Bhai Jagta Ji

Bhai Jagta Ji was one of the most influential saints of the Sewa Panthi order, a unique humanitarian institution which was in many ways a forerunner of the Red Cross Society. The order was started by Bhai Kanhaiya, a devout Sikh in the service of Guru Gobind Singh. Bhai Jagta was the successor to Bhai Bhalla Ram and fitted in the line of Bhai Kanhaiya.

Bhai Jagta was a native of Maghiana in the district of Jhang, presently in Pakistan. Like many other noble souls of his time, he came from humble beginnings, having started life as a labourer at the local market. Though a man of simple nature and pure heart, he was once obsessed of theft which he had not committed. He was subsequently acquitted honourably, but the episode made him conscious of man’s all-consuming greed and the havoc of the misery that it caused. He realised that the only way to rid oneself of such greed was to dedicate the self to God. He and his elder step brother Bhai Channa therefore approached Bhai Bhalla Ram, a revered saint of the time. They stayed at Noorpur where a Dharamsala was being set-up and sought spiritual asylum under him.

Bhai Jagta’s untiring commitment and pure heart won the noble saint’s confidence, and he was admitted into the Sewa Panthi fold. His life thereafter was one of meditation, social service and love for humanity. He was eventually anointed successor to Bhai Bhalla Ram.

There are numerous anecdotes of Bhai Jagta’s acts of generosity, compassion, philanthropy and complete effacement of ego. Everyone appeared to him in the image of God. He saw the divine master in all human beings. He served even those who abused and belittled him.

After the Partition in 1947, the Tikana Noorpur Thal was re-established at Goniana Mandi in Bhatinda district of Punjab and is now known as Tikana Bhai Jagta Sahib. It is today still the centre of the Sewa Panthi Mission, and is often described as a shining house of selfless service.