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90 / Bhai Vir Singh
beautyandmeaningofthemessageoftheGurus. The audience
was electrified by the power and spontaneity of his rhetoric.
Bhai Vir Singh sittingon the podium affectionately patted
Puran Singh as he finished his speech. He took him along to
his own lodgings at the close of the session. Both had their
meals together and talked far into the night. Puran singh was
well read in comparative religion, literature and philosophy,
especially Vedanta. He had many questions and many
arguments in his repertoire, but was completely disarmed in
the presence of Bhai Vir Singh. The latter's words, simple but
chargedwithdeepinnercertitude,wingeddirectlyto his heart.
He felt a spring of love burst forth inside him. His doubts were
dissolved and his quest ceased. He slept the night there in the
same room and this was the company he was to cherish
forevermore in his life. He was reclamed to the faith of his
forefathers and decided to readopt the marks of the Khalsa. In
the words of his wife Maya Devi, "he returned to Dehra Dun a
different man."!
This reclamation of Puran Singh was a significant event
not only in his life personally but also in the history of Punjabi
letters. His genius and talents were focussed on a centre and
his overabundant creative energy channellized. He wrote
superb poetryandproseinPunjabi;healso published books in
English onSikh religion. 2 Thus doesPuranSinghacknowledge
his debt to Bhai Vir Singh:
That door of the Guru's grace from which I had run away
wasreopenedto meandIwasreadmittedinside. Iregained
the Guru's gift, the holy hair, my Sikh faith and love ofthe
Guru's feet. In that happy hour I saw at the Guru's door a
great man. By his benevolence I was initiated into the
knowledge and beauty of Punjabi literature. I received
I. MohinderSinghRandhawa, ed. PuranSingh:Jiwanite Kavita, (Punjabi),
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, p. 75.
2. His papers,includingsome unpublishedPunjabiandEnglishmanuscripts,
have been donated to the Punjabi University, Patiala, byhis son Sardar
Raminder Singh.
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