ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>NIRAÑJAN SI&#7748GH SANT (1922-1994)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="NIRAÑJAN,SIDGH,SANT,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279NIRAÑJAN SI&#7748GH, SANT (1922-1994). Fair complexioned, and blue-eyed, Gi&#257n&#299 Sant Nirañjan Si&#7749gh was nurtured on several branches of learning, old and new. He was especially interested in <i>ved&#257nta</i> and <i>ny&#257ya</i>. He was also well-read in P&#257&#7751in&#299. All his life he remained immersed in Sikh letters.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He began with lessons in the holy Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib which he read with extraordinary diligence with his teacher B&#257b&#257 Gop&#257l Si&#7749gh who was the Head Granth&#299 at Gurdw&#257r&#257 at S&#363l&#299sar. Nirañjan Si&#7749gh was born the son of &#298shar Si&#7749gh at S&#363l&#299sar in M&#257ns&#257 district of the Punjab on 25 December 1922.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The family traced their origin to the M&#257nn Ja&#7789&#7789s of K&#257hlo&#7749 Ko&#7789l&#299. Nirañjan Si&#7749gh was married to Tarlochan Kaur of Bhagt&#363&#257&#7751&#257 village. She was related to the ruling house of N&#257bh&#257. Sporting a small white muslin turban upon a large head he proved an assiduous learner. He spent most of his man-hours daily studying the intricacies of the Punjabi lexicon and Hindu <i>&#347&#257stras</i>. He gained a fair mastery of several of the esoteric texts. He proved a quick learner. He was lucky in his choice of teachers. He was barely four when he was escorted by his mother to the presence of Sant Atar Si&#7749gh of Mastu&#257&#7751&#257. The meeting with Sant Atar Si&#7749gh left on him a permanent imprint. By the time he was seven years of age he was reciting the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib fluently. He studied the text with minute care for seven years at the Mastu&#257&#7751&#257 Bu&#7749g&#257. After serving a period of apprenticeship under Mahant Tap&#299&#257 Si&#7749gh of Dhamt&#257n S&#257hib he moved to Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 where he finally made his home.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, he took up residence at Gurdw&#257r&#257 S&#257hib, now known as Sam&#257dh&#257&#7749 Sard&#257r Sir Dev&#257 Si&#7749gh. The shrine honours the memory of a former prime minister of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 state.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He came to Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 full of zeal for learning and teaching.Gurdw&#257r&#257 S&#257hib D&#363khniv&#257ran, in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, became his point of permanent halt. He stayed put in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 for the rest of his life and had ample opportunities of realizing his life's dreams. Here he received an open-hearted welcome from all quarters. His reputation for piety had already preceded him. Expositions of the holy writ he presented at the morning assembly at the Gurdw&#257r&#257 won him an ever-expanding circle of admirers and devotees. In acknowledgement of his lasting contribution to Sikh learning through the medium of <i>kath&#257</i>, exposition of the holy writ, the Shiroman&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee conferred on him the honorific &#8216Shiroma&#7751&#299 Kath&#257k&#257r'. This title he carried with him to many a Sikh conference and gathering.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With the opening of the Punjabi University at Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, his lectures acquired a decisive scholarly edge. He presented learned lectures before University audiences.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At Gurdw&#257r&#257 D&#363khniv&#257ran S&#257hib his series had gained further popularity. These evening engagements brought him much fame. Vast numbers of devotees came to listen to his discourses. He gave successively expositions of texts of the Holy Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib and the Dasam Granth and of the inimitable <i>Sr&#299 S&#363raj Prak&#257sh</i>. This was his most solid contribution to Sikh learning. Unending streams of visitors, men and women, filled the holy corridors day after day. Sant Nirañjan Si&#7749gh's <i>kath&#257</i>, i.e. his expositions of the holy writ, became extremely popular. The extensive galleries of Gurdw&#257r&#257 D&#363khniv&#257ran S&#257hib were overflowing with devotees. The audiences daily grew in numbers till they reached an almost uncontrollable figure.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gur&#363 N&#257nak &#256shram, in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, spread over a vast acreage, where he eventually settled down, was his permanent gift to the city. He passed on his mantle to his grandson, Mohinder Part&#257p Si&#7749gh. His daughter, Harindar Kaur, preserves the family's musical talent.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sant Nirañjan Si&#7749gh proved a tireless traveller. He undertook several trips around the globe spreading his message of global harmony and love. More memorable among them were his trips to Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Canada and America. Sant Nirañjan Si&#7749gh had a prolonged bout of illness following a traffic accident. He died at R&#257jindra Hospital, Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, on the Buddha Pur&#7751im&#257, 25 May 1994.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">Ra&#7751b&#299r Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>