The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual movement having more than 3000 branches in India and abroad. The Mission’s principal commitment to its followers is to make their minds conscious of the Ultimate Reality or bestow God-knowledge and thus improve the quality of their life. It would, however, like to participate in the Social Welfare effort also, to the extent it can afford to divert its resources from its primary activities as spiritual organization. Since April, 2010 all the social welfare activities of the Mission are looked after by the Sant Nirankari Charitable Foundation with close cooperation from the Social Welfare Department and the Mission’s branches, of course.
The first blood donation camp of the Mission was organized on the occasion of the Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam in November, 1986. In the Special General Body Meeting held in March, 1987, however, it was decided that blood donation camps may be held in various parts of the country on April 24 every year as a part of ManavEktaDiwasSamagam to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji who laid down his life on this day in 1980 while crusading for truth, love, peace and unity. Baba Hardev Singh JiMaharaj said that ‘blood should flow in veins and not in drains’. Ever since, the devotees of the Mission have been participating in these blood donation camps with great enthusiasm and spirit of devotion considering the noble gesture as a part of their tribute to Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, ChachaPartap Singh Ji and hundreds of other martyrs of the Mission.
Impressed by the large numbers of devotees offering to donate their blood, the Indian Red Cross Society requested Baba Hardev Singh JiMaharaj to stagger the camps from April to September, the period when blood banks in the country normally face shortage of blood due to summer season and this was agreed to instantly. And since 2009, these blood donation camps are held throughout the year starting from ManavEktaDiwas on April 24, of course.In 2009 the Mission organized 306 blood donation camps at different centres in the country. This was followed by 371 camps in 2010 and 394 in 2011. In 2012, the Mission organized 429 camps and in 2013 and 2014 it was a record number of 446. . With 4,073 camps and the donation of 7,09,595 units of blood in India so far, the Mission has already emerged as one of the leading blood donating voluntary organizations in the county.
This year the Mission proposes to organize 74 blood donation camps on the single day of April 24, the ManavEktaDiwas. The series will be inaugurated by Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh JiMaharaj on that day in Delhi, where about 1500 devotees are expected to donate their blood. The other camps scheduled to be held on April 24 include: 11 in Maharashtra; 10 in Uttar Pradesh; 6 in Rajasthan; 5 each in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana; 4 each in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh; 3 each in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand; 2 each in Bihar, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir; and one each in Chandigarh, Assam, Sikkim, Andaman, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Other Social Welfare Actvities
During the Silver Jubilee Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam in 1972, Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji and Nirankari RajmataKulwantKaurJi were weighed against currency notes by devotees as a mark of their faith and devotion. Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji declared that the amount would be spent only on missionary activities and public welfare. Consequently, one college, a number of schools and dispensaries were set up in various parts of the country during Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji’s time itself. Today, the Mission has four hospitals in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Agra, 139 dispensaries and 10 pathological laboratories across the country - all functioning on charitable basis. About 18 lakh patients are taking the advantage every year. The Mission contemplates to set up a full-fledged Sant Nirankari Health City in Delhi for which the ground breaking ceremony was held on February 23, 2015, the 61st Birthday of Baba Hardev Singh JiMaharaj.
The Mission has 83 tailoring and embroidery training centres in Delhi and other parts of the country, for the benefit of the widows and other needy women. As regards education, in addition to one College, the Mission has 24 schools to provide good education even to those who normally find it out of their reach due to financial constraints. The stress in the Nirankari educational institutions is on moral education and preparing the children to rise as responsible citizens. The deserving and brilliant students are given scholarships to pursue higher studies and professional courses.
Social Reforms
Following the Mussoorie Conference held in 1973, Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji laid considerable stress on social reforms like abstaining from the use of intoxicants, dowry-free and inter-caste marriages and so on. Taking inspiration, Baba Hardev Singh Ji organized ‘Youth Forum’ in 1975 with a view to promoting among its young members good habits like simple living, avoiding wasteful expenses and working towards social reforms. Even after Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji’s supreme sacrifice, this crusade has been followed up by Baba Hardev Singh JiMaharajwith great enthusiasm. The followers of the Mission are advised to refrain from taking any kind of intoxicants since their use becomes the root cause of various social evils. At the same time, the Mission stresses the need for austerity in the matter of weddings and other social functions. In order to encourage dowry-free marriages, the Mission has started organizing mass marriage functions in a big way.