Born on September 21, 1906 in a small hamlet in district Navab Shah of Sind Province (Pakistan), Sant Hirda Ram left his mortal remains on December 20, 2006 at Sant Hirda Ram Nagar (earlier called Bairagarh), a suburb of MP capital Bhopal. When barely 10 or 12, he attained detachment from worldliness, perhaps divinely ordained in favour of world, and became a disciple of Swami Hari Ramji. Touched by human sufferings he vowed to devote his whole life as a recluse, not for personal salvation, not for some heavenly pleasure here or hereafter, and not for popularity to attain some distinguished status, but for his contribution in the divine work of alleviation of human sufferings. After the demise of his guru he was due to succeed him and occupy the coveted gaddee, but he renounced that. Having migrated to India in 1948 he chose to practice the service-oriented spiritualism at Jodhpur, and subsequently at Pushkar Teertha, and Bairagarh (Bhopal).
He was a unique saint?No gaddee, no special dress, no preachings, no gurudom, no chhatra, no magic like miracle, no chelas, and no air of being some sort of middle man or via media for common man to attain some mysterious supreme status after death. People genuinely believing in his mission thronged unto him, often with money to be spent in service projects. But never touching money himself he ensured that it was spent to provide drinking water, advanced academic institutions, libraries, sanskar kendras, kala-kendras and a chain of different types of hospitals and hostels. Social organisations like the Nav Yuvak Parishad and philanthropists like V. K. Mohindra of London and Prem Dhadani of Mumbai came forward and the strong sense of service-oriented purposiveness of the Sant brought the modern water supply systems to the comparatively neglected localities of Sant Hirda Ram Nagar, Gandhinagar and villages like Kathkone, Shekhpura, Phanda, Neemkhedi, and Shikarpur. Big and open tanks were made near tube-wells for animals and birds to drink water.
A very touching scene was witnessed when a crowd of the villagers came to his kutiya (cottage) to express their gratitude for providing their villages drinking water and enabling their boys to get married. Earlier, since the village womenfolk had to fetch drinking water in pitchers on their heads, from distant points, often two kilometers from their places, their sons had to remain bachelors.
A great wonder created by the Sant was an ultramodern 400-bed eye hospital in the township. Free eye-camps are run with the help of the best available ophthalmologists. Free food, accommodation, medicines, glasses and lenses are given to the needy patients as well as their escorts. No body asks the patients which brand of god they worship, or do not worship. Thrust remains on their treatment and their caste, creed, colour, religion, language, province etc are never questioned. The service mission does not believe in service for religious conversions, quite unlike many Christian missionaries. Sant Hirda Ram lived a century the perfect idealism of Hindutva that symbolises service to mankind.
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