Baba Nand Singh Ji
Baba Nand Singh Ji is regarded as one of the saints in Sikhism.
Baba Nand Singh Ji was born in 1870. His father was Sardar Jai Singh and mother was Sardarni Sada Kaur. Baba Ji was born in Village Tehsil Jagroan in Ludhiana, India. He is regarded one of the highest saints in Sikhism. Baba Ji was a saint who meditated the gods name at every breath. At a very young age Baba Ji would go out at the middle of the night and meditate Waheguru. Once his parents on not seeing him in his bed got worried and started looking for him. They were surprised to see him sitting on the edge of the well with his eyes closed and in deep meditation.The above advice and instructions changed the life of Baba Nand Singh Ji and made him to go to the forest for further meditation. After a period of meditation, he returned from the forest and camped just outside the village and continued with his meditation irrespective of the local climatic conditions. The villagers upon observing this built a temporary house for him. After sometime the people from Kalera Village came and requested him to visit their village. He accepted their invitation and set out for Kalera. On the way he stopped at a well which was between Kaunke Village and Kalera and decided to camp there. The villagers over there made a small hut for Baba Ji and Baba Ji started his meditation.Baba Nand Singh Ji later established his "Dera" (centre) near Kalera in Punjab. He led a simple life and continued with the same principles of deep meditation. The food for the "Dera" would come from different devotees though no cooking was done at the "Dera" itself. This practice is still continued by the "Dera" now popularly known as Nanaksar. The food, "langar", is not prepared at Nanaksar but it is sent by the nearby villages and no matter how big the congregation, never ever has has there been a shortage. No monetary offerings are ever made in front of the Guru Granth Sahib at Nanaksar, as the usual practice is at other Gurdwaras, but never a shortage of funds has occurred there. Baba Ji did not use any money on himself. He always served the community with true love and affection. It is said that once Maharaja Bhupender Singh of Patiala came to offer one lakh rupees for the Gurdwara fund but Baba Ji politely refused the offer. This was the first time someone had ever declined the offer of accepting money for a religious place from a Maharaja and of course the Maharaja felt bad and told Baba Ji, "You will not find a donor like Bhupender Singh". To this Baba Ji replied, "You will not find another person who is prepared to sacrifice everything and yet be fully committed like Nand Singh". This made the Maharaja humble and respectful and he bowed his head before Baba Ji. Baba Ji died in 1943 (13 Bhadron Sanmat 2000) at the age of 73.Today this dera is GeneRally considered an antidote to the SGPC and has fragmanted into various deras in India and abroad
Read more: baba nand singh ji—nanaksar bhagti da ghar http://www.unp.me/f16/baba-nand-singh-ji-nanaksar-bhagti-da-ghar-19095/