Nihang Singh Jathedar Baba Lehna Singh Ji

At present the holy precincts of Gurdwara Sri Damdama Sahib Patshah Chevee, Raqba incomparably thrive as a bold Nihang stronghold and bastion of true knightly ideals. The flourishing of these ideal can be attributed in no small part to the tireless efforts of the saintly personage of Baba Lehna Singh Ji to continually uplift and enrich the populace of this land with high-mindedness and fiery faith in one immortal God.

Early Life

Baba Lehna Singh ji was born in the village of Thuth, Mulanpur Dhaka, near Ludhiana to his pious parents Baba Dyal Singh and Mata Nand Kaur. From an early age he sought to eagerly fulfil all of his household obligations so that he could wholeheartedly immerse himself in his spiritual pursuits unperturbed by worldly affairs. It is this inimitable spirit of sanctimonious sentiment which daily drew this young saint into the divine service of the holy congregation at Sri Damdama Sahib. It was here that Baba Lehna Singh ji was duly instructed in the recitation of Gurbani by Jathedar Baba Karam Singh, and it was here also that he imbibed the spiritual elixir from the Knights of Buddha Dal. In no time at all young Lehna Singh ji astonished his elders with his expansive memorizations of holy passages and his devout meditations on the word of God.

Assuming the Abbotship

Indeed, such was the extent of his practise that even social occasions would permit him to engage in discourses on spiritual affairs with other Singhs in which they would speak only in scriptural parables thus holding conversations back and forth. In 1971 Jathedar Baba Karam Singh departed for his heavenly abode and entrusted the abbotship of Damdama Sahib under the care of his beloved pupil Baba Lehna Singh Ji, and thus it was that under his guidance the spiritual service of the poor flourished by being continually performed day and night. Upon assuming the abbotship, Baba ji undertook the arduous task of constructing a holy lake (Sarovar) which would encompass the temple's boundaries. To do so, he and his servicemen collected water from the five environing sacred pools at Amritsar, mixing them in the newly erected stream, this task was completed on Baisakhi of 1972. And on April 13th of that year, Baba Lehna Singh and Sant Ajaib Singh (Bopari) consecrated the pool by bathing in it followed by the holy congregation.

Spiritual Enlightenment

Baba Lehna Singh ji was also quick to construct a new hall for feeding the congregation as well as an oriental façade - 'Darshani Deori' at the main entrance. Furthermore, Baba ji purchased more land to expand the temple grounds and much labour was spent building up the holy precincts therein. Never one to idle about, Babaji always kept busily employed by tending to menial tasks himself, he did fieldwork daily tending to cattle and such and always remembered the holy name whether tilling the land or picking crops. Thus it can be seen that Baba ji lived a spartan existence which was only compounded by his rigorous spiritual regiment which consisted of nights devoid of sleep spent ceaselessly reciting Japji Sahib, at 1am he would bathe in cold water and begin his Nitnem recitation remaining in one unbroken posture for five hours. In this way Baba Lehna Singh spent the whole of his life continually immersed in single-minded devotion to God, and it was during the latter years of his life that his deep spiritual yearning was fulfilled and he attained the blessed vision of the Ten Sikh Gurus, the Five Beloved Ones and the Divine Martyrs from whom he would constantly imbibe spiritual perceptions.

Ascendance and Legacy

As he had attained spiritual enlightenment it was not uncommon for Babaji to converse with celestial beings while intensely reciting Chandi Di Var. Sadly, Baba Lehna Singh ji departed for his heavenly abode on the 22nd of September 1993. It was at this time that the divine congregation requested that the mantle of abbotship be passed unto Baba Joginder Singh ji who had wholeheartedly spent his life in the holy service of Buddha Dal and at the lotus feet of Baba ji. Indeed the presence of divine martyrs is uncannily present even now in the precincts of the temple at Damdama Sahib and it is said that those divine beings appeared before a family in the vicinity and asked that their land be donated to the congregation as it was on that spot that Sri Guru Hargobind's horse had rested, needless to say the family duly complied.

To this day the holy congregation at Raqba and dozens of surrounding villages and towns greatly revere the saintly personage of Baba ji who spread the celestial fortune of the divine name throughout that sacred village. It is thus that the date of his passing is yearly commemorated with fervent worship by adulatory crowds who throng from all regions to attend the Barsi held from September 20-22nd.