to lead the life of a sadhu (a wandering ascetic) rather than a licensed preacher; thus becoming Sadhu Sundar Singh. In the eyes of church leaders, Sadhu’s name and example is an avenue to promote Christianity especially among the Sikhs with a calculated hope that the Sikhs will follow through. Lately, it has come to my attention that Rampur village in Punjab where Sundar was born now “hosts several Christian cells planted by India-based missions.” Also recently opened is the “Sadhu Sundar Singh Memorial Church” in Doraha, a town near Rampur. The Church of North India has also constructed a "Sadhu Sundar Singh Memorial Church" in Faridkot, about 24 miles from the Pakistan border.
Sadhu’s literature is not extensive. His writings comprise the following: At the Master’s Feet (1922), Reality and Religion (1923), The Search After Reality (1924), The Spiritual Life (1925), The Spiritual World (1926), The Real Life (1927), and With and Without Christ (1928). The English translations appeared soon after each of the original works in Urdu. His works have been translated into forty languages. His writings are difficult to access in the secular settings of the United States. In addition there are a number of books, some of course written for the purposes of witnessing to men like me. Based upon what I have gathered and analyzed, here is my brief “account” of Sunder.
Early Years
Sundar’s background is unique. According to the popular history texts, Sundar Singh was born on September 3, 1889 in the house of Sher Singh at Rampur village in Patiala State. In addition to two older brothers and an older sister, Sundar had a number of near relatives living nearby. Regarding the kind of family he was raised in Sundar himself writes, “I was born in a family that was commonly considered Sikh, but in which the teaching of Hinduism was considered most essential.” To understand how essential Hindu teachings were in Sadhu’s early development it is interesting to note that Sundar’s mother took a special charm in raising her young boy in accordance with Hinduism. Therefore by the age of mere seven, Sundar knew by heart the Bhagavad Gita. By age sixteen, he had read Granth, Koran, and at least fifty-two of the Upanishads. Additionally, his mother hired the services of a Hindu Pundit and an old “Sikh Sadhu” to instruct Sundar in their respective areas of varied scriptures. Sundar’s day started quite early and it seems the entire day was consumed with religious protocols and activities. Sundar himself acknowledges, “I often used to read the Hindu scriptures till midnight.”
In honesty I must admit that I can’t think of another example that can match Sundar. If true, Sundar in 1896 C.E. knew by heart the Bhagavad Gita, which he read in Urdu language. That is certainly incredible. But is it true? Bhagavad gita (hereafter referred as Gita) had never existed as a separate text until 1785 C.E. when it was published in London. It took another one hundred years for western introduced Gita to return to British India, and Gita’s first Urdu translation didn’t appear until 1868 C.E. published from Gujranwala in Punjab. Theoretically it is possible for Sundar to have read and regurgitate Gita but it appears quite unlikely.
At that time, Gita was not a scripture of popular and intellectual Hinduism and definitely for a Sikh family residing in a remote village of Punjab, the reading of religious literature amounted next to nil. In addition there is no evidence that both Sundar’s mother and the hired Hindu Pundit instructed Gita lessons to Sundar. Could Sunder’s mother and father or siblings read and write Urdu enough to have taught him and were they themselves knowedgable of the contents of these texts and other sciptures like the Quran. And if Sundar knew Gita, as claimed, then there should be some evidence to support it. My search has resulted in nothing that can lead one to believe that Sundar knew the Gita well. This makes sense because among Hindus of that time there existed a superstition against Mahabharata (Gita being a small part of it) that to keep this “war document” at home brought klesh (misery) to the family.
In his book The Search After Reality, Sadhu wrote roughly three pages on “Bhagvad Gita and Krishna,” and reading this account leaves an impression that Sundar’s knowledge of Gita was minimal and whatever little he knew is strictly from the Christian vocabulary and interpretation. In other words, the evidence suggests that Sundar learned portions of Gita probably at the divinity college and not during his early years at Sher Singh’s house. About the fifty two Upanishads the Sadhu is claimed to have read, there is no evidence of it either and neither is there any evidence of the names of these alleged Upanishads having been read.
With respect to Sundar reading “Hindu scriptures till midnight,” I wish he had named at least one of these Hindu scriptures and after reading the chapter on Hinduism recorded in The Search After Reality my doubts have grown. Evidence suggests that in all likelihood Sundar was instructed on Hinduism while at the seminary and not at his father’s house.
What about Islam? In another Christian-prescribed biography I read that Sundar could recite through memory not only the Quran but also the entire Hadith literature. Whether he had read “Granth” meaning Guru Granth Sahib along with one-on-one instructions by the old “Sikh sadhu” is also doubtful. If you are wondering what “Sikh sadhu” means, I will discuss it at the end of this article. According to Sundar it was his mother who had exercised such a strong religious influence on him and it was her wish that he should live the life of a Hindu sadhu. As reported she even had him instructed in yoga and after due practice, Sundar would stay in trance and perform other psychical feats.
Sundar’s Conversion
A tragedy struck in 1902 when Sundar lost his beloved mother. Soon thereafter he lost one of his older brothers and understandably the pain and anguish were too deep for Sundar to bear. His years of religious yearning were also failing to give him everlasting peace and nobody could answer his questions to his satisfaction, and only recently the American Presbyterian Mission had opened a school in the village where Sundar was learning Christianity via studying New Testament in Urdu.
Things didn’t go smoothly for Sundar because we are told that he hated Christianity and exercised some concrete steps to show his anger and hate. He even went to the extent of burning the Christian Gospels in his house’s courtyard. This incident happened in the middle of December 1904. So at the age of 15, we are led to believe, Sundar was in a mess and there seemed to be none to help him. Finally, three days later, on the night of December 18, 1904, the situation had become unbearable. He got up at three in the morning, took a cold bath and prayed to “God to reveal Himself” which he hoped would end the unrest within. Sundar had made up his mind that in case God fails to listen to his prayer, he would commit suicide by placing his head on the railway line by the incoming 5 o’clock train. But, luckily for him, at 4:30 A.M., Jesus Christ appeared and that event dramatically changed the course of Sundar’s future, as described by him in detail and I post here description of the events:
1. In a book titled, The Sadhu: A Study in Mysticism and Practical Religion published in 1922, the authors Streeter and Appasamy have recorded Sadhu’s own words from his speech that he delivered in one of his “Kandy addresses” in Sri Lanka:
“At 4.30 A.M. I saw something of which I had no idea at all previously. In the room where I was praying I saw a great light. I thought the place was on fire. I looked around, but could find nothing. Then the thought came to me that this might be an answer that God had sent me. Then as I prayed and looked into the light, I saw the form of the Lord Jesus Christ. It had such an appearance of glory and love.
“If it had been some Hindu incarnation I would have prostrated myself before it. But it was the Lord Jesus Christ whom I had been insulting a few days before. I felt that a vision like this could not come out of my own imagination. I heard a voice saying in Hindustani, “How long will you persecute me? I have come to save you; you were praying to know the right way. Why do you not take it? … When I got up, the vision had all disappeared; but although the vision disappeared the Peace and Joy have remained with me ever since.”
2. In a booklet titled Life in Abundance published in 1980, there appeared some sermons that Sadhu had delivered earlier while in Switzerland in March 1922. On March 5th, Sadhu said:
I want to repeat the details of my conversion; how I became Christian. Many of you don’t know that I was an enemy of Jesus Christ, I used to tear up the Gospel and burn it; I used to think “This is a false religion, our Hinduism is the only true religion;” but I was not satisfied with my religion…. One day I got up early in the morning, I took a cold water bath and began to pray …. After an hour and a half I saw something which I could not recognize.
It was December 18th when I saw Him, while I was praying in my room…. I was not prepared to believe in Him because I used to hate him. He died on the Cross; how can He save me? But on the 18th, early in the morning, when he revealed Himself to me in such a glorious way, when He spoke to me: “I died for thee, and I am the Saviour of the world,” then I found my Savior, my all. I got up; He had disappeared, but there was a wonderful peace in my heart….
3. In With And Without Christ, Sadhu elaborated the incident without giving the actual date:
On the third day, when I felt I could bear it no longer, I got up at three in the morning and after bathing, I prayed that if there was a God at all He would reveal Himself to me, …. I remained till about half-past four praying and waiting and expecting to see Krishna, or Buddha, or some other Avatar of the Hindu religion: they appeared not, but a light was shining in the room. I opened the door to see where it came from, but all was dark outside.
I returned inside, and the light increased in intensity and took the form of a globe of light above the ground, and in this light there appeared, not the form I expected, but the Living Christ whom I had counted as dead. To all eternity I shall never forget His glorious and loving face, nor the few words, which He spoke: “Why do you persecute me? See, I have died on the Cross for you and for the whole world.” These words were burned into my heart as by lightening, and I fell on the ground before Him….
From another reference, I copied Jesus’ words in Hindustani: “Tu mujhe kyun satata hai? Dekh main ne tere liye apni jan salib par di.”
4. In his article God's Lion: Wisdom of the Sadhu, Tim Comer brought to my attention to another of Sadhu’s direct quote with respect to what transpired on that early morning:
Though at the time I had considered myself a hero for burning the Gospel, my heart found no peace. Indeed, my unrest only increased, and I was miserable for the next two days. On the third day, when I could bear it no longer, I rose at 3:00 A.M. and prayed that if there was a God at all, he would reveal himself to me. Should I receive no answer by morning, I would place my head on the railroad tracks and seek the answer to my questions beyond the edge of this life. I prayed and prayed, waiting for the time to take my last walk. At about 4:30 I saw something strange. There was a glow in the room.
At first I thought there was a fire in the house, but looking through the door and windows, I could see no cause for the light. Then the thought came to me: perhaps this was an answer from God. So I returned to my accustomed place and prayed, looking into the strange light. Then I saw a figure in the light, strange but somehow familiar at once. It was neither Siva nor Krishna nor any of the other Hindu incarnations I had expected. Then I heard a voice speaking to me in Urdu:
"Sundar, how long will you mock me? I have come to save you because you have prayed to find the way of truth. Why then don't you accept it?"
It was then I saw the marks of blood on his hands and feet and knew that it was Yesu, the one proclaimed by the Christians. In amazement I fell at his feet. I was filled with deep sorrow and remorse for my insults and my irreverence, but also with a wonderful peace. This was the joy I had been seeking. This was heaven …Then the vision was gone, though my peace and joy remained.
There might as well be more of these Jesus and other testimonies given out by Sundar just like this one: "I am Christ whom you are persecuting. There is salvation only through Me. If you believe Me now, you will be saved. If you don't believe Me you will be damned forever." What transpired on this fateful day cannot be verified since Sundar is the sole witness. With several accounts available one wonder’s if his testimony is reliable. Sadhu’s psychological make up is prone to seeing visions which is fraught with many pitfalls. In one of the above accounts Sadhu has mentioned the date as December 18th without giving the year. C.F. Andrews, who had known Sadhu personally, mentioned it as “December 1903” and Cyril J. Davey, a Christian biographer for Sadhu has given the date as “December 3, 1903.”
Sadhu’s Visions
Sadhu’s life is full of seeing visions which of course has fortified his standing among many Christians and for those looking for modern day mystics. Among Christians it is miracles and visions that make a saint. As I read of these visions, so many thoughts came to my mind, which I will share at the end. In the early pages of his book At the Master’s Feet, Sadhu wrote the following “First Vision”:
Once on a dark night I went alone into the forest to pray, and seating myself upon a rock I laid before God my deep necessities, and besought His help. After a short time, seeing a poor man coming towards me I thought he had come to ask me for some relief because he was hungry and cold.
I said to him, "I am a poor man, and except this blanket I have nothing at all. You had better go to the village near by and ask for help there." And lo! even whilst I was saying this he flashed forth like lightning, and, showering drops of blessing, immediately disappeared.
Alas! Alas! it was now clear to me that this was my beloved Master who came not to beg from a poor creature like me, but to bless and to enrich me (2 Cor. viii.9), and so I was left weeping and lamenting my folly and lack of insight.
And this “first vision” is immediately followed by a more complex “second vision”:
On another day, my work being finished, I again went into the forest to pray, and seated upon that same rock began to consider for what blessings I should make petition. Whilst thus engaged it seemed to me that another came and stood near me, who, judged by his bearing and dress and manner of speech, appeared to be a revered and devoted servant of God; but his eyes glittered with craft and cunning, and as he spoke he seemed to breathe an odour of hell.
He thus addressed me, "Holy and Honored Sir, pardon me for interrupting your prayers and breaking in on your privacy; but is one's duty to seek to promote the advantage of others, and therefore I have come to lay an important matter before you. Your pure and unselfish life has made a deep impression not only on me, but upon a great number of devout persons. But although in the Name of God you have sacrificed yourself body and soul for others, you have never been truly appreciated.
My meaning is that being a Christian only a few thousand Christians have come under your influence, and some even of these distrust you. How much better would it be if you became a Hindu or a Mussulman, and thus become a great leader indeed? They are in search of such a spiritual head. If you accept this suggestion of mine, then three hundred and ten millions of Hindus and Mussulmans will become your followers, and render you reverent homage."
As soon as I heard this there rushed from my lips these words, "Thou Satan! get thee hence. I knew at once that thou wert a wolf in sheep's clothing! Thy one wish is that I should give up the cross and the narrow path that leads to life, and choose the broad road of death. My Master Himself is my lot and my portion, who Himself gave His life for me, and it behooves me to offer as a sacrifice my life and all I have to Him who is all in all to me. Get you gone therefore, for with you I have nothing to do."
Hearing this he went off grumbling and growling in his rage. And I, in tears, thus poured out my soul to God in prayer, "My Lord God, my all in all, life of my life, and spirit of my spirit, look in mercy upon me and so fill me with Thy Holy Spirit that my heart shall have no room for love of aught but Thee. I seek from Thee no other gift but Thyself, who art the Giver of life and all its blessings. From Thee I ask not for the world or its treasures, nor yet for heaven even make request, but Thee alone do I desire and long for, and where Thou art there is Heaven….”
When I rose up from this prayer I beheld a glowing Being, arrayed in light and beauty, standing before me. Though He spoke not a word, and because my eyes were suffused with tears I saw Him not too clearly, there poured from Him lightning-like rays of life-giving love with such power that they entered in and bathed my very soul. At once I knew that my dear Savior stood before me. I rose at once from the rock where I was seated and fell at His feet. He held in His hand the key of my heart. Opening the inner chamber of my heart with His key of love, He filled it with His presence, and wherever I looked, inside or out, I saw but Him.
Sadhu in the capacity of a missionary traveled world-wide; his travels included places beyond the length and breath of British India to include United States, Europe, Palestine, Australia, Japan, Malaya, Afghanistan, Tibet, and so forth. From 1908-1929 it is believed that Sadhu made at least twenty trips to Tibet — an extremely risky religious adventures walking on foot. Often with arduous fasting and prayers, his travels in the mountain terrains took a devastating toll on his health and further compromised his psychological wellbeing. In the course of one of his fasts, Sadhu saw Jesus “with pierced hands, bleeding feet and radiant face.” At another time he made Jesus look far better at least in my eyes: “He had a beard on His face. The long hair of His head is like gold, like glowing light.”
With unending stream of supernatural visions, Sadhu has left for us enough evidence to question his mental health. For example in a cave 13,000 feet above the sea level on the Kailash range of the Himalayan mountains, Sadhu met an ancient “Christian Rishi” named “Maharishi of Kailash.” This Rishi showed Sadhu a marvelous account of his own immense age and wonderful powers and imparted Sadhu with a series of visions of an apocalyptic character. Incidents such as these alerted men like Principal Susil Kumar Rudra of St. Stephens College who on occasions conversed with C.F. Andrews about his ever growing skepticisms of Sadhu’s visions.
During his first visit to the West, while in England along with Willie Hindle, Sadhu insisted on going to France and spent the whole day searching a poor section of Paris for someone. As it turned out, earlier the Maharishi had described to Sadhu a poor girl’s house in Paris and he went out looking for her but failed. At another occasion some woodcutters found him in the jungle half-dead and rescued him and delivered him to Indian Christians where he was nursed back to health-—only to leave again for another dangerous journey to Tibet. There are so many of these bizarre visions of Sadhu that it is not worth the extra time and effort to bring them here. The examples mentioned above should be sufficient for addressing my concerns and bringing them to the readers.
Sadhu’s Theology
Sadhu was a unique Christian; it is hard to find another one like him. The Bible was his precious possession. However, his knowledge of the Old Testament was minimal. It was the New Testament (in Urdu) that he mastered and the four Gospel accounts of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John were his spiritual food. During one of his European tours he came to know of the “Higher Criticism” -- a growing field of scholarly critical evaluation of the Bible. There is no evidence in place if Sadhu learnt anything from this scholarship. To my surprise he held to this self-serving view, “The Holy Spirit is the true Author of the Scriptures, [Bible] but I do not therefore say that every word, as it is written in the Hebrew or the Greek, is inspired.”
Sadhu fine-tuned the details, “The language used by the authors of the Bible was the same language as that of ordinary life, and therefore was not really adequate for spiritual things.” Thus was the need for Sadhu’s visions through which Angels and Saints can communicate the true spiritual message being deciphered straight out of the Bible.
Sadhu loved Jesus with a tremendous passion and just about every facet of his life was fashioned to follow Christ to the minutest details. So much so that he went on pilgrimage to the Christian holy places in Palestine in the hope of dying at exactly the same age Jesus was crucified. Poor Sunder was greatly disappointed when he lived through the thirty-fourth year of his life without the anticipated death. Why? Because Jesus was thought to have died at the age thirty-three and Sadhu was unable to duplicate through intensive meditation the age of death of his Savior on himself.
Sadhu had worked out his interpretations of the Bible in such way as to allow no room for Jesus to be depicted as less than favorable. For a serious student of the Bible, these are fascinating stories to read. I present only one example. The case in point is one of Jesus’ ethics -- “Resist no evil” from Mathew 5:39.
Many critical scholars have not been kind to Jesus for uttering so many of his “un-ethical” points including “resist no evil.” Sadhu was not going to take it lying down and he therefore provided an alternative interpretation to cast Jesus in a better light than the critics. These are Sadhu’s words:
If we resist evil men, who would do us harm, then neither part is likely to be profited; probably both will be injured, as in the collision of two trains both are shattered. But if, by not resisting, we suffer, then, on the one hand, the cross-bearer is benefited spiritually, and on the other hand, the oppressor will be impressed by the forgiving spirit, and will be inclined towards the truth. It has been shown that by treatment of this kind the lives of many wicked men have been changed. Here is an example.
Last year, in the hills in India, while a godly Indian Christian was praying in his house alone, three thieves stealthily entered his room, and took away all they could get. When the man had finished his prayers he noticed that all his goods had gone, except the box over which he had been bowing in prayer. This box contained money and valuables. This “man of prayer” took some cash and valuables in his hands, and ran after the thieves, calling, “Wait! Wait! You have left some valuables behind. I have brought them to you. Perhaps you need these things more than I.” When the thieves, heard this, at first they thought it was a trap, but when they saw that he had no weapon and that he was alone, they came back to him.
The man said to him, “Why did you not tell me at first that you needed these things? I would have gladly given you whatever I have; now you had better come home with me, and whatever you want you may take away.” The thieves, seeing the strange life of this man of prayer, were so affected that their lives were changed forever and they began to say, “We never imagined that there were such people in the world. If you are so wonderful, then how much more wonderful must be your Savior, Who has made you into such a wonderful and godlike character.” There we have the result of not resisting the evil ….
In Sadhu’s multiple calculations we see that his Jesus was perfect and sinless. For Sadhu, Jesus was also a great role model to follow. Because, Sadhu tells us, “Whatever He [Jesus] taught He Himself first acted on, and He gave no teaching of which He did not give the proof and example in His life. In other words He preached what He practiced, and practiced what He preached.”
Take the case of poverty. Whether Jesus lived in poverty or not is not the issue of debate here. The question is whether Sadhu adhered to the biblical dictates on poverty. Reverend Zekveld in his article has mentioned, “He [Sadhu] took quite literally Jesus’ command to leave all; that is, home, family, and possessions, and to follow Him.” I am not sure if Rev. Zekveld agrees with the literal meaning. Perhaps, he implies he doesn’t agree with the literal meaning and therefore doesn’t agree with Sadhu’s adopted “Christian lifestyle” of a wandering hermit. Was Sadhu wrong? You be the judge. Read the following pronouncements of Jesus:
(a) "...none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up everything he has" (Luke 14:33)
(b) "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor and you will have riches in heaven" (Matt. 19:21)
(c) "Sell your possessions and give alms" (Luke 12:33)
(d) "But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be clean for you" (Luke 11:41)
(e) "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,…. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:19-21)
(f) "How hardly shall they that have riches enter to the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:23)
(g) A certain ruler told Jesus that he had obeyed all the commandments from his youth up. But, Jesus said, "Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me" (Luke 18:22, Mark 10:21), and
(h) Paul said, "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8 RSV)
I doubt not what Jesus is preaching here; if there is a hidden non-literal meaning pointing to something else then I am at loss. I believe Sadhu was correct by living in strict accordance with what Jesus said. Apparently it has been mentioned that Sadhu owned his Bible, his blanket, and nothing else much beyond that. In his case he didn’t have to give up much since he was thrown out of his father’s house without anything after his conversion.
And if Sadhu opted for voluntary poverty to follow Jesus then he is truly unique among the Christians-—in fact he should be considered a “true Christian” as opposed to the pseudo Christians we encounter on a daily basis not to mention the names of Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Rex Humbard, and Robert Schuller. The list is an excruciatingly long one. Of lately, I have received a copy of the Will of Sadhu Sundar Singh. The details of his Will have left me wondering if Sadhu was indeed a hypocrite. According to his Will drawn on November 30, 1925, Sadhu’s trust fund was worth Rupees 12,000. This is a large amount of money considering the times around 1925 A.D., and I wouldn’t shirk from calling our Sadhu a multi-millionaire by standards of today.
Sadhu’s Mental Health
Thanks to C.F. Andrews for bringing to my notice that early on, Sundar’s father and his uncle regarded Sundar as mad. This was based upon the facts they possessed in their hands. His siblings kept themselves away and it seems because of Sundar’s eccentric behavior he was rendered aloof. After Sundar had adopted Christianity he was let go and his family connections were cut off.
Sadhu, being a famous evangelist, was on a ride which he would have never imagined had he not left Rampur village. If Sadhu indeed had suffered from some psychiatric disorder, I suppose it might have been pointed out in his missionary journeys worldwide at least somewhere within the Christian circles. Come to think of -- it did. Here are some of their views:
1. Father Hosten, a Jesuit at Darjeeling, writing in The Catholic Herald of India (1923-1925) elaborated his impressions that the Sadhu was a “shameless imposter, who has invented the greater part of his life-story in order to win the reputation of sanctity.”
2. German Jesuits published a series of accusations in a paper entitled Stimmen der Zeit (1924-1926) calling Sadhu an “Oriental deceiver, a childish visionary, who confounds the creations of his fantasy with reality.”
3. Father Hosten and Dr. O. Pfister wrote a book titled, The Legend of Sundar Singh (Berne, 1926). Pfister regarded Sadhu as a “neurotic person whose sense of reality has been impaired, and who therefore tends, although unconscious that he is doing so, to misrepresent historical facts.” Pfister also believed to have discovered other morbid traits, such as sadism, in the Sadhu’s psycho-physical life. From the point of view of a psychoanalyst, Pfister believed that Sadhu’s love to Christ was “rooted in repressed infantile sex-complexes.”
In recent years there have been major advances in the field of psychology and psychiatry. I believe we will all benefit from “Psychiatric Autopsy” conducted by a trained group of psychiatrists on Sadhu. This autopsy is possible given the availability of entire Sadhu’s writings as well as other documents written by the other Christians who had firsthand knowledge of him. My own impression is that Sundar suffered from a mental disorder, which was detected early on by his family members, but was left untreated, as there was no cure for mental disorder at that time.
A number of senior Church leaders also detected Sadhu’s underlying mental disease and failed to get Sadhu the appropriate treatment. It is tragic to look back and see what precipitated Sundar’s propensity to pursue dangerous journeys to Tibet all for the purposes of committing suicide. In 1929, that’s exactly what happened. Sundar took off for Tibet and never returned.
All along he was showing signs of suicidal behavior and yet no Christian leader in India took decisive step to stop him and thereby protect him. Tragedy is double fold: We lost Sundar prematurely and the Church looked the other way. Why? Because Sundar was a unique evangelist in the native hermit’s robes and doing the job of evangelizing in the remote sites in the Himalayas that nobody else in the Church would care to undertake.
Was Sadhu a Sikh?
Not once Sadhu called himself a former Sikh. Not once Sadhu mentioned Sikh doctrines let alone forsaking them. In his writings only at one place he referred that he was “born in a family that was commonly considered Sikh.” But then qualified it: That for his family “the teaching of Hinduism was considered most essential.” This was written in his book With and Without Christ published in 1928, merely a year before Sadhu’s own death. Frankly I am puzzled at all of this. How could his family be Sikh but practice diehard Hinduism? Why would he wait for so long to reveal his family links as Sikh?
Was Sadhu and church cohorts putting up a smoke screen —- killing two birds with one stone so to speak? Why? Was Sadhu, as a Christian with an attached Sikh name, leading an ascetic Hindu way of life, a ticket too attractive for the evangelical church?
History texts tell us that Sadhu’s mother was really the genius behind to plant ideas in his mind of leading a life of a wandering hermit. For someone to be that important in Sundar’s upbringing without being named anywhere in the literature is mind-boggling! His mother had hired the services of a Hindu Pundit and an old “Sikh Sadhu” to teach Sundar. Sadhu Sundar Singh in his book With and Without Christ has devoted more than one page under the heading The Sadhu and I explaining his quandary over the questions with this supposedly “Sikh Sadhu.” Reading this questionable page, I realized that there is not a single word mentioned giving me any hint that Sundar was talking of the Sikh religion.
Moreover how could a “Sikh Sadhu” be a Sikh? Something is amiss here; keep in mind, Sadhu had three elder siblings born from the same un-named mother. It is apparent from the literature that this mother didn’t impart Hinduism to any of her first three children. If so why would she pick Sunder, her youngest child, for this special exotic religious training? I cannot help but reach a conclusion that Sadhu was not a Sikh and had no links with the Sikh religion in any fashion whatsoever. This only further deepens the mystery of Sundar. Who was he then?
Was Sadhu a Hindu?
On a number of occasions Sadhu had described himself as a former Hindu, and more than once mentioned of his Hindu heritage by pointing out doctrines that are without question of Hindu origin. Sadhu made it clear, “Christianity was fulfillment of Hinduism. Hinduism has been digging channels. Christ is the water to flow through these channels … There are many beautiful things in Hinduism; but the fullest light is from Christ.”
In 1922 while Sadhu was journeying overseas, his expressed reservations about Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha tactics was published: “[Sadhu] made quite plain his profound disapproval of Mr. Gandhi’s method telling him in so many words that they can lead India to nothing but ruin and useless suffering.” I learnt from Gandhi’s reply that Sadhu and Gandhi had met more than once. According to Gandhi, talking of Sadhu, “We had the closet communion…. We had long discussions over all these and other matters and he certainly left on me the impression that for a religious man no course left open.” Was Sadhu involved in politics with Gandhi? Evidence suggests he was.
Something is amiss and I suspect that the Sadhu’s real history might be altogether different. With so much of effort invested by his mother why Sundar failed to mention her name is very strange? Could it be that Sundar was a Hindu boy raised by the missionaries and trained to carry out a double deception with respect to his allegedly hybrid “Hindu-Sikh model” as a conduit to proselytize the masses who had grown resistant to Christ’s message?
Conclusion
Sadhu’s story reminds me of Apostle Paul. Both he and Paul shared incredible similarities. Like Paul, Sundar also says he “persecuted” the Christians. Like Paul, Sundar also experienced a vision in which Jesus said, “Why do you persecute me? ….” Like Paul’s details of the vision, Sundar’s vision is also contradictory. Like Paul, Sundar’s life is consumed to evangelize the un-reached populations with extensive travels to his credit. In short, what we have here is Sundar reliving Paul’s dramatic version of salvation history.
Based upon what has been presented, it is obvious there are too many problems associated with Sundar’s popular history. I ask for his accurate history. The Christian Church in India should be held responsible and asked to appoint a committee of concerned scholars to gather all material on Sadhu and critically evaluate them. This committee should be tasked to write an accurate history of this unique man of “questionable origin.” In the meantime I hope that the church will refrain from marketing Sundar any further to prevent any mockery of his life and his tragedy. He deserves far better treatment, at least after his death. Let him rest in peace.
Note for the next issue of SikhSpectrum.com
A discussion on Sadhu Sundar Singh has paved the way to move ahead in our discussion. Despite all the problems relating to his history, I have never doubted Sadhu Sundar Singh’s sincere love and devotion to Jesus Christ. Some Christians have dubbed Sadhu as the “Second Apostle Paul.” This I believe is appropriate since both Paul and Sundar never met Jesus of the flesh and both encountered similar kinds of visions. Therefore they are linked whether one likes it or not. They both loved Jesus Christ. The big question is: Who was Jesus Christ? That shall be the issue for debate beginning the next issue of Sikhspectrum.com and this discussion might exhaust a number of issues of SikhSpectrum postings to address the topic in a meaningful manner.
This ongoing civil debate wouldn’t have been possible if not for the services of Reverend Tony Zekveld. He has provided us the narrative from a believer’s perspective fully knowing that I view the Bible from different angles. He deserves our utmost appreciation. With all due respect I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for spending his precious time in sharing his views with candor and sincerity. I am sure the readers will reciprocate my appreciation of him.
As we embark on the next phase I fully understand that the topic of Jesus Christ evokes more passion among Christians. To them there is nothing in the Bible that is more precious than the figure of Jesus. Not only have I recognized this fact, but I also respect their opinions about Jesus; Him being their Savior. Having said that I must make a point, I am under no compulsion to interpret the Bible similar to theirs. All I can promise is that I will be intellectually honest in my assessment of Jesus Christ as he is depicted in the Bible.
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One hundred and four years ago on September 1889, Sundar Singh was born in Rampur, in the region of Patiala northern India. He was raised in the luxury of his family's wealth. As a Sikh, Sundar was taught about Hinduism and came along with his parents to Hindu temples. By the age of seven he had already memorized Bagawadgita, the songs of blissful people, which is a long and intricate verse containing lessons of life. At sixteen, not only had he mastered Veda, the ancient sacred books of Hinduism, but he had also read Koran, the sacred book of Islam. He then got acquainted with some Sadhus who taught him Yoga. A Sadhu is a Hindu who devotes his entire life to his religion and forsakes all the worldly pleasures. Sundar remained single and jobless. He travelled all over India wearing a yellow robe without any food and without having any permanent residence. He lived only on the charity of others.
It was his mother who first encouraged him to become a Sadhu. She once told him, "Do not be selfish and materialistic like your brothers, but seek for your peace of mind and hold steadily onto your faith. Be a Sadhu." However, he never achieved peacefulness in his meditations. Owing to his mother's connections with some women from a British mission in Rajpur, Sundar was able to enter the school run by the missionaries. It was there that Sundar was first exposed to the Bible. He wasn't interested in the Bible at that time. Instead, he ardently buried himself in the occult art of Hinduism.
His mother died when he was 14 years old. Since then his life changed dramatically. Convinced that what Jesus had taught was completely wrong, he tore the Bible apart and burned it. He even threw stones at preachers and encouraged others to do likewise. Still, however hard he tried, he couldn't find the peace he had been seeking for in his own religion. He reached a point in his life where committing suicide crossed his mind. Three days after he burned the Bible in front of his father, he woke up at 3 a.m. and said to himself, "Oh God, if you do exist, show me the right way, or I will kill myself." He was thinking of throwing himself in front of a train that usually passed at 5 a.m. every morning behind their house in the hope that he would find peacefulness in his future reincarnation. He repeated his prayer once again. All of a sudden he saw a brilliant light. At first he feared that the room was on fire. But nothing happened. He then thought that it might be an answer to his prayer. While watching the light, he suddenly saw Jesus' figure in the radiance. He then heard a voice in Hindi saying, "How much longer are you going to search for me? I have come to save you. You prayed for the right path. Why have you not followed it?" At that time, Sundar realized that Jesus had not died and that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.
Thereafter his life was transformed. He wanted to be baptized. Although his family tried to prevent him from his intention, he was determined. In 1905, on his birthday, he was baptized in an English church in Simla. At that time, he decided to become a Sadhu Christian, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord. As a Sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others, abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to. In addition, he also wanted to be free to devote himself to the Lord.
Having become a Christian, he was renounced by his father and ostracized by his family. On October 16 1905, Sundar wearing a yellow robe, barefooted and without provisions, resumed his nomadic life from village to village, but this time he followed in Jesus' footsteps. In 1906, he went to Tibet for the first time. That country attracted him, primarily because of the great challenges it presented against evangelism. "There will be very strong opposition and persecution there. High above the tranquil snowclad Himalayan peaks, there will be a lot of time and opportunities to meet God and to read the Bible," he thought.
On his way to Tibet, he met Stoker, an American missionary who also wore a yellow robe. Sometimes they spent the night together under a tree or in a mountain cave at an altitude of 5000 meters above sea level, without enough food. Happily they endured all the hardship for the sake of spreading the Gospel. When Sundar became ill, Stoker got them a place to stay in a house belonging to a European. Inspired by Sundar's faithfulness towards God and sincere love towards other people, the host repented his sins and gave his life to serving the Lord.
Following the advice of his friends, Sadhu enrolled himself in St.John School of Theology in Lahore. After studying for two years there, he resumed his travel. An eyewitness reported his experience with Sundar, "I encountered Sundar Singh as he was walking down a mountain trail to proclaim the Gospel to us. He then sat on top of a tree, wiped the sweat off his face and sang a hymn about the love of Jesus to us. The audience was not impressed by the song. One man came forward from the audience, pulled Sundar down from the tree and knocked him to the ground. Silently, Sundar got to his feet and began praying for these hostile people. He then told us about the love of Jesus who had died to redeem all sinners. Because of that I repented and so did the attacker." That was not the only time when Sundar won souls for the Lord by adhering to Jesus' instruction which says, "Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too." (Matthew 5:39).
One day in Nepal, Sundar was ambushed by four robbers in the middle of a jungle. One of them brandished a sword. Meekly, Sundar bowed his head thinking that his life was about to end. This attitude surprised the perpetrators. Since he was penniless, they took his blanket away from him and let him go. But then, one of the robbers called him back and curiously asked his name. Sundar introduced himself, opened his Bible and started telling him the story of the rich man and Lazarus the poor. The robber said that the end of the rich man's life was unpleasant and asked what would happen to himself. Sundar then told him about the Gospel and God's forgiveness. The robber took Sundar home with him and repented.
In 1912 Sundar decided to imitate Jesus' seclusion and fasting for 40 days even though his friends advised him against it. He failed to fast for 40 days because he became weak. However the experience strengthened his spirit. He could thus overcome all doubts, anger and impatience.
In the following years, he was often persecuted but he was also miraculously delivered by the Lord. In 1914, Sundar preached in Nepal, a country with a very strong root of Buddhism. In the town of Rasa, he was sentenced to death by a local Lama on the grounds of spreading a foreign religion. He was thrown into a dry well the top of which was then covered and locked from the outside. He was without food and drink, naked inside the well together with corpses of executed murderers. He stayed in the horrible well for 2 days until a stranger came and helped him out of the well. After relocking the well, the stranger left without saying anything. Not long after that, Sundar was recaptured and taken to the Lama. The Lama was very surprised since he had always kept the only key to the well with him. Realizing that Sundar was under the protection of a very powerful God, they became fearful of him and begged him to leave them.
In 1918, Sundar visited Madras where thousands of people gathered to listen to him preach. There Sundar focussed his preach on Jesus Christ the redeemer. He testified, "Jesus' presence always brought astonishing peace to me no matter how bad the situations I was in. Whenever I was in a prison, he was always there for me. He transformed the jail into a heaven and the burdens became blessings. There are many Christians who do not feel His glorious presence as something real. Because for them Jesus only occurs in their minds and not in their hearts. Only when someone surrenders his heart to Jesus can he find Him."
Sundar often used parables in his preachings. He once said, "One day after a long journey, I rested in front of a house. Suddenly a sparrow came towards me blown helplessly by a strong wind. From another direction, an eagle dived to catch the panicky sparrow. Threatened from different directions, the sparrow flew into my lap. By choice, it would not normally do that. However, the little bird was seeking for a refuge from a great danger. Likewise, the violent winds of suffering and trouble blow us into the Lord's protective hands."
Sadhu Sundar Singh journeyed much. He travelled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe, Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and Amsterdam among others. Sundar remained modest despite his fame. His attitude made his father repent. Sundar never thought of himself. He only desired to follow Jesus' example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his enemies by love. This attitude often caused his enemies to feel ashamed of themselves. Once, he was preaching in a public market when a fanatic from a different religion suddenly punched his right cheek. Calmly, Sundar turned his left cheek towards the assailant. The attacker left. But that night Sundar received a message >from the attacker asking for forgiveness. On another occasion, Sundar told some harvesters about the parable of the weeds. They became annoyed and cursed him. One of them threw a stone at Sundar's head. At that instant, the stone thrower was struck by such a painful headache that he had to lie down on the ground. Without hesitations, Sundar took over that man's chore and helped them harvest the crops. They soon became friendly to him and invited him home. Their hearts were then open to the Gospel. The next day after Sundar left, they noticed that their harvest became more abundant.
Sundar visited Tibet every summer. In 1929, he visited that country again and was never seen since. Sundar manifested into his life the verse written in Mark 8:35 which says, "For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for me and for the Gospel will save it."
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Sadhu Sundar Singh - (1889-1929), Indian Christian missionary
Singh was raised a member of the Sikh religion. Prior to his conversion, Sundar attended a primary school run by the American Presbyterian Mission where the New Testament was read daily as a "textbook." Sundar "refused to read the Bible at the daily lessons...To some extent the teaching of the Gospel on the love of God attracted me, but I still thought it was false."
In the midst of such confusion and while only fourteen years old, his mother died, and Sundar underwent a crisis of faith. His mother was a loving saintly woman and they were very close. In his anger, Sundar burned a copy of one of the Gospels in public. Within three days Sundar Singh could bear his misery no longer. Late one night in December 1903, he rose from bed and prayed that God reveal himself to him if he really existed. Otherwise -- "I planned to throw myself in front of the train which passed by our house." For seven hours Sundar Singh prayed. "O God, if there is a God, reveal thyself to me tonight." The next train was due at five o'clock in the morning. The hours passed. Suddenly the room filled with a glow. A man appeared before him. Sundar Singh heard a voice say, "How long will you deny me? I died for you; I have given my life for you." He saw the man's hands, pierced by nails.
Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected form of Jesus, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Jesus was the true Savior, and that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.
Despite his family's pleas, bribes, and threats, Sundar wanted to be baptized in the Christian faith. After his father spoke words of official rejection over him, Sundar became an outcast from his people. He cut off the hair he had worn long like every Sikh man. Against great opposition, he was baptized on his birthday in 1905, in an English church in Simla.
Conventional Indian churches were willing to grant him a pulpit, but their rules were foreign to his spirit. Indeed, he felt that a key reason the gospel was not accepted in India was because it came in a garb foreign to Indians. He decided to become a sadhu, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to. As a sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others, abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. In this lifestyle, he was free to devote himself to the Lord. Dressed in his thin yellow robe, Sundar Singh took to the road and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.
Sundar journeyed much. He traveled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe, Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and Amsterdam among others. Despite his growing fame, Sundar retained a modest nature, desiring only to follow Jesus' example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his enemies by love.
He was quite independent of outward Church authority in all his religious life, thought, and work. He dropped out of a Christian seminary that he briefly attended. Neither did he attach much importance to public worship because in his experience the heart prays better in solitude than in a congregation.
He traveled in India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer and in 1929, he visited there and was never seen again.
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