Myth: Sant Thakar Singh was not the legitimate spiritual successor to Sant Kirpal Singh.
Status: False/Undeterminable.
Origins:
In the spiritual tradition of Sant Mat, the spiritual successor to the Master (see Master) would only be known to those who are spiritually realized enough to use their inner knowledge to determine this, unless the Master pointed out his successor in a clear fashion before his demise.
In the available historical record of the lineage of Sant Mat Masters going back some 500 years, the general rule has been that the Masters died without clearly indicating their successors. A number of candidate Masters would emerge who would continue the Master’s work. Externally, they would be indistinguishable from each other as far as their inner spiritual achievements were concerned. However, one of them was presumably the true spiritual successor.
The case of Sant Kirpal Singh’s successorship was not an exception. The handful of candidate successor Masters who came forward after Sant Kirpal Singh’s passing in 1974 could all agree on one point: Before Sant Kirpal Singh died, he did not clearly identify his successor to the masses of his followers.
Just before his death, Sant Kirpal Singh asked Sant Thakar Singh to undertake intensive meditations. Sant Thakar Singh complied, having requested an extended absence from his work as a civil engineer in the Indian government. After Sant Kirpal Singh’s passing, Sant Thakar Singh started his spiritual work in a modest way to bring the hearts of people nearer to God according to the principles of Sant Mat. Today, many of Sant Kirpal Singh’s disciples and over two million other people accept Sant Thakar Singh to be the legitimate successor to his Master, Sant Kirpal Singh.
Sant Thakar Singh served his followers tirelessly as a spiritual teacher and Master disregarding his own health and often under difficult circumstances. He brought God nearer to the hearts of the people through his authority, his compassion and his humour. His compassion and his style of addressing the needs of each and every person attracted many people, and their appreciation of the Master remains to this day.
In February 2005, exactly one month before his passing, Sant Thakar Singh took the extraordinary step to clearly name and identify his successor, Sant Baljit Singh, in person and before an audience a million strong.
Last updated: 30 Apr 2010