Says the Guru, hear thou the nature of the Sant (Saint). The Saint is like God, compassionate and merciful, and the support of the Earth. The Saint is like a tree which gets cleaved into two by a sharp weapon but grumbles not and serves even him who harms him, and blames him not at all. The Saint sees God in all, acts with all in a spirit of reverence and affection, and in joyful patience endures all that comes. The boat suffers being trampled upon but gives comfort to the passenger, taking him to the yonder shore without letting the tumultuous sea of existence effect him. Similarly, the Saint helps all those who come to his refuge, extricating them out of worldliness and uniting them with the Lord. Like the Earth loves neither the fragrant sandalwood nor camphor-paste nor hates him who digs it up or dumps his waste upon its breast, the Saint is beyond likes and dislikes; virtuous and kind, he hates none. The Saint is like the sky that stretches its canopy evenly over high and low, good and bad; he discriminates not between friend and foe and looks upon all, alike (Dae_al dayv kirpal gobind sun santan ki reet. p 1017).

In the company of the Sadhu, one comprehends the incomprehensible and ones inside blossoms. The five passions come under control, the Vedas know not the glories of the Sadhu. They tell only what their composers have heard. The glory of the Sadhu is beyond the three strands of Maya. The glory of the Sahdu is all-pervasive. There is no end to the glory of the Sadhu; it is beyond limits. The glory of the Sadhu is the highest of the high; it is most magnificent. The praise of the Sadhu is inexpressible; it fits the Sadhu alone (Sun mita nanak binvanta. Sadh jana ki achraj katha. p 271).

Baba Puran Singh Kerichowale		Baba Sohan Singh		Baba Joginder Singh

Today the Sant/Bhagati tradition is carried on by numerous Sants who offer guidance to all who seek it. Sants who travel from their deras (homes) in India to all parts of the world to offer spiritual knowledge and understanding to all who have the spiritual inclination to listen. Sants are the purveyors of the path of God, spreading his word to all who will listen.

So why are so many Sant Mahapursh despised and ignored in modern times ?

In all walks of life there are those who will exploit and mislead, and the Sant tradition is no different. But why are all Sants tainted with the same brush? Let us take an analogy, doctors are always in the news for behaving in an unprofessional manner with their patients. Do we stop going to the doctor when we require medical attention, no we do not. Our physical body needs attention and we rush to the doctor, but when our spiritual body, our soul, cries out we say that all Sants are the same, that they are after money or self glory. We deny our soul the nourishment it requires.

Guru Granth Sahib Ji refers to Sants many time and explains the virtue of the sangat of a Saddhu.
It is suggested by some learned people that all the references to ‘Sant’ in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji refers to the Guru or Akal Purkh himself. That the shabads do not refer to earthly Sants at all, that they are words used to describe the True Guru. This is true in many cases, but not all. The distinction between Akal Purkh the Sant and the saddhu sant is definite and precise.

	Baba Khem Singh		Baba Maan Singh

Here in the bani of Bhagat Kabir Ji there is a precise distinction between Akal Purkh Sant and a Saddhu Sant. Akal Purkh is the giver of mukhti or liberation and the saddhu sant is the one who shows you the way to meditate on Gods name. The word Sant here cannot refer to Akal Purkh because Kabir Ji has already addressed Akal Purkh as 'dataa'.

It is said by some learned people that in Gurbani the singular word of 'sant' refers to God and the plural 'sant' refers to all people. Again this argument does not hold true in the above shabad by Kabir Sahib. Also if one looks at Guru Arjan Dev Ji's Sukhmani Sahib there is a whole astpadhi (section) devoted to the tormentors of Sadhu Sant - Sant ka dhokhi.... Surely 'Sant' here cannot be referring to Akal Purkh as that would suggest tormentors of Akal Purkh, but who can torment Akal Purkh ? In the Sukhmani Sahib Guru Arjun Dev Ji are referring to the holy sadhus and Sants and what will happen to those who torment them.

Let us look at a shabad by Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Can the saints referred to by Guru Sahib Ji here be any other then the Saddhu sants?

It is the duty of a Sant to show people the way of the True Guru, they will guide you and tell you of the pitfalls to avoid. One can understand the thought process of many learned people who may feel that by going to a Sant one is some how betraying our Gurus by deviating from the right path. This is not the case, rather then deviating from the path we are actually reinforcing the path.

If you have a query about a shabad of a line from a shabad then a Sant Mahapursh will spend maybe an hour explaining just the one line, this is the depth of their knowledge of gurbani and they will stay true to the Guru without any hidden agendas. We can go straight to Guru Granth Sahib Ji, but who has the depth to understand this ocean knowledge ? Guru Sahib Ji has said that his Sikh must not drink alcohol, eat meat or cut his hair and must become an amritdhari, this is the precise line a Sant will take and he will repeat these hukams even if he is barred from getting up on stage at the Gurdwaras because this kind of language may hurt the sensibilities of the congregation or of the committee members, most of whom will not be amritdhari’s themselves.

At the times of the Gurus there were maha –atmas (great souls) like Baba Buddha Ji, Bhai Gurdas Ji, Baba Deep Singh and Bhai Dhya Singh, none have the prefix of Sant so why call someone a Sant at all, I hear you say ?
Times change, traditions change, all the above could be called Sant, for they were great souls, but the terms Sant/Bhai/Baba are interchangeable. I think no one would argue that Kelerawale Sant were truly a great soul, they were addressed as Baba Nand Singh Ji or Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji. In the end titles are just titles and most Sant Mahapursh would shun titles anyway but if they have reached a spiritual stage then they are entitled to be called Sant. The stage of a Sant is a most elevated one in spiritual terms.

Why would God have a go-between ? This is true, why would God have a go-between for he doesn’t need one. The answer lies deeper in the relationship between a God and his Sants. For the relationship between a Sant and God is a very close one, how close us mere mortals will never know. It is through this close relationship that God has granted the Sants this honour, for it is truly a great honour bestowed by God for the sants to become the becholay.

If you look at the lives and teachings of some of the Sants – Baba Nand Singh Ji, Baba Attar Singh Ji, Baba Puran Singh Ji they have spent their whole lives in the service of the panth, putting people on the right path, performing Amrit sanchars and creating new members of the Khalsa panth, taking people by the hand and attaching them to the Gurus feet, how can we not be truly greatfull to such great souls?