Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Jee
Most of you may already be familiar with the name Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Jee. He was one of the 13 Shaheeds from the 1978 Vaisakhi Saka in Amritsar. I don’t know why but I always feel a sense of deep Chardee Kalan when I see his picture. He reminds me so much of Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Jee, this maybe because of his age and Khalsa bana.
There are some details of his life on the web but I wanted to share an incident in his life that some of you may not be aware of. This incident occured with a famous respected Sant of his time, I have deliberately not mentioned his name in this episode. My narration of the events might be slightly different to what others may have heard because this has only been passed on through word of mouth and is not written. However the message and lessons do not differ.
The Incident
Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Jee together with other Singh/Singhnian from the Jatha used to annually attend a Smagam held by a Sant. This Sant was no ordinary Sant, he had respect from all quarters. The fact that Singh/Singhnian from the Jatha used to go there indicates the high respect and Bhagtee he had.
The Smagams used to be held in a Chardee Kala atmosphere and love between different Jathas was evident. As usual at end of divan Degh used to be distributed among the Sangat. The Degh was however not distributed in Sarbloh, so naturally Bhai Avtar Singh Jee being a Sarblohee Singh used to get up and not take the Degh.
The Sant and his followers used to see this. Eventually one day at the end of a divan the Sant told one of his followers to go and see Bhai Avtar Singh Jee and tell him from me that Sarbloh is no longer important.
This follower of the Sant went and met Bhai Sahib and told him that the Sant has said “that Sarbloh is no longer important” therefore you should not refuse to take Degh.
Hearing these words Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Jee was initially hit by dubda, how can someone say this? The Sant is of very high avastha and he may know something I don’t ! Bhai Sahib then went into Bhairag asking Guru Gobind Singh Jee for tath, he sat down in samadee. He went into deep contemplation of Naam, his answer was given by no other than Guru Jee himself. Bhai Sahib then opened his eyes and told the Sant’s follower that Guru Gobind Singh Jee has said that “ Give 100 smacks to the one that says Sarbloh is not important (Sau Chitter Maro)”
The follower went and told this to the Sant and the Sant never again questioned Bhai Sahib or any other Singh/Singhee again on the subject of Sarbloh.
Conclusion
In today’s world we seeing a lot of people questioning the need for Sarbloh from people that think they are Chardee Kala. The reality is that if they were truly Chardee Kala then they would realise the greatness of Sarbloh Rehat. Questioning only comes about because of their weakness, because they can not keep the rehat or have not been blessed to see the gift they try to dismiss it instead of humbly acknowledging their failure. Sure they may receive some Kirpa for their efforts in their Bhagtee but this does not give them the authority to challenge or dismiss Gurmat Tath Sarbloh Rehat.