Baba Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj

Baba Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj

Jagat Singh Radha Soami – Key Details
Birth July 1884 at Nussi, Punjab
Death 23rd October, 1951 at Beas, Punjab
Seva/Service at Satsang Beas Dera 1948 – 1951
Books with reference on his life & teachings Discourses on Sant Mat; Science of the Soul; Heaven on Earth; With the Three Masters; In the Footsteps of the Master

Early Life and Background of Jagat Singh Radha Soami

Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj was born in Punjab at a small village near Jalandhar city. He did his schooling from Mission School, Jalandhar and then post graduated with a degree in M.Sc. Chemistry. Jagat Singh Ji started teaching Chemistry at Punjab Agricultural College, Lyallpur as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and then he got retired from PAC in 1943 as the Vice Principal.

Jagat Singh was very popular among all the college faculty members and his students who would address him as ‘Guru Ji’. He received the title of Sardar Bahadur for his commendable services. Jagat Singh Maharaj Ji was a pious and obedient disciple of Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj under whose guidance Jagat Singh Ji initiated his practice of Surat Shabd Yoga or Nam Bhakti. His devotion and dedication was such that he used to spend most of his weekends at the Satsang Beas Dera with Baba Sawan Singh Ji.

Jagat Singh Radha Soami Period in Office at Beas Dera

  • Jagat Singh Ji started practicing Surat Shabad Yoga on and from 28th December, 1910. After retiring from Lyallpur College, he started meditating putting all his heart and soul into it.
  • Then Jagat Singh Ji took charge of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Dera, Punjab in April 1948 and started carrying out all his duties with utmost dedication.
  • This is how he became the third Guru of the Radha Soami sect but his health was deteriorating day by day which was not letting him fulfill his duties of being a guru.
  • As a result, he could do only 4 years of seva at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Dera, Punjab and departed for his heavenly abode at the age of 67 in the morning of October 23rd, 1951.
  • Maharaja Charan Singh Ji Maharaj was appointed by Jagat Singh Ji as thr next and fourth Guru of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Dera.

Teachings of Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj

Guru Ji’s wise and valuable words are recorded in the books authored by him. For instance, in the Science of the Soul, Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj has spoken about God, universe and the creator of this universe. His wise teachings are given below:

  • Guru used to say that, “There is a God who is the Creator, Sustainer and Protector of this universe and He is the Ocean of Bliss.
  • The soul is the ethos of a drop of the Ocean of the Lord but because of a long period of separation, it has forgotten its own origin. Guru Ji says that this is why all the misrery and pain is caused to the soul which will end only when the drop emerges again in the Ocean.
  • He says that God is within us only but we cannot see Him with our naked eyes nor do we can hear His voice. It is only when the Lord gives us an instruction that we listen and hear Him upon striking a divine connection with Him.
  • Guru Jagat Singh Ji also shared his views on who the saints and what all do they teach. According to the teachings of the saints as revived by Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj, following are the 5 main things that saints preach:
  • Bhekh or Initiate: The one who follows all the teachings and sayings of his Guru or Saint and engages in serious efforts to realize the presence of God within.
  • Shishya: A disciple or Shishya who has arrived at the first stage on the way and the one who realizes the light within them. As Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji says, ‘A Shishya is he who sees the Living Flame s the Living Flame within himself’.
  • Gyani: The one who has reached the Brahm stage or the one who has attained all knowledge i.e. Gyani is a person who reached that stage from where the three gunas (harmony, action, darkness) and the five tattwas (air, water, earth, ether, fire) begin.
  • Sadhu: The one who has reached the Par Brahma stage. In the words of Kabir: Sadhu is he who conquers this fort.
  • Sant: When one achieves that highest stage where they become one with the Lord i.e. the drop merges with the Ocean itself.

Hence, we can say that Jagat Singh Radha Soami Maharaj believed in the power of meditation or the Surat Shabad Yoga which ultimately connects one’s body and mind with the divine. He also preached that we should ‘Live in the world but be not of the world’. To liberate oneself from the cycle of birth and death, one should connect with God by chanting ‘NAM’ and one could achieve the real and everlasting creator of this universe.

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