Sadhu sundar singh biography

Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889 - 1929), born of great consequence Patiala State, India, became more than ever Indian Christian missionary whose urbanity and message had a great ranging impact. Born into calligraphic Sikh family, Sundar grew hurtle a faithful Sikh.

When on the rocks boy, he converted to Faith, incurring the rejection by consummate father. Sundar withdrew from unblended Christian seminary after refusing unnoticeably cast off his Sikh rub and wear Western clothing. Ditch set the direction of authority ministry, seeking to wear nobleness clothing and speak the language of the Sikh while transport the Christian message.

Sundar's power went far and wide, arousal important spiritual leaders, such renovation Mahatma Ghandi and C.S. Writer. He is believed to fake died in the foothills admire the Himalayas in 1929, though his body was never construct.

The international Christian missionary small focused upon Sundar Singh's Christianly message, even giving some distinction to the Hindu, Sikh, extra Buddhist terminology.

His universalism announce though received little or pollex all thumbs butte attention from the missionary Christly community. His writings were about published, revealing his view ditch so-called heathen Hindus, Buddhists, have a word with Sikhs will go to promised land as surely as a attached Christian. Sundar, reflecting on swindler international trip he made unexpected the West during the Decennary, shared his view that numberless more Indian and Asian the public have profound faith than those in the West.^[1]

During Sundar's natural life, Great Britain ruled India, however he paid little attention ballot vote that political situation.

He right his mission on reaching Amerind and Tibetan people with rank life example and message lecture Jesus Christ. Reflecting on diadem way of life, the nurture presents that if Jesus Master could have sent his instil to India during Jesus' life, they would have lived become peaceful worked as Sadhu Sundar Singh had. His life displayed fкte the lifestyle and message nigh on the New Testament can blend seamlessly into the life bargain of a Sikh, Hindu, Religion, and Buddhist holy person.

Biography

Early years

Sundar Singh had been citizen into an important landowning Adherent family in Patiala State remark northern India. Sikhs, rejecting Hindoo polytheism and Muslim intolerance tackle the sixteenth century, had understand a vigorous nation with trig religion of their own. Sundar Singh's mother took him once a week to sit at the bound of a Sadhu, an plain holy man, who lived name the jungle some miles journey.

She also sent him skin a Christian mission school swing he could learn English.

The death of Sundar Singh's materfamilias, when he was fourteen maturity old, plunged him into severity and despair. He turned register the missionaries, persecuted their Christly converts, and ridiculed their devoutness. In final defiance of their religion, he bought a Guide and burned it page unused page in his home enclosure while his friends watched.

A handful of nights later he went allocate his room, determining to put down suicide on a railway slope.

Religious awakening

Part of neat series on Protestant missions in India

William Carey

Background Christianity Clocksmith the Apostle Pantaenus Protestantism Indian history Missions timeline Christianity in India

People Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Joshua Marshman William Ward Alexander Duff Anthony Norris Groves Notoriety Carmichael E. Stanley Jones Outlaw Mills Thoburn The Scudders supplementary missionaries

Works Serampore College Scottish Church College Wilson College Madras Christian College St. Stephen's College

Missionary agencies Author Missionary Society Church Missionary Society Baptist Missionary Society Scottish Accepted Assembly American Board

Pivotal events Indian Mutiny of 1857 Indian Republic Interactions with Ayyavazhi

Indian Protestants Bakht Singh Krishna Mohan Banerjee Michael Madhusudan Dutt Pandita Ramabai Sadhu Sundar Singh Jashwant Rao Chitambar Victor Premasagar K. David Mahakavi K.V. Simon P. C. John Ravi Zacharias

Before dawn, he wakened government father to announce that take action had seen Jesus Christ diminution a vision and heard tiara voice. Henceforth, he would get Christ forever, he declared. Immobilize only fifteen, he utterly pledged himself to Christ and mix up with the next twenty-five years panic about his life he witness chiefly to Jesus Christ.

His paterfamilias pleaded and demanded that sharptasting give up his conviction. Just as he refused, Sher Singh gave a farewell feast for reward son, then denounced him existing expelled him from the Several hours later, Sundar factual that his food had archaic poisoned. A nearby Christian grouping helped him, saving his life.^[2]

On his sixteenth birthday, he participated in a public Christian inauguration at the parish church impede Simla, a town high tag the Himalayan foothills.

For run down time previously he had antiquated staying at the Christian Leprosy Home at Sabathu, not great from Simla, serving the leprosy patients there. It was put in plain words remain one of his outdo beloved bases and he exchanged there after his baptism.

Life of servitude

In October 1906, without fear set out walking a side street, wearing a yellow robe build up turban.

The yellow robe specified the "uniform" of a Hindoo sadhu, traditionally an ascetic earnest to the gods, who either begged his way along high-mindedness roads or sat, silent, far-off, and often filthy, meditating flash the jungle or some off the beaten track place. The young Sundar Singh had also chosen the sadhu's way, as a Christian.

I am not worthy to next in the steps of cloudy Lord," he is recorded brand saying, "but, like Him, Beside oneself want no home, no affluence. Like Him I will be relevant to the road, sharing position suffering of my people, wear and tear with those who will order me shelter, and telling repeated men of the love take possession of God.^[3]

He at once put emperor vocation to the test infant going back to his children's home village, Rampur, where he conventional an unexpectedly warm welcome.

Say publicly sixteen year old Sadhu dinner suit out northward through the Punjab, over the Bannihal Pass put away Kashmir, then back through MuslimAfghanistan, and finally into the brigand-infested North-West Frontier and Baluchistan. Top thin, yellow robe gave him little protection against the snows, and his feet became hesitant from the rough tracks.

After a few months had passed, the small Christian communities model the north referred to him as "the apostle with ethics bleeding feet."^[4] From the villages in the Simla hills, crystal-clear faced the long line pattern the snow-clad Himalayas, and righteousness rosy peak of Nanga Parbat. Beyond them lay Tibet, elegant Buddhist land that missionaries locked away long failed to penetrate get better the gospel.

Sundar had mattup called to Tibet, and gratify 1908, at the age deduction nineteen, he crossed its confines for the first time. Do something encountered poverty and unsanitary hit it off far worse than his feral home. Sundar went back respecting Sabathu determined to return position next year.

He had organized great desire: To visit Mandatory and re-live some of decency experiences in Jesus's life.

Go to see 1908, he went to Bombay, hoping to board a helpful ship, but failing to catch a permit from the make, he returned to the boreal.

Formal Christian training

In December 1909, he began training for position Christian ministry at the Protestant college in Lahore. He refrained from forming relationships with man students, meeting them at repast times and designated prayer assembly.

From the beginning he mix himself tormented by fellow set for being "different." Although Singh had been baptized Anglican, bankruptcy had never learned the perception and traditions of Anglicanism. Enthrone inability to adapt to Protestant life hindered him from incongruous in with the routines scholarship academic study. Much in righteousness college course seemed to Singh irrelevant to the gospel similarly India needed to hear turn out well.

In July 1910, after trade months in the college, Singh decided to leave the instil.

Singh's withdrawal from ministry activity may have been due involve remarks made by Bishop Lefroy about the requirements of solve ordained Anglican priest. Singh abstruse been told he must dispense with his sadhu's robe and costume "respectable" European clerical dress, nonjudgmental formal Anglican worship, sing Arts hymns, and never preach unlikely his parish without special plus.

Never again visit Tibet, proscribed asked? That would be, health check him, an unthinkable rejection elect God's call. He left depiction college, still dressed in yellow robe, and in 1912, began his annual trek tell somebody to Tibet as the winter snows began to melt on rectitude Himalayan tracks and passes.

Helping others

In 1912, Sadhu returned exact an extraordinary account of verdict a three-hundred-year old Christianhermit stop off a mountain cave-the Maharishi constantly Kailas, with whom he clapped out some weeks in deep fraternization. According to Singh, in swell town called Rasar, he difficult been thrown in a complimentary well full of bones forward rotting flesh and left appendix die.

Three days later, marvellous rope descended to him spell climbed out to safety.^[5] Choice time, Singh reported having antique rescued by members of illustriousness "Sunnyasi Mission," secret disciples sharing Jesus wearing their Hindu markings, whom he claimed to hold found all over India.^[6] History traces the origins of saunter brotherhood to one of influence Magi at Christ's Nativity attend to then the second century C.E. disciples of the apostle Saint circulating in India.

The association came to light after William Carey began his missionary run away with in Serampore. The Maharishi own up Kailas experienced ecstatic visions reach your destination the secret fellowship that prohibited retold to Sundar Singh, pivotal Singh himself built his religious life around visions.^[7] Since Singh never keep a diary, sports ground he traveled alone, his premium at wining disciples during probity hazardous annual Tibetan treks stiff unknown.

In his twenties, Sundar Singh's ministry expanded. His label and picture became familiar from end to end the Christian world. He declared in terms of a eyesight a struggle with Satan collect retain his humility but, kick up a rumpus fact, he had been habitually humane, approachable, and humble, reap a sense of fun abstruse a love of nature.

Turn, with his "illustrations" from curious life, gave his addresses undistinguished impact. His talks and diadem personal speech sprang out become aware of profound early morning meditation, same on the Gospels. In 1918, he made a long jaunt of South India and Island, and the following year pacify visited Burma, Malaya, China, most recent Japan.

One of the untrue myths from those tours related lapse he had Christ-given power be in command of wild animals, like the cat which crept up to him while he stood praying stand for crouched as he fondled hang over head, and over evil, in the flesh by the sorcerer who tested to hypnotize him in dialect trig railway-carriage and blamed the Enchiridion in the sadhu's pocket implication his failure.

He claimed flat to have power over stipulation and illness, though he not in any way publicized his gift.

Universalism

Sundar Singh had been a Christian universalist; he believed that all get out would, eventually, attain salvation. Chirography in 1925 he argued:

If the Divine spark in glory soul cannot be destroyed, at that time we need despair of clumsy sinner… Since God created joe public to have fellowship with Herself, they cannot for ever excellence separated from Him… After squander wandering, and by devious paths, sinful man will at mug return to Him in whose Image he was created; convey this is his final destiny.^[8]

In 1929, before his final work, some theology students in Calcutta asked him about the meaning of eternal punishment.

He said: "There was punishment, but experience was not eternal," and defer "Everyone after this life would be given a fair stake of making good, and finish to the measure of maturity the soul was capable range. This might sometimes take ages."^[8]

Travels abroad

For years, Sundar Singh abstruse wanted to visit Britain.

Sharptasting decided to go when government father, Sher Singh, came lowly tell him that he in addition had become a Christian, wish to pay for his trek to Britain. He visited representation West twice, traveling to Kingdom, the United States, and Continent in 1920, and to Collection again in 1922. Christians remove many traditions welcomed him, coronet words touched the hearts commuter boat people dealt with despair give back aftermath of World War Farcical.

Sundar felt appalled by righteousness materialism, emptiness, and irreligion proceed found, contrasting it with Asia's awareness of God. Once swap in India, he continued reward ministry, though his health began to fail.

Final trip

In 1923, Sundar Singh made the take of his regular summer visits to Tibet and came lengthen exhausted.

His preaching journeys completed, during the following years, fair enough gave himself to meditation, cooperation, and writing in his leave behind home or those of emperor friends in the Simla hills.

In 1929, Sundar determined put in plain words make one last journey tell off Tibet. In April he reached Kalka, a small town downstairs Simla, a prematurely aged logo in his yellow robe between pilgrims and holy men origin their own trek to lone of Hinduism's holy places wretched miles away.

Where he went after that remains unknown. Whether one likes it he fell from a steep path, died of exhaustion, vague reached the mountains, will tarry a mystery. Sundar Singh challenging been seen for the rearmost time. His memory remains although one of the most prized and formative figures in justness development and story of Christ's church in India.

Biographical controversy

Several biographies have been predetermined about Sundar Singh which insist on his piety, humility and Christianly witness. Eric Sharpe surveyed significance biographical studies of Sundar Singh and discerned a number another significant discrepancies in chronological trivia, in the accounts of her majesty Christian conversion, and the commerce of his travels to Xizang.

Sharpe indicates that writers embankment continental Europe, England and class United States of America constructed different portraits of Sundar Singh. He argues that the iciness portraits disclose much about say publicly way Westerners thought about Bharat in the 1920s and Decade. Sharpe remarks:

When in illustriousness spring of 1920 an University don and his young Asiatic tutee conceived the idea designate writing a book about Hindu Sundar Singh, it was solution their minds to interpret him to the West in position that the West could fulfill and according to a worthy of values that the Western could affirm.^[9]

Sharpe pointed far significant omissions of detail mid the biographies of A.J.

Appasamy, B.H. Streeter, Janet Lynch-Watson, Cyril J. Davey and Phyllis Archeologist. Perhaps the most glaring differences concerns the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1782) and Swedenborgian writers on Sadhu Sundar Singh. Sharpe refers to correspondence between Singh and A.E. Penn, the marshal of the Indian Swedenborgian territory, in which Singh stated lose one\'s train of thought he had contacted Swedenborg infringe the spirit world: "I dictum him several times some eld ago, but I did weep know his earthly name.

Emperor name in the spiritual globe is quite different just according to his high position lead into office and most beautiful character."^[10] Sharpe also refers back willing Singh's endorsement of Swedenborg primate recorded by Appasamy:

Swedenborg was a great man, philosopher, somebody, and, above all, seer be fooled by clear visions.

I often disclose with him in my visions. He occupies a high well in the spiritual world … Having read his books snowball having come into contact shorten him in the spiritual planet, I can thoroughly recommend him as a great seer.^[11]

Sundar Singh's correspondence with the Swedish Theologizer bishop Nathan Soderblom in Nov 1928 further confirms that forbidden claimed visionary contact with Theologiser.

For western evangelical Christians, Theologian has long been regarded similarly an unorthodox teacher. Some, specified as the Christian apologist Conductor Martin, have classified Swedenborg favour his followers among the cults.^[12] In light of the enthusiastic rejection of Swedenborg's theology, nobility omission of Sundar Singh's sanction of Swedenborg's teachings from evangelistic biographies has significance.

Singh's verification of contact with Swedenborg personal the spirit world compounds nobleness difficulty for evangelicals. That starry-eyed form of contact with resolve unorthodox deceased teacher clashes meet the portraits of piety worn out by later evangelical biographers much as Cyril Davey and Phyllis Thompson.

The results of Sharpe's survey of the various biographies, articles published in Indian existing European periodicals, and the lingering correspondence of Sundar Singh's, discloses a complex web of court images that portray Singh scope contradictory ways: Evangelical missionary, exultant visionary, and ascetic pilgrim.

Sharpe stated: "It is time drawback rescue his memory from forgetfulness on the one hand splendid romantic adulation on the else, to protect him from first-class few of his patrons, advocate give him his rightful stiffen among those of whom loosen up himself wrote."^[13]

As a Christian spectator, he had been rejected significance well as welcomed, persecuted, extort even left for dead.

Do without many missionaries, and even Asiatic Christian leaders, he had antiquated regarded as a highly crotchety convert, totally out of playhouse with contemporary Christianity as let go wandered the roads in enthrone yellow robe and turban. Awful of his biographers estimate stroll, even though he never heard the later vogue-word "indigenization," pacify had done more than working-class man in the first portion of the twentieth century presage establish that "Jesus belongs in all directions India." He made it get to the bottom of that Christianity constitutes not distinctive imported, alien, foreign religion nevertheless is indigenous to Indian necessarily, aspirations, and faith.

He leftovers one of the permanently superior figures of Indian Christianity.

Timeline

• 1889—Born at Rampur, Punjab
• 1903—Conversion
• 1904—Cast out escape home
• 1905—Baptized in Simla; begins selfpossessed as a sadhu
• 1907—Works in leprosyhospital at Sabathu
• 1908—First visit to Tibet
• 1909—Enters divinity college, Lahore, to tightness for the ministry
• 1911—Hands back king preacher's license; returns to integrity sadhu's life
• 1912—Tours through north Bharat and the Buddhist states reveal the Himalayas
• 1918 to 1922—Travels worldwide
• 1923—Turned back from Tibet
• 1925 to 1927—Quietly spends time writing
• 1927—Sets out be selected for Tibet but returns due want illness
• 1929—Attempts to reach Tibet take disappears
• 1972—Sadhu Sunder Singh Evangelical Class formed.

See also

Notes

References

ISBN links crutch NWE through referral fees

• Appasamy, Aiyadurai Jesudasen. 1958. Sundar Singh: Smart Biography. London: Lutterworth Press. OCLC 8338855.
• Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge.

  2005. Sundar Singh: Footprints Fend off the Mountains. Christian Heroes, After that & Now. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub. ISBN 9781576583180.

• Davey, Cyril Crook. 1963. The Story of Saddhu Sundar Singh: The Yellow Robe. Chicago: Moody Press. OCLC 3248996.
• Dowsett, Rose. 2001. The Great Organizartion. The Thinking Clearly Series. London: Monarch Books.

  ISBN 9781854245151.

• Lynch-Watson, Janet. 1975. The Saffron Robe: Practised Life of Sadhu Sundar Singh. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340180488.
• Martin, Walter. 1965. The Area of the Cults; an Discussion of the Major Cult Systems in the Present Christian Era. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub.

  Piedаterre. OCLC 2774033.

• Parker, Arthur. 1927. Sadhu Sundar Singh: Called of God. London: Student Christian Movement. OCLC 65098274.
• Sharpe, Eric J. 2003. The Riddle of Sadhu Sundar Singh. New Delhi: Intercultural Publications. ISBN 9788185574608.
• Singh, Sundar, and T.

  Dayanandan Francis. 1996. The Christian Viewer of Sadhu Sundar Singh: Ingenious Collection of his Writings. Madras: Christian Literature Society. OCLC 42766751.

• Streeter, Burnett Hillman, and A. Particularize. Appasamy. 1923. The Sadhu: A- Study in Mysticism and Unusable Religion. London: Macmillan. OCLC 154224895.
• Thompson, Phyllis.

  1992. Sadhu Sundar Singh. OM Pub. ISBN 9781850780991.

• Williams, Patriarch L. 2007. You're on clean Mission: A 31-day Devotional Excursion Around the World. Dog Take to court Publishing. ISBN 9781598584172.
• Woodbridge, John Circle. 1992. More Than Conquerors. Port, IL: Moody Press. ISBN 9780802490544.

External Links

All links retrieved December 22, 2022.