i^;i;i- ■ >-r, J '){• ■. '4*' » .' ' I ' ' [ri'u/ 'Mr**'-' ;" ' h i';. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE GIFT OF ALFRED C. BARNES 1899 Date Due j PRINTED IN U. S. A, (Wy NO. 23233 m mi M vwn" '■ '*""'" """''^ "^ ■'■* ■■^^^^IW^WJ*?*^^- BV5095.S6Tp23"'"'"*'"-"'"'^ ^^1lilliliWli™iwii&,i?,5!!Sl^ o' God, by M olin 3 1924 029 356 650 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924029356650 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH SADHU SUNDAR SINGH CALLED OF GOD BY Mrs. ARTHUR PARKER, London Missionary Society, Trivandram, S. Indian New York Chicago Fleming H. Revell Company London and Edinburgh Copyright Copyright, 1920, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY .13 *". ^ i:? r> TV ( - " ■■ *. ■ ot New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago : 17 North Wabash Ave. London : 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh 75 Princes Street TO MY DEAR HUSBAND WHO THROUGH THIRTY YEARS HAS KEPT ME -FAITHFUL TO THE BEST THINGS OF LIFE. FOREWORD This little book was originally intended for the use of Christian women of the Malayalam country, but the writer has been persuaded to issue an English edition. Nearly the whole of the matter has been the subject of conversations with the S&dhu himself, with whom we have enjoyed much inspiring companionship and with whose permission the book is issued. This word picture of a true servant of the Great Master should be an inspiration to all Christian men and women in India, and it docs not seem too much to hope that Indians of all classes will see how truly Jesus Christ can manifest Himself in and through the people of this great land, and how worthy He is to be India's Lord and Saviour. Arthur Parker. London Mission, Trivandram. A LETTER FROM SADHU SUNDAR SINGH (Written in Roman-Urdu) Jab main is chhothi kitab ka MSS dekh raha tha to yih bat safai so dekhne men ai ki Khudd ki Ruh ne kaise ajib taur se Mrs. R. J. Parker ki madad aur hidayat ki, ki sari baten bagair kisi galati ki likhin, aur mujhe yaqin hai, ki musannif ki mihnat Khudi ke jalal aur bahuton ke ruhani faida ki bais hogi. Aur unko madad milegi jo mushkilat men hain, jis tarah ki main tha, aur khass kar yih m&lum, karke, ki Khudawand kis tarah mujhe jaise bare gunahgar ko bacha kar apni muhabbat aur fazl se apni khidmat ke liye chun leta hai. Aj main shukarguzari ke s&th apne tajruba 13 baras ke experience se kah sakta hiin ki Masih aj kal aur hamesha yaksan hai (Hebrews xiii. 8). Meri dua hai ki Khuda in chand baton ke auron ki ruhini madad aur apni jalal ke liye istiam&l kare. Amin. (Signed) Sundak Singh. September 8, 1918. Translation When I saw the manuscript of this Uttle book I saw clearly in what a wonderful way the spirit of God had helped and guided Mrs. R. J. Parker so that she had written it without any mistake, and I am certain that the author's work will be for the glory of God and a means of spiritual benefit to many. Also that those who are in the midst of difficulties such as I was, will receive help, and especially will learn how the Lord saved so great a sinner as myself, and by His love iand grace chose me for His service. To-day I can say with thankfulness after thirteen years of experience that Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Hebrews xiii. 8). My prayer is that God will use these few words for His glory and for the spiritual help of others. Amen. (Signed) Sundar Singh. SepUmber 3, 1918. Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him, Is not thine a captured heart ? Chief among ten thousand own Him, Joyful choose the better part. What has stripped the seeming beauty From tne idols of the earth ? Not a sense of right or duty. But the sight of peerless wortli. Not the crushing of those idols. With its bitter void and smart ; But the beaming of His beauty. The unveiling of His heart ! 'Tis that look that melted Peter, 'Tis that face that Stephen saw, 'Tis that heart that wept with Mary Can alone from idols draw. Draw and win and fill completely. Till the cup o'erflow the brim ; What have we to do with idols Who have companied with Him ? CONTENTS PAGE iNTBODrCTlON - - - - . . . xiii I. — Sadhu and Sanyasi - ... 1 II. — SuNDAR Singh as Sadhu - - . - 5 III. SuNDAR THE MAN . . . . g IV. — Nationality and Birth - - . - 13 V. — Called to Seek . . - . - 16 VI. — Called of God - . . . -19 VII. — Called to Suiter — I . . - - 22 VIII. — Called to Suiter — II - - - - 28 IX. — Called to Serve - - - . - 32 X. — Called to Preach - - . .35 XI. — What Wisdom Is This ? - - . .39 XII. — Early Experiences as a Sadhu . - 42 XIII. — Obedience by Suffering - - - 46 XIV.— The Fast . - . - . - 50 XV. — Further Journeys and Persecutions - - 54 XVI. — Tibet - - - . - .59 XVII.— SuNDAR IN Tibet— I - . - - 61 XVIII.— Sunuar in Tibet— II . . . ' . o4 XIX. — Further Experiences in Tibet . . 67 XX. — Martyrs of the Faith - - - .72 XXI. — Sundah's Mysticism . - . - 78 XXII. — The Sadhu's Love for the Cross - - 83 XXIII.^SuNDAR Singh and the Sanyasi Mission - 86 xii CONTENTS PAGE XXIV. — SuNDAR Singh and the Maharishi of Kailash - 91 XXV. — Sadhu Sundar Singh in South India - - 95 XXVI. — Sadhu Sundar Singh at a great Christian Convention - - - - - 98 XXVII.— Ceylon - - - - - - 102 XXVIII. — " Unto the Uttermost Parts of the Earth " - 108 XXIX. — " Called, Chosen, Faithful" - - - 118 XXX. — " Christ sent me to Preach the Gospel " - 118 The Message of the Book .... 124 Appendices : The Sadhu and His Father — Tibet— The Sikhs — Some of the Saohu's Illustrations - - 125 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Called of god INTRODUCTION February, 1918, is a time that will linger in the memory of Christians of all denominations in Trivandram, for the visit of Sadhu Sundar Singh was an imprecedented event that brought to many profound spiritual blessing. One of our missionaries rightly said, " Such a figure has never passed through the Indian Church before " ; and in passing he left the deep consciousness that God had visited His people. The fame of the Sadhu had preceded him, for a few had read the books published about his life and work, and of these some looked for a day of miracles to dawn. Most, however, were filled with desire to see and hear him that they might receive the spiritual blessings xiv INTRODUCTION they believed possible from his ministry. That God did not disappoint these hopes there arc numbers to-day who could give joyful testimony. As the train bringing Sadhu Simdar Singh to Trivandram drew into the station, besides the mission- ary, a group of Indian Christians stood ready to accord a welcome to him ; and upon arri\'al at the Mission House a crowd had gathered for the same purpose, and would hardly be persuaded to disperse in order to allow the S&dhu to get a wash and some food. A Wesleyan missionary thus describes the appearance of the S&dhu : " The Sadhu has a noble presence. He is tall, with a well-shaped head and fine features. . . . His hands and feet are delicately formed and exquisitely kept. He is scrupulously clean in person and attire. The only dress he wears is the long orange robe of the ascetic, which falls in graceful and dignified folds about his body. No one can look upon him for the first time without being struck by his close likeness to the tradi- tional portrait of Christ." There are many things in this old land that give a fresh understanding of the Bible, but no man of my experience has made us realize so fully how our Saviour lived and moved about in His day. During his visit to Trivandram, whenever Sadhu Sundar Singh appeared in public, wondering crowds followed him. Even the children gathered behind him that tliey might touch his yellow robe, .and the sick were brought that he might pray with them. It is almost impossible to INTRODUCTION xv convince the people that he does not heal the sick, even when the assurance comes from his own lips. At one of his meetings a pathetic incident occurred that brought vividly to mind how pur Lord was sought. It was at a large open-air meeting. Some men appeared carrying a sick man on a bed. They placed it gently upon the ground in a place where the afflicted man could behold the face and hear the words of the Sadhu. He was a Christian from a village seven miles away, and had been brought in overnight so as to be present at this great gathering. That very night another incident took place that reminded us of the visit of Nieodemus to our Saviour. At two o'clock, when all the world was locked in sleep, a low rapping at the door announced the arrival of a midnight guest. A caste man desirous of discussing religious matters had come to .see him. When explain- ing that he had felt ashamed to come in the daylight the Sadhu replied, " Jesus Christ was not ashamed to suffer for you on the cross in the daylight, so cannot you suffer a little for Him ? " At the service next day this gentleman took his courage in both hands, and appeared amongst the crowd of Christians to listen to the Sadhu preaching. Sundar Singh has brought fresh visions of God and Christ to us all, and many of us realize how by close fellowship with Jesus, and complete obedience to His will, he has become so conformed to his Lord that wherever he goes people say, " How like Christ he is ! " xvi INTRODUCTION To see and hear him makes one's heart beat high with hope for India's future, and with confidence that the day will come when the east will have some new aspect of our Saviour to discover to the west. For thirty years we have waited for men to rise up who can reach the heart of India, and surely none has come nearer to doing this than this humble lover of the Cross", Sadhu Sundar Singh. CHAPTER I Sadhu and Sanyasi Perhaps in no country in the world is more impor- tance attached to the proper observances of religion than in India, and the greatest reverence is felt towards men who adopt a religious life. For ages Indians have learnt to place the man who renounces the world above him who rules and conquers it. The power of the priest is too well known to need mention here, and although the spread of western education has done much to under- mine his influence, the family priest still reigns supreme in the homes of India. But outside the priestly caste there are numbers of men who take up a religious life, and chief amongst them are those known as sddhus and sanydsis. There is often confusion between these terms, and they are supposed to be identical. The main differ- ence seems to be that the sddhu's is a life vowed to religion from the beginning, whilst the sanyasi's may begin at any time, even in old age. Many Indians desire to consecrate their last years to religion, so they cast off all family ties and all worldly ambitions and responsibilities, and for the remainder of their days practise the austerities of the sanyasi life. It is generally imderstood that such men have fulfilled all the ordinary obligations of life, having married and had a family, and done a share of the world's work. 1 2 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH A sadhu, however, early in life renounces the world and all its pleasures. He never marries or enters upon the ordinary occupations of the world. The sadhu life is one of untold possibilities, of tremendous temptations : a life that commands the respectful attention of India, for it is a type of heroism which dares to lose the world and all the world may offer in its absolute self-abandonment. To one who perfectly carries out this ideal, the proudest head in India will always bow in reverence and humility. Both sanyasi and sadhu adopt the saffron robe — the time- honoured dress which gives them the freedom of all India. The simplicity of their life is such that they have no home and carry no money, and amongst Hindus it is an act of religious merit to provide them with shelter and food. From the earliest days this kind of life has had great attractions for the pious minds of India, and during the centuries men have voluntarily sacrificed the world and all it stands for, that by all kinds of hardships and self-denial they might satisfy the deep longings of the soul. Numberless times men of noble aspiration have by this means striven to obtain peace of soul and absorp- tion in the deity, The commonest sight in any of the holy cities of India is that of one or many sadhus praetisin<; the austerities, of their chosen lot, either by swinging over a slow fire, holding up the right arm until it has stiffened and the nails have grown through the back of the hand, sitting on a bed of spikes, or under a vow of silence in medita- tion on the banks of some sacred stream. Unfortunately this kind of life has been subject to the most terrible abuse, and there is scarcely a more disgusting sight in the world than the filthy beggar who, donning the saffron I robe, passes from house to house terrorizing the ignorant SADHU AND SANYASI 3 inhabitants, and cursing them when he cannot wring from their unwilling hands the gifts he asks. The ordinary winter visitor to India cannot but be impressed by the numerous signs he sees in all the. holy places he passes through, that manj' Indians are seek- ing God, " if haply they might feel after Him and find Him." And whilst the sight of nurnberless filthy fakirs awakens a sense of disgust and re])ulsion, surely no Christian man can see the self-torture of many sanyasis without a deep yearning to discover to them the great secret of the peace they so arduously strive to find. In India life can be lived at its simplest. The climate enables men to do with little clothing, and to live largely an out-of-door life. Except where the stream of western life has turned men aside to greater luxury, the Indian still feels satisfied with a simple diet and life. Hence through the centuries, as earnest souls have gone in quest of higher spiritual things, it is not surprising that they have chosen the simplest possible life, and added to its hardships by self-imposed austerities. To people of western nations, with their harder climate and different customs, such simplicity is impossible, and to many even difficult to luiderstand. The true sadhu does not retire to a monastery where food and shelter are assured. He wanders homeless from place to place, possesses only the meagre clothes he wears, and is utterly destitute. Dr. Farquhar, in his Crown of Hinduism, says : — As long as the world lasts men will look back w^th wonder on the ascetics of India. Their quiet surrender of every earthly privilege, and their strong endurance of many forms of suffering will be an inspiration to all generations of thinking Indians. For nearly three thousand years the ascetics of India have stood forth, a speaking testimony to the supremacy of the spiritual. 4 SADHU SUNDAB SINGH The ideal, is a great one. Christianize this ideal, make it a renunciation for the sake of others, that remaining " in the world but not of it " a man " shall endure all things " in an untiring search for other souls, and we have the noblest life attainable on earth. CHAPTER II SuNDAR Singh as Sadhu The Christian Patriot, a Madras paper, recently published the following : — S4dhu Siindar Singh is the embodiment of an idea running in the veins of every Indian, and inherited by him from the distant past. Standing before men as the homeless Sadhu, not knowing where his next meal will come from, without worldly goods, he recalls to men's minds in these days the great ideal of renunciation. But in this case the ideal' is realized in perfection, since not for his own soul, but for the souls of others, he " counts all things but loss " ; and his great renunciation, entailing untold hardship, privation, suffering, and per- secution, is his daily offering to the Saviour who gave His life for him. Obeying the wishes of his dead and greatly loved mother, Sundar iinflinchingly faced the anger of. his Hindu relatives, the ridicule of his Christian brethren, and even the mild hostility of his European friends, and became a Christian Sadhu. Thirty- three days after his baptism, when only a boy of sixteen, he took this step in the firm belief that God had called him to this particular kind of life and work. Since that day he has never ceased to interpret the life of Him who had not where to lay His head to Indians who ha^'c been taught to 6 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH revere a holy life of self-denial. Thus does he commend to his countrymen in truly eastern manner the great things for which the Saviour gave His lite. This new method of preaching Christ has laid the Sadhu open to a considerable amount of criticism in the past, but in the form of a parable he explains that a Hindu will not drink water from a foreign vessel even when dying of thirst, but if that same water be offered to him in his own brass vessel he will accept it. It may be that the time has come when Indian Christians must venture upon new forms of spiritual enterprise, for they know the needs of their own country- men, have received the same traditions, and have the same outlook on life. Beyond question the Sadhu's new venture has brought untold blessing to many thousands all over this great land of India. By adopting the recognized dress of the sadhu, Sundar Singh not only opens the door to all castes and classes of society, but also even to the sacred precincts of the zanana homes of India, where on various occasions he has had unique opportunities of speaking for his Lord to the great ladies of the land. His own words are : — The day I became a Scidhu I was wedded to these garments, and I will never divorce them of my own will. He has frequently been asked how long he means to continue this life of self-abnegation, to which he replies : As long as I am in this world, I have vowed my life to Him, and His grace abiding I shall never bieak my vow. Never long in one place, he wanders over the length and breadth of India, meeting with; all sorts and condi- tions of men, suffering the changes of climate from the steamy tropical heat of Travancore and Ceylon to the icy cold of Tibet. Without knowledge of how food or raiment or lodging shall be provided from day to day, SUNDAR SINGH AS SADHU 7 carrying no money or worldly possessions, Sadhii Sundar Singh continues his pilgrimage in the service of his fellowmen and to the glory of his Master Christ. In cold or heat he wears the same clothes, and even in the bitter cold of farthest Tibet he wears no shoes, for by " his bleeding feet he attracts men to Christ." Wherever he goes he carries a small copy of the New Testament in Urdu, which with the help of nature and his own experi- ence is all he needs to enforce his powerful teaching. In his book, The Manhood oftlie Master, Dr. Fosdick says that " Jesus must have been the most radiant Man of His time in Palestine." Looking at Sadhu Sundar Singh it is easy to realize this, for to him suffering for Christ is a real joy, and his face is expressive of the deep peace and abounding joy he has in his dearest Saviour, Christ. During fourteen years of sadhu life Sundar Singh has known all manner of trials, and endured much suffering and persecution. Like his great predecessor Paul, he has been " troubled on every side . . . per- plexed, but not in despair ; persecuted but not forsaken ; cast down but not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest " in his body (2 Cor. iv. 7-10). CHAPTER III SUNDAR THE MaN A WESTERN missionary who has loved India through a long hfe may perhaps be pardoned for writing this chapter. Ever since meeting Sundar Singh the question as to the great difference between him and most other Christians, and also the S4dhu's imusual power of drawing men to Christ, has been uppermost in his mind. Absolute loss of all things and an entire submission to the will of Christ together with a profound enthralling love tor his Saviour gives at least a partial answer to the problem. In India as in our Lord's day " to the poor the Gospel is preached," and has found acceptance, and brought to many thousands a better life and a freer heritage. In some cases there is trouble and loss and even persecu- tion, but the cases are few and far between where absolute loss of all things is the price of following Christ. But, as will be seen in a succeeding chapter, the conversion of Simdar to Christ brought with it not only the loss of all things but great persecution and hardship. All he got by becoming a Christian was Christ ; and this incomparable gift swamped everything else, so that since that time it has been an ecstasy of delight to him to suffer with and for his Master. When more of India's sons accept the Saviour in this spirit, the Christian Church in this land vnW enter into her rightful SUNDAR THE MAN fl heritage and become the evangelizirig power that shall bring India to her Saviour. Wherein lies Sundar Singh's power to draw men to Christ ? Early in life he had an awakened conscience, and for long sought peace in the sacred books with which he was familiar. Failing to find in them what he sought he turned to the New Testament. Imagine his ardent and highly-stnmg mind intent on the story of Christ as related there ! A new Book— not a worn-out creed, nor the story of how Old Testament prophecies had been fulfilled, nor yet a thing he had read from a child and grown accustomed to ! There was no stale- ness in the Gospel story to him. Christ walked this earth again, lived and spoke in every line ; and as he read, the marvel of the story grew, until obsessed by the vision he counted all things as dross that he " might win Christ and be found in Him." He had no books to explain the New Testament or to cloud its meaning. There were just the New Testament,. God and his own highly attuned soul — a soul that had sought long and hopelessly for God, and had foimd here all, and more thaii he had sought. The picture of this Hindu boy sitting under a tree out of sight of friend, or foe, immersed in the reading of his Urdu Testament ' and sobbing over its contents, is one that brings tears to the eyes, and calls us to pause and ask ourselves, " Have we so learned Christ ? " It takes us back to foundation things, and stripped of our learning and knowledge we cry out for that same simple experience — just to meet Christ as he did. From those days to the present, Sundar Singh has wandered in company with his Lord over the length and breadth of India, with his Urdu New Testament in his hand, and with Christ in his heart, and a look of Christ upon his face. 10 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH In The Goal of India the Rev. W. E. S. Holland says : India is the spiritual mother of half mankind. ... No book that sets out to unveil for other peoples the heart of India could put anything else but religion in the very fore- front. ... To the Indian that is all that really matters . . . nothing else can ever satisfy his soul. The climax of India's religious ideal has ever been renunciation. There is something of the magnificent in the sadhu's measureless contempt for suffering and hardship. . . . Christ will redeem India's ancient ideal : India needs to see Christ as well as hear about Him. . . . India needs the simple Christian, who in a life of gentleness and patience, of lowly love and humble service, will unveil to her the beauty of Christ. Herein lies one great secret of Sadhu Sundar Singh's power over men wherever he goes. Taking the old ideal of renunciation he has spiritualized it, and men see in him a reflection of the great renunciation of Christ Him- self — not seeking suffering for suffering's own sake, as is the case with Hindu asceticism, but enduring it with cheerful acceptance as being the will of God for him. In the words of Keshab Chandra Sen : — Behold Christ cometh to us as an Asiatic ... to fulfil and perfect that religion of communion for which India has been panting — yea, after long centuries shall this communion be perfected in Christ. Sadhu Sundar Singh in himself reminds men of this great fact, and looking beyond him they " Behold the Man " who " for our sakes became poor." Can one wonder that whenever he makes his public appearances large crowds gather to hear him ? India must be won for Christ by her own sons, and in Sundar Singh we see a man whose appeal goes straight to the heart of an Indian, be he Christian or otherwise. His appearance, his utter self-abnegation and poverty, his presentation of the Gospel message, even the manner of his conversion combine to make that appeal irresistible SUNDAR THE MAN 11 to the people of India. They understand and believe in such a man. Thus this son of India possesses a key to the hearts of his countrymen no foreigner can ever hope to have, however great his love for India and her people may be. An Indian gentleman thus speaks of him : — A tall young man in flowing toga and a short black beard delivering his message with the fire of a prophet and the power of an apostle ! As the sweet words flowed from his lips the Sadhu stood befoie us as a symbol of the spiritual ciilture of the East set aglow in the resplendent light of the Gospel. Whilst an American adds : — The beauty that he daily gazes upon draws the deep souls of India who have not yet beheld it, but have seen it in him. His life is his power, and that life has to be lived to make that power felt. The Young Men of India for July, 1918, publishes the following : — It is almost an impossible task to present any appreciation of him (the S4dhu) in words. He is a man who has taken up the life of a sadhu because he believes that God has called him to this method of labour for Him. He utterly disowns the idea that in the life of the sadhu there is any intrinsic and special holiness. . . . His addresses, like his personality, are radiant with a calm, deep and glowing faith in God, and it is impossible to be in his company without realizing that he is one to whom God is a familiar friend. . . . He conveys the message which is the heart of his own life through addresses flUed with vivid and often piquant illustrations drawn from his own experience . . . and he presses home his points with unforgetable similes and illustrations. It is a fortunate thing for the Indian Church that the first man wlfo has become widely known as a Chiistian Sadhu should be one of such simple humble faith, and so purely a Christian personality. The Sadhu is not emotional or fanatical. Every gift 12 SADHU SLNDAR SINGH he possesses he ascribes to Christ, and to Christ alone. He belongs to no sect and is not a member of any order. In himself he calls Indians back to simplicity, self-sacrifice, and a pure whole-hearted devotion to Christ, that seeks only after God and works perpetually for the souls of men. Life to him is only of value so far as it ser\-cs these great ends, and standing before men as the embodiment of these ideals his appeal to India is irresistible. CHAPTER IV Nationality and Biktii Sadhu Sundar Singh is a Sikh by birth. The Sikhs arc, for various reasons, of pccuHar interest. Arising first as a religious sect resolved to reform abuses and in lead men back to a simpler purer worship, they eventu- ally developed into an organized military power. Through four centuries they have had many and bitter experiences, but pride of race, love of arms, and a stiff clinging to their rcHgious doctrines, are to this day their great characteristics. Cunningham, in his History of the Sikhs, says : — During the sixteenth century wliilst the Punjab wp" a scen6 of endless contention for power amongst foreign race?. the religious sect of the Sikhs, humble in its origin, unpre- tending in its primitive character, silently arose amidst the tumult of arms, and in spite of persecution laid the foundations of a great state. The home of the Sikhs is " The Coiuitry of the Fi\-c Rivers," and a remarkable circumstance of the popula- tion 'of the Punjab is the comparative paucity of the Sikhs in a country once ruled by them. The Sikhs do not form a numerous sect, yet their strength is not to be estimated by numbers, but by their unity and energy of religious fervour and warlike temperament. They will da.re and endure much ; they arc not easily discouraged 14 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH by defeat ; and they look forward hopefully to the day when the double mission of Nanak and Govind Singh shall become a dominant religion. Some further accoimt of the Sikhs will be found at the end of the book, and from it will be seen some of the national and religions influences under which Sundar Singh was born. Captain Cunningham says : — A Sikh chief is not more distinguished by his stately person and manly bearing than a minister of his faith is by a lofty thoughtfulness of look, which marks the fervour of his soul, and his persuasion of the near presence of the Divinity. In religious faith and worldly aspiration they are wholly different from other Indians. From such a stock sprang Sundar Singh. His father was Sirdar Sher Singh, a Sikh by descent, and to this day a wealthy landowner in Rampur, in the State of Patiala, where on September 3, 1889, Sundar was born ; the youngest son in the family, but called to a higher destiny than them all. One of the family is Sirdar A. Nath Singh, commander of an Indian force in one of the Sikh States, while others have risen to even higher distinction still. As a child Sundar was brought up in the lap of luxury. Every year as the hot weather drew on, he was taken with the family to spend the summer in the cooler air of the Himalayas, usually to Simla. His mother was a refined and gifted lady ; very broadminded in her sympathies. She was on friendly terms with the American Presbyterian Mission ladies, and permitted their visits to her home. From his earliest days the relationship between Sundar and his mother was of the tenderest character. He was the youngest of the family, and he seldom left her side. She would often say to him, " You must not be cai-eless and worldly like your brothers. Yo\i must seek peace of soul and NATIONALITY AND BIRTH 15 love religion, and some day you must become a holy sadhu." So frequently did he hear such words as these from hjs mother's lips that he never contemplated any other life than this of which she spoke. Wherever she went her little son accompanied her, and she never ceased to teach him the best things she knew. By the time he was seven years of age he had learnt the Bhagavadgitd from beginning to end in Sanskrit. And then, at the age of fourteen, Sundar lost his dearest earthly friend. How he missed her gentle companionship no one knows, but to-day when he speaks of her his voice grows tender, and he believes that were she alive she would be satisfied to see him living and working as he is this day. CHAPTER V Called to Seek " Ye shall seek Me and find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." — .Jeremiah xxix. 13. It has often been remarked that great men owe much to the early training given by their mothers, and in the case of Sadhu Sundar Singh this is especially true. From his earliest days the child not only accompanied his mother on her visits to the temples but was carefully taught by her to regard religion as the supreme thing in life. He saw her reverence for the holy men she often went to consult, and very early in life his impres- sionable mind seized upon the idea that of all lives that of a holy sadhu was the best worth living. Sundar learnt from his devout mother that there was a ]jcaec of heart which needed earnest seeking, and which, when found, would be the greatest treasure on earth. So frequently did she speak of this to him that as he grew in luiderstanding the desire to gain this precious gift grew in intensity. The little child who had " rubbed his forehead on the temple door " and sat at the feet of Hindu holy men, now began to seek for the inestimable treasure he had learnt to regard as the one thing worth obtaining in the world. The Granth of the Sikhs, the sacred books of the CALLED TO SEEK 17 Hindu religion, and even the Qur'an of the Muhammad- ans, were all ceaselessly read and searched. Often when his family lay asleep Sundar would sit poring over the pages of one or other of these books. Many passages and verses he learnt by heart, and yet with all his increasing knowledge there only came to him a deeper unrest of soul. The priests of the temple, the s&dhus he so often saw, and even his pious mother, failed to bring him rest of heart, although they quoted many passages from their sacred books in the hope of helping him. Thus built up in, but unsatisfied with, the faith of his fathers, and without knowledge of Christ and Christianity, Sundar was sent to learn at the mission school carried on by the American Presbyterians in his own village. Here every day the Bible was taught, and Sundar heard things that aroused in his mind feelings of the deepest antagonism. His Sikh blood was roused on the very first day by his being told to read the Bible. " Why should I ? We are Sikhs and the Granth is our sacred book." But Sundar, with a friend of his own age and standing, were persuaded to obey the rule of the school, and then he bought for himself a copy of the New Testament and began to read it. But his horror was only increased when he found its teaching utterly subversive of all he had learnt and treasured from his childhood. A deep inbred reverence for his own religion, almost amounting to faniaticism, rotised him beyond endurance. Soon he became the ringleader of the boys in the school who hated Christianity. Openly he tore up the hated pages of his N"ew Testament and burnt them in the fire. Hearing of this his father expostulated with him, declaring the Bible to be a good book, and telUng him that he should have returned it to the missionary rather than have treated it thus. 2 18 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Again Sundar turned to his own sacred books, this tinne with an abhorrence for Christ and a greater deter- mination to find the peace of which his mother had taught him. He not only arduously studied the Indian religious systems and holy books, but also practised " Yoga " under a Hindu sadhu, and learnt how to throw himself into mystic trances, which brought temporary relief, although when he came out of the trance he was more miserable than before. He was taken away from the mission school and sent to a government school three miles away from his home. The daily long walk in the fierce Indian sim soon began to tell on his health, and before long it became apparent that he must return to the mission school if he was to finish his education. All this time he had been diligent in his search for peace, and the constant cry of his heart was for shanti — that comprehensive Hindi term that means not only peace but a full satisfaction of soul. But the more he longed the greater was his disappointment when he found himself growingly filled with a deep soul-hunger that nothing would satisfy. Back in the mission school S\mdar once more found the Gospel in his hand, and again listened to the daily teiaching of the Bible. Then returned upon him his old hatred of Christianity, and the very name of Christ filled his mind with angry resentment. So strong were his feelings at that time that on one occasion, wheii the shadow of a Christian missionary fell across him, he spent a whole hour in washing away the pollution. Sundar speaks of this period as one of the most trying of his life, for he had come to the end of his own religion without discovering the shanti he was in search of, and his deep-rooted hatred of Christianity prevented him from even looking into the Christian sacred book for this "pearl of great price." CHAPTER VI Called of God " Blessed are they .that hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled." — Matthew v. 6. " Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest."— Matthew xi. 28. Thus far God had led Sundar by a way he knew not, and it seemed only to lead him into blacker night. Having studied line by line all the religions he knew, having heard from the lips of many religious teachers all they had to tell, and in spite of all still experiencing a deeper and more unsatisfied longing for the sJianti he believed possible, Sundar was led by God to see that in none of these things could he find what he sought. In the silent sanctuary of his own heart came the thought at last, that perhaps in the despised book he had so furiously destroyed there might be some help, and so he yet again took the Testament in hand. Torn with anguish and driven to despair he read there, " Come unto Mc . . . and I will give you rest." The words arrested him, and as he continued to read the story of the cross the wonder grew. No longer did he join with His class-mates in their open abuse of the Christian religion. Sometimes he was discovered in quiet con- verse with the Christian teacher. Eventually these 20 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH things were noticed and duly reported to his parents, but his father took little notice, for the boy had been well grounded in the Sikh religion by his devout, mother, and was imbued with its beliefs. But the leaven of the Gospel had entered his heart, and as he read, " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life," a whisper of comfort came to his sore heart. But still the burden of anguish prevented him finding rest. At last he felt he must put an end to the struggle. So one night he made a firm resoh'ie that he would obtain peace before dawn — either in this world or the next. He knew that at five o'clock each morning the Ludhiana express passed at the bottom of his father's garden, and to end his misery seemed no sin to the Hindu boy. In Hindu fashion he bathed, and with Testament in ha:nd he retired to his room to spend the long night in reading, meditation and prayer. Just before dawn Sundar became conscious of a bright cloud filling the room, and in the cloud he saw the radiant figure and face of Christ. As he looked upon the vision it seemed to him that Christ spoke saying, " Why do you oppose Me ? I am your Saviour. I died on the cross for you." His determined enmity was broken down for ever as he looked upon that Face so filled with Divine love and pity, and with conviction came a sublime sense of forgiveness and acceptance with Christ. At that moment there flashed into his heart the great shanti he had sought so long. Rising from his knees the vision faded, but from that hour Christ has remained with him, and shanti has been his dearest possession. With a heart brimming over with joy Sundar went to his father's room and told him that he was a Christian. Unable to believe that his son could be in earnest, the father urged CALLED OF GOD 21 him to go to rest, and believing all was right he fell asleep again. But that memorable night the thorn- crowned Jesus had called Sundar Singh to follow in His steps, and from that night the cross of Jesus was to be his joyous theme, until that cross shall lift him into the presence of his Saviour for evermore. CHAPTER VII Called to Suffer— I " A man's foes shall be they of his own household." — Matt. x. .Sfi. " For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." — Phil. i. 29. For nine months from that night onwards Sundar Singh was to pass from sorrow to sorrow, until he had drunk the cup of suffering to its bitterest dregs, for all that time he remained in his father's house. When it became known that he had chosen Jesus as his master, it seemed too heinous a thing for any member of his family to believe. That one of their number, belonging as they did to a proud and influential family, should dream of joining the despised sect of the Christians, none could contemplate. The father, with much earnest pleading and tenderness, urged his son to put aside such degrading and foolish thoughts ; to remember the high estate he had been born to, and the noble prospects that lay before him. He unrolled before the eyes of Sundar visions of wealth and honour, of high positions awaiting him ; but, seeing these things made no impres- sion, he portrayed to him the shame and disgrace that would befall his family if he persisted in his present course. The father knew his son's heart, and the love that heart still held for his mother and kindred. CALLED TO SUFFER 23 None but Sundar can tell the temptations of that dreadftil hour. Anguii^h filled his soul that he should bring reproach on those he loved. At that moment too were spread before him the temptations, ambitions and glitter of the world ; and once more he was to feel the power of earth's attractions and earth's love. But God had not called Sundar from despair and dark- ness to let him fall a prey to . these temptations. It seemed to him that Jesus whispered, " He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth Me is not worthy of Me." Only when he saw his father's tears did poor Sundar's heart almost break, but even as he declared his love for his father he had strength given to speak of a greater love for One who had called him to follow Him, and whom he could not disobey. Such scenes of pathos are not to be dwelt upon in the pages of a book. About this time, when it was fully realized that Sundar had made up his mind to follow Christ, a fresh attempt was made to turn him aside and to win him back to his old faith. An honoured uncle, the ])ossessor of great wealth, one day took him off to his large house, and led him to a deep cellar below the main building. Taking him inside the uncle locked the door and Simdar wondered whether his last hour had come. But, taking a key, his uncle stepped forward and unlocked a large safe. Throwing open the door there was revealed to the boy's eyes such wealth as he had never dreamt of. Rolls of bank notes, priceless jewels, and quantities of money were what he saw. His rmcle then besought him not to disgrace the family name by becoming a Christian, and taking his puggaree firom his own head he laid it on Sundar's feet, as the last and humblest suppli- cation he could make, with the words, " All these shall be yours if you will remain with us." 24 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Sundar felt this temptation keenly, for not only did the sight of such riches dazzle his eyes, but his heart was deeply moved by his uncle's condescension in thus humiliating himself to the youngest son of the house- hold. Sundar's eyes filled with tears as he beheld the puggaree lying on his feet — marking the disgrace which he must bring on those he loved, and his uncle standing bareheaded before him. But at that moment his heart became filled to overflowing with such love and devotion to Christ that refusal came easily to his lips, and with it came such a sense of divine approbation and accept- ance of his dearest Saviour as strengthened every holy resolution to be faithful to his Lord. After that his father made it plain to him that he was no longer a son of the house but an outcast. Both Sundar and a Sikh class-mate had read the New Testament with the same resiilt, that they found Christ. But they were not of an age to take the great step of confessing Christ publicly, and so were obliged to remain in their Hindu homes. The relatives of Sundar's friend brought a case into the law courts charging the American missionaries with compelling the boy to become a Christian. Upon appearing before the magis- strate the boy bore steady witness to the faith that was in him, and being questioned, he took a New Testament from his pocket and holding it in his hand replied, " Not because of the P&dri S&hib but by reading this Injil, I believe on Christ, so let the Padri Sahib go." Thus the case fell through, and for some time longer Sundar and his friend were forced to remain with their relatives until they were able to take the momentous step that was to mean so much to them both later on. It is easy to see how, when all persuasion and the temptations of a great career failed to turn aside the boy from his set pxirpose, the bitterest hostility was CALLED TO SUFFER 25 aroused amongst his people. His own brother proved his fiercest enemy, and day by day Simdar suffered bitter persecution at his hand. No language was too foul to be used against him and his " Jesus," and with redoubled care he had to steal away where no eye could see him, if he was to refresh his soul by the reading of his precious New Testament. He was taken away from the mission school, which was eventually broken up and had to be closed because of the persecution. Nor was this all, for the open hostility of the villagers became so great that the small Christian community, no longer able to procure food at the shops, was obliged to withdraw to more friendly quarters, leaving Sundar alone and friendless. As the storm increased in fury Sundar saw that it was impossible for him to remain in his father's house, and so eventually he made his way to the headquarters of the American Presbyterian Mission in Ludhiana, where the missionaries received him kindly and took care of him. Special arrangements were made for the cooking of his food to prevent trouble with his family, and Sundar entered the high school to continue his educa- tion. The sensitive boy had high ideals as to what Christians ought to be, and before long he discovered that his school-mates were for the most part only nominally Christian, and the conduct of some of them caused him to leave the mission and retrace his steps homewards. Arrived at Rampur his parents naturally thought he had given up Christianity and received him with great kindness. But they were speedily disillusioned, for they soon found him to be a more determined follower of Jesus than before. Sundar now took the final step that was to place him hopelessly outside the pale of his religion, commu- nity! and family, by cutting short his long hair — the sign to all that he was no longer a Sikh. Sikhs are instructed 26 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH in their sacred book, the Granth, never to cut the hair, and every true Sikh glories in his hair. Among various races of India the long tuft of hair is regarded with special reverence, and is the last sign of Hinduism a caste man lays aside when he becomes a Christian. So Sundar in cutting his hair brought ostracism on himself, and at the same time it was an unmistakable declaration for Christ and His cross. Then fell on this poor boy the bitterest blow of all. He was to be disowned, cast out, treated only as the lowest of the low, and that by those who loved him best. The Apostle Paul wrote, " We are made as the offscouring of all things," and this was the treatment meted out to a boy of sixteen, who up to this point had not entirely cast in his lot with Christians. He was no longer counted as one of the family. His food was served to him outside the house, just a.s if he belonged to the ' untouchables,' and he was made to sleep in the same place. The first time this was done the poor boy's eyes filled with tears, and the weight of his cross seemed more than he co)tld bear. Shortly after this, one of Sundar's brothers-in-law, who was in the service of the Raja, of Nabha, took him for a day or two to stay at his own house, in the hope of bringing him to a different state of mind. It was then that the Raja heard of the matter, and he sununoned Sundar to appear before the bar of the State Assembly (Durbar) to account for his conduct. The Raja used much persuasive language, and made glowing offers to him ; moreover he made a stern appeal to his pride of race, reminding him that he was a Singh (lion) and that to be a Christian was to become a dog. Whatever answer Sundar made it must have been given to him in thafvery hour what he should speak, for neither argument nor appeal nor yet offers of high position were able to move him in his resolution to follow Christ at all costs. CALLED TO St FFER 27 He then returned home, and immediately all the pent-up anger of his father was let loose upon him. The helpless boy was cursed, disowned, and told that on the following morning he must go forth from his ancestral home. With a sorely wounded heart that night he lay down for the last time on his father's verandah to sleep. Before sunrise the following day he was cast forth with nothing but the thin clothes he wore, and enough money to take him to Patiala by rail. Homeless, friendless, and utterly destitute, Simdar turned his back on the home of his childhood. .lesiis, I my nross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee ; Destitute, despised, forsaken. Thou from hence my All shalt be. CHAPTER VIII Called to Suffer — II " Thou art called, and hast professed a good confession before many witnesses."^! Timothy vi. 12. As Siradar sat in the train the thought came to him that in Ropur there was a Uttle colony of Christians — some from Rampur, whither they had fled when persecu- tion made Ufe impossible in their own village — and so stepping out of the train he made his way to the house of the kind Indian pastor and his good wife. It was by the providence of God that Sundar did this, for very soon after his arrival he fell violently ill and a physician had to be called in. Then it became known that a deadly poison had been mixed in the food given him before leaving home. It was not the intention of his friends that they should be degraded in the eyes of the world, but rather that he should die in the train. All that night the good pastor's wife sat by his side waiting for the end to come, for the physician pronounced the case hopeless and departed with the promise to come in the morning to the funeral. Sundar lay in mortal pain with blood flowing from his mouth and his strength ebbing fast. But as he lay, there came to him the profound belief that God had not called him out of darkness to die without witnessing to CALLED TO SUFFER 2» his faith in Christ, so he began to pray with all his remaining powers. When morning came he was still alive, though exceedingly weak. The physician came according to his promise and was amazed to find the boy alive. So deeply impressed was he that he took a copy of the New Testament and began to study it. In this way the physician himself became a believer in Christ, and to-day is working as a missionary in Burma. Sundar's friend, in taking the same step, received similar treatment, for his relatives also offered him poisoned food to eat. While Sundar lay between life and death his friend's short but heroic witness to the power of Christ came to an end, and he passed to the presence of his Redeemer to be " for ever with the Lord." When Sundar was sufficiently strong to undertake the short journey to Ludhiana he went back to the kind care of the American missionaries there. Whilst there several attempts were made by his relatives to get him away, and. violence was used on one of these occa- sions, so that the police had to be called in to quell the disturbance. But the most trying occurrence to Sundar was when his aged father came to make a last appeal in the hope of drawing him away. The sight of the father's stricken face and figure made a deep impression on the boy, and as the old man spoke of the great love of his mother and happy days of his childhood, there passed in fleeting panorama before Sundar's mind all the happiness of his old home, and the love that had sheltered his early days. His tears scorched his cheeks, whilst a mighty struggle went on in his heart. But he was not left to struggle alone, for One stood by him and reinforced his soul's resolve to take up his cross and follow Him. As his father turned to go away the last great sacrifice was made, and Sundar stood as he 30 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH does to-day— stripped of all that life can offer but accepted of his Lord. These long months, so full of trial and hardship, had been a supreme test, and every fresh sorrow only added sweetness and firmness to the character of this remarkable boy. After these events it became necessary for Sundar to go away where he would be protected from his enemies, and he was sent to the American Medical Mission at Sabathu, a small place twenty-three miles from Simla, where he was free from persecution, and able to give his mind completely to the study of his beloved New Testament. Set free from all earth's ties, he became increasingly anxious to confess Christ by baptism. Again and again he begged that he might be allowed to take this step, and eventually on his birthday, September 8, 1905, the Rev. J. Redman baptized him in the Church of England at Simla. Next day Sundar returned to Sabathu, and knowing that he was " buried with Him in baptism . . . risen with Him through faith " (Col. ii. 12) his heart was filled to overflowing with happiness. The weary struggles of the past months faded in the presence of this new joy of bearing the name of the dear Master for whom already he had suffered so much. His heart now became filled with a burning desire to make known to others the Saviour to whom he had given himself so unreservedly, and with eager joy he began to look forward to the great work to which his life was to be dedicated. During the hard days of his search after God Sundar had made a vow that if God would lead him into peace he would sacrifice all that life could offer him. And now the day had come when he could make an utter self-surrender for Jesus Christ. He had long felt drawn to the life of a sadhu, and know- ing what ■ such a life involved, he willingly made the final sacrifice for it. His books and personal belongings CALLED TO SUFFER 31 were soon disposed of, and on October 6, 1905, just thirty-three days after his baptism, he adopted the simple saffron robe that was to mark him off for all time as one vowed to a religious life. With bare feet and no visible means of support, but with his New Testament in his hand and his Lord at his side, Sadhu Sundar Singh set out on the evangelistie campaign that has lasted to this day. CHAPTER IX Called to Serve " It pleased God who . . . called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen." — Galatians i. 15-16. " Ye shall be witnesses unto Me ... in Jerusalem." — Acts i. 8. t SuNDAR was now embarked on a life of such complete self-abnegation and suffering as falls to the lot of few men in this world. His path from Hinduism to Christ had been one of thorns all the way. But, after his vision of the thorn-crowned Jesus and his acceptance of the peace his Saviour brought, nothing seemed too great to give up for Him. In the undying words of Dr. Watts :— Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small ; Love so amazing, so divine. Demands my soul, my life, my all. Nothing less than "all sufficed to satisfy his ardent nature, and one cannot wonder that on entering the s&dhu life in that spirit he determined, as he says, that " His grace abiding " he would live no other, so long as life was his to spend for Christ. Though but a boy in years, the heart of Sidhu Sundar CALLED TO SERVE 33 Singh then, as now, was filled with a divine passion for human souls, and his intense devotion and love for the Lord Jesus caused him to choose as his first field of labour his own village, from which he had been driven only a short time previously. Only a few months after his rejection by his family the young Sadhu returned to the familiar streets of Rampur, and there in every street he bore faithful witness to the power of the Saviour and the new-found happiness he had in Him. Not only so, but even the zanana doors of Rampur were opened to him, and he went from house to house telling the women the same wonderful story. From there, and alone, he passed on to the villages round about, and fear- lessly testified to the people everywhere of the great peace only obtainable through Jesus Christ. He then continued his way through many other towns and villages of the Pimjab, working his way up towards Afghanistan and Kashmir. This was a long and extremely arduous tour, and, unused to the hardships of sadhu life, Sundar suffered severely from the cold and privations of the way. Moreover the work was difficult, for his message met with little response. It was however at the ancient city of Jalalabad in Afghanis- tan that he met some Pathans, who, planning his destruc- tion, were eventually willing to receive his message. An account of this will be found in a later chapter. Up to this point it seems as if God had, little by little, weaned Sundar from all that life holds dear. Relatives, wealth, home, had all gone for Christ. Entering the new world of Christians the comfort and almost certain preferment that would have been his, were to count for naught to him who had set out on his first t^ur to make Christ known in the heathen villages amongst the moun- tains. The cold pierced his thin clothing, the thorns and stones cut his bare feet. The nights came with no 3 34 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH certainty of shelter from the bitter winds and pouring rain, and the grey dawn often brought days of hunger and suffering such as he had never known. Even his fervent soul quailed at the hardship that seemed to bring so little return, for often his message was discredited and he him- self cast forth to spend a hungry night in caves or any poor shelter the jungle might afford. His sadhu's clothes gave him entrance everywhere, but often when it was discovered that he was a Christian, Sundar was driven himgry and helpless from the villages to live or die. But nothing can discourage him. Incapable of drawing back in face of danger or death itself, Sadhu Sundar Singh continues his sublime mission in the darkest corners' of India and the regions beyond. Year in and out he has laboured for the souls of men in plain and mountain, in city and village, and amongst the scattered peoples and wandering tribes on the frontiers of India. It has been amongst these peoples that he has suffered so severely, but amongst them too he has had the supreme joy not only of making Christ known, but of leading men to His feet. His chief work has been done amongst non-Christians, to whom he feels God's call to be clear and unmistakable. CHAPTER X Called to Preach " I'br I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him erucilied," — 1 Corinthians ii. 2. Very weary after his long and hard journey through the Punjab, Kashmir, Bahiehistan and Afghanistan, the Sadhu retraced his steps and came to Kotgarh, a small place beyond Simla in the Himalayas, where he remained a time for rest. This little place will always be associated with Sundar Singh, for early in his career he laboured thert, and it is to Kotgarh still that he retires for a brief rest between his tours, or before starting on his arduous journeys into the closed lands of Tibet and Nepal. During the summer of 1906, Sundar met Mr. Stokes, who was staying near Ketgarh. This wealthy American gentleman had come to India to labour for her people, and for the glory of God. Meeting the Sadhu fired his heart, and filled him with a desire to join him in his arduous life. After prayer and thought Mr. Stokes took this step, and the two Sadhus took a journey together through the Khangra valley. Food and shelter were difficult to obtain, and the two brothers suffered much, but their work was good and their fellowship sweet. It was during this journey 36 SADHU SUXDAB SINGH that Suiidar Singli fell ill. The two Sadhus had travelled together for some hundreds of miles, sharing the same hardships, often being obliged to seek shelter in the common filthy serais, and often subsisting on the barest and roughest diet, and little enough of that. They were passing through very unhealthy country when Simdar was seized with fever and severe internal pains. Shaking with ague, burning with fever and always in pain, he dragged on imtil at last he could walk no longer. He sank on the _path almost unconseious, and Mr. Stokes moved him into an easier position, enquiring at the same time as to how he was. No complaint ever passes the lips of the Sadhu whatever his lot, and Mr. Stokes was not at all surprised to receive the reply he did. With a smile, though in a feeble voice, the Sadhu answered, " I am vevy happy. Hoav sweet it is to suffer for His sake." Those who know the Sadhu best know that " this is the key-note of .lis life." It was a wild and jungly place where this happened, and Mr. Stokes was in great difTiculty, but he succeeded in getting the sick man to the house of a European some miles away, where he was nursed tb health again. The kind host was at that time without any care for religion, but day by day he saw the example of the Sadhu and heard such things from his lips as caused him to think deeply, until he became a truly cdnverted man. Thus was this illness blessed to the saving of one soul who found joy and peace in Christ Jesiis. Mr. Stokes possessed a magic lantern which the Sadhu borrowed and used in Rampur and other places for street preaching at night, when large numbers of people gathered to see the pictures and hear the explanation. Thus unweariedly, night and day, the two Sadhus passed from place to place, doing most of their travelling by night, because the sun was too fierce for Mr. Stokes (ALLEI) TO I'REACII 37 to bear its rays on his unprotected head. It was at this time that Mr. Stokes spoke so appreciatively of the work of the Sadhu, who, though not much more than a boy, was so filled with his message that wherever he went people were imdcr a strange compulsion to listen to what he said. In 1907 the two Sadhus laboured in tlic Leper Asylum at Sabathu, and later in the year they went down to Lahore to work amongst the plague-stricken in the Plague Camp there. They toiled unremittingly day and night, allowing themselves only brief hours of respite, and even these were spent lying on the ground amongst the sick and dying. The next year Mr. Stokes went to America on furlough and Simdar was once more left alone. From Lahore he went on to Sindh, returning through Rajputana to North India again, and then as the hot weather drew on he made his first journey into the closed land of Tibet. In all these places the Gospel was preached incessantly, and no man who came across the Sadhu went away without hearing that Jesus had come into the world to save sinners. After his return from Tibet he had a great desire to go to Palestine, in the belief that to see the place where his Saviour had lived and died would inspire him to fuller and better service. But when he reached Bombay he found it impracticable, so in 1909 he returned to North India through the Central Provinces, preaching as he went. .SADIIU SUNDAB SINGH IIRADISO HIS NEW TESTAMENT CHAPTER XI What Wisdom is This ? " From whence luith tliis Man these tilings ? and wliat wisdom is this which is given unto Him . . . ?— Mark vi. 2. That Sundar Singh was taught of God was unmistak- ably shown by the wonderful hearing he gpt amongst non-Christians thiis early in his career. His friends recognized that he possessed unus\ial powers, and that his presentation of the Gospel held people by its attrac- tiveness and persuasiveness. So much was this the ease that they felt it desirable to widen the sphere of his operatiqjis by including the Christian community among those to whom he went. But for this some definite preparation was needed and they advised him to join the St. John's Divinity College, Lahore, This he did, passing on entry the examination usually imposed at the close of the first year, and proceeding at once to the second year's course. The years 1909 and 1910 were spent in study, and during vacation time he continued his evangelistic werk as heretofore. Sundar still wore the saffron robe. The sadhu idea for a Christian was something quite new at that time, and was a cause of considerable doubt to many. But he never swerved from his first resolution, although the 40 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH criticism he was often subjected to, tended to make these years hard for him. Whilst Sundar was in college Mr. Stokes returned from furlough, having gone to England and there started the idea of a brotherhood, whose work should be exclu- sively for the glory of God and the help of man, in what- ever form it might present itself — not necessarily the work of preaching. The humbler and harder the labours, the better ! The Archbishop of Canterbury was approached on the matter, and seemed to think it would be a good thing, so that after Mr. Stokes returned to India this brotherhood was started with five persons, the only Indian being the Sadhu. The brotherhood was inaugurated in a solemn service in Lahore Cathedral, when two of the five took the vows, but Sundar remained a novice, having already vowed himself to the life of a sadhu for Christ's sake. Upon leaving college he was recommended for deacon's orders by the Diocesan Mission Council and was granted a licence to preach. Soon after leaving college his heart turned to Tibet, whither he went for the six months of hot weather, returning to Kotgarh, where he worked in connexion with the Church Mission- ary Society for some time. Like the great English preacher, John Wesley, the Sadhu looked upon the world as his parish, and he preached everywhere and to all who would give heed to his message. It was not long before dissatisfaction was expressed at his methods of work. He was told that in deacon's orders it was undesirable, and that as a priest it would be impossible, to continue working in this way. The pure and simple spirit of the man never for a moment staggered or stayed to contemplate what would be the result if he declined to obey. The sheltered life of a priest with its possibilities of preferment held no temptation WHAT WISDOM IS THIS? H for Sundar. On his knees and in the quiet of his o\yn spirit he settled the momentous question, and then took the step that for ever set him free of all sects. He returned his licence to preach, to his Bishop, explaining that he felt called to preach to all, and wherever God sent him. Bishop Lefroy (late Metropolitan of India), with a generous large-hcartcdncss, accepted the reason with the licence. The great crisis of his career was safely past. From that day S&dhu Sundar Singh made himself the possession of Christians of all creeds, and also set himself free for a mighty work amongst non-Christians all over India. CHAPTER XII Early Experiences as a Sadhu '■ He which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."— James V. 20. " Joy shall be in heaven over one siiiner that repenteth," — Luke XV. T. The years 1911 and 1912 were spent in touring in Garhwal, Nepal, Kulu, the Punjab, and many other places, whilst each year during the six months of hot weather the Sadhu went alone to Tibet. The following incidents give some idea of his life and work at that time. Sundar Singh was one day making his way to a certain village when he caught sight of two men in front of him, one of whom suddenly disappeared. A little further on he overtook the remaining man, who accosted him, and pointing to a sheeted figure on the ground told the Sadhu that this was his friend who had died by the way, and he had no money to bury him. Sundar had only his blanket and two pice which had been given him for the toll bar, but these he gave to the man and passed on his way. He had not gone far when the man came running after him, and sobbed out that his companion was really dead. The Sadhu did not understand, until he began to explain that it was their custom to take it in turns to prey on the public by pretending one of them was dead. EARLY EXPERIENCES \S A SADHU W This they had done for years, but that day when the man went back to call his friend there was no resjionse, and on lifting the cloth he was horror-stricken to find him actually dead. The wretched man sought the Sadhu's forgiveness, being assured that here was some great saint whom he had robbed of all he had, and thus had the dire displeasure of the gods fallen upon them. Then Sundar spoke to him of the Lord of life, and in that penitent moment the man accepted the message. He sent him to a mission station near Garhwal, where in due time he was baptized. On one of his long journeys in the mountains the footpath divided at a certain point, and he was in doubt as to which path to take. He chose the wrong one, and upon arrival at a village he found he had gone eleven miles out of his way. Turning back Sundar met a man with whom he entered into conversation, and began to speak to him of Christ. Then the man produced from the folds of his clothes a copy of the New Testament, which he confessed to having hid when lie saw the Sadhu coming, in the belief that he was a Hindu sanyasi. The man had doubts to which he could find no solution, but Simdar so dealt with them that the man found Christ. In speaking of this to the writer, Sundar remarked : " Then I knew why I had gone astray, for Christ had sent me to help this anxious soul." At Narkanda the Sadhu found some men reaping in a field. Joining them he spoke to them, as they worked, of Jesus and eternal things. At first they listened with indifference and then with disapprobation. They had no mind to hear about a strange religion. Some of the men began to curse and threaten him, and one took a stone and hit him on the head. After a time the man who had thrown the stone was seized with a severe headache and had to stop work. The S&dhu then took »ip the scythe 44 SADHU SLNDAR SIXGH and reaped with the others. This softened their hearts and at the end of the day the men invited him to accom- pany them home. In the quiet of the evening a better opportunity was afforded for the giving of his message, and then he went away. The reapers, having rested, began to take stock of the harvest gathered that day, and to their astoi\ishmcnt fo\md a greater yield than they had had in previous years. They were then afraid, and declared amongst themselves that a holy man had visited them and this increase was proof of it. Then they strove to find the Sadhu, that they might give better heed to his message, but foimd him nowhere. This incident was published in a North Indian paper, Tlie Nur Afshan, by one of the nfien present on the occasion, who made an appeal through its pages to Sundar to return amongst them that they might receive his message. At the ancient city of Jal&labid the Sadhu found himself amongst a cruel and treacherous people, who seeing he was a Christian laid a plot to take his life. Sitting to rest himself, the news was brought to him by one less evil-disposed than the rest,, but as he had done nothing to warrant such a thing he, found it difficult to believe it possible. However, he decided to take the warning and to seek a safer retreat. Only the common serai, infested with mosquitoes and viler insects remained, so to this he went. Next morning, when he had lit a fire and was drying his wet clothes, a number of Path&ns arrived. Much to his amazement the foremost of these men came in and fell at his feet; The Pathan then explained how they had sought to take his life, but seeing him had altered their intention, for instead of his being frozen as they had expected, he was well and none the worse for his experiences. They were driven to believe that here was one favoured of Allah, and they begged EARLY EXPERIENCES AS A SADHU 45 that he would accept of their hospitaHty and accompany them home. The Sadhu spent a very happy week with them, and they gave good heed to his teaching, so that he beheves there will be fniit of his labours amongst these rough and hardened men. CHAPTER XIII Obedience by Suffering ■' Yet learned He obedience by the things whifli He siifTercd," — Hebrews v, 8, "■ I count ull things but loss , . , that I muy know Him . . . and the fellowship of His suffering." — Phil. iii. 8, 10. Xo one but Sadhii S\iiidar Singh' himself knows how great have been his sufferings during his years of scrvide for his Master. lie admits that very often he has gone without ])roper food, being rcdiiecd to eating the berries and ])roducc of the jungle, and many a night he has been driven from the villages and been obliged to sleep under trees or in eaves of the earth. The parts of India where the chief of his work has been done are no places for such a life, so that it is not surprising that on more than one occasion the Sadhu has shared his miserable shelter with a snake or wild animal. At a village in the district of Thoria the people behaved so badly to him that his nights were always spent in the jungle as long as he was working amongst them. On a l)articularly dark night, after a discouragingly hard day, the Sadhu found a eave where he spread his blanket and lay down to sleep. When daylight came it revealed the horrible spectacle ()f a large leopard still asleep close to him. The sight almost paralysed him with fear, but once outside the cave he coidd only reflect upon the great pro\'idence of God that had preserved him while OBEDIENCE BY SUKFERING 47 he slept. His own words are : " Never to this day has any wild animal done nie any harm."' On another occasion, being driven out of ^ certain \ illage, Sundar went to meditate on a rock close to a cave. Deep in contemplation, it was some time before he noticed that he was being stealthily observed by a black panther that was crouching not far away. Filled with fear but putting his trust in God, he quietly rose and walked forward as if nothing were there. He got away safely to the village, and when the people knew of his escape they declared he must be a very holy man, since this very panther had killed se\-eral people from that village. They then gathered round to receive the message which they had spurned before, and so Sundar again thanked God and took coiirage. One morning a number of sadhns were gathered on the banks of the Ganges at a i)laoe called Rishi Kesh amidst a crowd of religious bathers, and amongst them stood Sadhn Sinidar Singh, Testament in hand, preach- ing. Some were listening in a mildly interested way, whilst others joked and scoffed at the man and his message. Unexpectedly a man from the crowd lifted up a handful of sand and threw it in his eyes, an act that roused the indignation of a better-disposed man, who handed the offender over to a policeman. Meanwhile the Sadhu went down to the river and washed the sand from his eyes. Upon his return he begged for the release of the culprit and proceeded with his preaching. Sur- prised by this act and the way he had taken the insult, the man, Vidyananda, fell at his feet begging liis forgive- ness, and declaring a desire to understand more of Avhat the Sadhu was speaking about. This man became a seeker after truth, and afterwards accompanied him on his journey, learning with meekness from his lips the story of redeeming love. 48 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Very early in his pilgrimages Sundar travelled through a number of villages, one of which was ealled Doliwala. The day liad been a hard one, the march very long, and the Sadhu arrived utterly exhausted and badly in need of food and rest. Walking down the village street he asked again and again for some shelter where he .night spend the night, but in every plaee — when it was dis- covered that he was a Christian — he was dri\-en away. Heavy rain was falling and it was bitterly eold. Wearied almost to death, Sundar sought refuge in a ruined hut of two rooms, without doors or windows. At least he was out of the rain, and thanking God he laid his blanket in the driest spot and went hungry to bed. Soon he fell asleep, and did not wake until the ehiily grey dawn eame. In the half-darkness he saw a black object coiled up in his blanket close beside him, and looking closer he discovered that a huge cobra had also sought shelter and warmth beside him. Speedily he escaped from the hut, leaving the snake asleep, but on further thought he returned. Seizing a corner of the blanket he shook it free of the venomous re])tile, which sluggishly wriggled off to the furthest corner of the room. Sundar then took his blanket with a feeling of great thankfulness that God had taken care of him in the hours of sleep, and spared him for further .service. An educated Arya Samaj gentleman relates how one day when he v.-as descending a mountain he met a young Sadhu going up. Curiosity prompted him to watch what would happen, so instead of joining him for a talk as he at first thought of doing; he waited, and this was what he saw. When the Sadhu got to the village he sat down upon a log, and wiping the pers])iration from his face he commenced singing a Christian hymn. Soon a crowd gathered, but when it was foiuid that the love of Christ was the theme many of the people became OBEDIENCE BY SUFFERING 40 angry. One man jumped up and dealt him such a severe blow as felled him to the ground, cutting his cheek and hand badly. Without a word Simdar rose and bound up his bleeding hand, and with blood running down his face prayed for his enemies and spoke to them of the forgiving love of Christ. In writing of this inci- dent this gentleman adds that he himself, by seeing the Sadhu's conduct, was " drawn out of the well of contempt, and brought to the fountain of life." The man, Kripa Ram, who had thrown Sundar down, sought long and earnestly for him, in the hope that he might be baptized by " that wounded hand," but not finding him, he openly confessed Christ by baptism, and still hopes to see Sadhu Sundar Singh some day. CHAPTER XIV The Fast ■■ AVhcn thou prayest . . . pray to thy Father which is in secret." — Matthew vi. 0. ■" When thou fastest . . . appear not unto men to fast, but to thy Father, wliieh is in secret." — Matthew vi. 17, 18. Towards the end of 1912 a letter was received by the Uev. Canon Sandys of Calcutta, from Canada, asking for " A Cliristian Sikli to he sent as a preacher to work amongst 4000 Sikh lumbermen in nritisli Columbia. The request was laid before Sundar Singh, who at once agreed to go. . . . Everything was ready for him, when the shipping agents declined to send him, on the ground that the Canadian Govern- ment had pa.sscd immigration laws which made it impossible for thom to book him through." Sundar Singh felt the disappointment keenly, but simply said, " Perhaps it is not God's will I should ever go to Canada." Later Canon Sandys wrote, " I failed to get a pass- port for him, as the Government no donbt was at that time receiving private information about the Columbian Sikhs." And so to the Sadhu's sorrow the -idea had to be abandoned. He then worked his way across the country from Calcutta to Bombay, and eventually north again. After his baptism he had two strong desires, one being to visit Palestine, the scene of our Saviour's life and work, THE FAST 51 and the other to imitate Jesus in fasting forty days and forty nights. By these means he hoped to obtain fresh spirituaf enUghtenment. To achieve the first in 1908 he made his way to Bombay, but fo\md that for -various reasons the journey at that time was impracticable. Some four years later, ^vhen the proposed visit to Canada fell through, the Sadhu's mind turned to the idea of retirement for prayer and fasting, in the belief that these things would minister to the great need for a closer communion with God and increased power for service. It was about this time that he came in contact with a Roman Catholic medical man, a Franciscan, calling himself Dr. Swift, and travelling with him up north they discussed the idea of a fast, the latter striving to dissuade the Sadhu from attempting it, and declaring that death would surely result if he did. Seeing, however, that he still desired to accomplish it, the Doctor begged him to give him the addresses of his chief friends, that in case of necessity he might eomnnmieate with them. This was done and the two men parted, the Doctor with the intention of joining a Catholic fraternity, and the Sadhu with the determination to seek retirement that he might give himself to fasting and prayer. The Doctor wrote to a friend of his near Dehra Dun telling him of what was happening, while away in the jungly country between Hardwar and Dehra Dim, Sundar Singh went alone to meet his God. The days passed without any news of him filtering through to the outside world, and meanwhile he remained in the jungle without food, and growing weaker every day. Having been warned as to what might happen to him the Sadhu made provision for increasing weakness by collecting forty stones, one of which he dropped each day in order to keep the count, but at length he was unable even to do this. His hearing and sight left him 52 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH and he lay as one in a trance, conscious of what was going on about him but unable to make any outward sign of life. As physical powers declined and extreme exhaustion set in he felt within himself a great quicken- ing of the spirit, and in this state his complete depen- dence upon God, and other matters of intense spiritual importance, were revealed to him, so that since that time none of the doubts that once assailed him have had any power over him. In this condition he was foimd by some bamboo-cutters who, seeing his saffron robe, lifted him into his blanket, and conveyed him to Rishi- Kesh and then to Uehra Dun. From thence he was sent in a carriage to Annfield. So altered was he in appear- ance by what he had passed through that he was not recognized by his Christian friends at Annfield. But they knew who he was by the name in his Testament, and carefully nursed him back to life. Meanwhile Dr. Swift received news from his friend that a man corresponding to his description of the Sadhu had been discovered in the jungle at the point of death. Surmising that his predictions had come true the Doctor (possibly through a friend) wired to the Siidhu's friends that " Simdar Singh slept in Jesus." The Metropolitan and Canon Sandys were two of the six who received these telegrams. The latter wrote to the station master from whence the telegrams had been sent, making enquiries as to who the sender was, and the reply came that they had been handed in " by a black-coated gentleman." Whilst Sundar was lying weak and ill at Annfield, unconscious of the reports being circulated about him, obituaries appeared in the papers, and a memorial service was held in the church at Simla, money also being contri- buted for a tablet to be placed there in his memory. By March he was well enough to resume his travels, and went up to Simla, when he heard the story of his reported death. THE FAST 5» This fearful experience did bring the spiritual enHghten- ment the Sadhu had believed it would, and although count of time was lost, and the fast could not have lasted for forty days, this enlightenment was gained almost at the loss of his life. CHAPTER XV Further Journeys and Persecutions " Christ shall be magnified in nnv body, whether !/ be h\ hfc or by death."— Pliil. i. 20. After his rccnvcry from tlie effects of the fast, Sadliii Sundar Singli went a<;aiii to Tibet for the six months of the hot weather of 1913, and returning spent the cold season touring through North India. Early the follow- ing year he was again in Bengal, and working his way up to Darjecling he entered Sikkim. The Native States bordering Northern India, chief of which arc Ne])al, Sikkim, and Bhutan, arc ruled by princes of their own, and arc as hostile to Christianity as Tibet itself. The people arc su])erstitious and ignorant, and the ])reaching of a foreign religion is strictly prohibited within certain areas. In 191-t Sadhu Sundar Singh entered Nepal knowing that he ran every risk of ill-treatment and possibly death. For some time, however, in spite of o]iposition and threats, he went from place to place publishing the good news \mtil he came to a town called Horn. He had not been there long when he was told he nmst discontiiuie preaching or some evil woidd befall him. An order was issued for his imiirisonnient, and whilst delivering his message he was seized and hurried off to FURTHER JOURNEYS ASV PERSECUTIONS 55 the common prison, to spend his days and nights with murderers and thieves. Here was an opportunity for him to speak for his Master, and soon he began to tell the unhappy prisoners of the power of Christ to change men's hearts and to bring peace to their consciences even within the dismal walls of a prison. Many believed his message of joy and accepted Christ, and thus were these fearful days converted into seasons of blessing both to the Sadhu and to those whom he taught. The news that he was changing the hearts of his fellow-prisoners was told in high jilaces, and on this charge Sundar was removed from the prison and taken to the public market for pimishment. Here he was stripped of his clothes and made to sit on the bare earth. His feet and hands were fastened into holes in upright boards (stocks), and in this crippled position, without food or water, he was made to remain all day and the following night. To add to his tortures a number of leeches were thrown over his naked body, and these immediately fastened upon him and began to suck his life-blood. He carries the marks of this horrible treat- ment to-day, so that of him it may be truly said, " I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." A mocking crowd stood round to watch his torture, and none offered him even a drink of water to relieve his physical misery. In speaking of this experience to the writer the Sadhu said, " I do not know how it was, but my heart was so full of joy I could not help singing and preaching." Through the long night he agonized, growing hourly weaker with loss of blood, but when morning came he was still alive. When his persecutors saw the Sadhu's tranquil face they were filled with superstitious dread, and being sure that he held some strange power they did not understand, they took him out of the stocks and 56 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH set him free. This dreadful experience had made him so weak that he fell unconscious, and only after some time and many attempts did he manage to crawl away from the spot. In that place were some secret believers belonging to the Sanyasi Mission (spoken of in a later chapter) and these kind people received their wounded brother and cared for him until strength returned. The S6,dhu's brief record of his days in the prison of Horn will be found in a later chapter, and, as in his case it is to be expected, he ascribes his great joy in that dreary place to the near companionship of his never- failing Friend, Jesus Christ. At Srinagar in Garhwal, he had a most imexpected experience. He knew that this was a dangerous place in which to speak of Christ, but one day when he was preaching outside the city some young men taunted him by saying he dare not say such things inside the city. He felt impelled to accept the challenge, and entering the city he went to the market place and there started to preach. Upon seeing this some of the by- standers hurried off to bring the pandit of the place, hoping he would controvert the Sadhu's statements and put him to shame. When the pandit arrived he went up to Sundar, and in front of all the people he placed his two forefingers in the S&dhu's mouth with the words, " I have done this to prove that we are brothers, and not enemies as you suppose, for we both believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour." The effect upon the crowd was electrical, and before many minutes had passed all his enemies had vanished away. Sundar then passed one of the happiest days of his life in conversation with this good man, discovering, much to his joy, that the pandit only pro- longed his stay in that dark place in order to bring others to the light. Already he had by God's grace secretly FURTHER JOURNEYS AND PERSECUTIONS 57 won sixteen souls, and intended to carry on this work so long as it was God's will he should. In the wild and inhospitable regions which Sadhu Sundar Singh often needs to pass through in the course of his missionary journeys, he naturally has varied and often most extraordinary experiences. One such oc- curred when he was passmg through the thickly wooded forests of Bhulera, which is a favourite haunt of thieves and murderers. Four men suddenly intercepted him and one rushed on him with a drawn knife. Unable to protect himself, and believing the end had come, he bowed his head to receive the blow. This miexpected conduct caused the man to hesitate, and to ask instead that the Sadhu should hand over all he hadv He was searched for money, but finding none his blanket was seized and he was allowed to pursue his way. Thankful to escape with his life he went on, but before he had gone far one of them called to him to return, and now certain that death awaited him he turned back. The man then enquired who he was and what was his teaching. Sundar told him that he was a Christian Sadhu, and opening his Testament he read to him the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The man listened attentively, and in reply to the question as to what were his thoughts, he replied that the end of the rich man had filled him with dread, adding that if such a terrible punishment followed so small a sin what would become of greater sinners. The opportunity thus afforded was quickly seized by the Sadhu. He immediately opened up the riches of God's grace to him, and listening, the man's heart was deeply moved. He poured out a miserable story of guilt and sin, amidst many sobs and tears. He then took Sundar to his cave, prepared food for him, and begged him to eat. After some more conversation and a short 58 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH prayer, the two men retired to rest. Very early next morning the man awoke Sundar and, bringing him out- side took him, to a cave where there was a ghastly heap of human bones. With loud weeping he pointed to the bones and said, " These are my sins ; tell me, is there any hope for such as me ? " The Sadhu's heart was touehed by the man's anxiety and contrition, and he told him of the thief who was forgiven on the cross. Then they knelt together and the poor sinner sobbed out his repentance to God. Before the Sadhu had finished with him, the man had made a start on the strait and narrow way, and together they went to Labcha, Sakkum, where he was handed over to the missionaries and eventually baptized. The other three men also gave up their bad life and took to honest occupations. Thus was the Sadhu used for the help of four great siiuiers. CHAPTER XVI Tibet Ths. Chumbi valley on the northern side of Darjeeling is an indescribably lovely and seductive spot, and is one of the ajiproaches to the barest and most inhospitable country of Asia — Tibet. Tibet has not always been a closed land. Until the end of the eighteenth century only physical obstacles stood in the way of entry into Ivhasa itself. Jesuits and Capuchins reached Lhasa and made long stays there, and were even encoi\raged by the Tibetan government. As early as 1325 it is known that foreigners visited the country, but the first Europeans to reside in Lhasa arrived there in 1661. Two centuries ago Europeans might travel in remote parts of Asia with greater safety than is possible to-day, for now the white man inspires fear where he used only to awaken curiosity. At the end of the eighteenth century the Nepalcse overran Tibet, and the Chinese being called in to aid, almost annihilated the Gurkhas. From that time China practically ruled in Lhasa. The policy of strict exclusion dates from then. Since the decline of China's power, a Tibetan Mission to the Czar, supposedly of a religious character, brought Tibet somewhat mider the influence of Russia. Several Buriat lamas had been educated in Russia, chief of whom was one Dorjieff, who 60 SAUHU SUNDAU SINGH Iicaded the Rnsso-Tibctan Mission of 1901. Dorjicff and others inspired dreams of a eonsolidated Buddhist religion, under the spiritual control of the Dalai Lama, backed by the military ]7o\vcr of Russia ; this was believed ])ossibIc because the ijjnoraut lamas imagined Russia to be a Uuddhist country. Tibet is a mysterious country with an ancient but arrested civilization ; a land where prayer flags flutter in the wind, and where men sjiend half their time in turning mechanical prayer wheels. The people are nK'dia;val in government. Witchcraft, incantations, and ordeals by lire and boiling arc still conunon. The entire population is only about six millions. In Lhasa, the home of the Huddha and the Dalai Lama, is a superbly detached building on a hill of rock tailed the Potala. " Its massive walls, its terraces and bastions stretch upward from the plain to the crest, and are crowned with glittering domes shining with turquoise and gold. At its feet lies the squalid city of Lhasa. Buddhism holds all life sacred, yet this place, where dwells the divine incarnation, has witnessed more nnirder than even the bloodstained castles of medieval Europe." The Buddhist religion is the one thing that keeps the nation together, and every family must contribute one son to the priestly order of Lamas. Himdrcds of years ago a Buddhist saint predicted that Tibet would one day be invaded and conquered, and Buddhism would become e.xtinet. Thus it is that a blind fear and fanaticism combine to keep all doors of entrance closed to this land, and the teaching of a foreigH religion more than anything else brings down on the head of the offender the sc\ erest persecution, and even the most cruel death. CHAPTER XVII SuNDAR IN Tibet — I " When I came ... to preiieh Christ's gospel, a door was opened unto me of the Lord " (2 Cor. ii. 12) ... a great door . . . and there are many adversaries." — 1 Cor. xvi. 9. " Their feet are swift to slied blood . . . and the way of peace liave they not known." — Romans iii. 15-17. BoRX and bred in the far north and familiar with the mountainous regions of the Himalayas, Sundar's heart turned to the dark places where no vision of Christ has come. Feeling as he does about Christ it is not surprising that he eventually made choice of the most difficult and dangerous fields " where Christ is not named " as his peculiar sphere. It therefore seems quite a natural thing that the mind of S4dhu Sundar Singh should have turned to the closed land of Tibet soon after he set out to preach the Gospel. For more than a century the vast continent of India had had its missionaries, and himdreds of thousands of India's children had responded to the call of Christ, many of whom in their turn had become messengers of peace to their own people. In his own words, " There are many to proclaim the truth in India," but as he turned towards Tibet and the contiguous country of Nepal, his heart went out to the people who have no means of hearing of Christ. 02 SADHU SIXDAR SIXGII Foreign missionaries are debarred from entering the country, and it is scarcely easier for an Indian, for he must not only face the inhospitality of the bitter climate, but the active hostility of a half-civilized and wholly fanatical people. But to suffer for the Master's sake has been a great mark of the life of Sadhu Sundar Singh, and so, midismayed by what jirobably lay before him, he set out whilst still a boy on his first journey into that land of bigotry and darkness. Christ the Son of God hath sent me Through the midnight lands, Mine the mighty ordination Of the pierced hands. Unfortunately the Sadhu has not kept any connected aecoimt of his work and journeys through Tibet, so that all there is to tell is in the shape of fragments of his experiences, sufferings, and successes in that fascinating and yet terrible land. On his first journey in 1908, when he was scarcely nineteen years of age, he started alone and was unac- quainted with the language spoken in Tibet. He was very glad to avail himself of the help offered to him by two Moravian missionaries working at Poo, a little frontier town. He stayed a week with these good men, and then they gave him a worker of their own Avho was to accompany him for some distance,, and instruct him in the dialect of the people. Except that he knew the intense hostility of the Tibetans to every religion but their own, the Sadhu had little knowledge of place or people, but it was not long that he remained in ignorance. He soon found they resented his teaching, and wherever he went he was met with bitter opposition and hatred, especially from the Lamas. These men were particularly venomous, and often assimied a threatening SUNDAR IN TIBET— I «3 attitude on the border of the crowds that gathered t<> hear his preaching. Notwithstanding this, he reached the important town of Tashigang in safety, and was astonished and pleased to receive kindly treatment at the hands of the head Lama of the place. This man was a person of importance, and under him served some hundreds of inferior lamas. The Lama not only received the Sadhu with kindness but provided him with food and shelter, and as the weather Avas bitterly cold this hospitality was most acceptable. Moreover the Lama called a gathering of those imdcr his control to hear the Sadhu's message, and so the Gospel was preached by him with great thank- fulness of heart. Journeying on from this place he was fortunate enough to arrive at a town under the rule of another Lama who was a friend of the Lama of Tashigang, and here again he was accorded a welcome and a good hearing. From this place he visited several other towns and villages, but in these he met with even greater opposition than in his earlier work. He was constantly threatened and warned to get out of the country lest some evil befall him. But he was not to be thus terrorized, and he continued his work amidst many difTieiiltics. Thus has Sadhu Sundar Singh " besieged this strong- hold of bigotry and fanaticism," and in doing so has passed through many tribulations ; but to him persecu- tion and infamy are as nothing if he may win but one soul for his Saviour. A Ceylon friend says, " His resolu- tion to walk barefooted amidst the jierpetual snows of Tibet is the mark of his invincible determination to bring men to Christ." CHAPTER XVIII SUNDAR IN TlBET^— II " For the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life."— Phil. ii. 30. " I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die . . . for the name of the Lord .Jesus." — Acts xxi. 13. With a deep determination to make the name of Christ known in this hostile country the Sadhu continued his work, knowing that sooner or later bitter persecution would be his lot. At a town called Rasar he was arrested and arraigned before the head Lama on the charge of entering the country and preaching the Gospel of Christ. He was found guilty, and amidst a crowd of evil-disposed persons he was led away to the place of execution. The two favourite forms of capital punishment are being sewn up in a wet yak skin and put out in the sim imtil death ends the torment, or being cast into the depths of a dry well, the top being firmly fastened over the head of the culprit. The latter was chosen for the Sadhu. Arrived at the place he was stripped of his clothes, and cast into the dark depths of this ghastly charnel- house with such violence that his right arm was injured. Many others had gone down this same well before him never to return, and he alighted on a mass of human bones and rotting flesh. Any death seemed preferable SUNDAR IX TIBET— 11 65 to this. Wherever he laid his hands they met putrid flesh, while the odour almost poisoned him. In the words of his Saviour he cried, " Why hast Thou forsaken me?" Day passed into night, making no change in the dark- ness of this awful place and bringing no relief by sleep. Without food or even water the hours grew into days, and Siwidar felt he could not last much longer. On the third night, just when he had been crying to God in prayer he heard a grating sound overhead. Someone was opening the locked lid of his dismal prison. He heard the key turned and the rattle of the iron covering as it was drawn away. Then a voice reached him from the top of the well, telling him to take hold of the rope that was being let down for his rescue. As the rope reached him he grasped it with all his remaining strength, and was strongly but gently pulled up from the evil place into the fresh air al)0^'c. Arrived at the top of the well the lid was drawn over again and locked. When he looked round his deliverer was nowhere to be seen, but the pain in his arm was gone, and the clean air filled him with new life. All that the Sadhu felt able to do was to praise God for his wonderful deliverance, and when morning came he struggled back to the town, where he rested in the serai until he was able to start preaching again. His return to the city and his old work was cause for a great commotion. The news was quickly taken to the Lama that the man they all thought dead was well and preaching again. The Sadhu was again arrested and brought to the judgment seat of the Lama, and being questioned as to what had happened he told the story of his marvellous escape. The Lama was greatly angered, declaring that someone must have secured the key and gone to his rescue, but when >;earch was made for the key and it 5 66 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH was found on his own girdle, he was speechless with amazement and fear. He then ordered Sundar to lca\-e the city and get away as far as possible, lest his powerful God should bring some untold disaster upon himself and his people. Thus was Sundar delivered from a fearful death, and praised God for interposing on his behalf. CHAPTER XIX runTHEii Experience in Tibet " Most gladly will I rather glory in my infirmities that tlie power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure . . . in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." — 2 Cor. ix. 10. Dr. Fosdick, in his Manhood of the Master, says : — Jesus made the right attitude toward hostile men not a negative refraining from vengeance, hut a positive sa\'iour- hood, that prays for them, blesses them, and saerificially seeks their good. This is tlie attitude of Sadhii Siindar Singh in all his work and life of suffering amongst the peoples of Tibet and other hostile states to whom he carries the Gospel of Christ. In the eom-se of his addresses he sometimes gives illustrations from his own experiences. In speaking on the text, " He that loseth his life shall save it," he told this amazing story. He was one day making a journey across some mountains in Tibet on a bitterly cold day when snow was falling. Both he and a Tibetan companion who was travelling with him were almost frozen to death, and despaired of reaching their journey's end alive. They came to a deep precipice to find a man lying there apparently dead. Sundar suggested _they should carry him to a place of safety, but the Tibetan declined, saying it was all they could do to get into 0» SADHU SUNDAR SINGH safety themselves, and he passed on his way. With difficulty the Sadhii lifted the man on his own back, and bcfjan to strngo'lc forward with his heavy load. Soon the exertion brouf^ht warmth to him, and communicated itself to the hclplevs body over his shoulders. He had not gone ^'ery far when he overtook his Tibetan com- panion, who had fallen stone-dead across the path. Even- tually Sundar arrived at the village, by which time the half-dead man had recovered consciousness, and they both thanked God fur lives snatched from the jaws of death. The Sadhu said he had never known a better ])ractical exposition of tlie words, " Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it." On another occasion the Sadhu had been climbing over ro\igh crags when he came to a cave in which he saw a man praying. In order that he should not fall asleep the man had tied his long hair to the roof of the cave, and with closed eyes he strove hour by hour to meditate and pray. Sundar entered the cave and asked the man why he was thus suffering. Like many others this man had s])cnt most of his life in worldly pvirsuits, biit deep down in his mind there was a haunting fear of a dreadful unknown future. This at length drove him t(j forsake the world, and he had come to this remote spot in the hope of finding satisfaction in prayerful medita- tion. He explained that no relief had come to his spirit. The Sadhu opened his Testament and read to him such words as, " Come >u\to Me . . . and I will give you rest." He proceeded to explain the true way through Jesus Christ. Spellbound the poor fellow listened to the wonderful words, and at last he jumped up crying out, " Now is my soul at rest ; make me Ilis disciple, lead mc to Him." He begged hard for innnediate baptism at the FURTHER KXPERIKX(1": IX TIBET 60 Sadhu's hand, but was persuaded to accompany him to the nearest mission station, where he was left in the care of the missionaries for further instruction. Sundar tells of another place where his message had met with great hostility and the people were converted into friends by an accident. He was climbing a steep mountain when he slipped and fell, and in his fall a large stone was displaced and rolled over the precipitous cliff on to a place beneath. It happened that just where the stone fell a huge cobra was lying, and was immediately killed. A boy who was herding cattle saw what had happened, and ran to tell the Sadhu, explaining that this very snake had been the cause of some deaths in the village, so that nobody dared to pass along that road. Then he ran to tell the ^'illagcrs, who were so impressed and so grateful that they welcomed the Sadhu, and here he had the blessed privilege of making known the love of Christ to the ignorant people. The Feet that Bi.ed. The rough mountain track had torn his feet, and Sundar sat down to bandage the wounds. Another man traversing the same road and seeing what had happened stopped to ask him how he felt. They entered into conversation, and the stranger learnt how that Simdar for his Master's sake day by day walked many weary miles to teach people of Him whose feet had bled on Calvary. The two men held sweet converse together, for he found that his companion, Tashi by name, was an earnest seeker after salvation. But in his quest for truth he was perplexed with many doubts, and these the Sadhu tried to solve. Tashi afterwards said to him, " Looking at your bleeding feet something within me seemed to say there must be some great power 70 SADHi; SUNDAR SINGH behind this happy hfc of self-denial." And so Tashi urged Stindar to remain with him, and he spent more than a week at his house instrueting him and praying with him. Tashi then sent him on to a Lama who was friendly with him and kindly disposed to Christianity. When he returned he found Tashi full of hope and happi- ness, for he had fovuid Christ, and now nothing but baptism would satisfy him. All doubts were gone, and Tashi and his family begged that they might now reeeive baptism. So before leaving, Sundar had the great joy of baptizing Tashi and his whole family — nine persons in all. Being chief secretary to the Lama of the district and a man of importance, Tashi has not been called upon to suffer for his faith, but he is under strict orders not to persuade others to follow his example or in any Avay to propagate the new faith. Many a time and oft Sadhu Sundar Singh feels the loneliness of soul that must come to all whose entire lives are given to spiritual things. Extreme exaltation of spirit accompanied with tremendous expenditure of nervous poAver must be followed by rhoments of reaction. Ordinary missionaries and ministers may find respite in change of occupation, but not so the Sadhu. His changes are of place not of work. Day by day his imwearied search for souls continues, and whether in the churches and conventions of Christians or amongst the non-Christian peoples the strain never relaxes. A missionary rightly said of him in Travancore, " He must live very near to God to stand it," and that is the tnie secret of his being able to continue. Never impatient, never too wearied to meet people who seek him, always gracious, and ready night or day for the tasks that fa:ll to him, he is a li\-ing copy of his Master. Sharing his Master's spirit he also shares His loneliness. Speaking Fl-RTHER EXPERIEX(E IX TIBET 71 of such a time as this he tells of a day when he was unusually tired, hungry, and footsore. Utterly dejected, he was painfully trudging along when he was joined by a man who entered into conversation with him, and so led him out of himself that he forgot his misery in the charming companionship of his new friend. They went on together imtil they came close to a village, when much to the Sadhu''s perturbation he found himself once more alone. He cdnnot explain it, but his own words are, " I now know that it was an angel of the Lord sent to strengthen and uphold me in my hour of weakness." CHAPTER XX Martyks of the Faith " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." " He laid down His life for us ; and we ought to lay down out lives for the brethren " (1 John iii. 16). Sadhu Sundar Singh is in the great succession of noble men who have " chmbed the steep ascent of heaven," and during his sojourns in Tibet he has come across well-authenticated cases of the martyrdom of godly men who have preceded him in carrying the Gospel message to that dark land. Strangely enough the firs*^ of these martyrs came from the State of Patiala where he himself was born. Kartar Singh was a Sikh and the son of a rich zamindar. All the hopes of the family were centred in this boy, for there were no other sons to carry on the name. Like Sundar he was brought up in the midst of luxury, and preparations for his future were made by giving him the best education possible. Nothing was forgotten that could make his training complete for the fulfilment of his father's ambitions for the boy. But in spite of the utter neglect of religion in his education, there grew up in his mind a desire after spiritual things which his secular training could not satisfy. He heard of Christianity, and little by little got to know and understand its claims, until a deep convic- MARTYRS OF mH FAITH 73 tion of its truth laid hold of him. The more he studied it the more he felt it supplied the craving of his own soul, imtil at last he saw but one path before him — and that the strait and narrow one. Kartar now took the irrevocable step of declaring himself a Christian, a fact that filled the hearts of his people with dismay. Many attempts of various kinds were made to win him from persisting in this determina- tion, but finding him not to be tempted by ordinary means his father sent to him the beautiful girl who was his chosen wife. This poor girl came before him in all her tender promise of hfe, and with tears besought him to desist from taking a step that would mean such terrible loss to her. Looking upon her misery his heart was touched, yet even in this last temptation God gave him strength, and with much tenderness he put the sweet Hindu child from him, declaring that his heart already belonged to Christ his Saviour, The broken-hearted girl returned to her future father-in-law's house to tell how useless had been her protests, since Kartar had said all his love had been given to Another. Not long afterwards Kartar was driven forth home- less from his father's house. To enable him to buy food and clothes he .took up the work of a labourer, and, undiscouraged by his hard lot, bent his back to tasks such as his own father's servants would have despised. Very soon, however, Kartar began his mission to the people of his own co\intry, and went preaching among the towns and villages of Patiala, where he trod the thorny and difficult path that was to prepare him for the harder future awaiting him. After preaching in many places in the Punjab, Kartar turned his steps towards the moimtains that lay between him and darkest Tibet, and after some weeks of weary journeying over rough country he found himself in the land of his choice. 74 SAI)HU SUNDAR SINGH The Buddhism of Tibet has no place for Christ, whose very name arouses the deepest feelings of hatred and opposition. No record remains that Kartar met with much personal kindness or that his message was accepted, but no thought of going back seems to have occurred to his nnind. These people were without Christ and had need of Him, and as Christ had given His life, so Kartar was prepared to sacrifice his life also, that at least his witness should be borne and his love testified to before his persecutors. Although hearts were touched by the sight of his youth and the fervour of his message, there was little courage to take his part, and it was only after his death that the fruit of his labours and testimony came to light. Kartar saw, as our Saviour did before him, that the thorny jiath could only end in one way. In spite of numerous efforts to drive him out of the country, he continued his preaching in many places for some time, but eventually he was haled before the Lama of Tsing- ham and charged with unlawfully entering the country with intent to teach a foreign religion. The end he had looked forward to had come, and with imdaunted courage he faced the inevitable, trusting to God to give him the necessary grace to witness to his faith to the end. As Sundar afterwards heard, Kartar heard his sentence without a quiver, and with firm step turned away from the judgment seat to walk to the place of execvition. On the way he delivered his last message, urging on the crowd the necessity of seeking salvation through Jesus Christ, and one at least of those who heard' his words remembered them, and through them found the Saviour. Arrived at the place of execution Kartar was stripped of all his clothes and was sewn up in a wet yak skin, which was then put out in the sun. A cruel mocking MARTYRS OF THK FAITH 75 crowd stood about to witness his tortures, and as the skin shrank and tightened round him they laughed to hear the bones cracking in the slow process of death. By his side on the ground lay the New Testament that had been his one and only comfort through the hard days that had followed his confession of his Master, Unheeded it lay initil on the third day, when Kartar knew the end was drawing on, he asked that his right hand might be set free for a moinent. This was done, probably more from curiosity than mercy. Collecting all his strength Kartar wrote his last message on the flyleaf of his Testa- ment. In Persian character : — Jan Khwaham az Khuda na yake balki sad hazar, Ta sad hazdr bar bamiram brae yar. Khasrawa dar ishq aukamtarzi Hindu zan mubash, Ki in brde murda sazad zinda jan i Khwesh ra. In Urdu character : — Jan de di di hiii usi ki thi ; haqq to yih hai, ki haqq ada na hiia. In English : — Is this a death-bed where a Christian lies ? Yes, but not his ; 'tis death itself there dies. Translation : — From God I life besought, not once but a hundred thousand times. That to that Friend again as oft I might return it. That love for Him, Khasrawa, shall not be less than hers — The faithful Hindu wife. Who on the burning pyre draws to her heart the loved one. And lays her life bekide him. The life He gave to me was what I gave to^Him ; True is it that though I did all, yet all I could not do. No cry of anguish escaped the brave lips, but as 7f. SAUIIl' SUNDAK SlXCal cvcninjf came on Kartar gave thanks aloud to God for comfort in death, and qnictly passed away with the words, " Lord Jesus, recci\c my spirit."' Sadhu Sundar Singh found that Kartar's father was still alive, and upon his return to the jilains he sought the old man out. Telling him the story of the death of his ""heroic son and speaking of the great love of Christ that had borne him thro\igh, the old man listened with a softened heart, and Sundar liad the joy of hearing him say, " I, too, believe in Him."' Amongst the crowd who watched tiie ])assing of Kartar Singh was the chief secretary of the Lama of Tsingham. He noticed the little Testament in which this hero of the cross had written his last message, and taking it u]i he carried it home and commenced to study it. With the memory still fresl\ in his mind of the words and conduct of a brave man, his heart was open to receive the message the Hook had for him, and in reading it there came new light anti joy to him. For some time lie pondered the wonderful things he now believed, but, as the realization of them more and more filled his soul, he could no longer keep his secret, and one day revealed to his master, the Lama, that he had given his heart to .Fes I IS. The Lama then declared that he also must die. Pitilessly he was judged and sentenced to the same death as Kartar. Lying in the wet yak skin in the sun was not cruel enough to teach the onlookers that this sort of thing if |)crsist<'d in would add to the bitter punishment, so red-hot skewers were thrust into his body to increase his agonies. As if his tormentors were weary of waiting for the inevitable end, he was then taken out of the skin, a rope was tied round his mutilated body, and he was dragged through the streets of the town, splinters of wood also being driven under the nails of his feet and hands. His bodv was tlicn thrown MARTYRS OF THE FAITH 77 on to a dust heap outside the town and he was left for dead. Havhig satisfied their hist for revenge his persecutors departed, and for long he lay luiconseious. Very gradually the poor fellow eame baek to life, and little by little strength returned until he was able to crawl awaJ^ When he had recovered from his many wounds, great fear came upon the jjcople to see him whom they had left for dead aUve and well again, and to this day no one dares to interfere with him. Superstitious dread of a supernatural power they belie\'e him to [jossess, prevents attempts to take his life, so that when Sadhii Sundar Singh heard from his lips the story of Kartar, he also heard how wondrously God enables this brave man to continue preaching Christ boldly among the people of Tibet. These and other histories like them Sadhu Sundar Singh has himself gathered during his missionary journeys through darkest Tibet and other regions where the light of the Gospel has scarcely pierced. To the people of these benighted countries his gentle heart turns with infinite longing and pity, and his burning zeal for Christ and desire to make Him known, coiivinee him that there his appointed task lies. He says, "• This is the tiild which God has given me to work in. I have heard His call to serve Him in these hostile provinces. I am not afraid of the risks. I have to win the crown of martyr- dom by laying down my life in these parts for Him." That Sundar Singh may be used of God to bring Gospel light to the people of these dark places is the prayer of those who know, love, and revere him. But none can pray without earnestly pleading with God to spare his wonderful life, that rather by " labours more abundant " than by the supreme sacrifice he may serve his Master and his generation. CHAPTER XXI Sundae's Mysticism The stud}' of a character like that of Sadhu Sundar Singh cannot fail to be both interesting and instructive, for in a materialistic age he is a man untouched by materialism. Mr. K. J. Saunders, in the Adventures of tlte Christian Soul, says : — Mysticism is the passionate search of the soul in love with God, and the claim that this search has been rewarded . . . The mystic consciousness is marked by simple, clear, and insistent ideas. . . . Possessing God, the mystic desires nothing more. . . . The passionate love aroused in the heart by Christ . . . explains his clear insight into spiritual things, and the tenacity of his pursuit of lofty ideals. Thus is Sundar Singh a true Christian mystic, and so closely has he studied the life of Christ as it is written in the New Testament, and so constantly has he imitated His example, that naturally he lives in an atmosphere only now and then enjoyed by the ordinary Christian. His wandering life of poverty in a country like India brings endless opportunities of recognizing his Father's haiid in all things, so that often where others would see only the common mercies of daily life the Sadhu praises God for special help in special need. He is familiar with the deepest agony of soul and with the most intense joy. Nights of prayer alternate with long days of toil SUNDAR'S MYSTICISM 79 for his Lord. Close and prayerful study of the New Testament is combined with equally close communion with Christ. A yearning desire to save lost souls that gives him no respite from his labours is balanced by a deep devotion and love for his Saviour that fills his heart with peace, and shines in his face. The things of the spiritual life are more real to him than those of the temporal. So near does he live to the great world of spirits that to him there is nothing strange in the ministry of angels. He looks upon it as God's provision for a great need, and when in his own experience some unusual event has come to pass he simply believes that God cares enough for the individual soul to interpose on its behalf. The mysteries of life and death and the great beyond bring no distress or doubt to his mind, and he does not puzzle the minds of his hearers with them. But deep down in his contemplative mind they hold their place, and are a source of infinite satisfaction to him. The marvellous records of some of the Sadhu's experi- ences have preceded him in most places he has visited. Matter-of-fact people have been prejudiced by them, and emotional ones have looked for revelations, and even for miracles performed by him. Yet one and all, after seeing and hearing him, have been struck by his sane teaching and well-balanced mind. His own version of the deliverances he has had falls so naturally from his lips that it sounds like the straight- forward simple statement of a second " Acts of the Apostles." In relating these experiences, Sadhu Sundar Singh says that God has stretched forth His hand to save when nothing else could avail. This is the simplest explanation in view of the fact that for so long, and under such signal difficulties and dangers, the Sadhu has worked in the closed lands of Tibet and Nepal. 8b SADHU SUNDAR SIXGH Incidents such as the following show the spirit in which the S4dhu takes his deliverances. On one occasion he was preaching in a village of Nepal called Khantzi, where considerable opposition was being shown. The villagers seized him, and rolling him up in a blanket, hustled him out of the place, but a stranger passing by took his part and released him. The day following he was again preaching in the same place, and this so angered the villagers that they took him and bound him by his hands and feet to a tree and left him there. Slowly the day wore on, and being faint for want of food he looked longingly at the fruit on the tree just o\it of reach. In that strained position he at last fell asleep from exhaustion. In the morning he awoke to find to his amazement that his bonds were loosed. He was lying at the foot of the tree and bj' his side lay some fruit. He then praised God for the suffering he had endured for Christ's sake, ate the fruit with thankfulness of heart, and went on his way filled with fresh courage to preach the word to those who know it not. On another occasion when he was in a place called Teri some men told him that in a certain village the people were anxious to hear the Gospel, and they gave him instructions as to the way he should take. Following the directions he wandered on for a long time through marshy jungly covmtry, but without seeing any signs of a village. The undergrowth grew thicker, and presently he discovered he was lost in a jungle from which there seemed no escape. Arrived at a stream he thought that by crossing it he might find a way out, but on stepping into the water he found the current so strong that any attemjit to cross it would endanger his life. Evening was closing in, and in a dejected frame of mind he sat down by the stream to consider what next to do. Listen- ing to the weird sounds of the jungle, and watching the STXDAR'S MYSTICISM 81 increasing darkness, his mind became full of apprehension, for soon the wild animals would steal from their haiuits in search of food, and liis life would be safe no longer. He prayed earnestly to God, and then looking across the river in the gathering gloom he ca\iglit sight of a man, and the words reached his cars, " I am coming to your help." Then he saw the man plunge into the stream and swim across, and taking the Sadhu on his back he swam to the other shore with him. Arri^■ed on the bank he saw a fire at which he began to dry his wet clothes, but even as he did so the stranger disappeared, and the Sadhn was left to meditate on the wonderful ways of Providence in thus sending help to him in this unaccountable way. Yet one more instance is worth relating. The Sadhu had been preaching at a place called Kamyan where much bitter enmity had been exhibited. The whole day had passed without his being able to get any food, so, hungry and weary, he found himself in a desert place without shelter for the fast-elosing-in night. Yery weak and miserable he lay down under a tree and soon fell asleep. About midnight it appeared to him that some one touched him and bade him arise and cat, and upon looking up he beheld two men with food and water standing over him. Imagining that some villagers had had pity on his condition he gratefully partook of the refreshments thus offered to him. When his hunger was satisfied he turned to conA'crse with the men who had brought the food, but there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. How they had disappeared he could not tell, but again he blessed God for His kindly provi- sion for him in time of need. Doubtless such instances could be multiplied, for iu a life like that of Sadhu Sundar Singh there are frequent manifestations of the good hand of God. \Vithout G 82 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH attempting any explanation the Sadhu accepts his deliverances with a thankful mind as coming from God. He simply says, " I know the Lord has stretched forth His own hand to save me " ; and whether such deliverances are wrought by human agency or otherwise, he is surely right in ascribing them to the care of a loving heavenly Father. CHAPTER XXII The Sadhu's 'Lote. for the Cross " I am crucified with Christ : , . , who loved me, and gave Himself for me " (Gal. ii. 20). " But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world " (Gal. vi. 14). The great theme of all Sadhu Sundar Singh's preaching is Christ. The cross of Christ is the central figure to which he draws all men, for there he himself found peace, and so can speak with authority of the power of that cross to save others. The most frequent words on his lips are words taken from his own experience, " I can say with confidence that the cross will bear those who bear the cross, until that cross shall lift them into the presence of the Saviour." As a Muhammadan said lately to a missionary who had been relating to him the story of the cross, " If you present that story to India as you have to me, India will accept it." Thus has the Sadhu found the heart of India, and he presents to it the one and only satisfaction for its soul liunger — Jesus and His Cross. He presents it in the New Testament way, and his life of utter self-abnegation and sacrifice enforces his teaching, while his own intense personal joy in the Saviour commends it as nothing else could. The cross implies suffering, and to be like his HI S.VDin SlNDAll .SIN(;iI Lord is tlic one tlcsin of tlic Sadhu, lie wrote in an aiitogTai)h book : — So £;rc;it tlic joy I have in l.iiilit Tliat cviiy sorrow l)rin}rs delifiht. A ruissioiiaiy in ,Ja])au asked flic Sadhu 'wliether he still wandered about India hunorv and homeless as he had done in the beoinnini,' of his Christian ministry, and was struek liy the re])ly : '" Xo, now in India they know nie, and if I go to a town they have thousands of |)eo])lc to hear me in a 1)1" hail. This is jiot the way of the Cross ; for that I must go to Tii)et." AVhilst surrounded by almost adoring erowds in Trivandrani, liis one grief was that things weri' so eomfortable that he was not suffering for liis Master enough. Perhaps later, when he was rushed I'rom ])laee to plaee for eonntkss meetings in the heat of our tropienl summer — a heat he had not exjierieneed Ijefore, always liaving from a ehild spent the hot season on the hills — and having to travel by boat, bulloek eart, or train at night, and to start his work again upon arrival, he may have felt differently. In speaking of it to his friends he simply said, " It is the will of God.'' When he was plunged into the misery of an eastern prison at Horn to find himself herded with all sorts of e^■il characters, he wrote in the lly-leaf of his New Testa- ment these words : — Nepal, June 7, 1914. " Christ" s presence has turned my prison into a blessed heaven ; what then wdl it do in lieaven hereafter ? "" So, like his jiredeeessors Paul and Silas of old. his ]irison was his meeting-i)laee with Christ, and to be in hell with Christ would be better to him than to be in heaven without Him. So sure is the Siidlui of Christ's continual presence with him that he expressed no s.urpnsc when the following THE SADHU'S LOVE FOR THE CROSS 85 event took place in his life. When travelling through a vnld part of Tibet and unable to enter the village because of the hostility of the people the Sadhu took refuge in a cave. He had not been there long when he saw a number of the village people approaching him with sticks and stones, and feeling that his end was near he commended his soul to God in prayer. Within a few yards of him the men suddenly stood still, and falling back some paces they began to whisper together. Then again they came forward and said to the Sadhu, " Who is the other man with you in bright garments, and many more who surround you ? " He replied that there was no man with him, but with awe the men insisted that they saw a host of bright ones standing all round the cave. Then the men besought the Sadhu to accompany them to their homes, and going with them he spoke of Christ so that they feared and believed his words. He then knew that God had sent His angels to jirotect him in danger and to open the way for him to preach to these men. A few years ago the Sadhu wrote : — I thank God that He has chosen unworthy me in the days of my youth that I may spend the days of my strength in His serviee. Even before baptism my prayer to God was that He should show me His ways, and so He, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, did show Himself to me, and called me to serve Him as a sadhu and to preach His holy Name. Now although I have suffered hunger, thirst, cold, heat, imprisonment, maledictions, infirmities, persecutions, and innumerable evils, yet I thank and bless His holy Name that through His grace my heart is ever full of joy. From my ten years' experience I can unhesitatingly say that the Cross bears those who bear the Cross. To-day the S4dhu bears the same testimony to the writer, adding that he hopes God will spare him yet for some years, that the fulness of manhood's strength may all be given to Him in the precious work of pi'caching, or in sufferiiig, wheresoever his Lord may send him. CHAPTER XXIJI Sadiiu Sundau Singh and the Sanyasi Mission It was surely a wonderful pro\ision of God when He called Sundar Singh to be a Christian Sadhn. Amongst Christians his saffron robe ojivcs him a jjosition the best possiljle for the acceptance of tiic message he brings. Granted the same man and message he would assuredly under any circumstances have won the heart of the Indian Christian Church, but being a true Sadhu in appearance as well as in spirit has added enormously to his influence and power. Perhaps nothing has proAcd more wonderful to Christians everywhere than the humility and simplicity of the Sadhii's spirit-, and no one is more filled with ^v■6ndc^ than himself when crowds linger about him just to look at his face. But the most remarkable results of his being a Sadhu are ajjparent in his life and work amongst non-Christians. This he looks \ipon as his sworn task. Naturally his sadhu's rolK's gain him 'an entrance to places and to people as notliiiig else eould. Often in the course of his jjilgrimages from place to place he comes across unusual t\'pcs of Indian sadhus, and it has been his privilege to diseoNcr to the world a marvellous movement towards THE SANYASI MISSION 87 Christianity amongst the' most deeply religious men of India. The Rev. J. J. Johnson, of the Church Missionary Society, who died in 1018, was one of the finest Sanskrit scholars in India. During the latter part of his life, he was set apart by his Society for a work he w,as magnificently fitted for amongst the pandits and learned classes throughout India. The story of tfiis work is a romance waiting to be written. On his last visit to the south he told us that he belic\'cd there were great numbers of the highest castes of India waiting to become Christians, a statement made after years of intimate relationship with the leaders of religious thought in India. But it was reserved for Sundar Singh to lift the veil and prove the truth of this astonishing statement, and this is how it came about. Towards the end of 1912 the Sadhu went to Sarnath (the scene of Buddha's first preaching), and there he met with some men dressed as sanyasis. Entering into conversation with them he found they were Christians, and belonged to a secret organization numbering some 24,000 members, who are scattered all over India. These arc divided into two classes called Shishyas ar\d Swamis,; or Conipanions and Heralds. The Companions arc ordinary members who fulfil all the usual work of life. The Heralds number about 700, are dressed like Sanyasis, and are the unpaid preachers who conduct services among the Companions wherever they meet them. These secret believers observe baptism and the Lord's Supper, Bands of them are found all over India, and in most distant and unexpected places. It was due to the kindness and care of some of these good people that Sundar was on one occasion nursed back to life after imprisonment and persecution in Nepal. He says Ihat 88 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH these believers are wont to assemble at fixed and very early hours in " Houses of Prayer " outwardly resenjbling Hindu temples, but which contain no images or pictures. The Bible is read and expounded and Christian papers are circ\ dated, liastcrn methods are sedulously followed, such as complete prostration of the body in prayer. The belief is held that if men prayed in perfect faith they would have constant visions of the Master Himself. Belonging to this secret Christian Brotherhood are various sadhus and hermits of recognized holiness, and a large number of the members are educated and wealthy men of the upper classes, who freely subscribe towards the maintenance of the organization. The Sadhu has often been present at their services, and has several times been mistaken for one of themselves. He has very earnestly begged that they would openly confess Christ, and they promise that when the right moment comes they will do so. On one occasion while the Sadhu was preaching on the banks of the Ganges his audience told him that while they liked him as a sanyasi they did not like his message, and they requested him to visit a great Hindu preacher who lived close by and who was attracting large crowds. For three days he could not get near him for tlie crowd. One day, however, he was able to meet him alone, and then the Sadhu learnt that he was a Christian. The Hindu preacher embraced him and said, " Brother, we are doing the s-ame work." Surprised at this, Sundar said he had never heard him preaching Christ. To which he rejjlied, " Is there any foolish farmer who will sow without preparing the ground ? I first try to awaken in my hearers a sense of values, and when a hunger and thirst for righteousness is created I place Christ before them. On the banks of THE SAXVASI MISSION 89 tliis ancient river I have baptized twelve educated Hindus during the ]iast year." He then showed him the Bible he always carried about with him. In one of the holy cities of India some of these secret bclie\'ers took the Sadhu to an old temple, where they showed him an ancient Sanskrit manuscript containing an account of Pandit Yiswa Mitra; one of the three Wise Men who, after sceinff the Di^ 'i " Child, came back to India but returned at a later date to Palestine when Christ had entered on His public ministry. They claim that he was the one of whom the disciples com- plained to the Master that they found him performing miracles and forbade him " because he walketh not with us." This parchment also gives in modern Sanskrit a liistory of the Brotherhood during later days. The Sanyasi Mission docs not ajjpcar to have flourished much imtil the days of Carey, when some Christian Sanyasis heard the Gosj)el from his lips and were fired with fresh entiuisiasm. From that time tin; mission prosecuted its Avork with quickened faith and its numbers began to increase. In one of the large northern cities the Sadhu was introduced to a famous Hindu ])reaclier who was con- sidered a profound sciiolar in the Vcdas. He heard him lecture on the Hindu Scriptures, and towards the end the lecturer said, " The Vcdas reveal to us the need of redemption from sin, but where is the redeemer '! The ' Prajapathi,' of whom the Vcdas s])cak, is Christ who has given, His life as a ransom for sinners." When (jucstioncd afterwards l)y Hindus the lecturer said, " It is I who believe in the Vedas and not you, because I believe in Him Avhom the Vedas re\cal. that is Christ." In speaking of this the Sadhu dcelaied that the great need of our age is that the Church should ha\ e a broad vision ; that the Christian should tTanscend the liniita- 90 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH tions of sect and creed, and be prepared to recognize the Spirit of God in whatever form He may be made manifest. He added that he fully believed the Sanyasi Mission is being blessed of God, and although it has taken a form we are not accustomed to, it is given to its leaders to do great things for India. Yishu Nasri Nath ki Jai — " Victory to Jesus Lord of Nazareth " — is the password of this secret Brotherhood of Christians in India. ^si CHAPTER XXIV Sadhu Sundar Singh and the Maharishi of Kailash Some time ago a North Indian newspaper published the following : — Our worldless, selfless, and godly brother Sundar Singh has discovered the Christian hermit the Maharishi at Kailash, who has for years been on the snowy Himalayas praying and interceding for the world. . . . You have revealed to the world the secret of one of the members of our mission the Maharishi at Kailash. During his pilgrimage in Western Tibet the Sadhu was constantly searching for those holy men who retire to the snowy peaks and caves of these distant mountains, there to spend their last days in contemplation. Far from the dwellings of men in the silence of the eternal snows stretches the Kailash range of the Himalayas. The mighty Indus has its source in this range, and its great tributary, the Sutlej, also takes its rise there. The Sutlej flows through the country of Sundar Singh's birth, and at one point where the bed of the stream is 8,494 feet above the level of the sea, the rocky gorge presents a scene of awful sublimity, and is one of the natural wonders of the world. On the summit of one of the mountains of the Kailash Range is a deserted Buddhist temple now rarely visited by man. A few miles from this temple dwells the great 92 SADIIU SrXDAR SIXGH saint known as the ^laharishi of Kailash, in a cave some 13,000 feet above sea level. All this region is the Olympus of India, the seat of Hindu holy myths, and it is associated in Hindu sacred books with the names of j>rcat and devout souls of all times. In one cave the Sadhu found the skeleton of some nameless holy man who had died whilst meditating there. The scenery all around is grand and impressive, and amidst the everlasting snows, s]>rings of boiling water btibble up from out the frozen ground. Some three daj's' journey from this place is the famous Lake Manasarowar, an exquisitely beautifid and holy place. On the Lake float many fine swans, and upon the overhanging cliffs, in sweet picturesqueness, are i)erchcd ancient Buddhist temples and monasteries. The Sadhu describes this as oiic of the loveliest ])laces he lias ever seen, but he also adds that here too arc found the most cruel of nomadic tribes, who slay for the pure love of it, and thus con\ert the place into a terror to the harmless pilgrims tra\'clling through it. In the summer of 1912 he travelled through these regions alone and on foot, often refreshed by the beautiful scenes through which lie passed, but more often fatigued to the last degree in his difficult and fruitless search for the holy men he hoped to meet there. He will never forget the day when, struck with snow- blindness and almost wearied to death, he staggered drearily on o\'er snowy anil stony crags not knowing whither he went. Suddenlj' he lost his balance and fell. Recover- ing from the fall he awoke to one of the greatest experi- ences of his life, for he opened his eyes to find himself lying outside a huge cave, in the shelter of which sat the ]\Iaharishi of Kailash in deep meditation. The sight that met his eyes was so ajjpalling that Sundar closed them ajid almost fainted. Little by little THE MAHARISHI OF KAILASH 9.} he ventured to make an inspection of the object before him, and then discovered that he was looking at a lining human being, but so old and clothed with long hair as to appear at first glance like an animal. Sinidar realized that thus unexpectedly he had succeeded in his search after a holy man, and as soon as he could command his voice he spoke to the aged saint. Recalled from his meditation, the saint opened his eyes and, casting a piercing glance upon the Sadhu, amazed him by saying, " Let us kneel and pray." Then followed a most earnest Christian prayer ending in the name of Jesus. This over, the Maharishi unrolled a ponderous copy of the Gospels in Greek, and read some verses from Matthew, chapter v. The Sadhu heard from his own lips the account of his wonderful life. He claimed to be of very great age. The roll from which he had read he explained had come down to him from Francis Xavier, and the Sadhu noticed that it was all written in Greek Uncials, and may there- fore prove to be of value to scholars should it come into their possession. The Saint said he was born in Alexandria of a Muhammadan family, and was brought up to be a zealous follower of the prophet. At the age of thirty he renounced the world and entered a monastery in order to give himself up entirely to religion. But the more he read the Qur'an and prayed, the more unhappy he became. During these days of spiritual distress he heard of a Christian saint who had gone over from India to preach in Alexandria, and from him he heard words of life that filled his hopeless soul with joy. He now left the monastery to accompany his teacher in his missionary journeys. After some time spent thus, permission was given him to go on his own account to preach the Gospel wherever God sent him. The Saint then started out on an evangelistic campaign that continued a very long time. 94 SADIIU SINDAR SIXGII At last, wearied with his strcnuoiis labours, the Saint resolved to spend the remainder of his days in the seeluded spot where Sundar found him. During the years spent in this place the Saint has learnt much about the products of the mountains and jimgles around him, by means of which he has been able to subsist to this day. When the Sadhu first met him he was chilled to the bone by the bitter cold. The Saint gave him the leaves of a certain plant to eat, which having eaten he immediately felt a comfortable glow steal over his body. The Sadhu had long conversations with him about holy things, and heard many strange things from his lips. Some of the excellent illustrations Simdar uses in his sermons were gi\cn him by this aged Saint. The Maharishi belongs to the Sanyasi Missiou. His astonish- ing visions, as related to the Sadlui, would, if written down, read like another Book of Revelation, so strange and incomprehensible arc they. The Sadhu himseif warns readers and hearers of these visions that common interpretations can never disclose their meaning, since the Saint has to clothe his ideals in language that cannot be taken literally. Sundar Singh has visited the Maharishi three times, and hopes to sec him again at some fnture time. CHAPTER XXV Sadiiu Sundar Singh in South India " I speak . . . those things which I have heard of Him ... as My Father hath taught me, I speak these things " (.John viii. 26, 28). " Obey I beseech thee the voice of the Lord, wliich I speak imto thee ; so shall . . . thy soul live " (Jer. xxxviii. 20). Without any idea of the protracted tour in front of him, the Sadhu came down to Madras at the beginning of 1918, intending to vi.sit a few places before starting for Tibet. But his fame had preceded him, and invita- tions poured in upon him from all over South India. An offer voluntarily made by a gentleman in Madras to act as interpreter for a few weeks caused him to alter his plans, and to accept a programme which eventually included Travancorc and Ceylon. Every day fresh entreaties reached him from all directions, and out of them grew that great evangelistic tour not only through the South and Ceylon, but also Burma, the Federated Malay States, China, and Japan. The large Christian community of South India provided an immense sphere for his operations, and, regardless of distinction of caste or creed, thousands flocked to his meetings everywhere. His work was varied and strenuous. Often the day's work began so early and continued so late that he had scarcely time for meals, and no leisure even for the study of his New Testament. In places where he spent many days the people rested 96 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH after his departure as a man does after a good meal ; but in no place did people imagine that the Sddhu needed rest. Long days of engagements were succeeded by a wearisome night's journey by boat, bullock cart, or train. The new day's work began upon arrival and continued until departure. Public meetings were usually held morning and evening, and for hours between the Sadhu sat receiving visitors and holding interviews, when he gave advice, solved the religious jiroblems that were presented to him, and answered enquirers as far as he was able. The number present on such occasions varied from a single person to a hundred or more. The value of these meetings was testified to by the witness of those who attended them, as also by the fact that the longer the Sadhu stayed in a place the greater were the numbers who sought to see him. In one place where great numbers sought him for spiritual guidance a student in the hostel where he stayed made it his happy duty to watch over him by admitting the visitors. The young man kept the key of the Sadhu's door, and as the time for devotions or meals came round some small measure of privacy and rest was assured. In large centres where there were colleges and high schools, these were visited between morning and evening meetings, and addresses were given to the students. The acceptance of in^-itations to private houses to meet parties of Christians, involved extra work at the close of arduous days. The barrier of language was a difficulty in the south, where so many Dravidian tongues are spoken. Wherever possible interviews were conducted in English, but at many of these, as well as in public, the Sadhu was often obliged to speak by interpretation, and that not always of the best. To one so ardent in temperament, so full of his message, so anxious for souls, SADHU SUNDAR SIXGII IX SOITII IXDIA 97 this lanjviiagc didiculty was a very real one, l)ut to see him at these times no one would surmise his feelings. The Sadhu seeks for no diseiples to follow his oxami)le. He rightly holds that a man must have a distinct eall of God to embark on such a life. His advice to all is sane, wise, suited to tlie j)eople to whom it is given. His devout mother's, exam])le in hrinoing him np to re\ercnce religion is ii constant parable of life in his talks to women. He often says, " If a non-Christian mother can do so nuich for her son, how nmch more can yo\i Christian mothers do for your sons "' " l)ce})ly loving the New Testament himself, he speaks of Cliristians loving it more than he, since they have never torn and burnt it as he once did, but ha^e been trained t(» honour and love it. How conseienee-stricken many of his hearers are when they hear him say this, he does not know ! It has been no micommon thing during the Sadhu's stay in South India for Hindus to seek liim in the silent hours of the night, when he will " spend and be spent " in their service whilst others slec|). Growing demands were made on his time and strength by the numbers of letters lie received from people in places he had \isited, and tlie recjucsts for his prayers were legion. Christians by thousands, who have seen Sadhu Siuidar Singh, behold in him what it is possil)le for CJod to make of a man who submits liiniself soul and body to his Saviour, and so long as lie is \isil)le, jieopk' ne\'er grow weary of looking at him. They ha\e reccivt^d him and his message with f^r'at joy whcresir he has been, the only regret being that he could not stay lonucr to consolidate his work. How dee)) and far-reaching the results of his work are (jnly (iod knows, liut that liis coming was timely and that iU>d sent him, none can for a moment doubt. He ])laees before men the true ideal of a godly life of self-surrender to Christ, ami of self- abncjiation in His service. 7 CHAPTER XXVI Sadhu Sundar Singh at a Great Christian Convention THE CALL. " Oh, Young Men, awake and see how many souls are daily perishing around you. Is it not your duty to save them ? Be brave soldiers of Christ ; Go forward in full armou* ; Crush Satan's work and victory be yours. " Glory to God. He has given you a precious opportunity to be saved and to save others. If you are careless now, you will never get another chance. Whatever you have got to do, do it now. For you will never pass through the field of battle again. The day is fast approaching when you will see the martyrs in their glory, who gave their health, wealth and life to win souls for Christ. They have done much. What have you done? Oh! may we not blush on that day." — Sundar Singh. This clarion call resounded all through South India, stirring hearts everywhere ; but perhaps nowhere was it so clear, so insistent, as at the Con .entions of Christians in Travancore and Ceylon. Where Christians are numerous, annual conventions for the deepening of spiritual life have of late years become very popular. Like the Keswick Convention, meetings are held for a week with settled programmes and preachers, and are attended by increasing numbers as time goes on. Several of the conventions have been blessed by the presence of the Sadhu, the largest in point of numbers being in Travancore. The historic Syrian Church of Malabar proudly dates AT A GREAT CHRISTIAN CONVENTION 99 back to the days when it is believed that St. Thomas landed on these shores and laid the foundations of Christianity in India. This ancient Church is divided into three sections, the Roman, the Jacobite and the Mar Thoma Syrian. About the middle of February^ 1918, the Sadhu attended the Jacobite Syrian Convention in North Travancore, when some 20,000 people came together, arid he spent a happy and useful time amongst them. From there at the end of the month he went on to the Mar Thoma Syrian Convention, also in North Travan- core. This latter was a romantic and remarkable experience not soon to be forgotten. A hundred miles north of Tri^'andram is the widest and most beautiful river of Travancore. In the dry season the river flows only in the deepest parts of its bed. A big bend in the river leaves a very large sandy island upon which each year an immense booth is erected to accommodate 25,000 people. For a week meetings arc carried on during the greater part of each day. Every day long before dawn a man with a stentorian voice passed romid the encamp- ment crying, " Praise be to Gk)d ! Praise to the Son of God ! " Very soon after the soimd of prayer rose all aroild be removed. In his own inimitable way Sadhu Sundar Singh used a striking simile when he compared India to a giant, the snowy Himalayas being the head, and South India the feet. Putting his finger on the weak spot in the armour of Southern Christianity he said, " It is with the feet of South Indian Christians that Christianity can walk in India. But alas ! although the feet are there, apparently strong and well shaped they cannot walk. What is, wrong ? As in the case of a man I saw in Cochin, there is elephantiasis in the feet, and this elephantiasis is the spirit of caste." Who can speak with greater authority on this svibject than Sadhu Sundar Singh himself ? Like Paul, who declared himself " a Hebrew of the Hebrews," so may the Sadhu claim to be " a Sikh of the Sikhs " — one of the proudest names in India ; but instead his life testifies to the words, " God forbid that I shoidd glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world." In passing through Ceylon and India the Sadhu has made his appeal. W^ell might he say, " Be ye followers of me " in this groat matter. When will the great 106 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Christian Church accept and abide by his teaching and example, and casting off the chains of centuries enter into that " fuhiess of hfe " of which the Sadhu so constantly spoke, and which he himself enjoys ? Thus, and thus only, shall she enter into that abundant and glorious service that shall claim India for her Lord. The visit of Sadhu Sundar Singh to the Churches of South India and Ceylon is over. His work is done, and he has passed to other lands and other communities. The hearts of thousands have been touched by his message and his personality, and though eminently practical he has stirred deep emotions in every place he has been to. Probably no single man has attracted so much attention and devotion in all the history of the Christian Church in India. During his visit people constantly besought him to pray for them ; to visit and pray with sick friends and to bless little children ; and even to touch his robe brought comfort to many. As the Sadhu continued his journey through the South, these requests and this treatment became so general, and reports of his having healed the sick by his touch or through prayer so persistent, that he was obliged to decline requests to visit the homes pf people, lest superstitious beliefs should cause them to look upon him as a worker of miracles. When asked to bless people his reply invariably was, " How can these hands bless anyone — these hands that tore up God's Word and burnt it in the fire ? " Not by such means did Sundar Singh strive to bring men to the feet of his Master 1 But by forceful message and by a living example he showed men how to tread the same path, and with persuasive tenderness he sought to lead them to the Saviour. Is Sundar Singh to pass leaving only a burning message and precious memory ? Greater than the blessing of his hands, greater than CEYLON 107 his personality, is the deep desire of his heart that the Christians of India and Ceylon may accept his ministry, put it into practice, live by it, and with him become true and devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Let us arise, and, " His grace abiding," follow Sadhu Sundar Singh even as he follows Christ. CHAPTER XXVIII " Ukto the Uttermost Pauts of the Earth " " I live by the faith of tlie Son of God." — Galutians ii. 20. Returning in July to India the Sadhu completed his work in the South, turning west to Bombay for a confer- ence and then north to Calcutta, where soon after his arrival he fell ill of influenza which was raging there at the time. In writing of this afterwards he said, " In sickness God has given me the rest and time for prayer I could not get in the South." Upon his recovery he went to spend a few days at Bolpiir with the great Eastern Mystic, Sir Rabindranath Tagore, returning to Calcutta to obey a call to A-isit Biirma and the Straits Settlements. The continuous messages of affection he kept receiving from Ceylon during these and succeeding days brought him a great deal of happiness. On his way over the seas to Burma he wrote, " I have much time for prayer and am reading many new pages in the book of nature," and all Avho know liim will miderstand how his store of illustrations would be enriched from that source in a way entirely his own. Arrived at Rangoon he had the assistance of translators and still did most of his work in Urdu, but even at that time he was hoping soon to be able to speak in English and so avoid the double and even treble translations that UNTO THE I TTERMOST PARTS OF THE EARTH 109 weakened his messages and were such a source of trouble to hiui. Pri^■atc moments were given to the study of English, and wherever ])ossible he practised speaking it. Here and in other cities he was followed by an Arya Samaj preacher who strove to undo his work by pouring forth violent invectives against Christianity, but people were not attracted to hear him, and he eventually gave up in disgust. At one of his meetings Simdar Singh invited the people to contribute to the funds of the Indian National Missionary Society, when a thank- offering of Rs. 500 was immediately raised for that purpose. As in South India and Ceylon, so here a crowded programme awaited him. The \isit of Bishop Lefroy to Rangoon earlier on had prepared the way for a good reception. The Bishop of Rangoon took the chair at one of his meetings, when numerous thankoffcrings for his work were made to God. These p^o^•idcd the Sadhu with the necessaries of life, and met his tra\'elling expenses in Burma and to China and Japan. All through his life as a Sadhu, Sundar Singh has taken God at His word, " Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat . . . put on," and God has amply rewarded his faith. To pass alone from India through Burma, Mandalay, Perak, Singapore, Penang, and away to China and Japan, with their ^■aryihg climates, peoples, and languages, without money and with only a foreign language as his medium of commiujication with strange races, staggers the imagination of ordinary people. But the same faith that in earlier years made him turn his back upon his home, and took him while yet a boy to the wilds of inhospitable Tibet, enabled him to go at God's call to these distant places without a moment's hesitation or doubt, and that at a time when, as Mr. K. T. Paul says, " the whole of the Indian Church was at his feet and he could have had anything he wanted." He is a man so no SADHU SUNDAR SINGH gladly obedient to his God that he steps out into an utterly unknown futvire unprovided for, and lo ! trains stand ready for him, ships ride at anchor awaiting him, and men of different nationalities, eolours, and languages hold out helping hands everywhere. Surely this is living " by the faith of the Son of God " ! In the cosmopolitan cities of Rangoon, Singapore, and Penang the large audiences were perhaps as mixed in race, status, and language as anywhere in the world. Here the S4dhu came in contact with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, Europeans, and various Indian peoples, and his addresses were usually translated by two interpreters. Urdu, Burmese, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Chinese, and Engljsh were the means of commimication, whilst business men of different races, army men, clerics, and Government officials took the chair or shared the same platform with him. For lack of Christian newspapers to report his work, and since he so rarely of his own accord speaks about it, information regarding his tour has been difficult to obtain, but letters from friends who have met or enter- tained him give glimpses of interest. When the Sadhu went up to Maymyo he was delighted with the fine scenery and cool climate. It was in this beautiful spot that he met some Punjabis, his own countrymen, who, though non-Christians, insisted on his taking a meal with them, and much to his joy invited him to partake from the same dish with them, A missionary writing from there said : — Above all his gifts stands out the soul of the man, a soul that has gripped to itself the message it imparts to others. In every city he visited he has left a trail of light behind him. From Ipoh in Perak came the pathetic message : — He has taught us to pray, for our prayers are quite different now. My nephew, the son of a non-Christian, has always UNTO THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE EARTH 111 said he would never become a Christian, but would remain in the faith of his ancestors and perform his father's funeral rites. The Sadhu stayed in our house, and so cleared the young man's doubts that he now wishes to be baptized. A leading medical man in Singapore sends a brief message : — His tour through the Malay States, extending over a month, was a continued Pentecost. Whilst a Straits paper adds : — His passionate advocacy of the Christian faith won the hearts of his numerous hearers. At Bassein he was very happy to find that some leading Hindus and Muhammadans were taking an active part in arranging for the meetings, and in Penang another unexpected happiness awaited him. He spoke in the Empire Theatre, the address being summarized in Tamil, Malay, and Chinese. A meeting for Sikhs in Hindustani was held in St. George's Chapel, when he preached to a full house. At the close of the meeting a Sikh gentleman arose and invited the Sadhu to go and speak in the Sikh Temple. At Penang also the Chief of the Police took the chair at one of his meetings, and gave a half-holiday to the police staff in order to give them the opportunity of attending. It was little wonder that fear was expressed in certain quarters that so much success might wean him from the simple sadhu life. But no one was more alive to the insidious temptations of the moment than the Sadhu himself, and his constant prayer was that he might be kept humble and faithful to the end. His own impressions he writes as follows : — The Burmese are of the Mongolian type and are Buddhists, and for this reason they have no true idea of God, It is difficult to make them understand, for in their 112 SADHU SUNDAR SINGH language tliey seem to have no word that rightly expresses our idea of God. But they are a simple people, and their temples are all open to visitors. They are not bigoted as are Hindus and Muhammadans. But the Hindus here not only attend meetings themselves but bring their wives with them. Then he adds : — I do not see as others seem to see what a great work is going on among the people. The beginning of 1919 marks a great event in the Sadhu's career, for not only did he make his long journey to China and Japan, but on January 2 he found himself in Singajjore amidst a people whose common language was English, and there was no one who could translate from Hindustani for him. Immediately he resolved to use English, and from that day his work was almost entirely done in that language. Only a few mouths before some important engagements in South India had been dropped for lack of an interpreter, so that it is not surprising that those who were praying that his work in these distant lands might be effective, felt that their prayers were answered when they heard that the Sadhu was fearlessly speaking in English. From Singapore he went to China, where he stayed a short time. Bishop Maloney gave him a note of introduction to a Japanese Bishop, and after a few meetings he left China, with the promise to spend a little time on his way back, and took ship to Japan. When he reached that country and heard the Japanese .speaking in English he felt much en«>uraged. Thus the great barrier of language which had so often ham])ered and distressed him is broken down, and he thanks God who has enabled liim to witness to the ends of the earth in this wonderful way. CHAPTER XXIX " Called, Chosen, Faithful " '■ They that are with Him are called, chosen, faithful." — Rev. xvi. 14. In Japan he was much impressed with the materialism of the people. He felt that there was a deep indifference to religion, and that appeals to the spiritual nature produced little effect, Avhilst the greed of money, love of power, and the terrible immoralit}' prevailing, struck a chill of horror through his heart. The national religion appeared to have little hold on the people, and he saw temples fuller of visitors and guides than of worshippers. The rush and hurry of life distressed him. A friend in Yokohama wrote : — He spoke once to the foreign community and we were all struck with his apt illustrations, and when he could be persuaded to tell the story of his conversion, it impressed us as a modern version of St. Paul's. Another writer adds : — Few could listen to the story of the Sikh lad who sought so earnestly after truth without their deepest feelings being stirred. St. Paul, after he had seen the heavenly vision, could not but testify to it. " Now I not only know about Christ ; I have seoi Him," says this Sadhu of the twentieth century ; and as he tells the story, you feel with him the surprise he felt when suddenly Christ with wounded hands stood before him. 8 114 SADHU SUXDAR SIXGH ^Vhilst from Tokj'o came yet another letter from a missionary in which he said •: — His clear putting of spiritual issues was very striking. His word had a sitiritual authority behind it. He was our guest here and afterwards joint guest with us in Pekin. The Rev. Takaharu Takamatsu, Japanese Pastor at Okasaki, wrote : — He inspired many American missionaries resident in Kyoto, but the native ministers were even more inspired, 1 think. A young Japanese who is in the senior class of the Third National College, Kyoto, had been coming to my house before the Sadhu's visit. He is studying natural science and his mind is very rationalistic. He was seeking Light and could only see dimly. He was unable to be present at the Sadhu's meetings, but came to my Bible Class when I spoke about him. He was very quiet and himg his head. A few days after he called at 7. SO a.m. to see me on his way to college. His right hand was bandaged. He told me that the previous night he had experienced the power of God. He awoke at 3.30 a.m. after a very vivid dream, in which his father had forced him to do something against his will. He arose from his bed, and felt within himself a spiritual force at work that exercised the same control over his mind that his fathers had physically. He strove to resist it, but tlie more he fought against it the more he felt obliged to give way. I'nconsciously his liands were clasped, and he began to tremble violently until his whole mind and body were tilled with joy unspeakable. He wept aloud so that his friends in a neighbouring roon\ woke iip and came in to see what was the matter. The young man preached so earnestly tliat he constantly struck his right han*•/ n