Nirmal Noor

Holy Bein

The Holy Kali Bein, which is the main tributary of the Beas River, is so important for the land of Doaba from geographic, economic, cultural and religious points of view that it is not an exaggeration to call it the lifeline of this central region of Punjab. It is a rivulet sacred to Guru Nanak Dev Ji on the banks of which at Sultanpur Lodhi he meditated for 14 years, 9 months and 13 days. He used to take his daily bath in its holy waters. One day he dipped into its water and did not come out for three days. According to the Janamsakhis, during these three days, Guru Ji was taken to Presence of the Almighty and came back to the world blessed with divine verses and with a mission to preach the Mool Mantra of Gurabni "One Universal Creator God. Truth Is The Name. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying. Beyond Birth. Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace." So the Holy Bein becomes birthplace of a new revolutionary philosophy and the first pilgrimage of the Sikh religion. It has the same significance for the Sikhs, which the Bodh tree at Gaya has for the Buddhists.
Due to fast growth of population and urbanization during decades of 60-70s, the Kali Bein got utterly polluted like other rivers & water resources of India. Due to encroachments, it fast shrank soon to be on the verge of extinction. Money-making became the sole purpose of life and in the dazzle of Green Revolution social, fraternal, moral and natural concerns were utterly ignored. The effects of this destructive development also caught hold of the farming class engaged in the main occupation of Punjab, agriculture. While the farmers left no stone unturned in poisoning soil, air, food, etc, the industrial and urban section of society tried their best to pollute and poison the waters of Punjab by throwing their poisonous wastage, sewage waters, dirt and garbage in the natural resources, rivers and streams. It seems as if it was not a race for richness and prosperity, but for pollution of environment and waters. They perhaps thought that the more they pollute the environment the higher would be their riches. When in this criminal ignorance we damaged our air, water and soil so much that we ourselves started falling ill and dying due to it, then some thinkers realized that something was not wrong at the bottom but the whole thing had gone wrong, that our development had gone astray right from the beginning and they began to meditate the matter. Conferences on the national and international level began to be organized, ideas began to be exchanged for finding solution to the problem .In the last decades of the 20th century, such conferences were in wide currency. Although these conferences were mere a custom or a means of self propaganda, and very often remained devoid of any practical work, yet they proved of some use in extending awareness regarding environment, although on theoretical level.

Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal's participation in one such meeting of intellectuals at Jalandhar on July 15, 2000 might be a casual one, yet it brought out a rare combination of much needed practice and the theoretical discussions that had been lacking so far it began a new revolutionary era in the history of the Holy Kali Bein and through it that of whole Punjab. After making declaration of his decision to begin the kar sewa for cleaning the Holy Bein, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, true to his word, reached the historical Gurdwara Sri Ber Sahib to offer prayers to the Almighty on July 16, 2000, the day of Sankranti of Sawan, and begged for God's blessings to begin the kar sewa of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Holy Kali Bein. At first for some days the roads leading to the Holy city of Sultanpur Lodhi were repaired and prepared for the facility of the Gursangat to come to Sultanpur Lodhi to take part in the kar sewa. After that, on July 28, 2000, a tent was set up near Gurdwara Sri Sant Ghat and the great historic work of restoration of holiness of the Holy Bein began.
By means of dependence on God, devotion, dedication and determination, Sant Balbir Singh, with the cooperation of the Gursangat, did not only transform the condition of the Holy Bein within a short period of seven years and brought the Holy Bein on the map of the world, but also created a widespread movement of the Punjabis making them conscious against the pollution of environment and natural water resources. It is a matter of great pride not only for the Punjabis but for all Indians that for the solution of the problem of pollution of rivers now the whole world is looking with expectation toward the exemplary work being done by Sant Balbir Singh and his kar sewak followers.