SADHU SUNDAR SINGH A PERSONAL MEMOIR by C. F. ANDREWS HARPER ft BROTHERS PUBLISH**! Neat York and London i 9 3 4 &ADHU SX7XTXXA.R S1NOM &34* by j&*tr$n*r & d in JfA* United Staffs of 7*jgs * f&fs bo aft r* r* of the jCex *9*&y be For- To of Jfafy STLJSir, CONTENTS PREFACE IX INTRODUCTION I I EARLY DAYS 2O n THE SEARCH FOR GOD 30 III THE VISION 41 IV FORSAKING ALL 5O V DISCIPLESHIP 59 VI THE HOMELESS WANDERER 69 VII THE ROAD TO TIBET 80 VIII THE WAY OF THE CROSS 9 1 IX IN HIS STEPS I O2 X THE WORLD OF SPIRIT 115 XI THE SADHU 130 XII HIS LATER YEARS 142 XIII IS HE DEAD? 158 XIV THE ANSWER 170 XV HIS LIVING MESSAGE 183 vw Vlll CONTENTS NOTES THE FRANCISCANS IN TIBET CHRIST'S UNIVERSAL GOSPEL 193 YOGA AND PRAYER 196 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2O3 ^Preface THE years, in Sadhu Sundar Singh's life, with which this memoir chiefly deals, were the greatest and the best. He had just come out victorious from an agonizing spiritual struggle, and had found in Christ the fulfilment of his souPs true desire. His enter- prise to reach Tibet had called forth all his powers. The sacrifice, which such an effort demanded frrom him, had created in his inner spirit a radiant joy which shone out in every look and deed. When I first knew him, he was at the height of early manhood and endowed with a splendid phy- sique. His character, through the discipline of in- ward conflict, had been rendered resolute and strong. Body, mind and spirit were at last united in a single purpose. His sensitive imagination was alert to every sight and sound in Nature. Above and beyond all, he was devoted to his Saviour, who had fully claimed his service at the hour of his conversion. Thus he was ready joyfully to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." In the Spirit of Youth, a joyous confidence per- petually rises afresh which laughs at dangers and overcomes them. Death itself is looked full in the face and conquered. There is a great thought con- ix X PREFACE tained in a mystical poem of the eighteenth century on the nativity, 1 which speaks of the birth of the Saviour: "O the magnitude of meekness, Worth from worth immortal sprung! O the strength of infant weakness, If eternal is so young! If so young and thus eternal " How can we explain the deathless beauty in the heart of Youth except in terms of Him who is ever young, because He holds in His hands the keys of Death, and can say in triumph, "O Grave, where is thy victory ?" The personal reminiscence of the Sadhu which I have tried to give in the chapters which follow, has the great advantage of being able to concentrate on those stirring and eventful times when Sundar Singh was young. Afterwards, while middle age crept slowly forward, he was crippled by illness, and his youthful vigor departed* He struggled on and in the end was not defeated. That later period of his life will also come before usj but the days when I knew him best were the days of his youth* XI Many centuries before Christ was born, the soul of the East had expressed in words of sadness mingled with longing its search for the living God. *By Christopher Smart (1722-71)* PREFACE XI The verses of the forty-second Psalm still move us nth their beauty as we read them over to-day: "Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks, so panteth my oul after Thee, O God. "My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the Living God; when shall I come and appear before the presence of God? "My tears have been my meat day and night; while they daily say unto me, Where is now thy God? "Why art thou so heavy, O my soul? And why art thou so disquieted within me? "O put thy trust in God, for I shall yet praise Him: who is the help of my countenance and my God." India, perhaps, more than any other country in the world, has felt in her soul this thirst for the living God. No one, who has watched the long line of pilgrims on their way to some sacred shrine, can ever forget the mystery of this heart-longing to seek and to find God's presence. Age after age, the perpetual search goes on: the eternal quest is repeated. Sadhu Sundar Singh was in the great succession of those who had sought and found. "The pearl-diver," sings a village mystic, "must dive to the bed of the ocean if he would win the pearl most precious." Sundar was dedicated by his mother to the life of religion long before he was called and chosen to become a disciple of Christ. He brought over into his new Christian experience a devotion for the re- ligious life which had been already fostered by a XU PREFACE mother's love. He never disowned the spiritual heritage of the past Rather, he was always deeply thankful for the truths about God which he had learnt in his early youth. He was like the mer- chant man in the Gospel parable, seeking goodly pearls, "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it" The Sikh religion, which was his own ancestral faith, contained many goodly pearls; but his heart could not find its perfect rest until he had discovered, in Christ Himself, the One pearl of great price, and had sacrificed everything he held dear in His service. The word "Sadhu," by which he became known both in the East and West, has a long Hindu tradi- tion behind it. It implies one who has chosen for himself the life of a homeless wanderer in search of spiritual truth. Under the impulse of this ideal, men and women have left their kindred, and given up wealth and power, in order to go out in solitary faith on this lonely search for God. Even children, m India, have often been carried along by the same irresistible urge from within. In the Sadhu's heart, when he had become a Chris- tian, the devotion still remained} but it had reached a higher stage. For he could speak now with joy as one of those who had found peace. In every new trial of faith, he had Jesus, his Lord and Master, by his side, strengthening and upholding him* Thus, while he drank deeply of the cup of suffering, there PREFACE Xtll was a spiritual power sustaining him which he had never known before. During the years when I was nearest to him and saw him most frequently, his love for Christ was so ardent that at times it filled him with rapture. There was also to be noticed in him a singular gentleness of spirit. This was one of those "marks of the Lord Jesus" which had come to him through much suffer- ing and humiliation. He seemed to live consciously in the very presence of his Lord, and to carry that presence with him wherever he went. Men and women "took knowl- edge of him that he had been with Jesus." His inner joy sprang from the fountain of Life itself. Those special years were full of crisis for the young Church in the North of India. The gravest issues concerning the future had been raised all over the Punjab. A struggle for spiritual liberty had be- gun, no less vital than that of the first age, when St. Paul claimed the full freedom of the Spirit on behalf of the Gentile Christians. Sundar Singh, by his creative personality, set forward a true type for In- dian Christians to follow. He was thus continually in my thoughts and prayers both as a personal friend and also as the champion of a great cause. in In this memoir of the Sadhu, I have gone back continually to my own vivid remembrance of him XIV PREFACE during the time when we were like brothers together, inspired by one common devotion to our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, The recollections of his per- sonal friends, which have been gathered for this book, have also been used. Those who have helped me in this manner are far too numerous to mention by namej but I would ask them to accept my heart- felt thanks for the service they have rendered to the memory of one whom we all loved so well. An earnest desire has been recently expressed that a selection from the Sadhu's different writings should be published for future reference. They are likely to be of great value in the generations to come as revealing the original mind of an Indian Christian mystic in the early days of the Church in the Punjab* Most generous help and encouragement have been rendered to me by the Rev. Arthur and Mrs. Parker, Drs. Streeter and Appasamy, and Dr Heiler, who have already covered the whole ground of the Sad- hu's life in the books which they have written* To these books I have constantly referred with very deep appreciation. With them, I would warmly thank at the same time Canon Chandu Lai and the Rev. T. E. Riddle, who are the Sadhu's trustees, for their deep sympathy with what I have undertaken and the help they have rendered to me. My thanks are due to Messrs. Macmillan & Co., George Allen & Unwin, Ltd*, Fleming H- Revell Co* and Cassell & Co*, for the kind permission they have given me to quote from the Sadhu's writings* PREFACE XV A list of the Sadhu's books will be found at the end of the volume. Gertrude Newell has admirably done my typing* This personal memoir had its beginning in India, in the midst of a circle of friends of the Sadhu, who had learnt to love him on account of his pure Chris- tian devotion and wished to keep his memory fresh and green for the new Christian generation. Our united wish has been to seek to continue his work of love and service with the same spirit of sacrifice which he made manifest in all his actions. We look forward to the near future when the new spiritual life, which has come to the Christian Church in the West through the "Group" Movement, will touch also the hearts of those in the East who long for the coming of Christ's Kingdom, Our joy will be great if this record of the Sadhu is used to prepare the way for this renewal of the Spirit. At the very time when these chapters were being completed the most terrible earthquake in present human experience occurred in the North of India, at the foot of the Himalayas, not far from the centre of Sadhu Sundar Singh's own labours. Thousands of human lives have been destroyed, and millions of those who have survived have suffered loss. This writing had to be laid aside in order to go about in England and elsewhere to make known the magni- tude of the disaster and the extent of human misery involved. The bonds of sympathy between India and the world have been drawn closer by the com- XVI PREFACE mon effort to relieve the sufferers. It is my hope, as far as possible, out of the funds which may come from the sale of this volume, to make a fitting contribution to the Earthquake Relief work, which is so nobly being carried on in North Behar. The final revision and correction of this manuscript has been carried through in my new home, close to Woodbrooke, where a peaceful retreat has been pro- vided for me by the kindness of friends. C> F. ANDREWS. 25 Fox HILL, SELLY OAK, BIRMINGHAM. SUN1DAR S I 3SF G