10. Into Nepal
Chapter 10
Into Nepal
After assuring his friends around Simla and across northern India that he was alive and well, in May 1913 Sundar set out once again for Tibet. As he made his way toward a village located along the trail that led up to the Himalayas, Sundar noticed two men ahead of him in the distance. As he walked on, he noticed that one of the men suddenly fell down. By the time Sundar caught up to them, the man had been covered with a robe.
“What has happened to your friend?” Sundar asked.
“He stumbled and fell, and now he is dead,” the man said. “What should I do? I have no money to pay for a burial, and I do not wish to leave him here for the jackals to eat.”
Sundar was touched by the man’s predicament and decided to hand over his blanket and the two small coins someone had given him before he set out for Tibet. “Here, take these. I know it will not pay for much, but it will help. May God comfort you,” he said as he handed his belongings to the man.
The man was very thankful, and Sundar went on his way. He had nearly reached the village, when the man came sprinting up behind him. “He is dead, my friend is really dead!” he yelled, as he grasped Sundar’s arm.
Sundar looked at the man strangely. “Of course he is dead. I saw him fall. What are you talking about?”
The man wailed. “You see, Sadhu, my companion and I have been together for many years. We each take turns pretending to be dead in order to get money from unsuspecting travelers. After we had tricked you, I uncovered my friend, but he did not get up. I shook him, and he would not wake, for he really was dead this time.” The man’s face was ashen by now. “Forgive me, Sadhu. Forgive me for tricking you. I have obviously incurred the displeasure of the gods.”
Sundar reached out and laid a hand on the distraught man’s shoulder. “My friend, what you did was wrong, and I am sorry that your companion has died, but let me tell you about One who is the Lord of life and death.”
Sundar went on to share the gospel with the man. The man listened attentively, asking questions as Sundar spoke, and eventually asked if he, too, could become a Christian. Sundar led the man in a prayer. Following the man’s conversion, Sundar sent him on his way to the town of Garhwal, where there was a mission station and missionaries who would instruct him further in his new faith.
Sundar continued on his way over the mountain pass that led to Tibet. As usual, his summer in Tibet was a mixture of being taunted and abused in some villages and listened to and questioned in others. He also had some unique opportunities to preach.
On one occasion, as Sundar was climbing over a mountain, he came upon a man praying in a cave. So as not to fall asleep while he prayed and meditated, the man had tied his long hair to the roof of the cave. Sundar walked into the cave and asked the man what he was doing.
“I have led a life chasing after worldly pursuits, Sadhu, but that has only brought me emptiness and has not calmed my dread of an unknown future. So I have come to this cave to forsake the world and search for the enlightenment that will take away my fears.”
“And have you found what you seek?” Sundar asked.
“Alas, Sadhu, I have not yet found that which I seek. No relief or enlightenment has yet overcome my spirit.”
Sundar then began to share the gospel with the man. A look of delight slowly spread across the man’s face until he could not seem to contain his joy. The man untied his hair from the roof of the cave and jumped up.
“Now my soul is at rest!” he declared. “Sadhu, this Jesus Christ, make me His disciple. Lead me to Him.”
Sundar led the man in prayer and explained to him more about Christianity. Before they parted, Sundar encouraged the man to go to the nearest mission station.
On another occasion Sundar had been chased from a village by an angry mob. As he fled the village, he began making his way along a narrow ledge, when he slipped and dislodged a large boulder. The boulder tumbled from the ledge and crashed to the ground, right on top of an enormous black cobra, crushing and killing it. A young boy nearby saw what happened. He ran to Sundar and explained to him that he had just killed the snake that had bitten and killed several residents of the village. People were so scared of the creature that they no longer used the track along the narrow ledge that he was following. The boy then ran into the village and told everyone what had happened. The residents of the village were so grateful that they invited Sundar back to the village to stay with them. This time they listened attentively as he shared his faith with them.
On still another occasion, Sundar was making his way over a steep mountain pass strewn with sharp rocks, when his feet began to bleed. As he sat down at the side of the road to bandage them, a man making his way over the same pass stopped to talk to him. The man introduced himself as Tashi and asked what it was that drove Sundar to walk in bare feet over such rough terrain. Sundar explained to Tashi about Jesus Christ and the gospel and his desire to share its message with as many people as he possibly could.
When Sundar had finished bandaging his feet, the two men walked on together. Tashi explained that he was a seeker of truth but found himself perplexed with more doubts than ever before.
When they reached his village, Tashi urged Sundar to stay with him and tell his family about Jesus Christ. Sundar stayed with Tashi for a week, sharing the gospel before traveling on to the next village. Two weeks later Sundar decided to return and visit Tashi. Much to Sundar’s surprise and delight, Tashi announced that he and his family had become Christians. Now they wanted to be baptized. Sundar reminded them that this was a dangerous act—that there might be severe consequences when the lama learned what he had done.
Tashi explained that he had once served as the lama’s secretary and enjoyed a warm relationship with him as a result. So he had already gone to the lama and told him what he wanted to do. At first the lama was not pleased, but because of his friendship with Tashi, he would allow him and his family to be baptized as long as they did not try to actively persuade others to join their new faith. Sundar was amazed at the lama’s broadmindedness, and he gladly baptized Tashi and the eight members of his family in a nearby river.
Finally the shadows began to lengthen, and the chill of fall permeated the air as Sundar began the trek back over the mountains to India before winter set in.
Back in India Sundar stayed in Simla for several weeks before beginning a tour of villages in the northern region of the country. His successes in Tibet over the summer spurred him on. Everywhere Sundar went, he encountered people who needed to hear the good news that Jesus Christ was the only Person who could lift them out of their despair.
In May 1914 Sundar found himself preaching in an area he had never been in before on India’s border with Nepal. As he made his way along, he felt strongly that God wanted him to cross the border and go and preach in Nepal. It would be a dangerous venture. Christians were even less welcome in Nepal than they were in Tibet. To make matters worse, to enter Nepal legally you needed a Nepalese passport, and it was impossible for a Christian to be issued such a passport. These obstacles notwithstanding, Sundar decided to go anyway. He bought as many New Testaments in Nepalese as he could carry and set out.
Sundar crossed the border into Nepal at a high pass where there were no soldiers or border guard patrolling and began his trek into the forbidding country. The journey was incredibly difficult. Sundar was so cold that his hands and feet swelled to three times their normal size, and he was constantly hungry and thirsty. Still he climbed up one mountain after another, descending each one and fording the icy, fast-flowing rivers at the bottom as he continued on his way.
To his surprise, Sundar received a warm reception in many of the small villages dotting the mountains. Most of the inhabitants of these villages had never seen a foreigner before, and they had certainly never heard the gospel. Sundar was grateful that the Nepalese language was much like Hindustani, which he spoke. He thus spoke in his native language to the Nepalese people, who understood most of what he said.
Eventually, toward the end of June, Sundar reached his destination, the town of Ilam, one of the largest towns in Nepal. A garrison of the Nepalese army was stationed there. Well aware of the risk he was taking, Sundar entered Ilam and began preaching in the marketplace. A crowd soon gathered around him, staring wide-eyed at this man who dared to come into their midst and talk about a God who had risen from the dead and was going to judge them all one day. As the people asked questions, the crowd grew to several hundred.
Sundar was explaining Jesus’ death on the cross, when six soldiers burst through the crowd accompanied by a high-ranking officer.
“Who gave you permission to preach this strange God in our kingdom?” the officer bellowed.
The crowd cowered, but Sundar drew himself up tall.
“I did not come on anyone’s orders, except those of the Head of all officers, the Raja of all rajas, and the Creator of all that is created,” he declared.
The officer turned red with anger, but Sundar continued in a firm voice. “The one true God has called all nations to eternal life, but the Nepalese people are unaware of this wonderful fact, so I have come to tell them. This eternal life is possible because of the death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. If you will not have faith in Him, a day will come when you will stand before Him and give an account of your life, just as I am standing before you right now.”
“Well, we will see about that later,” the officer snapped. “But I can tell you what is going to happen to you right now. You are going to be put into our jail, and we will all see if your Christ will come to your rescue.”
Sundar was not surprised. “I am not afraid of this imprisonment. If I had been afraid, I would never have come here in the first place. Though you nail my feet to a log so that I cannot walk, I will still be free in my soul. If you do that to me, I will consider my feet not on wood but on rock that cannot be moved.”
“Do not talk anymore,” the officer ordered, glancing around to see how the crowd was reacting. The people stood passively watching.
But Sundar continued. “As long as I have life in me and a tongue to speak, I shall not stop talking about my Christ. In custody or not, I am ready to give my life that you may hear the good news.”
The officer grunted and turned to one of the soldiers. “I have heard enough. Take him away and throw him in jail.”
“But, sir,” the soldier said, “if this Christ-God follower enters our jail, he will pollute it.”
“You are right,” said the officer. “We would be better to be rid of him completely. Take him to the edge of our territory and send him on his way.” Then he looked at Sundar. “I forbid you to ever enter this territory or the town of Ilam again.”
Rough hands grabbed Sundar’s arms, and Sundar was marched from the marketplace and taken beyond the city wall.
“Go and do not come back,” one of the soldiers told him as he pointed to the south. “If you are ever seen in this region again, you will be thrown in jail.”
Sundar walked on a mile or so and then sat down on a rock, wondering what he should do next. The people in Ilam had been attentive as he preached in the marketplace, and he was sure that if he could just talk to them a little longer, some of them would understand what he was saying. He had no doubt, however, that the officer and soldiers meant what they said. He would be thrown in jail if he returned to the town. But that was a consequence Sundar was willing to face. Suddenly he felt a peace come over him. If he was thrown in jail, that would mean he could spend many days or even months sharing with the Nepalese prisoners. Perhaps God had sent him to Ilam to reach out to these people. With fresh enthusiasm, Sundar gathered his saffron robe about him and set out to return to Ilam.
A short while later Sundar was once again preaching in the marketplace at Ilam. This time, though, the people were more cautious about stopping to listen to him. Sundar was sure it was because they did not want to be arrested by the soldiers for showing an interest in this new religion that their leaders obviously feared and despised.
Sundar had been preaching only a few minutes when a group of soldiers surged into the marketplace and once again arrested him. This time they followed through on their threat. Sundar was dragged off to jail.
At the jail Sundar had his robe pulled off, and he was made to lie face down on the stone floor, where his hands and feet were shackled with chains. Then a soldier appeared in his cell carrying a large earthen jar. With a smirk he emptied the contents of the jar onto Sundar’s back. Sundar gasped when he realized what the jar had contained—leeches. He braced himself as the creatures burrowed into his back and began sucking his blood.
The pain was excruciating, and Sundar found himself biting his lip as he silently prayed and asked God for the strength to bear the torture. But the leeches were not the only torture his captors had in mind for Sundar. Soon a mob of people, whipped into a frenzy by the soldiers, gathered outside the bars of his cell. They hurled abuse at him as well as garbage, rotten fruits and vegetables, waste, and any other vile thing they could get their hands on.
After two hours of abuse and torture, the pain of the leeches sucking blood from Sundar’s back began to subside. A peace swept over Sundar, and he began to sing and praise God. At the sound of his singing, the mob grew and pressed harder against the bars of his cell. It was too good an opportunity to miss, so Sundar began to preach and tell the people more about Jesus Christ and the Christian message. No one hurled anything at him now, and a calm settled over the mob as they listened intently to the words of the man chained up in the cell in front of them. Sundar could see the confusion in their eyes and knew exactly what they were thinking, and he addressed their concern.
“I know what you are thinking,” he said. “You are fearful and wondering what power it is that allows me to preach to you while my body is being devoured by leeches and you hurl all manner of vileness at me. That power is Jesus Christ, and I am privileged to suffer for Him.”
Finally the soldiers had had enough of his preaching, and four of them stormed into the cell. Sundar could see fear in their eyes. Without saying a word, the soldiers unchained him and dragged him to the outskirts of Ilam. There one of the soldiers threw his robe and New Testament at his feet and once again warned him not to return to the town.
This time Sundar did not reenter Ilam. He knew that the people there had seen and heard the gospel that day. Instead, dizzy from the loss of blood caused by the leeches, Sundar staggered away from Ilam and began the long, weary journey back home.
Once he had crossed the border back into India, he met up with a man named Tharchin, a Tibetan Christian who had worked with the Moravian missionaries. Sundar was glad to see him. Tharchin bathed Sundar’s leech-ravaged back with iodine and watched over him while he recovered from his ordeal in Ilam.
Even though Sundar was in severe pain for many days, he considered his first missionary trek into Nepal a success. Hundreds of people had heard about Jesus Christ for the first time, and he determined that he would return one day to continue his preaching in the country.