GHADAR PARTY HEROES

BABA SOHAN SINGH BHAKNA

Founder president of the Ghadr party in the U.S.A. (1870-1968)


Was the only son of Bhai Karam Singh, of the village of Bhakna, 16 km southwest of Amritsar. He was born in January 1870 at Khutrai Khurd, parental home of his mother, Ram Kaur, 3 km northeast of Guru ka Bagh in Amritsar district. He learnt reacting and writing Punjabi and the rudiments of Sikh faith in the village gurdwara and passed the fifth primary class in Urdu and Persian at the age of 16. He had been married when He was ten to Bishan Kaur, daughter of Khushal Singh, a landlord of jandiala in Lahore district, but the couple remained childless.

Sohan Singh took part in the anti-Colonization Bill agitation of 1906-07. Two years later (3 February 1909) he left home to go to the United States, reaching Seattle on the West Coast on 4 April 1909. He soon found work as a labourer in a timber mill, under construction near Seattle. In those days, Indians in the United States and the neighbouring Canada, most. of them Sikhs from the Punjab, suffered severe discrimination, protest against which had been simmering. In the summer of 1913, representatives of Indians living in Canada and the United States, meeting at Stockton, decided to set. up an organization, Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast (Hindi Pacific Association, for short). Sohan Singh Bhakna was elected its president and Lala Hardayal, intellectual and revolutionary, its general secretary.

A weekly paper Ghadr (lit. rebellion, revolt) was launched on 1 November 1913 to propagate the objective of the Association, which plainly was to make an armed rebellion against the British in India. The journal Ghadr imparted its name to the organization as well as to the movement itself. The United States government, at the instance of the British, issued arrest warrants against Lala Hardayal, but the party succeeded in smuggling him out. of the country in April 1914. The Ghadr party, under Sohan Singh Bhakna, planned an uprising against the British for 1917, but rumours of a war in Europe between England and Germany and the Komagata Maru episode hastened events. Sohan Singh himself contacted the returning Komagata Maru at Yokohama and delivered to Baba Gurdit Singh a consignment. of arms. As he learnt there that hostilities had actually broken out on 28 July 1914, he took a boat to India. As soon as. the ship reached Calcutta on 13 October 1914, Sohan Singh was arrested and, after a few days interrogation at Ludhiana, was sent to Central Jail, Multan. He was tried in what is known as the first Lahore conspiracy, case and was sentenced to death with forfeiture of property. The death penalty was later commuted to life imprisonment in Andamans, where he reached on 10 December 1915 and where he undertook several hunger strikes successively to secure the detenues better treatment.

In 1921 he was transferred to Coimbatore jail and then to Yervada. Here lie left off eating food again to register his protest against Sikh prisoners not being allowed to wear turbans and their kachhahiras or knickers which were their religious obligations. In 1927, he was shifted
to Central Jail, Lahore, where he again went on hunger strike in june 1928 to protest against the segregation of the so-called low-caste Mazhabi Sikhs from other 'high-caste' Sikhs at mealtimes. He was released early in July 1930, but he continued to work for the freedom of the country. He devoted most of his time to organizing Kisan Sabhas (peasants' societies) . During World War II he was interned in Deoli Camp Jail (Rajasthan) for nearly three years. After Independence he veered decisively towards the Communist Party of India. He was arrested on 31 March 1948, but released on 8 May 1948. However, he was seized again, but jail-going ended for him finally at the intervention of Independent India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Bent with age and ravaged by pneumonia, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna died, at Amritsar, on 21 December 1968.

GADARI MARTYRS

Surrey, Canada: Sep. 8,2009: A candle vigil was held in Surrey in memory of Sikh Bhai Bhag Singh, many have given him the title ‘the first Indian martyr on Canadian soil”.

In commemoration of the 95th anniversary of the death of Bhai Bhag Singh, hundreds gathered in his honour. The event was organised by the  Indo Canadian Workers’ Association (ICWA) at Bear Creek Park at 13750-88 Avenue Surry

Bhai Bhag Singh headed the Khalsa Diwan Society, which is the oldest Sikh religious body in Canada. According to the ICWA, he and his comrade Bhai Badan Singh were shot by Bela Singh, an agent of the British government, on September 5, 1914. Both victims died.

The shootings came less than two months after a vessel with more than 350 Indian immigrants, the Komagata Maru, was turned away from Vancouver’s harbour.

Bhai Bhag Singh campaigned to allow Indian immigrants to bring their families to Canada. Canadian laws at the time prohibited people from moving to this country if they didn’t make a “continuous journey”, which was impossible to do by sea from India given its distance from Canada.

He also advocated on behalf of 376 passengers on the Komagata Maru, which was forced out of Burrard Inlet on July 23, 1914. Only 24 passengers were allowed to stay in Canada; the ship returned to Calcutta, where some passengers were fired upon by British soldiers.

The ICWA stated that Bhai Bhag Singh also helped launch Swadesh Sewak, which was the first Punjabi newspaper published outside India. He urged former Sikh soldiers who fought for the British to burn their medals.

Another Sikh pioneer in B.C., Bhai Mewa Singh, was so enraged by the murder  of BhaiBhag Singh that he killed British immigration officer William Hopkinson. Bhai Mewa Singh was hanged in New Westminster in 1915, according to the ICWA.

SIKH SPIRITUALISTS

GURU CHARAN SINGH

Gurucharan Singh Khalsa is a psychotherapist, teacher and writer, and is a world recognized expert in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. He heads a business consulting firm, has a broad-based therapy practice, instructs at MIT and directs a large community of yoga practitioners. Dr. Khalsa is an expert in the mind and in the applied psychology of meditation and peak performance. He has consulted to top companies such as Arthur Andersen and Mercer. His focus has been on executive coaching, conflict resolution, stress management, creativity and the interface of high information technology with optimal human performance.

He bridges two perspectives: the hard sciences, which he learned in mathematics and chemistry at Harvey Mudd College and graduate mathematics studies at Claremont Graduate School; and the human sciences, which he studied at Boston University for a masters in counseling. He later completed a doctorate in psychology. He has done original research on the cognitive and physiological impact of meditation, authored many texts on yoga, designed social programs, and trained counselors. He is the director of training for the Kundalini Research Institute.

SIKH ECONOMISTS

Prof. MANOHAR SINGH

Associate Professor of Finance, MANOHAR SINGH coauthored a paper titled “Capital Market Impact of Product Marketing Strategy: Evidence from the Relationship between Advertising Expenses and Cost of Capital” that was published in the Academy of Marketing Science’s special issue on marketing and finance interface. The paper that appears in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol.33, Issue 4, 2005, provides evidence to the effect that advertising expenditures help in reducing firm cost of capital and hence contribute to enhancing firm value.
One of Manohar’s published papers in the European Financial Management Journal titled, “Multinational Diversification and Corporate Performance: Evidence from European Firms”, European Financial Management, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2004, was ranked 7th in the list of top 10 most requested papers in that publication. The source of information and the other papers included in that list are available at the following Blackwell Synergy link:www.efmaefm.org/0EFMJOURNAL/top10_2004.shtml. Manohar is in a good company there as works of Professors Michael Jensen and Jay Ritter appear in the same list.

THEATRE ACTORS

MANOHAR SINGH

Manohar Singh (1938 - 14 November 2002) was a distinguished^[1][2] Indiantheatre actor-director and a character actorin Hindi films. He is best known for his performances in films such as Party (1984) and Daddy (1989). Starting his acting career from theatre, he went on to become a theatre director and later the chief ofNational School of Drama Repertory Company, 1976 to 1988, before switching to cinema.^[3]. As a theatre actor his most know performances were in Tughlaq directed byEbrahim Alkazi, Himmat Mai and Begum Barve by Nissar and Amal Allana ^[4].

He was awarded the 1982 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting (Hindi theatre) bySangeet Natak Akademi. In 2003, a photo exhibition on his work in theatre was organized at the Art Heritage gallery, Delhi chronicling his journey in theatre starting from his first play Caucasian Chalk Circle(1968) as a student at the National School of Drama to plays like, Tughlaq, King Lear, Kaho Katha Khajuraho Ki, Himmat Mai (Mother Courage) and Three Penny Opera ^[5].

VETERAN ATHLETES

THIS AGED IS STILL AGILE
           A. Ghulati
Rohtak, April 27

Vintage Surat Singh with medals

d the joy in athletics. But he entered the fray in the competitive world of athletics at an age when the life of most of the people come to a standstill, their limbs fail to respond and they start counting their remaining days.
Recounting his life story to the NCR Tribune, Surat Singh told that he is illiterate and had never thought of entering into the competitive world of sports. His task in the village was restricted to look after the cattle. In return, he was given adequate diet including plenty of milk by the elders in his family and villagers.
Surat’s talent was spotted at a village level sports meet by the sports officer, Laxman Singh Malik, who inspired him to become a veteran athlete. His advice changed Surat’s vision towards life. He realised that something else was there in the world beyond grassy pastures in the village, wealth of animals and folk traditions. A few medals in the State championships paved way for Surat’s entry into the National competitions, where he excelled in 100m & 200m races in particular. In 1991, he finished second in 100m & third in 200m clocking 19.1 seconds and 35.5 seconds respectively at the NVAC held at Yuba Yatri Krirangan, Salt Lake City, Kolkota. In 1998, he secured the first position in 100m and 200m race taking time of 19.1 sec and 42.9 sec. in the 20th NVAC held at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium, Thane. In the 18th edition of NVAC orgainsed by the Karnataka Veteran Athletic Association in 1996, Surat Singh created a new record in the 80 plus category completing 200m race in 39.54 sec. In the same edition he clinched gold in 100m clocking 18 seconds. However, in 1994 he had to remain content with a silver medal of 200m event of the 16th NVAC held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, where he also ran the 100m in 75 plus category in just 17.1 sec. but remained third. Running in the company of comparatively young people (in 70 plus age category) at Kanpur in 1997, he finished second as a member of 4x100m relay team, taking time of 1mt.16.90 sec in the 19th NVAC. Surat was 83 at that time.
Surat gives the credit of his success in the running track to his simple style of living. Till date, he gets up at 3 am daily to do some jogging and running. He has never smoked, never consumed tea or liquor during the eight decades of his life. He got full support from his wife Chand Kaur, who died four years ago. “She used to take special care of my diet,” recalls the octogenarian. The age factor has slowed down his reflexes and his illiteracy sometimes put him in awkward position as he take his own time to remember his achievements and the names of his competitors he encountered at different venues. But still he aims at winning more medals.
His impressive tally of medals, laminated in a frame, understandably gives him immense satisfaction but not the expected support from society and administration. His only regular source of income is the old age monthly pension of two hundred rupees. Occasionally, he gets a few cash awards, which are not enough by any means. For his other needs he is dependent on his four sons. But his enthusiasm still keeps him agile. He hopes to run for another five years as a veteran athlete and is also hopeful of completing a century of life.
                            __________Courtesy:TRIBUNE, Chandigarh 

SIKH MILITARY HEROES

GANDA SINGH DATT

Sardar Bahadur Risaldar Major Ganda Singh Datt (1830 - July 1903) was a decorated soldier in the British Indian Army, who served in the 19th Bengal Lancers also known as Fane's Horse.

MILITARY CAREER & AWARDS

Ganda Singh was a Muhiyal (Mohyal) born into a Hindu family but brought up as a Sikh, a practice often followed in Muhiyal families at the time. He belonged to the village of Zaffarwal Dattan in Tehsil Rayya of District Sialkot. He enlisted as a Dafadar in 1852 and served as a soldier over 50 years. He received the Indian Order of Merit for having saved the life of Sir Robert Sandeman at Lucknow at the time of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Subsequently, in the Second Anglo-China War, he saved the life of Sir Charles MacGregor as well.

Later in the Afghan Campaign of the British Indian Army, he participated in the famous march to Kandahar

 

and distinguished himself in the Battle of Kandahar, becoming an Honorary Captain. He was eventually appointed ADC to Lord Roberts of Kabul and Kandahar, VC, the then Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army.

He was rewarded with large tracts of agricultural land, and the village Ganda Singh Wala on the periphery of Amritsar is named after him. He was president of the first All India Mohyal Conference held in 1902 at Lahore, and was among the select veteran Indian soldiers presented to the British Royals in the Coronation Durbar held in Delhi in January 1903.

 FAMILY BACKGROUND

Ganda Singh's extended family featured many other eminent persons as well. His cousin Bakshi Prem Singh Vaid was a decorated soldier in the British Indian Army as well, and so was his son Bakshi Tirath Ram Vaid. His maternal grandson Dr. Baldev Singh Vaid was a famous neurologist who was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government, and whose son-in-law KK Bakshi was a decorated Air Vice Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Sardar Sant Singh Datt PCS who was appointed Chief Resident of Kalsia State was his grand nephew, whose son Lt. Gen. Kalwant Singh was a senior officer in the Indian army. 

 

INDIAN GADARI BABAS

GANDA SINGH 'GADARI BABA'


Ganda Singh (Phangureh), district Hoshiarpur (1883–18 March 1958) was one of the original freedom fighters and ghadarites. He was the son of Nikka Singhof Pandori, Hariana, Hoshiarpur

In 1907, Ganda Singh moved to North America aboard the S.S. Monteagle where he took part in various movements for national independence. There he also lived among the pioneers of the Indian revolutionary movement.

While returning back from America aboard the S.S. Korea and then the Tosa Maru ship in the year 1914, he was arrested along with veteran ghadarites Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna and Pandit Jagat Ram Haryanvi. He was first kept in Central jail, Muktsar, then taken to Lahore, and then he was thrown into Camp jail,Kainthalpur. He was freed on 26 June 1916 and then sent to his village and put under house arrest. At that time, he was supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Hoshiarpur Raja Narindernath.

Later, the Special Tribunal sentenced him to four years in prison under section 124 A and 125. This sentence started in 1919 and he was kept in Lahore jail. Then, under the Montego Chelmsford Scheme he was freed in January 1920.

He was arrested again in May 1922 and Pir Gyasuddin, a first class magistrate sentenced him to one and a quarter years in prison along with a fine of one hundred rupees under section 17 B of the Chelmsford Law Amendment Act. After that, he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment in the case of Black Turban Movement. He was sent to Dera Ghazi Khan jail . After some time he was transferred to Rohtak jail and in 1924 he was freed. While he was returning to his village after completing his sentence, he was arrested from Sham Chaurasirailway station in the Babbar Akali case. After a while, this case was dismissed and he was again arrested in the famous Anarkali bomb case. Besides Ganda Singh, involved in this case were the famous Hari Singh Jalandhari, Banta Ram Pandori Phangureh, Mistry Famanshia and Mela Ram Bagera. This case went on in the Special court of Lahore for more than four years. In this case, except for the Government/official witnesses, everybody got rigorous imprisonment sentences for 30 years each and a fine of Rupees Five hundred each. This was appealed in the high court.

Ganda Singh went on to become the chief of Hoshiarpur district congress and Civil naming authority along with the district magistrate of Hoshiarpur again sentenced him to one year imprisonment. He served this imprisonment in the Kasoor jail.

In 1932, after coming out of jail he started a school for girls' education in hisr village. At the time, there was no system in place for girls' education in the area and the common people were against girls getting educated. He then started to spend a lot of time in the care and well being of his six children. At this time a lot of political workers used to come to him for advice and he would infuse enthusiasm in them and serve them.

In 1949, for the violation of clause 144, the Hoshiarpur magistrate sentenced him and Harnam Singh Tundilat to one year imprisonment along with a fine of Rupees hundred. The fact of the matter is Baba Ganda Singh's life was a life of a true freedom fighter and he had to face much agony for taking part in the movement of national independence.

Baba Ganda Singh Phangureh died on 18 March 1958. In his remembrance, the inhabitants of the village have constructed a gate/corner on the main street to remember Baba ji by.

SIKH HISTORIANS

Dr.GANDA SINGH

Dr Ganda Singh (1900-1987) is the celebrated Sikh historian, who by his sustained and pioneer work in the field of historical research, initiated new trends in Sikh historiography and who, by his critically important work, became a vital and pervasive influence in historical learning in the field of Sikh Studies, He was born on 15 November 1900, at Hariana, an old town close to the city of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. His father's name was Sardar Jawala Singh. He got his initial education in the village mosque,later shifting to the primary school. He passed the middle standard examination from DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vernacular) Middle School, Hoshiarpur, and his matriculation from Government High School in the same town. He joined the Forman Christian College at Lahore, but soon left it to enlist in the army (1919). He served at the Supply and Transport Corps Base Depot, Rawalpindl, and at the divisional office at Peshawar before he was attached to the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force, Basra, in 1920 and later to the British Royal Army Pay Corps, also at Basra, in 1921. There he had his thigh torn by a bullet shot and he was hospitalized. After recovery he was repatriated to India, but had been mistakenly reported dead to his family. This led to a dramatic situation. When he suddenly appeared at the door of his home in the village late one evening, he was taken for a ghost and was refused admittance. As he was recognized the following morning at the doorstep of his house, the family's horror turned into jubilation.

Ganda Singh did not stay at home for long. He went back to Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and then to Iran, to join the Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Abadan as accounts officer. At Abadan, he came under the influence of the British scholar, Sir Arnold Wilson, who besides his official duties as General Manager of the company was working on his Bibliography of Persia . Young Ganda Singh now aspired to prepare a bibliography of his native Punjab. On his return to Punjab towards the end of 1930, he first worked on the editorial board of Phulwari, a Punjabi monthly published from Lahore. One long-lasting friendship he picked up there was with Bhagat Lachhman Singh, a Sikh reformer and educationist. He however missed the opportunity to meet Karam Singh, the historian, then very enthusiastic in promoting the cause of Sikh history. Karam Singh died before Ganda Singh could meet him.

In October 1931 began Dr Ganda Singh's long and fruitful career as a researcher and historian. The Khalsa college at Amritsar placed him in charge of its newly-created Sikh History Research Department, which position he occupied till 1949. During this period he travelled extensively, rummaging various public libraries, archives and private collections throughout India in quest of material on Sikh history, enriching the library of his department and also brought out several books and tracts based on these. 

In 1949, he came to Patiala where he was appointed Director of Archives and Curator of Museum under the Government of PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union). In 1950, he received the additional charge of Director of the Punjabi Department. His thesis on Ahmad Shah Durrani earned him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Panjab University in 1954, as well as much applause from scholars and historians among whom was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a leading Indian savant of the day.

Dr. Ganda Singh was principal of the Khalsa College, Patiala, when he was invited by Punjabi University, Patiala, to organize its Department of Punjab Historical Studies. He set up Punjab History Conference in 1965 which became a very active forum for the discussion of matters relating to Punjab history. In l967, he launched the university's journal, the bi-annual The Punjab Past and Present of which he was the editor and which gathered high repute and much prestige over the years.

In 1938, he had been appointed a corresponding member of Indian Historical Records Commission of Government of India, and was a full member of the Commission from 1950 to 1956. He was nominated member of Punjab Regional Committee for the Survey of Historical Records, Government of Punjab, Lahore, and of Indian Historical Records Commission, Government of India. He was secretary of the Committee for the History of Freedom Movement in PEPSU, Patiala, and chairman of the Regional Records Survey Committee for History of Freedom Movement, Shimla / Patiala, from November 1957 to December 1962. He held membership of Asiatic Society, Calcutta, Indian Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London, and Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Poona. He presided over the medieval section of Punjab History Conference session of the Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, held at Shillong in 1974 as well as over its 13th session held at Panaji (Goa) in 1975. In 1974, he presided the 35th session of Indian History Congress at Jadavpur.
Dr. Ganda Singh was a prolific writer in addition to scores of research papers, booklets and pamphelets, he published over two dozen full-length volumes of great historical value. Dr. Ganda Singh's magnificent work was widely acknowledged and lauded in his lifetime, and he received honours from a number of professional institutions and associations. The Punjab Government invested him with the award for literature on 31 March 1963, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, paid its tributes on 28 March 1964. On 19 December 1964, Muslim University, Aligarh, conferred on him the "degree of D. Litt. honoris causa". Sikh Educational Conference honoured him during its 52nd annual session held at Kanpur on 25-27 October 1974, and Punjabi University, Patiala, at the annual session of the Punjab History Conference held during November 1976. The University also brought out during the same year an anthology, Essays in Honour of Dr Ganda Singh, lovingly edited by his old pupil Professor Harbans Singh (Editor of Encyclopaedia of Sikhism from where many documents have been sourced on this site). The University also awarded him the degree of Doctor of Literature at its 15th convocation held on 25 February 1978. The Indian History Congress during its Silver jubilee session held at Panaji (Goa) on 5-7 November 1987, honoured him as one of the five distinguished historians of India. The Government of India honoured him with the award of Padma Bhushan in 1983.

In the course of his long career as a researcher and scholar, Dr. Ganda Singh had acquired a vast personal collection of rare books, maps, documents and manuscripts which occupied several rooms of his modest residence on the Lower Mall at Patiala. This precious treasure is now the property of Punjabi University, Patiala, to which institution he donated the entire collection. Dr. Ganda Singh died at Patiala on 27 December 1987.

SIKH PAINTERS

BHAGAT SINGH BEDI

Bhagat Singh paints with both skill and passion.  His subjects? Sikh history, heros and warriors and the very essence of the Sant-Siphai spirit! A self-taught artist and a science student, Bhagat Singh Bedi, was born in Ludhiana, and moved to Canada when he was very young. After he moved to Canada, he immediately got involved in Gurudwara activities, and Gurmat camps. In the Gurudwara, Bhagat would read the many blood filled pages of Sikh history (packed in thin paperbacks), and became interested in Sikh history and philosophy. He was later asked to paint some of those pages by the principal of the academy at the Gurudwara. Without prior training, the young boy got to work. He brought home many of the paperbacks he read, and started to mimic the historical works published in them; works of Sikh artists like Sobha Singh, Kirpal Singh and Mehar Singh. While at home he studied Sikh artists, in hischool, he studied art history and artists like Lauren Harris from the Group of Seven.

Later in high school, after stumbling upon the Sarbloh Warriors website (in one of his endless Google searches), he joined the team and started doing concept art for the game. His job at Sarbloh Warriors required him to learn digital painting, and so he did! Feeling that Sikhs are underrepresented in the media, Bhagat took the responsibility of putting Sikhs out there, and worked on his Sikh Mutants storyline and characters. Realizing his potential as a concept artist, he joined another project, 'Elvana,' as he continued to work on Sarbloh Warriors and his own personal projects.

Having an interest in sciences, Bhagat enrolled in a Biology program. As his painting interests became his passion, and as his skills as as artist developed, things at Sarbloh Warriors became quiet. However, the research he had done for the game, left an even stronger feeling in him than before. He decided it was time to paint the same history that the game was based on; the same history that he once painted when he was little.Bhagat is now striving to be a great artist and an intelligent science student.

Bhagat Singh has two online galleries. One at his own Web site and another larger gallery here and you can read his Bloghere.

SIKH SPIRITUALISTS

Dr. BHAGAT SINGH THIND
Dr. Thind in 1924

Bhagat Singh Thind

Bhagat Singh Thind (1892-1967) was born in Punjab and came to America in 1913. A year later, he was paying his way through the University of California at Berkeley by working in an Oregon lumber mill during summer vacations. When America entered World War I, he joined the U.S. Army. He was honorably discharged on 16th of December, 1918 and in 1920 applied for U.S. citizenship from the state of Oregon. Since several applicants from India had thus far been granted U.S. citizenship, he too was approved by the district court. However a naturalization examiner appealed this court's decision, and the rest is history.

Feb 10, 1923: Justice Sutherland rules "Hindus" are "aliens ineligible to citizenship" in United States vs. Bhagat Singh Thind (261 US 204)

What is less well-known is that Bhagat Singh Thind remained in the U.S., completed his Ph.D., and delivered lectures in metaphysics all across the nation. Basing his lessons on Sikh philosophy, he enriched his teaching with references to the scriptures of several religions and the work of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau. He campaigned actively for the independence of India from the British Empire, and helped Indian students in any way he could. In 1931, he married Vivian Davies and they had a son, David, to whom several of his 15 books are dedicated.

"You must never be limited by external authority, whether it be vested in a church, man, or book. It is your right to question, challenge, and investigate."

Ironically, Dr. Thind applied for and received U.S. citizenship through the state of New York within a few years of being turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Books by Bhagat S. Thind

HOUSE OF HAPPINESS

Based on lectures given in 1927, this book is a fine introduction to Dr. Thind's teachings. It is easily understood by and popular with young people, as well as more advanced students of Eastern religions. A few of the chapter titles are: How to Find Out What You Are Best Suited For; Evolution — Passing from Lower to Higher Births; Consciousness — An Inward Knowledge; Aum — The Sacred Hum of the Universe.

"Appeal to the tradition of a nation, and the whole mob psychology is arrayed behind you. Let me appeal to the democratic spirit of the Americans, and they think I am just wonderful. Appeal to the spiritual nature of India, and you get all Hindus on your side."

RADIANT ROAD TO REALITY

Dr. Thind's disciples count this book as their teacher's greatest writing. It deals with enduring truths of spiritual import, verifiable facts of the highest human psychological possibilities. Dr. Thind reveals an exact science showing the seeker how to connect the individual soul with its Universal Creator. In the Preface, he writes: "It [this book] is for him who seeks to illumine his intelligence by the torch of his own Divinity, who hungers to attain the Consciousness, which transcends the barriers of time and space."

From left: Dr. Amarjit S. Marwah, Mrs. Vivian Thind (Bhagat's widow), Mr. Ram Bagai, and Gwen Singh (widow of another Indian pioneer).

SCIENCE OF UNION WITH GOD

"The truest help one can render a man bent with the burdens of life, is to call out his best energies and efforts, so that he himself by himself may raise his sagging spirit, and not only cope with conditions, but come out triumphant in the highest spiritual sense of the word." This quotation from the Preface is an expression of what Dr. Thind hoped to accomplish with this book. Chapters include: Union with God; the Unknown Is in the Known; Ego vs. Individuality; Unification and Reunion; Sikh Religion Made Plain; The Song of the Soul Victorious.

THE PEARL OF GREATEST PRICE

"No scientific law can ever compare with the discovery of the Living Word of Power, which unifies man's whole being and makes him one in nature and character with his indwelling God." This is the theme developed by Dr. Thind in this book — an inspiring volume for all who seek to go ever onward, forward and Godward. Chapters include: Modus Operandi; Walking in the Inner Path to God; How Sat Guru Helps; Nature, Nurture and Nam; Overcoming the World.

"The human mind is where everyone has to live and find his only opportunity for peace, happiness and wholeness. Only the unified mind can see things whole."
— Bhagat S. Thind

"There are many religions, but only one Morality, one Truth, and one God. The only Heaven is one of conscious life and fellowship with God."
— Bhagat S. Thind

JESUS, THE CHRIST: In the Light of Spiritual Science

These three volumes were written for all who have freed themselves of orthodox religious thinking and for those who are ready to do so. The books serve as a springboard to greater spiritual heights, wherein we appreciate more than ever the message of the Sat Gurus, the Saviours, the Avatars, the Christs, of whom Jesus Christ was one. Dr. Thind analyzes the teachings of this Savior of the western world and compares them with the teachings of all the great religions.

Dr. Thind with wife Vivian 

Dr. Thind in 1924