Sant Nirankari Mission's chief guru no more
Baba Hardev Singh, Satguru of the Sant Nirankari Mission, was killed in a road accident in Montreal, Canada. The 62-year-old was to hold spiritual meetings in Canada; the second Nirankari International Samagam, with a theme of humanness, was scheduled to take place in Jun 2016 at Toronto. The Sant Nirankari Mandal issued a statement confirming that the Satguru breathed his last yesterday.
Baba Hardev Singh, widely-known as Nirankari Baba, was born to Gurbachan Singh and Kulwant Kaur on 23 February 1954 in Delhi. Hardev Singh was a spiritual leader and the head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, which is headquartered in Delhi. In 1971, Hardev Singh joined the Nirankari Seva Dal. He became the head of Sant Nirankari Mission after his father's death in 1980.
The Sant Nirankari Mission had identified itself as a spiritual movement, which neither belonged to any existing religion/sect nor was a new religion. Several orthodox Sikh organizations protested against the Mission, which they believed was a part of Sikhism.
Hardev Singh's father-Baba Gurbachan Singh was the Satguru (chief leader) of the Sant Nirankari Mission till 1980. Gurbachan Singh was assassinated on 24 April 1980 by Ranjit Singh, an employee at the Nirankari headquarters; later, Hardev Singh took over as the Satguru. The assassination of the third Satguru of the Mission led to violent clashes among different sects of the Sikh religion.
The Mission was started in 1929 by Baba Buta Singh who belonged to the Nirankari sect; he was later succeeded by Baba Avtar Singh, the second Satguru. After becoming the fourth Satguru, Baba Hardev Singh opened several centers of the Mission at national and international level. Currently, there are millions of followers and over 2000 centers of the Mission all over the world.
The Mission flourished under Satguru Baba Hardev Singh. On 22 February 2005, Baba Hardev Singh established a museum to represent the history of the Sant Nirankari Mission. The Nirankari Museum is located at Sant Nirankari Sarovar in Delhi.
Nirankari Mandal's in charge stated, "Further details will be conveyed as soon as it is finalized. In the meantime, Sant Nirankari Mandal has urged all the devotees not to rush to Delhi or the headquarters of the Mission."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain expressed their condolences over the death of Satguru Baba Hardev. PM Modi tweeted that his heart goes out to the countless Nirankari followers in the painful time. Rajnath Singh said that he was deeply saddened, and arrangements for bringing Baba Hardev's mortal remains to Delhi were underway.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled the death of Baba Hardev. Expressing shock and grief, she stated, "Spiritual values of equality and simplicity perpetuated by him and the Nirankari Samaj will forever remain relevant."
