Following thread are paragraphs from a pamphlet published on the progress in Dayalbagh which I shall be posting. There are 215 paragraphs of which some selective paragraphs would be typed out.

Wish You Happy Reading!

”’Param Purush Purandhani Huzur Soamiji Maharaj alias Radhasoami Sahab   Sri Shivdayal Singh
 
Param Guru Huzur Maharaj      (Rai Bahadur Saligram)

Param Guru Maharaj Sahab      (Pandit Brahm Shankar Misra)

Param Guru Sarkar Sahab       (Sri Kamta Prasad Sinha)

Param Guru Sahabji Maharaj    (Sir Anand Sarup Kt.)

Param Guru Mehtaji Maharaj    (Rai Sahab Gurcharan Das Mehta)

Param Guru Dr. Lal Sahab      (Dr.(Prof.) Makund Behari Lal)

PRESENT SPIRITUAL LEADER: Param Guru Dr. Satsangi Sahab (Dr.(Prof.) Prem Saran Satsangi)”’

A Brief Account of the Progress of Dayalbagh during 75 Years ending on Basant Day, 31^st January, 1990.

Preface

Dayalbagh, the Garden of the Merciful was founded by Param Guru Huzur Sahabji Maharaj on Basant Panchami Day the 20^th of January, 1915 as the headquarters of the Radhasoami Satsang. We are celebrating this year the Diamond Jubilee of seventy five years of its coming into being. This pamphlet which the Sabha is publishing on this occasion describes its Early History and Growth and tells us how the prophecies of Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soamiji Maharaj and Param Guru Huzur Maharaj that a township of  Satsang community would come into being round about the Mubarak Kuan, the desire of Param Guru Maharaj Sahab that after retirement He would settle at Agra and of Param Guru Sarkar Sahab when he told Sahabji Maharaj on His transfer to Agra that They would permanently stay at Agra, came to be fulfilled and how after the purchase of a small piece of land of about nine bighas in area round about that well, the process of development started brick by brick, year by year and stage by stage till it came to be what is today. It will infuse into the younger generation a feeling of pride in the past and inspire them by giving them a realization how our Leaders on conceiving the necessity of establishing Headquarters for the Satsang and its institutions and activities brought it into being and how every brick and stone of this Holy place is hallowed with the sacred memory of Their Grace. It is hoped this saga will fulfill this purpose and prove useful to the Satsang community as a whole.

Dayalbagh, (Agra)

January 31, 1990.

May the Merciful Radhasoami Have Mercy!

May Radhasoami Help!

Early History and Progress of Dayalbagh

1. On the auspicious Basant Panchami day in 1861, Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soamiji Maharaj was graciously pleased to declare the Satsang open to public on the  prayer of His chief disciple, Rai Salig Ram Sahab (afterwards known as Huzur Maharaj). Satsang used to be held at the residence of Soamiji Maharaj in Panni Gali, Agra, but the place was found to be too small for the increasing number of devotees. After some years a piece of land about three miles to the north of Agra City, with an old Moghul well was, therefore, purchased and a Bhajan Ghar and a few rooms were constructed and Soamiji Maharaj shifted his residence there. This place came to be known as Soamibagh. Satsang was thereafter held there. He used to go for a stroll every morning and sat for ablutions on the parapet of a well situated at some distance from Soamibagh, and Huzur Maharaj drew water from the well for His use. Once Soamiji Maharaj was pleased to observe that a big town of the Satsang Community would arise near that well. The well is now popularly known as ‘Mubarak Kuan’ and is a perennial source of water supply to a major part of Dayalbagh Colony.

3. Meanwhile the Headquarters of the Satsang kept moving from place to place where the Sant Satguru lived for the time being. A place was needed from where the affairs of the constantly expanding Satsang Community could be managed. It had to be a place where Satsangis could pursue their religious activities in a tranquil environment and facilities were available for thousands of devotees to come for Satsang and darshan- a veritable spiritual home. At the same time institutions were needed to meet the wants of people living there for housing, health, education and food. Economic activities were also needed to be undertaken for generation of incomes for the residents and to provide resources for development and to support various Satsang activities. The proposed centre had to fulfill these and many other requirements.

4. In 1912, Sahabji Maharaj, Who was working in the Telegraph Department, was transferred from Banaras to Agra. He got ten days’ joining time and went to Murar for Satsang. Huzur Sarkar Sahab was not keeping well and Sahabji Maharaj was depressed. He was thinking of approaching Sarkar Sahab, when Sarkar Sahab Himself called Him and in a cheerful and happy mood, said, “so you have been transferred to Agra”. Tears came to Sahabji Maharaj’s eyes and He said, “Yes Huzur, I have been transferred to Agra”. Sarkar Sahab asked, “Why on earth do you shed tears?” and said, “You go in advance and I shall follow”. Sahabji Maharaj was filled with joy and enquired, “In what connection does Huzur propose to go to Agra ?” Sarkar Sahab replied, “The Satsang Headquarters have to be established at Agra and you are being sent in advance.” Sahabji Maharaj was anxious to know more and Sarkar Sahab said, “We shall stay permanently in Agra now. Time has arrived when Satsang community should move forward. A College will be started there for the children of Satsangis. Can you resign your post and take up the work ?” Sahabji Maharaj replied that He would resign immediately when required.

5. An organization was needed for the management of Satsang affairs. Huzur Sarkar Sahab had, therefore constituted the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha at Ghazipur in 1910. It had its Headquarters first at Ghazipur and later on at Murar till 1913. Meetings of the Sabha and its Executive Committee were held regularly at these places.

8. In another meeting of the Executive Committee of the Sabha held after 10 days, that is, on 17^th June, 1914 at Solan, Rs.6,150 were advanced to a Satsangi of Agra for the purchase of a suitable place or Kothi at Agra.

10.After Huzur’s arrival at Agra, a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha was held there for the first time on 8^th October, 1914.

11. On reaching Agra, Sahabji Maharaj and the party first stayed in a house near Nala Pipalmandi. However, as the arrangements were not found satisfactory, He along with the party, moved after some time to a Kothi situated in Hariparbat. There were, at that time, two mounds, one in front to the east of the Kothi and the other to the south of it.

13. Huzur Sahabji Maharaj and party assured people that they were fully determined to establish the Headquarters at Agra and had Rs.5000 with them. A bungalow (Garg ki kothi) near Prem Nagar Gate was identified for possible purchase. The owner of the bungalow asked for Rs.5000 for it which was acceptable, but later he raised his demand to 6,500. This disappointed the members of the party and, in frustration they were thinking of leaving when a Sadhu Satsangi approached Huzur and said, “Now that Huzur has come, He should not return until at least a wall one yard high is raised”. Departure from Agra was postponed and once again the site was visited. Another Sadhu Satsangi showed the land where the Radhasoami Educational Institute building and the ‘Mubarak Kuan’ now stand. The plot of land was full of mounds and sand dunes, some of which were as high as 18 feet from the ground level. It was decided to purchase the plot of land for Rs.1,975, and the occasion was celebrated by a ‘feast of  Khichri’ and, a total sum of Rs.10/8/- (Rupees ten and annas eight only) was spent on it. About 9 Bighas of land were actually purchased on 11^th June, 1915 in a village Jaganpur for the sum of Rs.2,760. There was a pucca well in the area. Nine members of the Sabha including Huzur Sahabji Maharaj and Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj signed the document.

14. More land in the neighbouring villages of Jaganpur, Khaspur and Sikanderpur had to be purchased by the Sabha mostly through private negotiations from time to time to meet its development needs and some land was acquired through the Government for the various institutions. Ultimately the Sabha and the Managing Committee of the Radhasoami Educational Institute (R.E.I) together had about 3300 acres of land. 1611 acres out of this land had been given for cultivation to the villagers in those villages and it remained with them as a result of the abolition of zamindari. The Sabha and the R.E.I. Managing Committee were therefore, left with about 1692 acres of land. This was further reduced to 1645 acres as a result of consolidation proceedings.

17. Construction of the School building started the very next day. There was no plan of the building. Sahabji Maharaj just drew a long line with his walking stick on the ground from south to north, parallel to the Poiyaghat Road. He then directed that foundation of the specified length and breadth be dug there.

19. When the construction work started, Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj was also present. Huzur Sahabji Maharaj enquired from Him, if He could take leave and supervise the construction work. Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj readily replied in the affirmative. Then Huzur Sahabji Maharaj asked Mehtaji Maharaj to see that the work was going on properly. Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj immediately applied for extension of leave and also sent a telegram to His family asking them to send His bicycle and tiffin carrier to Agra. Thereafter, every morning He used to come to the site from Hariparbat on bicycle with His lunch, and supervised the construction work till the evening. Huzur Sahabji Maharaj also used to come from Hariparbat on a bullock driven tonga to watch the progress of work. The effort was to complete the western wing of the R.E.I. building first, so that the proposed school could be started there as early as possible.

20. At the ninth session of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha held on 30^th December, 1915, while the scheme of education was under contemplation, aproposal for starting a manufacturing workshop was taken up in order to generate some income from industry and to provide employment to Satsangis. In order to implement the scheme it was decided that some money of the Sabha lying with Bengal Bank be diverted for the industrial workshop under the supervision of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha. Three ‘mistries’ were engaged on 1^st of April, 1916 for working in the Workshop which started functioning from that day. One of the mistries however left soon after, while the other two continued. An amount of Rs. 5000 @ 3% interest was also accepted from a Satsangi for the expansion of the workshop.

21. Towards the south-east of the R.E.I building a room was constructed for running the industry and it was decided to start the manufacturing of leather buttons. However, neither the information regarding, nor the machinery for the manufacturing of such buttons was available in the market. Construction and assembly of parts was tried in the small room set up for industry as an experimental measure. To begin with wooden machinery was manufactured. Samples of buttons were sent for approval to the Director of Industries at Kanpur and to some other people. The Director of Industries wrote back saying that the assembling of buttons be properly done and if the Sabha could manufacture them in large numbers, they could be easily sold. The reply received from a military contractor was very encouraging. It was, therefore, decided to push this industry and to invest some more money for making machines of iron instead of wood. It was also necessary to have more accommodation for the industry. About Rs. 1500 had already been invested. This did not include the cost of the building.

23. Leather buttons worth over a lac of Rupees were supplied to the Government during the First World War. The profit that accrued from this transaction, went a long way in providing resources for further expansion of industry and other constructions in Dayalbagh. It was also decided to manufacture some new products such as knives, scissors and pens etc. Services of some of the teachers and students of the school were utilized for packing the buttons in their spare time.

25. While the progress of industry and the construction of the school building were proceeding satisfactorily, giving a formal shape to establishment of the Satsang Headquarters at Dayalbagh. Huzur Sahabji Maharaj considered it proper to visit some places in Eastern U.P., Bihar, Bengal and the Madras Presidency (Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Desh).

27. The meeting of the Executive Committee of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha was held for the first time in Dayalbagh on 15^th November, 1916 in which a sum of Rs. 10,000 was specially sanctioned to finish the necessary items of work in order that a school may start functioning from 1^st January, 1917. It was also reported at this meeting that in order to encourage Tirhut Moon Button Factory at Mehsin, which He had visited during the tour Huzur Sahabji Maharaj had sanctioned  a sum of Rs. 100 from the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha for payment to the factory and the money was remitted on 3^rd November, 1916. This contained the germ of the future decentralization of the industry.

29. Tuition fee for students was fixed in the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Sabha held on the 28^th December, 1916.

30. At the meeting of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha held on the 29^th December, 1916, it was decided to allot a sum of Rs. 2000 for expenditure on collection of information and gaining of experience regarding and running of a Dairy Farm.

32. The progress of the industry was reported at this meeting and was found to be satisfactory. As the future prospects were good, a sum of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 was allotted for the purpose of its expansion.

108. The news of manufacture and supplying Swadeshi goods spread all over the country and the various national leaders were anxious to gain a first hand knowledge of such a work being done in Dayalbagh. Various important leaders paid a visit to Dayalbagh including Mahatma Gandhi who visited Dayalbagh in 1928. 

“Never, never during my life have I shirked my duties and responsibilities> I have always discharged my duties and responsibilities, without fear or hesitation and without sparing myself, with the result that my efforts have achieved success to the chagrin of enemies and to the joy of my friends. Doctors and their advice on one side and my duties and responsibilities on the other. I am not going to die the death of coward. I shall continue to perform my duties to the last inspite of the advice of doctors to do nothing.”

“Our surrender to Huzur Radhasoami Dayal’s Will should be complete and unconditional. I must not ask personally for removal of sickness. Whatever Huzur Radhasoami Dayal is pleased to give, we must accept cheerfully. If He makes me a king, I will sit on the throne in a way that no king ever sat before, and if He makes me roll in dust, I will roll and roll in such a way as no beggar ever rolled before”.

130. Dayalbagh, however, acquired a name for its small scale industries which were a true manifestation of the swadeshi spirit. They manufactured a wide range of products. In many of these, the Model Industries were pioneers. Mention may be made of laboratory balances and biological models and charts, electric motors and fans, builders hardware, cutlery, fountain pens, footwear and leather goods, textiles and hosiery,etc.

135. The blending of the spiritual and the temporal, more than anything else, attracted a series of visitors. These included national leaders, the Viceroy, Governors and other government officials, social reformers, writers and thinkers. Major Yeats Brown in his book ‘Lancer at Large’ called Dayalbagh ‘a colony of work-a-day mystics’ and an ‘Indian Utopia’ in which he describes Huzur Sahabji Maharaj as “Here is a quick, clever man, with a genius for finance, and very great personal charm, but above all, with an intense desire to do right, a man to whom the Holy Spirit is a reality above all names and forms, a good man, and an able man, if I ever saw one”. Paul Brunton in his book ‘A Search in Secret India’ had written extensively about Dayalbgh. Describing Huzur Sahabji Maharaj he wrote “Master of over one hundred thousand people, who practice a mysterious form of Yoga; prime organizer of the multifarious and materialistic activities which seethe around me in Dayalbagh; taken in all, I write Him down as a brilliant and breathtaking man. Nowhere in India, nowhere in the entire world, may I expect to meet His like again.”

163. On January 2, 1956 Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Dayalbagh. In welcoming the Prime Minister, Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj stated—“……Dayalbagh, at a distance from the City of Agra, is quiet and peaceful like a village and yet there is perfect arrangement for sanitation and cleanliness as in cities. Students, scientists and devotees keep themselves peacefully engaged in their respective activities away from the turmoil of the world, and unemployed agriculturists and labourers get opportunities to earn their livelihood. Neither does wealth flow here, nor does anybody starve here; neither are there any big palaces and mansions here, nor are there any dilapidated huts either; neither is anyone great or big here, nor anyone small or insignificant, and if anybody here is honoured more than others, it is he who works better or more than others. Dayalbagh belongs to every resident, while no resident has any kind of property in anything here……” This in a way sums up the social ideals of Dayalbagh. Gracious Huzur’s reference to honour being accorded to the one who works better or more than the others is reminiscent of the dream of Huzur Sahabji Maharaj about Arya Nagar! In reply to Gracious Huzur’s welcome address Jawahar Lalji said—“……..As a matter of fact, countries advance not on account of their size but by the manner its people lead their lives and by the character they possess and by the skill of their hands and intelligence they possess to do things. If India would make progress, it would do so because such people live here and not because 36 crores of people live in this country………..’

215. Even as Dayalbagh completes 75 years of its existence, the process of decentralization of Satsang activities had already begun for the propogation of these ideals. Colonies, with Dayalbagh as a model, are being built where Satsangis can live and their children grow, in an environment conducive to the fostering of these ideals. There is special emphasis on the mobilization and motivation of young boys and girls so that they can imbibe Satsang values and ideals, and subsequently, by their example, project them. The young and the old alike have an opportunity for organizing and participating in various Satsang activities and seva. Manufacture of simple consumption goods is being undertaken with the object of supplying good quality goods at low margins. The goal is not maximization of profits, but serving the people. Exhibitions which are being organized frequently in the various parts of the country, are designed to take these products to a large number of homes so that people may see how the Satsang community lives and works.

Similarly, schools and institutions of learning established by the Satsang community would follow the Dayalbagh innovative pattern of education to produce an integrated and complete man, each bearing the stamp of Satsang institutions. It is thus by their example of a life of simplicity and service to mankind, that the message of Huzur Radhasoami Dayal would spread. A subtle transformation of society is taking place, not by preaching but by the practical example of those living the life of a Satsangi. Man has preferred to struggle for progress through strifes and conflicts to meet the external challenges but another path to progress can be through living together in harmony with tolerance and cooperation, and by accepting the ideal of brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God. It is this latter approach, that is sought to be followed in Dayalbagh. This would also be the way to peace and elimination of conflicts. When one sees the glow in the eyes of young men and women when they sing the prayer “Tamatar yehi hai kijab tak jiyun”. One feels confident that they are getting ready for ‘Seva’ with ‘Prem’ and ‘Bhakti’ for fulfillment of the Holy Mission. Dayalbagh is as much the name of Satsang Headquarters and the township where it is located, as of the spirit which pervades it and the ideals it stands for. And it is hoped that a myriad Dayalbaghs would spring up in the future all over the country.

And a quotation of Huzur Mehtaji Maharaj to end it with—

I also consider waste as nothing short of sin.

It must also conserve it’s resources of men, money and materials and exercise forethought and arrange for the fulfillment of it’s aims in good time.

Discipline, self-sacrifice and hard sustained work are not only very helpful in this endeavour but are very essential.