Mr Ishwar Puri Ji

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Mr Ishwar Puri Ji was born in Punjab, India on 26th November 1926 Lahore, undivided Punjab (Before Partition). When he was just 29 days old The Great Master named him 'Ishwar' which is a Sanskrit word meaning 'The Supreme Lord'. Mr Puri Ji was initiated into the path of Sant Mat at the age of 9 by his beloved Master Hazur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji (The Great Master). 

Mr Ishwar Puri Ji served the Government of India as Chief Secretary of Punjab during his professional stint. In the 1960s, he attended Harvard University prior to retiring from service with the Government of India. He continued to serve as a consultant, board chairman, and senior advisor to a number of corporations worldwide before He left his physical frame on the 23rd December 2020. 

“The axis of spirituality will shift from the East to the West and will ultimately localize itself in America in a big way” Hazur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji.

 Mr Puri was a friend of Dr Julian P. Johnson who wrote ‘Path Of The Masters’ which was an important part of bringing The Great Master’s teaching to the West. Mr Puri gave his life away in India to move to the USA where he had ‘a ringside seat’ to watch the shift take place. He devoted his life to performing seva for his Master by sharing his teachings to individuals all over the world.

Mr Puri Ji relished every moment, experience and memory He had in the company of The Great Master. His Seva to His Master, the Great Master Sawan Singh is an inspiration to everyone who was touched by His Love and Grace.

Sawan Singh, also known as "The Great Master", was an Indian Saint or Sant. He was the second Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of Baba Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his own death on 2 April 1948.  

Sawan Singh Grewal was born into a Grewal Sikh family in the village of Mehma Singh Wala, District Ludhiana, in pre-partition Punjab. His father was Subedar Major Kabul Singh Grewal and his mother was Jiwani. He was married to Kishan Kaur and together they had three children. He passed engineering at Thomason College of Civil Engineering, Roorkee and later joined the Military Engineering Service. 

He studied scriptures of various religions but retained a strong connection with the Gurbani of the Sikh religion. He had contact with a mystic of Peshawar named Baba Kahan who he hoped to get initiation from but was refused: "I associated with him for several months and during that time he showed supernatural powers on several occasions. When I asked him if he would shower grace upon me by initiating me, he answered: 'No, he is somebody else; I do not have your share'. I then asked him to tell me who that person was so that I could contact him. He replied: 'When the time comes, he will himself find you’."

 Later when Sawan Singh was stationed at Murree, he met Baba Jaimal Singh, who said to his companion that he had come to initiate Sawan. After much philosophical debate, discussion and several conferences with Jaimal Singh, Sawan Singh became thoroughly convinced and received initiation from Jaimal Singh into the practice of surat shabd yoga on the 15th day of October, 1894. 

Sawan Singh retired on government pension in 1911 to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh (Beas), the "camp of Baba Jaimal Singh" where Jaimal Singh had settled in 1891. During his ministry the Dera expanded greatly, with houses for both permanent residents and guests, a library and a Satsang Hall. Sawan Singh sheltered victims of the communal holocaust of the Partition of India. His following included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and for the first time, thousands from abroad. He had initiates from America, England, Switzerland, Germany, most notable of whom being the Americans physician-surgeon Dr. Julian Johnson and chiropractic-osteopath Dr. Randolph Stone and the Swiss physician-homeopath Dr. Pierre Schmidt.  

“Whatever your religion or community, go within. Naam (initiation) is the same for all universe. It does not consist of the words of any language, whether Punjabi, Sanskrit, Arabic or Persian. In the region of Naam, there is no language and therefore, no book of religion, nor can it be described by any known language. It is an inexpressible story, an unutterable sound.” - Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji.