Group 1: Make a collage of Bhagat Jee pictures and use the class notes to decide on what you would like to say about Bhagat Jee’s life

Childhood• Initially Bhagat Ji was a devoted Hindu. However, once he was refused food at the

Mandir when a priest said “you do not belong here”- confused and bewildered Bhagat Ji started to evaluate if he didn’t belong in God’s house then where did he belong?

• Always alone and reading during his childhood • He would converse with lawyers on a regular basis.- a true activist especially for the

downtrodden, oppressed and the environment. • He was isolated and hated by his older brother- this was only revealed to Bhagat Ji as

his mother didn’t want any financial support from his father’s family. • Bhagat Ji would go to gurughar everyday, do langar seva and then read at night.

Education • He was sent to boarding school because “Mehtab Kaur didn’t want her son to be

exposed to negative attitudes at home, which could harm his personality and lead to future complexes”

• Often found at the front of various lectures making notes• He initially failed at school but his mother’s words of love lifted his spirit.• He failed school several times but never, ever gave up.

Sikhi• Bhagat Ji was inspired in Reru Sahib by several incidents- soul stirring kirtan, impact and

essence of true langar, impact of sangat. He was inspired by the ‘glow and charm radiating from the face of a Gursikh.

• He was inspired by the Chotte Sahibzadey “ The life history of the young princes inspired him beyond his imagination. ‘I felt strong emotional bond with the princes' identity as I bowed before the sacred place.”

• “ I had immense faith in my Guru and the sangat; I believed that together they would help me succeed in my missions”

His inspirations• Bhagat Ji was inspired by Florence Nightingale and her commitment to seva! She stayed

unmarried so she could serve. • Passionate reader- sociology, psychology, geography etc.

Group 1 continued...Clothing

•He never wore leather- only canvas. •He would say “I dress thus so that any poor, sick or crippled person doesn’t have to think twice before approaching me.” •“I follow Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. We are natives of a poor country. We cannot move around dressed in fineries while our brethren are starving”

Begging •Often found on the steps of the Golden Temple holding out the hem of his kurta for people to drop in alms for his home for the destitute. •He had no financial help from government, no grants etc. He had immense faith in maharaj only. •During partition and heavy riots Bhagat Ji and Piara lived on uncooked rice- chewing it for food. •From sangat he would beg by simply saying ‘SATNAM’ •Having been hungry for 8 days, Bhagat Ji picked up a piece of bread dropped by crow- broke it in half and shared with Piara. •People fondly called Bhagat Ji “the educated beggar” •Bhagat Ji explicitly warned not to make announcements on stage at

Other•A follower of Bhagat Ji writes “Such humility! Such service! He could be no ordinary person! In fact, as I kept in touch, with him and got to know him and his work better, he appeared to me a manifestation of Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself!!” •Bhagat Ji was not into awards-if he received he tried his best to promote the cause rather than himself! He would say “Is Nobel Prize greater than doing seva in Guru’s abode?” •Bhagat Ji’s death: Indians do not know about their treasure! No national newspapers wrote a single obituary! •He never slept for more than 4 or 5 hours a day!

Group 2: Make a giant heart and decide on a script for the role of Bhagat Jee’s mother. Link back to the homework hearts too.

• Mehtab Kaur- his beloved mother • She aborted thrice before the birth of Bhagat Ji • There was a caste distinction between his mother and father, and this was his father’s

second ‘marriage’, it was not welcome by the family or community • His father was a generous man on the verge of bankruptcy but he took his remaining

money and distributed it to the poor farmers • Mehtab Kaur was generous and very religious. • “Her instincts sharpened towards nature, animals and religion. Perhaps she was shaping

the destiny of her yet unborn child”• Bhagat Ji was born ‘Ramji Das Junior’ after his older step brother to help the older

sibling accept Bhagat Ji. • House full of warmth, happiness, affection and good diet due to his mother • Parents opened their home especially during the plague- they did not worry about the

infectious disease like others did.• Mehtab Kaur raised a sensitive and aware son- these very emotions helped him carry

out humanitarian work, • Effect of his mother prayer; once at the age of 7 he fell ill and Mehtab Kaur wept and

prayed to maharaj- “cure him and he will walk on the path that leads to you” • After bankruptcy his parents became labourers. His mother was a very hard worker, her

body full of blisters and burns. Bhagat Ji was never to see or know about these. • Mehtab Kaur would send her entire earnings to Bhagat Ji. • His mother left for four years for work and was abandoned by her husband and step

son. She was a single mother. • Bhagat Ji says “ I shall forever remain indebted to my mother for the hardships she

faced for my sake and the man she made out of me” • Mehtab Kaur once said “This son of mine is puran in himself” Slowly everyone else

started to refer to him as Puran- complete.• His mother always rose at amritvela- without fail. • Continuously recited Japji whilst working. • His mother would tell him that planting trees was a great act of kindness since it helps

the living environment for a long time to come (sustaiable). (Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Jee on his travels would plant lots of trees!)

• On his birthday both mother and son would distribute food and gifts to the poor.

Group 3: Make a collage of Piara Singh and Bhagat Jee. Use your class notes to decide on what you would like to say about the

relationship between Piara Singh and Bhagat Jee.

Piara Singh

• Piara’s mother had died and Piara Singh was born with a disability • He was brought to gurughar but some of the sevadars were to busy to care for

him. • One day Piara was found with alone, sad and only a few centimetres from his own

faecal matter. Bhagat Ji says “My eyes became teary and a deep sadness filled my soul”

• Bhagat Ji named the boy Piara Singh meaning ‘the loved one’, and gave him so much love, which probably the child’s real mother could not have given him. Piara provided him with a reason to live. For 13 years to come, Bhagat Ji roamed the streets of Lahore with Piara on his back”

• “Piara has been gifted to me by the Guru himself, how can I turn away from him then?”

• “The kind of love I received from my mother until her death, I tried giving the same to Piara”

• Bhagat Ji confessed, ‘Sometimes I think maybe it was due to the bond I shared with Piara that I was able to love other cripples.

• For Bhagat Jee Piara Singh was a blessing thus he was the ‘garland around his neck’ • It is said that on Bhagat Ji’s death Piara did not cry or grieve- as if he could not

comprehend the loss he had suffered.

• See book ‘Garland around my neck for more info’

Group 4: To make a giant tree and stick on today’s leaves. Make a giant flower and on there write down facts about the

environment and what Bhagat Jee said our role is. • Eco- transport. • Bhagat Jee always favoured the tonga or bicycle and was never shy in questioning how

people travelled to visit him. • He used to use the rickshaw carts to ferry his patients to and from hospitals and a tonga for

himself. • According to him the only solution to vehicular pollution, was, ‘Plant more trees, for trees

breathe out oxygen which fights the toxins generated by vehicular traffic”

• Environment and Animals • Back in the 80s Bhagat Jee was talking and highlighting the problems of global warming. • He was deeply concerned about the preservation of the environment-pollution, sanitation,

drinking water, degradation of land and deforestation. • His mother instilled in him a passion for the environment. She would spend time watering

plants and trees. • His mother once said “Look down while you walk, son, lest God’s tiny creatures be crushed

under your feet”. I became so conscious of this fact that I have always tried to look down while walking to avoid stepping on insects”

• One night Bhagat Ji refused to travel by Tonga for fear of not being able to see the floor- in case he crushed an ant!

• Inspired Sikh Sakhia and love, Mehtab Kaur planted a lot of trees which she would care for and nurture. He would help his mother to water the trees and on the way they would pick up sharp nails, thorns etc- he asked his mum for the reason. “Thorns and nails might pierce somebody’s foot, son, while stones etc will obstruct everyone’s path”

• On a heavy tonga Bhagat Ji would stop the driver and inform the owner to treat the animal with respect.

• Printed thousands of leaflets about the environment on recycled paper of course. • The analysis and forecast made by Bhagat Puran Singh regarding the ozone layer in the

fifties was highlighted by scientists two decades later. He is being hailed today as the ‘First Sikh Environmentalist’ by people all over the world.

• “My mother taught me to provide water to the animals, plant trees and water newly planted saplings, offer feed to the Sparrows...”

• "All Punjabis should sow trees of "Bohar"(Banyan), "Pippal" and "Neem", which are essential to our eco-system." He recommended that every person must plant one tree every 5 years. A child, by the age of 8 must go and water the trees planted in the common lands.

• Along the way, wherever he saw paper he would pick it up as it could be recycled!

Group 5: Make a hospital bed/first aid kit or giant plaster and giant school textbook. Write down all the things Pingalwara

does today.

Could mention or show clip of Sona and Mona Singh? Seva • Bhagat Ji never said no to any type of seva. • He would serve cripples at gurughar during his teens• His main task until 1951 was washing the patients stinking clothes, soiled with faeces and pus. He

would also clean up the place of their stools and urine himself. “I always kept this job for myself, not exposing the other sevadars to it, for it was repulsive and not every man’s cup of tea. Bhagat Ji carried the bundles of clothes on his and walked to the local taps to hand wash all the clothes.

• “If I had started thinking about these jobs from the angle of repulsion, it wouldn’t have been seva” • Children• Many children including Jeeta and Kalu died in Bhagat Ji’s arms, often in months of excruciating pain,

Bhagat Ji writes; “Every time one of my children died, I died with him” • Essence of Pingalwara • At one time there was over 800 hundred sick men, women and children abandoned by their families. • No discrimination was ever made on the grounds of religion or caste. • Bhagat Jee always said “Suffering knows no caste” • Today there are several Pingalwaras across the Punjab• The Pingalwara became a refuge for not only men and women, runaways or raped girls, but also

harboured stray or sick animals. ‘Two bulls that were taken into care by the Pingalwara, aged here and have died recently.’

• Also provided homes for the elderly way before these were in place nationally• “My mother’s blessings are with this institution. Everyone should rest assured on this aspect, whether

I am here or gone, the Pingalwara will always be there. Profound truth uttered by the noble soul!”

Parition and 1984• Bhagat Ji helped individuals escape mob attacks- he was once separated from Piara Singh while he

tried to help others. He writes “And if something untoward had happened to Piara I would have collapsed there and then”

• He always stood up for truth and demanded and helped a Singh speak out against a gang rape of a Sikh woman by Muslims.

• In protest to the 84 attacks Bhagat Ji relinquished his Padma Shri.

• Return to Amritsar after Partion• At a make shift camp at Khalsa College, Amritsar Bhagat Ji started seva• “Most of the abandoned invalids around the college ground lay in their own excreta, covered in soiled

and sinking clothes. My main task was to keep them clean and arrange food for them. •