Kali Bein, Kar Sewa Restores the Historic River: Difference between revisions

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Guru Nanak performed his morning ablutions in thi Bein  and would then set by a ber  tree he had planted and meditate. Guru Ji meditated here for 14 years, nine months and 13 days. It was during one such ablution that Guru Nanak had what is described, in the Janam Sakhis, as a direct communion with the Divine. Five centuries ago as [[Guru Nanak]] went for his daily bath in the rivulet  he dissapeared. His friends and followers feared he had drown, his detracters started rumors that he had robbed his employer's stores and run away.  
Guru Nanak performed his morning ablutions in thi Bein  and would then set by a ber  tree he had planted and meditate. Guru Ji meditated here for 14 years, nine months and 13 days. It was during one such ablution that Guru Nanak had what is described, in the Janam Sakhis, as a direct communion with the Divine. Five centuries ago as [[Guru Nanak]] went for his daily bath in the rivulet  he dissapeared. His friends and followers feared he had drown, his detracters started rumors that he had robbed his employer's stores and run away.  


Two days later when he reappeared  2 km upstream, at a spot now known as Sant Ghat, his first utterance was “Naa ko Hindu na Musalmaan” - There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman. It was here along the Kali Bein that Guruji composed the Japji Saheb and from here that he undertook his first two Udasis (religious journeys).  
Two days later when he reappeared  2 km upstream, at a spot now known as Sant Ghat, his first utterance was “Naa ko Hindu na Musalmaan” - There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman. It was here along the Kali Bein that Guruji composed the [[Japji Sahib]] (containing the [[Mool Mantar]]) and from here that he undertook his first two [[Udasis]] (religious journeys).  
    
    
All of this happened on the banks of the river where  [[Gurdwara Ber Sahib]] now stands by the side of the old ber tree  believed to be the  same tree under which Guru ji sat in meditation at [[Sultanpur Lodhi]]. This Gurdwara was built as a tribute to the father of Sikhi who  with his family and  Sister [[Bebe Nanaki]] Ji lived here for nearly 14 years.
All of this happened on the banks of the river where  [[Gurdwara Ber Sahib]] now stands by the side of the old ber tree  believed to be the  same tree under which Guru ji sat in meditation at [[Sultanpur Lodhi]]. This Gurdwara was built as a tribute to the father of Sikhi who  with his family and  Sister [[Bebe Nanaki]] Ji lived here for nearly 14 years.


'''Some History'''
'''Some History'''

Revision as of 05:52, 29 January 2008

Kali Bein At Sultanpur Lodhi

The Kali Bein also known as the Kali Beiri, a river in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, which holds a very sacred part in every Sikh's heart, has been given a new life by a more than 6 year long effort begun by Sant Balbir Singh Sancherwal.

A Shocking Dissapearence


Guru Nanak performed his morning ablutions in thi Bein and would then set by a ber tree he had planted and meditate. Guru Ji meditated here for 14 years, nine months and 13 days. It was during one such ablution that Guru Nanak had what is described, in the Janam Sakhis, as a direct communion with the Divine. Five centuries ago as Guru Nanak went for his daily bath in the rivulet he dissapeared. His friends and followers feared he had drown, his detracters started rumors that he had robbed his employer's stores and run away.

Two days later when he reappeared 2 km upstream, at a spot now known as Sant Ghat, his first utterance was “Naa ko Hindu na Musalmaan” - There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman. It was here along the Kali Bein that Guruji composed the Japji Sahib (containing the Mool Mantar) and from here that he undertook his first two Udasis (religious journeys).

All of this happened on the banks of the river where Gurdwara Ber Sahib now stands by the side of the old ber tree believed to be the same tree under which Guru ji sat in meditation at Sultanpur Lodhi. This Gurdwara was built as a tribute to the father of Sikhi who with his family and Sister Bebe Nanaki Ji lived here for nearly 14 years.

Some History


  • The 160-km-long river springs from the land around Dhanao village in the Hushiarpur district of the Punjab. Their the minerals that seep into the river have lent the river its name as they cause the river to give a black reflection in the viewers eye.
  • In the Glory days of Emperor Akbar, who was more concerned with beauty than with forcing Islam on his subjects, some stretches of the rivulet's upper banks were lined with bricks and planted with beds of flowers, bushes and trees along its sides making it a place of beauty.
  • Once the river merged in the confluence of the Beas and the Ravi, but the Beas changed its bed and the Kali Bein fell on hard times.

400 Hundred years of Public Neglect and Indifference

  • In the rainy season public indifference had allowed it to became a cesspool with village, city and industrial wastes from even a railway factory in Kapurthala filling it and clogging its once beautiful black waters with masses of ugly weeds and sewage.
With their hands Sancherwal and others labour to restore the Kali Bein
Industrial Machinery added to the efforts

That’s when Sant Sichewal (also spelled Sancherwal, Sabarwahl and Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal) jumped in for a cleansing bath of a different kind: one designed to awaken the people. He began cleaning the river single handedly until his example and his many narrations on the history and value of the Bein to Sikh history drew hundreds of followers to the task.

Sant Sancherwal alongside the Beautiful Kali Bein

Through kar seva he and thousands have in a labour of love of untold hours cleaned the river. These efforts were noticed and now even governments along the way have jumped into the effort and now even weed technology-based ponds are being introduced in many out of 64 villages across the Bein's length to allow villagers to treat water before releasing it into the rivulet. Additionally sewage treatment plants for major cities along the way are being planned. The two crore plant in Sultanpur Lodhi is ready, the one in Kapurthala, an Rs 10 crore project, is in final stages. And plants will soon be set up at Tanda, Begowal and other industrial towns along the length of the Bein.

Today

Today, the river’s banks have been raised, inflows of waste, plugged, the river-bed desilted and flowering plants, once again, align its length. The Kali Bein is once again clear and flowing!

UNI reports that, in the next few months President Kalam is to visit the river to honour Sant Sancherwal.

Up date from News reports:

In a recent headline, The Indian president, on a visit to Greece has praised a Sikh Saint for cleaning an entire river with sewa (voluntary service).
Kalam hails Sikh priest’s work

While on a trip to Greece , President A P J Abdul Kalam praised the work of a Sikh priest in Punjab who had cleaned up a “polluted and choked” local river to illustrate how the art of “giving” by individuals and nations could promote happiness around the world.