Part 4
Many have died of thirst though surrounded by the ocean. Its salty water simply could not quench their thirst. Just so, there are many people who live in the midst of God's boundless love, but die of thirst be- cause sin has turned the sweet water of God's love into bitterness for them. Those who turn away from sin and seek spiritual life from the Master find foun tains of living water arising from that sea of love. They find full satisfaction and enduring peace. This is heaven.
amrita
Once a faithful follower of the Master was tortured until he was at the point of death. But he was filled with such spiritual joy that he turned to his tormentors and said, "Oh, that I could open my heart to you and show you the wonderful peace I have found." Amazed at his inner peace in the face of such suffering, those foolish
people tore out his heart hoping to find something precious inside it. Of course, they found nothing. The reality of heavenly bliss is known only to those who open their own hearts and accept it.
Occasionally our sense of inner peace and spiritual bliss fades. This may be because of some disobedi ence or because the Spirit departs from us for a time so that we recognize anew how empty and restless our souls are without God. In this way, God can reveal again to us our utter weakness and teach us that with out spiritual life we are nothing but dry bones. God wants to protect us from the pride and complacency of thinking that we have achieved something out of our own human strength. God trains and educates us so that we turn ever anew to the Master and so find never-ending spiritual happiness.
amrita
Sometimes those who are filled with God's spirit are overwhelmed by divine bliss and fall into a state of faintness or even unconsciousness. This is a reminder that flesh and blood cannot inherit the glories and blessings of the spirit world. Only when our souls are set free from these mortal bodies shall we experience the fullness of spiritual peace where pain and suffer ing, sorrow and sighing, woe and death cease forever.
In the midst of polar ice fields, one can find flowing streams of hot water. In the same way we can find, even in the midst of this loveless and sorrowful world, restful streams of heavenly peace. It happens wher ever the fire of God's spirit glows within human hearts.
a warning to the west
a warning to the west
Christian: Sadhu-ji, you have person ally experienced Yesu to be the Master who leads us to inner peace and salvation. Don't we have an obligation to bring this truth to heathen peoples everywhere?
Sadhu: We must break the old habit of calling people of other faiths "heathen." The worst "heathen" are among us. We should love people of other faiths, even agnostics and atheists, as brothers and sisters. We need not love everything they believe and do, but we must love them.
a warning to the west
Even an idolater worshipping a stone may experi ence something of God's peace. This does not mean that there is any consoling power in the stone, but for some, it may be a means of concentrating their atten tion on God. God grants to all people peace in accor dance with their faith. The danger, of course, is that the worshipper will not advance spiritually, and will become more and more attached to the material object rather than to the living God – ultimately becoming
as lifeless as the stone. Such a person will no longer be able to recognize the author of life who alone can ful fil the longing of our hearts.
Christian: But don't we have an obligation to pro fess our faith and share it with others? You yourself heard about the Master from missionaries who went to India.
Sadhu: When we have really encountered the Master and experienced release from sin, then sheer joy im pels us to share it with others. We cannot sit silent about
what God has done; we must give witness to it. Any one who has experienced the Master's peace – whether man or woman, boy or girl, rich or poor, laborer or farmer, writer or priest, judge or official, doctor or lawyer, teacher or pupil, government official or mis sionary – he or she is only a follower of the Master to the extent that they witness to the truth. But bearing witness does not necessarily mean preaching in the market or from a pulpit. We have opportunities of giving witness to the Master wherever we are. We can do this through an upright life, a blameless character, through integrity of behavior, by our enthusiasm, and
a warning to the west
by our love for the Master, sharing with others what he has done for us. Every person, not only with words but with his life, can be a witness for the Master.
A Sufi mystic was on a journey. He had with him a quantity of wheat. After being on the road for several days he opened his bags and found a number of ants in them. He sat down and pondered over their plight. Being overcome with pity for the little lost creatures, he retraced his steps and returned them safely to their original home.
It is amazing how we humans can show so much sympathy to such little creatures. How then is it pos sible to lack sympathy and fellow feeling in our deal- ing with one another? Many have gone very far astray and do not know the way back. Surely it is our duty to guide the lost back to the way of righteousness and to help them find their eternal home.
a warning to the west
There are many people in India and around the world who would like to hear about the Master. These people need witnesses to the truth but not Western culture. Indians desperately need the Water of Life, but they do not want it in European vessels! The Mas ter chose simple fisherman as his followers because he had a simple message, not a philosophy. The world has enough of teaching and philosophy.
Christian: Haven't you visited America and western Europe? What did you think of our Christian witness and heritage?
Sadhu: What homesickness I had in Europe! I felt like a bird in a cage. The whole atmosphere was heavy for me. Many people thought I suffered from the cold climate, but this was not so. I have experienced far greater cold in the Himalayas. It was not the physi cal atmosphere that oppressed me, but the spiritual atmosphere.
In India, one feels everywhere – even through idols and altars, pilgrims and penitents, temples and
tanks – that there is a desire for higher things. In the West, however, everything points to armed force, great power, and material things. It is this power of evil that makes me so sad. India is more and more seeking the Master's truth. The West is in danger of becoming more and more indifferent. And yet the West owes so many of its blessings to Christianity. At one time the ostrich could fly, but because the ostrich stopped using its wings, it became unable to fly. So are the people of Europe and America – they do not ap preciate the faith of their forebears and are fast losing it.
a warning to the west
The West is like Judas Iscariot, who ate with Yesu, only to later deny him. The West ought to fear the
fate of Judas, lest it hang itself on the tree of learning. You have so many privileges. We in the East have to give up many things when we become Christians. For you, it is not so. Therefore be careful that you don't lose your only possibility for eternal happiness. I am reminded of the hunter who was pursued by a tiger. He had no fear because his hut was nearby and he was sure that he had the key in his pocket. On reaching it, however, the key was gone, and although there was only the thickness of the door between him and safety, he was lost.
Once when I was in the Himalayas, I was sitting upon the bank of a river; I drew out of the water a beautiful, hard, round stone and smashed it. The in side was quite dry. The stone had been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone. It is just like that with the "Christian" people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is.
a warning to the west
Many modern thinkers in the West do not believe in the miracles of our Master. To my mind, it's already a miracle that there are still spiritual people in the West at all. In America, for example, one sees a good deal of Christianity, but it does not address the spiritual needs of the people. Just as salty seawater cannot quench thirst, much of American religion cannot sat isfy a spiritually thirsty person because it is saturated with materialism. The Master's words, "Come unto me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest," are true as regards the East, but I think that for America, he would say, "Come unto me all who are heavy gold-laden and I will give you rest." Looking at the motto "In God We Trust" on the American dollar one might think the Americans are very religious people, but the motto should read, "In the dollar we trust." Americans are seeking the almighty dollar, not the Almighty God.
a warning to the west
Although America is a "Christian" nation and there are many sincere Christians in America, the majority of the people there have no faith. There, where it is so easy to have religion, where religion is offered on every side and no one is persecuted for their beliefs, life should be peaceful. Instead, there is a mad rush and hustle and bustle after money and comfort and
pleasure. In India, many Christians suffer bitter perse cution but continue to find happiness in their new faith. Because it is so easy to have faith in America, people do not appreciate what a comfort there is in faith.
Christian: What advice do you have, Sadhu-ji, for Christian churches in the West?
Sadhu: A scientist had a bird in his hand. He wanted to find out in what part of the bird's body its life was and what the life itself was. So he began dissecting the bird. The result was that the very life of which he was
in search mysteriously vanished. Those who try to understand the inner life merely intellectually will meet with a similar failure. The life they are looking for will only vanish.
a warning to the west
When I returned from Europe, I began reading the writings of the German mystic Jakob Boehme and was attracted to him as soon as I had read the first two or three pages. This simple, uneducated shoemaker had an experience of God that has influenced millions of people. I may be wrong, but I am more and more convinced that simple people like Boehme have a pure intuition and grasp easily and readily the Master's
profound spiritual truths. Educated people, especially those I met in the West, repress their native intuition and substitute in its place a kind of artificial rational ism. That is why the Master called simple fishermen as his disciples.
I studied theology in a theological seminary. I learned many useful and interesting things no doubt, but they were not of much spiritual profit. There were discussions about sects, about Yesu Christ and many other interesting things, but I found the reality, the spirit of all these things, only at the Master's feet. When I spent hours at his feet in prayer, then I found enlightenment, and God taught me so many things that I cannot express them even in my own language. Sit at the Master's feet in prayer; it is the greatest theological college in this world. We know about theology, but he is the source of theology itself. He explains in a few seconds a truth that has taken years to understand. Whatever I have learned has been learned only at his feet. Not only learning, but life, I have found at his feet in prayer.
a warning to the west
I do not condemn theologians wholesale, but it is unfortunately the fashion in Western thinking to doubt and deny everything. I protest this tendency. I never advise anyone to consult theologians, because
all too often they have completely lost all sense of spiritual reality. They can explain Greek words and all that, but they spend too much time among their books and not enough time with the Master in prayer. It is not that I oppose all education, but education without life is certainly dangerous. You must stop examining spiritual truths like dry bones! You must break open the bones and take in the life-giving marrow.
a warning to the west
P A R A B L E
seeker and master
Once upon a time, there was a rich man
who enjoyed a life of luxury. But, unhappily, he had no son. He
seeker and master
used to say to his friends and wife, "Oh, pray for me that God
may mercifully grant me a son who will inherit my property and
keep up the name and fame of my family." After some time,
God answered his prayer and gave him a beautiful and promis
ing boy.
His parents entertained many plans for their newborn.
Their expectation and hopes knew no bounds. When he was
six years old, his father arranged for him to have the best pos
sible education, which continued until the age of fifteen. He
was also trained in all the skills and responsibilities of manhood.
At the age of eighteen, he married and the young couple
began to lead an exemplary family life that was the envy of
everyone who knew them. Blessed with peace and plenty, they
enjoyed all the pleasures of the world and knew nothing of
woe or worry. But some months after their marriage, the
young man's parents, whom he loved so much, died of chol
era. While he was grieving over the loss of his parents, thieves
broke into his house and carried away all his money and valu
ables, leaving the couple destitute. Prosperity makes friends
and adversity tests them, so one by one all his "friends" de
serted him.
He could not help exclaiming in despair: "Oh, what shall
I do and where shall I go? We are expecting a child, but alas! I
shall not rejoice as my dear parents did at my birth, nor shall I be
seeker and master
able to do as much for the child as my parents did for me. Oh,
how fickle is fate!" His good wife comforted him, wiped his
tears with her tender hands, and said: "My dear husband,
don't weep and worry. Trust in God. Whatever he has done, he
has done well; and whatever he may yet do, it will no doubt be
for the best. Do not lose heart."
In time, the child was born into these adverse circum
stances. The man nursed and attended to his wife and child as
best he could, but unhappily, the child died after a few hours.
In tears, the man went to bury the little body and, on his return
home, found his wife unconscious. Unable to revive her, he
held her head in his lap. After a short time, his wife opened her
eyes. They looked at each other lovingly but could not speak.
The husband was exhausted from grief and bereavement, and
the wife was weak from the difficult birth. After a time, her
eyes closed forever.
The shock was more than the young husband could bear.
He collapsed, unconscious, and God only knows how long he
remained senseless on the ground. One of his neighbors hap
pened to pass that way and discovered all that had happened.
He immediately went and called friends and acquaintances in
the neighborhood. They all came and arranged for the funeral
of his dear departed wife.
At the graveside the young man stood, weeping bitterly,
seeker and master
and cried out: "Oh, that I myself and all my sorrows and suffer
ings could have been buried in this grave instead of my dear
wife! My dearest friend and companion, my beloved, has de
parted leaving me all alone. Alas! How can I bear such misfor
tune!" With that, he fainted again and fell to the ground. This
heart-rending sight moved to tears all who were there. They
gently lifted him up and carried him home. After he had
rested, they tried to console him, saying: "What is done is
done. It is useless for you to grieve any more. Sooner or later, we
all have to leave this world, every one in his or her own turn."
Grappling with the death of his loved ones, the man be
gan to think more and more about spiritual things. After some
time, he went to a spiritual teacher to find inner peace. But
nothing brought comfort or peace into his distress. In time, he
went into the jungle and began to live alone as a hermit in a
cave. He prayed earnestly to God: "O my Creator and Master,
have pity on me, a miserable sinner! Either take me away from
this world or grant me a glimpse of your truth, so that I may
find new life." For days, the man waited and prayed constantly
to God, and at last his prayer was answered.
Early one morning, a man approached his cave. Seeing
the newcomer approaching, the man thought to himself: "Per
haps, like me, this man has suffered much, is now weary of
this world, and is wandering about in search of some shelter
seeker and master
and peace. Or maybe he is some traveler who has lost his
way." When the man reached the cave, he greeted the broken
hearted hermit with great affection and sympathy. The hermit
rose with respect, spread a blanket on the ground, and invited
the stranger to sit down.
Hermit: May I have the pleasure of knowing your name,
honored stranger, and may I ask where you have come
from and what brings you to this lonely spot?
Stranger: You cannot understand the meaning and sig
nificance of my name. I am the shepherd and have come
down from on high to seek and save my lost sheep.
Though the hermit did not fully understand his remarks, the
stranger's personality and words made a deep and wonderful
impression on him. It was as if, for a moment, his black heart
were illuminated by the stranger's glorious and shining pres
ence. He felt as if he himself was the lost sheep and that the
shepherd had come to help him. He had a great longing to
know the stranger better.
Hermit: For how long have you been on this errand?
Stranger: Since the beginning.
Hermit: I can see that you must be a prophet. Please tell
me more about yourself, bless me, and make me your
disciple. Stranger: I was and I am and I will be. I have been called
seeker and master
God-with-us, the Holy One, the Prince of Peace and the
King of Kings. I appear to those who seek me, and in the
fullness of time I came as the Anointed One to bring re
lease from sin. Now I have come as the Shepherd in an
swer to your prayer. I have come to give you peace.
Hermit: O, my God and Master, today I have found the
author of life. Now I care nothing about my earthly
losses, because I have received everything. From now on,
I am your child and your servant. You are everything to
me. Why did you remain hidden from me for so long?
Stranger: Until now, you were not ready to see me as
you see me now. But in reality, I have always been with
you. You rejoice to see me sitting beside you, but it is
more important that you recognize my presence in your
heart and soul. Even your hardships have prepared you to
know me better. These trials have expanded your heart
and made you aware of your own need for inner peace.
Only by coming to the end of your own strength, did you
finally turn in faith to God for help.
Hermit: O, how happy I am! My whole being longs to
praise you and give thanks to you, my Master. But more
than the praise of my lips, I know that you desire inner
gratitude, a heart open to the overflowing joy of your
presence. Forgive me, Master, if I dare to ask you one
seeker and master
more question. How do I know that what I now experi
ence is real and not some product of my imagination?
Stranger: My son, do not try to grasp spiritual truth with
your mind. Many say that spiritual experiences are subjec
tive or imaginary, but it is not so. What you experience is
real. You have sought long to open your inner eyes and
ears to eternal truth. Have I not promised that if you seek,
you shall find? Rejoice, then, that your prayers have been
answered and you can believe because you have seen
me. All the more should those rejoice who believe even
though they have not seen me as you have.
Hermit: O Master, I long to be your true and faithful ser
vant. Grant that I may never lose the blessing I have re
ceived today. Protect me from doubts or indifference, and
give me grace that I may be faithful to the end.
Stranger: When we stand on the edge of a precipice and
look down, we feel dizzy and are afraid. The depth may
be only a few hundred feet. But when we gaze at the
heavens, though our eyes may range over much greater
heights, we are never afraid. Why? Because we cannot
fall upwards. When we look up to God we feel that we
are safe in him and that there is no danger whatsoever.
But if we turn our faces away from him, we are filled with
terror lest we fall from reality and be broken
to pieces.
seeker and master
Always watch and pray. Never mind if you lose your
earthly wealth. This has to happen sooner or later. Now
you have real wealth that no one can ever take away
from you. Indeed, be grateful if the loss of your earthly
riches and honor empties your heart and makes room
for real and abiding treasures. Remember I am with you
always.
In reverence and gratitude, the hermit bowed down at the feet
of his Master. Looking up, he saw that the stranger had van
ished. From that day forth, he gave himself, heart and soul, in
service to the Master.
background and context
When Sundar Singh disappeared in the Himalayas in , the world mourned. His twenty-three year pilgrimage as a sadhu – a wandering, penniless pil grim – had led him through at least twenty countries on four continents. He had profoundly influenced tens of thousands of people. Indeed, in the first half of the last century, no spiritual teacher from the East was better known. Sundar Singh was born on September , , in Rampur, a village in the Punjab, and educated at the Presbyterian missionary school nearby. It was there that he burned his Bible on December , . He experi enced a conversion the following year (after which his family threw him out of the house and disinherited him) and was baptized at St. Thomas Church, Simla, on Sep tember , . Thirty-three days after that he took on the ascetic lifestyle of a sadhu.
background and context
His real significance does not lie in place-names and dates, however, but rather in the devotion and selflessness with which he spread the Gospel, and in the sincerity
with which he lived what he preached. As German scholar Friedrich Heiler once put it, "He is India's ideal of the disciple of Christ – a barefooted itinerant preacher with burning love in his heart. In him Christianity and Hinduism meet, and the Christian faith stands forth, not as something foreign, but like a flower which blossoms on an Indian stem."
Sundar Singh's spirituality is best approached against the backdrop of his religious upbringing; it grew out of an intense struggle to come to terms with key elements of both his ancestral (Sikh) faith and his adopted one. De spite his father's fierce opposition to Christianity, which he saw as the religion of India's colonial oppressors, Sundar Singh's desire to serve his new master, Yesu (Jesus), in fact led him to fulfill his deceased mother's dream that he would one day choose the way of the sadhu.
background and context
Recognized by their traditional yellow robes and ascetic lifestyle, Indian sadhus (literally "poor man" or "beggar") forsake creature comforts to live lives of devo tion and prayer. Some become hermits, while others wan der from place to place as spiritual teachers; still others
practice penance through mortification, lying on a bed of nails or walking through fire.
Throughout India, devout people consider the way of the itinerant sadhu – as its Buddhist and Muslim coun terparts, the bhiksu and fakir – to be the highest form of religious devotion, so much so that sadhus are generally welcome in every village. Unlike priests and other formal religious leaders, they can move freely among all castes and are even permitted in women's quarters, which are otherwise off-limits to men.
Throughout his life Sundar Singh maintained the highest respect for the familiar expressions of devotion he had grown up with – Hindu and Buddhist, Sikh and
Muslim. Still, the intense, mystical encounter that had led to his conversion left him forever changed and gave him an unwavering dedication to Christ. Thus, although he never criticized any religious practice that was sin cerely observed, he was always ready to relate how Yesu had touched and transformed him. For him, Yesu was the Truth – the completion and fulfillment of the deep est human longings for inward and outward peace, and it was unthinkable to keep it to himself. It was for this rea son alone that he wandered for months (even years) at a time across the Indian subcontinent, braving the ele ments and enduring the attacks of anti-Christians.
background and context
As a sadhu, Sundar Singh found a ready welcome in most of the places he stayed, though reactions varied when it was discovered that he was a follower of Yesu. (Christian sadhus had professed their faith in India for hundreds of years – ever since the time of the Apostle Thomas, who supposedly founded the first church there – but they were always an unpopular minority.) Particularly on his journeys into Tibet, he was attacked by violent fanatics. It was there (probably in ), that he was arrested, tossed into a dry well, and left to die – but later rescued by a mysterious stranger.
background and context
After years of traveling in India, Tibet, and Nepal, Sundar Singh set his sights further afield. In he jour neyed to China, Malaysia, and Japan; in he toured Australia, England, and the United States, and in he traveled throughout Europe, holding public addresses in Geneva, Oxford, London, and Paris, and numerous other cities in Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Everywhere he went, large audiences and prominent leaders – religious and secular alike – re ceived him enthusiastically. In many countries he visited, special trains were organized to transport tens of thousands
of listeners to the cathedrals and sports arenas where he spoke. The emergence of a more tolerant liberalism in Christian theology explains part of his widespread ap peal; on the other hand, many Europeans were simply curious to see a "real" Eastern mystic firsthand, espe cially one whose very manner and appearance evoked traditional images of Jesus. There was also his reputa tion as a miracle worker – something he worked tire lessly to dispel. More than anything else, however, it was Sundar Singh's understatedly simple faith and authentic practice of Christ's teachings – something utterly out of sync with western materialistic intellectualism – that his audiences found so compelling.
Admonished for his lack of familiarity with twenti eth century science, Sundar Singh said, "What is sci ence?" "Natural selection, you know, and the survival of the fittest," he was told. "Ah," Sundar Singh replied, "but I am more interested in divine selection, and the survival of the unfit." Then there was his attitude to money. Sundar Singh refused to accept it, even when he needed it, and when someone forced a gift on him he gave it away. There was also his unorthodox attitude to matters such as church membership, of which he said:
background and context
I belong to the body of Christ…to the true church, which cannot be understood as a building of tiles and
stones. It is a body of true Christians, living and dead, visible and invisible. But I have nothing against anyone becoming a member of an organized church…As for the Apostolic Succession, I don't believe in it, though if this belief helps people in their spiritual life, then let them believe in it…But if the living Christ is really near us and lives in our hearts, why should we reject him – the kernel of our faith – and cling to a dried-up outer shell?
Inevitably, such views, which endeared him to the masses, drew criticism from ecclesiastical authorities and even to open hostility in certain quarters. Completely disregard ing (or failing to comprehend) the mystical character of his teachings, influential theologians attacked Sundar Singh's teachings as incompatible with traditional Chris tian dogma. A few attacked his character as well, suggest ing that he was little more than a charlatan and publicity seeker, which in turn led friends and supporters to defend his reputation.
background and context
A flurry of books and articles appeared from both camps. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most intense debate took place in heady halls of German academia, where the controversy became known as the Sadhustreit ("sadhu fight").
After some time the Sadhustreit died from lack of interest. The whole debate had, of course, been largely incomprehensible to those who looked to the Sadhu for inspiration. But insofar as it exposed the fundamental an tagonism between western rationalism and eastern mysti cism, it served a purpose. It confirmed Sundar Singh's own suspicion that while western Christianity might be rich in organization, theology, doctrine, and tradition, it was poor in spirit and sorely needed re-centering on the foundation from which it had strayed: the living Christ.
During the last few years of his life, as his health failed, Sundar Singh published six slim books. He wrote them at the urging of friends and followers (the first in his native tongue, Urdu; the rest in English), but he could not have foreseen the overwhelming demand that arose for them once they were published. Within the space of a few years, all six volumes had been translated into every ma jor Western language; into Japanese, Chinese, and other Asian languages; and into every principal dialect of the sub-continent. This collection is drawn almost entirely from those books, and from transcripts of addresses de livered at large public gatherings.
background and context
Despite Sundar Singh's considerable written legacy, however, it is important to remember that he was not an author at heart, and that his home was neither the writing desk nor the speaker's podium. By all accounts, his public addresses – like his writings – were most commonly noted for their disappointing brevity. Sundar Singh found his true home on the dusty roads of the Punjab, along the narrow tracks through the Himalayas, in the villages where his listeners gathered to drink in the peace of his deep, dark eyes, and in the relaxed cadences of quiet con versation. Finally, his home was in Christ, the one to whom he turned both detractor and flatterer alike, and from whom – as this concluding anecdote from one of his
European translators shows – he drew inspiration for ev ery word and deed:
background and context
The Sadhu was very reluctant to speak about himself; he was always concerned that no one be distracted from Christ. I had an unforgettable experience in this con nection. We were on a train, and the pastor traveling with us told the Sadhu that at the meeting we were to attend that evening, he wanted to introduce him to an important guest – a woman who could not find peace, although she had gone to hear many famous Christian speakers and sought their advice. The Sadhu remained quiet for a while and then, addressing the pastor, asked him almost brusquely not to introduce him to the
woman. The pastor seemed offended, but though he kept quiet the Sadhu noted his displeasure. So he ex plained, "Dear pastor, this lady has something to learn, but she would not learn it if I met with her. She must learn it from Christ, and he is much nearer to her – and will mean so much more to her – than any man."
background and context
sources
The Christian Witness of Sadhu Sundar Singh: A Collection of his Writings, edited by T. Dayanandan Francis (CLS, Madras, ). The comprehensive collection of all published writings of Sundar Singh along with various previously unpublished materials and an extensive biographical introduction. Available only from the publisher: CLS, Post Box , Park Town, Ma dras , India. Tel. + .
Sundar Singh: A Biography, by A. J. Appasamy (Lutterworth, London, ). The definitive biography of Sundar Singh, rich in detail and written from a critical-scholarly angle. The Indian edition (in English) can be ordered from CLS at the address above.
sources
Sadhu Sundar Singh: A Personal Memoir, by C. F. Andrews (Hodder & Stoughton, London, ). Reflections by a close friend of Sundar Singh.
The Gospel of Sadhu Sundar Singh, by Friedrich Heiler (ISPCK, Delhi, ). An English translation of Heiler's com prehensive study, which first appeared in German in . Heiler offers a fascinating overview of the Sadhu's life and
teachings, and analyzes them with respect to other strains of religious mysticism, both in the East, and in the Christian tradition.
Sadhu Sundar Singh, by Phyllis Thompson (O. M. Publishing, Bromley, UK, , ISBN: ---). The most extensive biography currently in print outside of India. Though this book lacks the references and critical analysis offered by Appasamy, it is eminently readable and includes the essential details of his life story.
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