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‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
‘“He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John iii. 16).
SapHu SunpDAR SINGH is in the great succession of noble men who have “climbed the steep ascent of heaven,” and during his scjourns in Tibet he has come across well-authenticated cases of the martyrdom of godly men who have preceded him in carrying the Gospel message to that dark land. Strangely enough the first of these martyrs came from the State of Patiala where he himself was born. Kartar Singh was a Sikh and the son of a rich zamindar. All the hopes of the family were centred in this boy, for there were no other sons to . carry on the name. Like: Sundar he was brought up in the midst of luxury, and preparations for his future were made by giving him the best education possible. Nothing was forgotten that could make his training complete for the fulfilment of his father’s ambitions for the boy. But in spite of the utter neglect of religion in his education, there grew up in his mind a desire after spiritual things which his secular training could not satisfy. He heard of Christianity, and little by little got to know and understand its claims, until a deep conviction of its truth laid hold of him. The more he studied it the more he fel]t it supplied the craving of his own soul, until at last he saw but one path before him—and that the strait and narrow one.
Kartar now took the irrevocable step of declaring himself a Christian, a fact that filled the hearts of his people with dismay. Many attempts of various kinds were made to win him from persisting in this determination, but finding him not to be tempted by ordinary means his father sent to him the beautiful girl who was his chosen wife. This poor girl came before him in all her tender promise of life, and with tears besought him to desist from taking a step that would mean such terrible loss to her. Looking upon her misery his heart was touched, yet even in this last temptation God gave him strength, and with much tenderness he put the sweet Hindu child from him, declaring that his heart already belonged to Christ his Saviour. The broken-hearted girl returned to her future father-in-law’s house to tell how useless had been her protests, since Kartar had said all his love had been given to Another.
Not long afterwards Kartar was driven forth homeless from his father’s house. To enable him to buy food and clothes he .took up the work of a labourer, and, undiscouraged by his hard lot, bent his back to tasks such as his own father’s servants would have despised. Very soon, however, Kartar began his mission to the people of his own country, and went preaching among the towns and villages of Patiala, where he trod the thorny and difficult path that was to prepare him for the harder future awaiting him. After preaching in many places in the Punjab, Kartar turned his steps towards the mountains that lay between him and darkest Tibet, and after some weeks of weary journeying over rough country he found himself in the lat:1 of his choice.
TA SADHU SUNDAR SINGH
The Buddhism of Tibet has no place for Christ, whose very name arouses the deepest feelings of hatred and opposition. No record remains that Kartar met with much personal kindness or that his message was accepted, but no thought of going back seems to have occurred to his mind. These people were without Christ and had need of Him, and as Christ had given His life, so Kartar was prepared to sacrifice his life also, that at least his witness should be borne and his love testified to before his persecutors. Although hearts were touched by the sight of his youth and the fervour of his message, there was little courage to take his part, and it was only after his death that the fruit of his labours and testimony came to light.
Kartar saw, as our Saviour did before him, that the thorny path could only end in one way. In spite of numerous efforts to drive him out of the country, he continued his preaching in many places for some time, but: eventually he was haled before the Lama of Tsingham and charged with unlawfully entering the country with intent to teach a foreign religion. The end he had looked forward to had come, and. with undaunted courage he faced the inevitable, trusting to God to give him the necessary grace to witness to his faith to the end. As Sundar afterwards heard, Kartar heard his sentence without a quiver, and with firm step turned away from the judgment seat to walk to the place of execution. On the way he delivered his last message, urging on the crowd the necessity of seeking salvation through Jesus Christ, and one at least of those who heard’ his words remembered them, and through them found the Saviour.
Arrived at the place of execution Kartar was stripped of all his clothes’ and was sewn up in a wet yak skin, which was then put out in the sun. A cruel mocking crowd stood about to witness his tortures, and as the skin shrank and tightened round him they laughed to: hear the bones cracking in the slow process of death. By his side on the ground lay the New Testament that had been his one and only comfort through the hard days. that had followed his confession of his Master. Unheeded it lay until on the third day, when Kartar knew the end was drawing on, he asked that his right hand might be set free for a moment. This was done, probably more from curiosity than mercy. Collecting all his strength Kartar wrote his last message on the flyleaf of his Testament. In Persian character :—
Jan Khwaham az Khuda na yake balki sad hazar,
Ta sad hazar bar bamiram brae yar.
Khasrawa dar ishq aukamtarzi Hindu zan mubash,
Ki in brae murda sazad zinda jan i Khwesh ra.
In Urdu character :— Jan de di di hiii usi ki thi; haqq to yih hai, ki haqq ada na hia. In English :—
Is this a death-bed where a Christian lies ? Yes, but not his; ’tis death itself there dies.
Translation :—
From God I life besought, not once but a hundred thousand times, That to that Friend again as oft I might return it.
That love for Him, Khasrawa, shall not be less than hers— The faithful Hindu wife,
Who on the burning pyre draws to her heart the loved one, And lays her life beside him.
The life He gave to me was what I gave to Him ; True is it that though I did ail, yet all I could not do.
No cry of anguish escaped the brave lips, but as evening came on Kartar gave thanks aloud to God tor comfort in death, and quietly passed away with the words, ‘‘ Lord Jesus, reecive my spirit.”
Sadhu Sundar Singh found that Kartar’s father was still alive, and upon his réturn to the plains he sought the old man out. Telling him the story of the death of his heroic son and speaking of the great love of Christ that had borne him through, the old man listened with a softened heart, and Sundar had the joy of nestige him say, “I, too, believe in Him.”
Amongst the crowd who watched the passing of Kartar Singh was the chief secretary of the Lama of Tsingham. He noticed the little Testament in which this hero of the cross had written his last message, and taking it up he carried it home and commenced to study it. With the memory still fresh in his mind of the words and conduct of a brave man, his heart was open to receive the message the Book had for him, and in reading it there came new light and joy to him. For some time he pondered the wonderful things he now believed, but, as the realization of them more and more filled his soul, he could no longer keep his secret, and one day revealed to his master, the Lama, that he had given his heart to Jesus. The Lama then declared that he also must dic. Pitilessly he was judged and sentenced to the same death as Kartar. Lying in the wet yak skin in the sun was not cruel enough to teach the onlookers that this sort of thing if persisted in would add to the bitter punishment, so red-hot skewers were thrust into his body to increase his agonies. As if his tormentors were weary of waiting for the inevitable end, he was then taken out of the skin, a rope was tied round his mutilated body, and he was dragged through the streets of the town, splinters of wood also being driven under the nails of his feet and hands. His body was then thrown on to a dust heap outside the town and he was left for dead.
Having satisfied their lust for revenge his persecutors departed, and for long he lay unconscious. Very gradually the poor fellow came back to life, and little by little strength returned until he was able to crawl away. When he had recovered from his many wounds, great fear came upon the people to see him whom they had left for dead alive and well again, and to this day no one dares to interfere with him. Superstitious dread of a supernatural power they believe him to possess, prevents attempts to take his life, so that when Sadhu Sundar Singh heard from his lips the story of Kartar, he also heard how wondrously God enables this brave man to continue preaching Christ boldly among the people of Tibet.
These and other histories like them Sadhu Sundar Singh has himself gathered during his missionary journeys through darkest Tibet and other regions where the light of the Gospel has scarcely pierced. To the people of these benighted countries his gentle heart turns with infinite longing and pity, and his burning zeal for Christ and desire to make Him known, convince him’ that there his appointed task lies. He says, “This is the field which God has given me to work in. I have heard His call to serve Him in these hostile provinces. I.am not afraid of the risks. I have to win the crown of martyrdom by laying down my life in these parts for Him.”
That Sundar Singh may be used of God to bring Gospel light to the people of these dark places is the prayer of those who know, love, and revere him. But none can pray without earnestly pleading with God to spare his wonderful life, that rather by “labours more abundant ” than by the supreme sacrifice he may serve his Master and his generation.