People
S. Shamsher Singh Puri [1926-2011]
Celebrating Life
by HARDEEP SINGH & GRACE PURI
On December 30, 2011, we lost a committed citizen and an erudite scholar who lived a humble life and dedicatedly worked to live, preserve and promote Sikh heritage and philosophy by exemplifying through his life and sharing his experiences about the faith through books and articles.
Sardar Shamsher Singh Puri, was a personification of chardi kalaa to many of us. His modest and pleasing personality, his genuine interest and care for sangat members, was reflective of his high spiritual quotient.
A few days before his last journey, I went to see him in the ICU where he was recovering symptoms of Guillan - Barre Syndrome. On seeing me, he uttered a few words which initially I could not comprehend, and then after a few repetitions, his wife Dalip Kaur ji, clarified to me that he is enquiring about your new born son and saying, ‘Where are my laddoos?’
I was in tears, and amazed to see the state of positive spirits ingrained in him. Many sangat members and I used to seek his advice on our personal dilemmas vis-a-vis life and social issues, dipping into his enriched experiential wisdom accumulated over the period of eighty-six years.
Son of lSardar Sant Singh and Sardarni Nehal Kaur, Shamsher Singh was born on 19 January, 1926, in village Dhamial near
Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan. His grandfather was a well known physician and surgeon, Dr. Surjan Singh, at Quetta and for his meritorious services was awarded the title of Rai Bahadar. As per family records, one of his ancestors was Bhai Sukhan ji, a devout disciple of Guru Ram Das, and was blessed with a Manji (missionary outpost) to share and spread the wisdom of the Gurus.
Bhai Sukhan’s descendants, Rucha Ram and Bhai Anar Singh, served Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib. On their request, Guru Sahib blessed them with his and Mata ji's kharravaa(n) - footwear - which are presently preserved in Delhi,
India.
It was Shamsher Singh's love for gurbani and Sikhi which kept alive in him the tradition of sharing gurbani’s message by writing numerous books, articles and Sikhi related literature.
He had a long professional career in civil and structural engineering. After working for 27 years on the subcontinent on
construction projects like the Bhakra Dam in Punjab, he migrated to the U.S. in 1974.
He worked on various construction projects for Army bases in Florida and for the construction of the Hartfield-Jackson Airport and MARTA subway in Atlanta, Georgia, before retiring in the early 1990s.
He is survived by his wife Dalip Kaur, whom he lovingly called ‘Deep’, daughter Ishpinder Kaur, two sons - Manvinderpal Singh and Preetinder Singh, daughter-in-law Gurminder Kaur, son-in-law Rajpal Singh, and four grand-children.
His family was his strength and each member supported his writing. He dedicated much of his retired life in working for the
preservation of Gurmukhi language and in authoring faith-based books and articles.
One of his major contributions to the community is the series of Punjabi School Primers - "Let Us Learn Gurmukhi" - in four volumes, which are being used to teach the Gurmukhi script to kids in many gurudwara schools across the U.S.A., U.K, Canada and other parts of the diaspora.
He shared his exploration and interpretation of Japji Sahib, in a book – "The Essence of Japji Sahib". In this book’s foreword, one of his long time-friends and admirers of his writings, Aju Advani, wrote that, “this interpretation introduces the reader to the background of the Japji which provides a very interesting and comprehensive picture. Next, he presents the broader context necessary to understand the Japji”.
Another unique and classical literary work by Shansher Singh consists of translations of Bhai Gurdas' Varaan and Kabitt Saway-ye. Besides the literal meaning of the paurris, he also provided the ‘Essence’, which greatly helps the reader to comprehend the message of each verse. He was inspired by Bhai (Dr.) Harbans Lal and Dr. Kulwant Singh Khokhar to accomplish this enormous task.
Writing books was his passion and an essential driving force in his life. He wrote many books on theology and historical aspects of Sikhi, like the Handbook of Sikh Theology, Prayer - Sikhism , The Bhagat-Saints of Guru Granth Sahib, Spiritual Sayings, Sikh Philosophy and Spiritual Life - all published by Singh Brothers, Amritsar. He also projected his interpretation of the Sikh perspective on various aspects of life and social challenges.
He wrote books like Happy Marriage - the Sikh Way, Ills of Today’s Fast Life - Sikh Therapies, Influence of thought on Body and Mind - The Sikh Perspective, and Ab To Jag Musafir Piare in Punjabi.
He often used to quantify his life experiences and profound observations in short columns under the title, Moments of Reflection. His quotes were simple, realistic and inspiring to the readers. Though on one hand he explored faith through literary encounters, he had a firm belief in the soul-centric search and realization of the divine, as reflected in one of his quotes: “You will not find God philosophically, Seek him as the answer to all the needs of your soul”.
Another quote on social relationships: “Friendship is like a book. It takes a few seconds to burn it, but takes years to write it”.
To many of us in Atlanta (Georgia, U.S.A.), he was a father figure who guided us in our time of distress and in our need for direction about the complexities of personal life and social issues. He was very much respected within the Sikh, Punjabi and Indian communities. He actively participated in the establishment and functioning of local gurudwara institutions, donated books to libraries and distributed Gurmukhi primers to Punjabi schools in all the gurdwaras. He helped and participated in various Sikh youth developmental programs and projects.
He founded The Academy of Sikh Studies to promote and publish Sikhi literature.
Even at the age of 85, he lived independently to the end, with his wife Dalip in their house in Lilburn, Georgia. He wanted the independence to keep up with his work, his relationships and just not feel dependent on anyone, even on his children.
He bought groceries, got his medicines, had the last oil change for his car, and drove on the last trip to the gurdwara, all by himself, till the end.
By the end of his life, he lived by three mantras:
- When it was time to make a decision or accept an outcome, he always went with "Jo ohda hukm hai!"
- When he suffered physically with aging, he submitted to it gracefully: "It's part of life!"
- At all times, when asked how he was doing, he would say: “Waheguru da shukkar hai!"
Shamsher Singh penned his last article - ‘A View about Life and Death’ on November 24, 2011, in which he shared his perspective on death and the way he wished to encounter it. He writes:
“There is nothing unique about Death. Death comes to all who are born. So we need not pull a long face when death comes. Of course it is human nature to grieve for someone you have lost but that is no reason to create a big fuss, wailing and screaming. Nor is there any need to have elaborate rituals. Death is order of nature when your time comes, die with DIGNITY. One should have the right to say 'good bye' and it should be legitimate to finish his life. I wish to be cremated simply and, to remember me, only prayers should be said - not for me but for peace of those who gave all love during my life.”
His view on the encounter with death in this article reflects a high-spirited, noble soul, gracefully content, divine-submitting personality. Many of us will miss his presence around us, but he will be remembered by his family as loving and affectionate, and his work will be held in the highest esteem for his contribution to Sikh literature, for years and decades to come.
[The co-author, Grace Puri, is S. Shamsher Singh ji's daughter-in-law.]
January 6, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), January 06, 2012, 11:27 AM.
My first memory of S. Shamsher Singh ji is of an unpleasant court situation when I went to testify for a mother fighting a custody battle for her only son, whereas he was testifying in favor of the father. We ran into each other in the hallway post court proceedings. I didn't know how to interact. He made it easy. He gave me a big smile and introduced himself. Every meeting then on in the local gurdwara resulted in a hug and conversation about my son. No mention of the bitter court case. No queries, no explanations, no malice. He knew the dramas of life - he knew how to keep human behavior dignified, despite the petty difference of opinions. He often used to be a judge or an invited guest in youth speech competitions. He often came and asked for a copy of my son's (Angad Singh) speeches. He said that Angad always spoke from the heart, that his speeches were not text-bookish and won hearts even if they missed winning the competition. He would then translate them in Punjabi and submit them as articles for the youth to be published on Angad's behalf in Sikh journals in Punjab. His care for the Sikh cause and the youth showed in his silent actions. His smiles were as grand as his tall and handsome posture. He surely will be missed.
2: Amarjit Singh Duggal (Cumming, Georgia, U.S.A.), January 06, 2012, 1:16 PM.
S. Shamsher Singh was a human being eager to accomplish things. He was swift, fast and straight forward. His potentials were enormous, but mother nature has its own time clock. He had firm faith in God, although he said, he was not religious. He kept himself in chardi kalaa and encouraged others to remain in high spirits always. He is one who will be missed.
3: Navdeep Mann (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), January 07, 2012, 12:35 AM.
Uncle ji - we will miss your encouraging words and love-filled blessings after the Sunday Divan. Hardeep and Grace - you did a great job in putting together such a magnificent life in such a short write-up.
4: Harinder (Uttar Pradesh, India), January 07, 2012, 11:15 AM.
There are two ways to cheat death: 1) Live through your children, and 2) Do such unique works that people will remember you for ever.
5: Bhai Harbans Lal (Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.), January 07, 2012, 9:39 PM.
We will miss S. Shamsher Singh ji - Puri Sahib, as we popularly called him. He was so devoted to Panthic chardi kalaa and so open to suggestions that one hardly meets any one of his kind. In his early days when he started writing in Punjabi, I happened to chat with him about his project. I pointed out that he should not be doing what others do. What would you suggest, he immediately responded? I said he may consider writing in English for our younger generations and for our neighboring communities and write material not written before or not readily available. That is exactly what he did. I regret to see that many in the community are not avid readers or even supporters of our writers and scholars but we have to go on with what is needed. I support my comments with a recent example. The monumental work and effort that Puri Sahib put in and the boldness with which the publishers, "Singh Brothers", undertook publication of his works, deserved a better response from our institutions. Many libraries, institutions and homes still do not have Bhai Gurdas' poetry in English on their bookshelves. Where else can we seek help in understanding our Guru, if not from the writings of Bhai Gurdas? It was Puri Sahib's last wish to complete his monumental work on Bhai Gurdas. He completed it inspite of his failing health. We lost a selfless colleague.