Baba Ran Singh Ji was born at Hazoor Sahib on the 24.12.1981. He was actually born just a stone’s throw distance from Gurdwara Banda Ghatt. He hails from a large family of eight siblings and he is fifth in line in the family. He has two elder brothers Harcharan Singh (Anandpur Sahib), Parmjit Singh (Hazoor Sahib) and two elder sisters Jaswant Kaur (Hazoor Sahib) and Kulwant Kaur. Younger to him are Narinder Kaur, Inderjit Kaur and Gopal Singh. Baba Ran Singh lost his father, Ram Singh in 1992 at the age of 70 from cancer and his mother, Kamal Kaur aged 75 still lives at Hazoor Sahib. All his sisters are married and the entire family are all on the spiritual path (maarag).
He is petite, asthenic in physique and very agile in his movements.]
He is very attentive, bundle of energy, spontaneous and witty. He is always willing to talk about the Gurbani and sincerely, he knows it by heart. The Shabads just flows from him and he usually recites after a deep thought and contemplation. He has a very healthy lifestyle, exercises and meditates on the Name of Waheguru. He learnt Gurmukhi at a tender age and he received his Gurmat vidhya (spiritual knowledge) daily for 3 hours in the morning between 8-11 am. He took khande batta da amrit in 1992 at Baba Bakala. He learnt about the entire Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sarabloh Granth, Suraj Parkash, Panth Parkash and received santhiya all from Mahant Trilochan Singh of Khadur Sahib. He venerates three Granths: The Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sri Dasam Granth and the Sri Sarbloh Granth. The "saintly way" is enshrined in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The warrior spirit is enshrined in the Sri Dasam Granth and Sri Sarbloh Granth. He lived the life of a nihang who are renowned for their bravery and ruthlessness in the battlefield.
His attire is unique and he stands out conspicuously in the crowd. He wears checkered dresses of electric blue, wears sarbloh kara round his right wrist; wears a blue turban and his kirpan tucked in the kamarkasa. On Gurpurb occasion, the turban is usually saffron in colour. I observed that he does not wear a watch and he relies on his in-built clock to guide him for the day. He is extremely skilled at gatka (martial arts with all the kirpans and defence mechanisms. The fighting style he is skilled at is referred to as shastar vidiya, which in its modern form as a competitive sport is known as gatka. The compositions from the Sri Dasam Granth are used in unison with the battle maneuvers (Leadership in the finest mould- Guru Gobind Singh Ji by Col.Ravi Batra).
Baba Ran Singh is a learned Nihang Singh who is well versed in the traditions, history and philosophy of the Sikh religion. Despite his young age he has become the Head Granthi of Baba Bakala Dal as a result of his knowledge of Sikh scripture. In this two part video he shares some thoughts on the Dasam Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
www.sridasamgranth.com/page/4531905292
www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DegzcEWlLgD4
Late Baba Bishan Singh from Baba Bakala blessed the family and he made a humble request to the family to give away one of their sons for Guru Di Fauj and Guru di Sewa. Baba Ran Singh Ji was eight years of age, at the request of the solemn pledge, joined the Guru di Fauj at a tender age of 8.and went off to Baba Bakala where Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was pronounced as the ninth Guru, the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Ji. He lived the life of Nihang or Akal Purukh di Fauj- "the Timeless One", a term for God. Thus Akali translates as "Servitor of the Timeless God". This also symbolises the Akali as the immortals or the timeless warriors. The Akal Sena was originally started by Guru Hargobind Sahib. The Khalsa expanded on the Akal Sena.
Baba Ran Singh Ji focussed all his energy into sangat di sewa, Guru Darbar di sewa and sewa of Guru Ji’s horses. The horses are very unique as the breeds are the lineage from Guru Hagobind Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s days. Baba Ran Singh was part of the Chakravarti Khalsa doing sewa of the Sikh Panth. The sewa took many forms and he became part of the group of itinerant travellers to villages, traversing the thick jungles of Panjab. They were constantly on the move (nomadic existence) to do their teachings and sewa to the local villages where they descended. He endured stoically the journey into all the thick jungles, brambles and thorns with great resilience and fortitude to survive under such difficult conditions. He faced all the challenges as meted out by the Akal Purukh. His unstinting sewa has been amazing and he dedicated his life to the sangat. He served the Panth the day he left home at the age of 8 and has been serving the Panth from December 1989 until February 2010, when he was approached to come and lead the first Gurdwara, Khalsa Jatha in London. Now, he is the Head Jathedar of the Central Gurdwara, Shepherd Bush Gurdwara. He discharges his secular duties nicely.
He wakes up automatically at 0330 hours to recite first the Panj Baniyas- Jap Ji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, Tav Prasad Sawaiye, Kabyo Baach Benti Chaupeyee and Anand Sahib, followed by eleven other baniyas at amrit vela; the baniyas are Shabad Hazare, Aad Granth Sahib, Shabad Hazare Patshaahi Dasveen, Asa Di Vaar, Ramkali ki Var, Saththey Balwindi Ki Var, Sloak Mehla 9(Guru Tegh Bahdur Ji), Jayshree ki Var. Tethey Sawaiya Patshaahi Dasveen, Shastaar naam mala, Lavaan, Rag Mala, Basant ki Vaar. In the evening, he recites Sodar Rehras, Sampuran aarti arata and Sohela.
He has immersed himself in Naam simran and devotion to Waheguru and believes that individuals to be focused in his universal and infinite existence; to live to the teachings and preaching of Guru Nanak Dev Ji: naam japna (remembering Waheguru), wand chhako (sharing food and doing sewa) and kirit karo (working hard and earning money by sweat). He advocates that truthful living is the best solutions to life and not to get distracted by materialism.
Since his arrival in London, he has brought life into the Gurdwara at a time when the crowd was dwindling for perpetual political turmoil in the Gurdwara. He has brought strength to the Gurdwara by inspiring whoever attends and gives that 1:1 attention with education on the Granth and about the Sikh faith. He makes the discussion so lively with personal anecdotes to illustrate the meaning of the Shabads. He is very obliging and willing to teach the Bani or to answer any questions about the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Whilst at the Gurdwara, he recites all the daily prayers for the sangat and ensures all is performed with rehat maryada. He also does katha and viakhya and has just completed katha on the Suraj Parkash. It is a reciprocal relationship he has with the sangat and also willing to learn from others. He is just a good listener and just imagine the knowledge he is amassing from others. He tells me that for the atma, the food is gyan and dhyan than anything else, as others are distracted by worldly affairs. The primary focus is on naam simran and meditating in His Name.
When I asked about his family, it appeared his attachment with them was rather flimsy and he has become rather detached from them; his attachment is more so with the sangat and Waheguru. He retorted by saying that he used to meet his family once a year during the Dussehra festival at Hazoor Sahib. Dussehra is a celebration of victory of good over evil. Dussehra is celebrated throughout the country at the same time, with varying rituals, but with great enthusiasm and energy as it marks the end of scorching summer and the start of winter season. His entire family attends the festival and this is the only moment, he gets the chance to meet the family. The rest of the time is devoted to total commitment to Panth sewa.
He was rather reluctant to share his personal endeavors and he mentioned that he is not looking for any publicity. I explained to him that the reason for the publication is to inspire others and to be aware that he is in town for anyone to come and meet him. It will be an opportunity for them to tell him which aspects of the faith they wish to be enlightened upon and he will be happy to do so. He is busy as the days are scheduled to see someone and he is so obliging to spend the time without any monetary gains. I am just amazed how he juggles the time and accomplishes his tasks very well. It is really impressive!
He is on the mobile and he usually responds to most of the calls. His contact number is 07964746900. He can be seen at the Central Gurdwara, Queensdale Road, Shepherds Bush, London. The Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) is the first Gurdwara in the UK was established in 1908 and it was built by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Ji of Patiala. The lineage Royal family still pay homage to the Central Gurdwara located in the thriving metropolis of London.
I asked about his future plans. His response: I just love the depth of the Bani; rich in every aspect and just want to do the parchhaar of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and get all the satisfaction from it. I enjoy reciting Jap Ji Sahib on daily basis and as I have been drummed Bani, Bani and Bani at a very young age; I do know it by heart. I am beginning to veechar(spiritual wisdom and its understanding) the Bani and enjoy explaining to others the meaning of each shabad; understanding the Bani enables you to connect with Waheguru, he says.
He cited from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: Bani Guru, Guru Hai Bani , Vich Bani Amrit Sare Gurbani kahe, sevakjan Maane, Partakh Guru Nistaare( The Bani is the Guru, In the Word lies the essence of the nectar; If the disciples obey the Word in daily life, it can lead him to salvation)- SGGS 982
For a read on the Nihang Philosophy follow:
http://www.nihangsingh.org/website/phil.html