Bhai Nirmal Singh was a true Gem

Bhai Nirmal Singh was a genuine pillar of support for his Kaum, and a rare gem who dedicated part of his life to ensure the Panth flourished and maintained its preservation of ‘Tat Sikh principles’ to educate not only the Sikh community, but also the Western people at large. As such you would often find Bhai Sahib at almost every candle lit vigil, march, political campaign, etc all across the country. I recall meeting Bhai Sahib when I first took Amrit 12 years ago and throughout this time never saw his level of Seva diminish. I and many naujwan grew up listening to the talks and lectures delivered by this Gurmukh piara and as a result Bhai Sahib earnt our fondest respect and reverence for the way he strived to carry out Sikhi Parchar up and down the country’s universities, colleges, forums, camps, etc.

He also established groundbreaking links with key western dignitaries; in fact the links which we as naujwan today have with the British army are largely down to the efforts made by Bhai Sahib. He also arduously encouraged partnership working within the Sikh community and very often was the spear head that worked with the most staunchest of ‘Sikh politicians’ to form alliances, all in the name of Parchar. A key trait of Bhai Sahib was his forthright approach, where he would passionately speak out on topics others would ‘tread on as egg shells’ around, in doing so he bridged many gaps between Sikh generations, earning the respect and rapport from both sides, as well as cross-cutting jathabandis to organize camps, programs and events across the country. Through his lectures (which have been documented for you and I’m sure many naujwan to come) he inspired future generations of Sikhs to take Amrit, concurrently shaped a new breed of Sikh Parchariks who now like Bhai Sahib continue to spread Satguru Nanak Dev Ji’s Dharm across the West under the same Parcharik ambition and zeal found in this Gurmukh. That said, he also had a meek and extremely humble side to him and I never once heard him praising or even acknowledging his years of seva. One day I remember seeing Bhai Sahibs Dharma (beard) in full parkash and being truly awe-inspired so I commented how moving it was to see such a flowing Dharma, to which he humbly commented that it was indeed a beautiful thing, however it was wasted on a moorakh like him as he was not deserving of such a gift from Guru Sahib.

As I’m sure you, his children are aware, he was also a keen collector of Shaster and had a number of ‘purathan’ pieces in his collection. He would encourage Singhs to have better Shaster in their possession than the mass produced ‘Kirpans’ that were now coming out of India, indeed he very much pioneered the first ‘new-generation Kirpans’ made from the latest alloys and metals using new techniques. I recall when I first did darshan of such a Kirpan and asked him although it looked impressive what actually set it apart, to which he replied the maker of this Kirpan (which was only 8 inches or so in length) pierced this through a Mercedes Benz car in front of me to demonstrate its toughness and when I held it close and inspected it there wasn’t even a single scratch!), as a result the resurgence in the purchase, research and interest of both ‘purathan’ and ‘new age Kirpans’ has largely been pioneered to the thanks of a few, of which Nirmal Singh is one.

You may or may not know that your father was also a very environmentally friendly man (probably the first Singh I know who was actively dedicated to this cause), who changed my and I'm sure many others outlook and views about bio-friendly alternatives and in deed the eco-friendly steps we as Sikhs should be taking to set a precedence in society (I recall he was once even disturbed about the amount of cardboard I was about to discard in my office and how I was so moved when he took these boxes of card away with him to a recycling point…he was also the person that first got me using bio-diesel in my car!)

Words cannot express the respect, admiration and reverence your father established with so so many, especially during the autumn years of his life where despite all odds he remained steadfast in his mission to carry out his seva in his critical conditional. Whilst I could write pages about Bhai Sahibs achievements, merits, and prem for Sikhi, I fear it would always fall short of describing this Gurmukh Piaras contribution to his beloved Dharm. But to you, his children, the fact that his jeevan and his charai (ascent) will have continued to inspire so many thousands of Gursikhs is enough proof that his memory will have now been forged into the pages of Sikh history.

By Manjeet Singh

Bhai Nirmal Singh (1980's)