Search for Truth

II

You can search it for yourself. Do you sincerely wish for God? No. We want Him only as a means to an end – the end being physical pleasure and comforts. Otherwise, God has no meaning for us. It is a question of demand and supply. If we actually wish God, the law of nature comes to our aid. Where there is fire, oxygen comes to its aid. All that we need is to put our tongue, intellect, and mind on one level. Such an attitude increases the mind force. Where the mind force is strong, nothing can stand in our way. We must be true to our self, and then whatever may be our wish shall be fulfilled:

If our prayers are truthful and arise from the contented mind, then hearing them, God calls us to Himself, nay draws us on to Him.

What is a truthful prayer? It is one that springs equally from the mind, the intellect, and from the tongue. Otherwise, we are not true to our self and are deceiving our self and our God. Why are our prayers not granted? Because we ask amiss. To ask rightly what is necessary is the first condition. The second condition is that we should be contented with what we have and be grateful for them. Ingratitude is the greatest evil. What has God given us? All that we need and much more. Have we ever offered a thanks-giving prayer for what He has done and the bounteous gifts supplied by Him? If we fulfil these conditions of truthfulness and contentment with a sense of gratefulness, He would not deny us anything for which we may happen to wish. If we ask for God from God with a sincere mind, He would never deny us. On the contrary, He would draw us unto Himself. He is the knower of our hearts and readeth us correctly. We cannot hide anything from Him with all our cleverness and cunningness. He sees right through us what is passing in our mind, and acts accordingly. We cry for bread; we cry for our losses, but we never cry for God.

Of Namdev¹, the calico printer Saint, it is said that once the balcony of His home crashed down. His home-folk asked Him to call a carpenter to carry out the necessary repairs. The devotees, as you know, hardly remember such things. He went out as usual and sat in the sweet remembrance of the Lord. He forgot Himself. He forgot the world around Him. He forgot the balcony and the carpenter. In the evening, He got up from His meditation and went home. His people asked Him if He had arranged with a carpenter to do the job. I am sorry; I forgot all about it. I shall certainly call the carpenter tomorrow, He said. Some days passed away like this. Everyone at home felt annoyed and threatened Him with dire consequences if He did not bring the carpenter the next day.

I shall certainly bring the carpenter tomorrow, He replied. Strange as it may seem, Namdev again forgot to get a carpenter. A man of God is always absorbed in God. How can He think of the world and the worldly things? They are of no consequence to Him. Again in the evening when He woke up from His trance, He felt ashamed. But there was no way to get out of the impasse. He sorrowfully waded His way back to His home. God foreseeing His sad predicament had during the day gone to His house in the garb of a carpenter and set right the broken balcony. When Namdev reached home, He was dumbfounded to see the work. It was a piece of rare workmanship and had been done in an unusually short time. He could make out who the carpenter was. None but God’s hand could do this miracle.

A nightingale can alone understand a nightingale. The devotee knew that his God had done the job. He took courage and pressed on to his lane. The neighbours flocked round him and inquired the wages that he settled with his carpenter for such a wonderful piece of work. He replied: Love is the only wage that my carpenter demands.

The next question was as to how the carpenter could be called. My carpenter comes when one cuts himself completely from his family, He added. You can now well understand the position. If you become His, He becomes yours. He then comes to you of His own accord without being called. Namdev was lost to Himself in His devotion. He had never asked God to repair His balcony. God keeps the honour of His devotee for His Name’s sake.

I would tell you of my own personal experience. It happened during the lifetime of my Master, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. My son was seriously ill. He was hovering between life and death. The physicians apprise me of the critical condition of my son. They even asked me to be prepared for the worst. They advised me to take a few days leave so as to be near my son’s sickbed. The next day happened to be a Sunday. I was due to give discourse at Amritsar. It was a duty assigned to me by my Master. I got up at quite an early hour in the morning. The premonitory words of the physician were still ringing in my ears. I felt that life and death were in hands other than mine. What could I after all do? To carry out the behests of my Master was, of course, in my hands. I decided to attend to my duty, and let Hazur see to His. I accordingly left for Amritsar to play the role that had been allotted to me. The discourse was delivered as usual. The weather was hot and sultry. I finished my job at about 10 a.m. I left the auditorium an hour later. As I was half way down from Beas, I felt a strong urge to push on so as to have Hazur’s darshan. I might have reached Beas at 1:30 p.m. Hazur was taking His rest. Learning that I had come, He called for me upstairs.

He sat up and inquired:

What about your son?

I replied:

He was ill and somewhat in a precarious condition, but I had to discharge the duty assigned to me. I could not do anything more nor was it in my power to save him by remaining there.

My words appeared to make Hazur quite anxious. For a while He sat in silence. I quietly said:

Hazur, whosoever thinks of You is relieved of all his worries. How is it that You are feeling so much for me?

He replied:

Kirpal Singh, you took the burden off your head, and I have to take it upon my shoulders. When you are so inclined to your duty what else can I do?

The scriptures tell us:

The gracious Father hath so ordained whatever the son asked for that hath to be granted.

But what one should ask for? God or world?

Nanak tells us:

The humble Nanak simply asks for one thing; oh Lord, plant Thy Lotus Feet in my heart.

This is what all the scriptures say. In the Holy Qur’an, we have:

I shall grant unto man what he desires.

So the only thing to be desired is an intense longing for the Lord. If we are sincere in our search, we shall certainly get Him.

Once a little toddler was sitting all alone in a room. His mother was in the kitchen. The milk can was on the fire before her. The child wanted to stand up but slipped and fell. Then he tried to pull himself up by supporting himself against the wall. His little hands did not find any catch hold and he fell again. Then he saw the door curtain and stretched out his hands to help himself. As luck would have it, the curtain itself slipped down the rod and both came down upon him. In his helplessness, he began to cry piteously, calling his mother. No sooner than the mother heard his cry, she ran to the room without caring for the boiling milk and hugged him to her bosom. She took the baby and came back to the kitchen to attend to the milk. But it was too late to save the milk from spilling over. The child perhaps felt that he had known the trick of attracting his mother’s attention. After some days, while sitting in the room he again began to cry, Mother, mother. The mother could guess that he was idly indulging in a sing-song and did not run up. The child slowly came to the kitchen and inquired as to what the mother was doing. She replied that she was busy making dal (gruel). The child said he had thought that she was perhaps preparing some dainty dish much better than the milk because she had not answered his call for a pretty long time. The mother replied: My child, there was no anguish in your voice today.

So, you see the question is one of Inner Craving. We crave for mundane things of the world and do not wish God – God only replies to the cry from the heart. He does not answer to our oral prayers. While we sit in worship, our mind is running after family affairs. Excuse me, we are not sitting in the temple of our heart but are practising idolatry. God would never come where there are so many idols to attract you and to keep you busy. You may better compare the state of your mind with that of the Awakened Souls. Guru Arjan’s heart is aflame with the Love of God and is keenly in search of ways and means to find His Beloved. The only way to find God is first to find means to the end. God cannot be found without the help of a Godman. When you desire God with all your heart and soul, He Himself provides the means. It is said that the simple squeak from a contrite heart reaches God quicker than the loud and long prayers offered in public by boastful people. When God resides in all hearts, He knows even the tiniest vibrations therein. He is the soul of our soul and is not sitting in high heavens. We can deceive ourselves. We can deceive the people of the world, but we cannot deceive the Great Power in us. If you are sincere in your Love for God, God would surely come to your aid. His Grace is beyond measure, and He would put some Godman in your way.

It is a great blessing to meet a really Awakened Soul. You cannot come across such a One unless God desires it so. We cannot even know a Godman as we cannot know God. A blind man cannot find a person with vision. The latter may take pity on the blind man and take him by the hand. When our Inner Eye has not yet been opened and we are sitting on the plane of senses, we cannot possibly see the Human Pole on which the higher Power is at work. Apparently, the God-Pole looks like any of us; and we have no means to understand His Inner Greatness. Nanak, you know, was called a man with a perverted intellect. Why? Because people had not the eye to fathom God in Him. A Competent Master is a rarity. The scriptures speak highly of a Perfect Master. It means that there are in the world masters who are imperfect and not fully competent to impart Spiritual Experience. The world is full of so-called teachers and self-styled masters. Christ warns us to beware of false prophets and half-prophets. A Perfect Master is One Who has experienced the self in Him and also has the power to manifest the same in others. He Who has seen God can make others see Him.

No one has seen God but the Son and those whom the Son may reveal.

How to know such a fully Awakened Soul? He is not to be judged by the palatial buildings in which He dwells or the huge congregations before Him. The real test is that He should be able to give some practical demonstration of God-Power by momentarily lifting the soul from the level of the senses. You cannot test Him on the level of the intellect, however hard you may try, even by close contact with Him, may be for a long time. The Reality is in Him and He keeps it as a Sacred Trust from God. He would not go about making a show of it. He can be moved by your genuine and keen desire for God-Realisation. And if you have God’s Name writ in your forehead, He will certainly reveal the Spirit and Power of God in you.

Ask and it shall be given; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.

So it is a question of asking, seeking, and knocking at the door of a Godman. And secondly, the experience depends upon the Life-Impulse that the Godman imparts, for life comes from life. Mere knowledge of the formulas from books or from so-called teachers will not help. It is the radiation that passes from eyes to eyes and works the miracle:

One glance of Grace from Him is enough to serve the purpose.

It is He Who raises up and upholds our attention so as to give us the Inner Experience.

In the times of Hazur, many learned persons conversant with scriptural texts would come and enter into idle discussion with the Master. Hazur would simply inquire of them if they had any Inner Access and, if so, could they take others also into the realms within. This would naturally quiet them for they had no such experience even for themselves.

Once Kartar Singh, a sightless philosopher, came to hear Hazur. After hearing the talk, the gentleman got up and said:

I am a great philosopher. I used to deliver rhetoric talks that would silence all opposition. After having heard Your talk, I feel that I am just like a child collecting pebbles from the seashore, while the great ocean is lying unexplored before me.

You would realise that there is a world of difference between a talk from a practical teacher and one from a learned person. The Master’s talk spontaneously flows from the depth of His heart and sinks deeply into the hearts of the hearers. The thoughts that descend from above without thinking are said to be flawless and perfect:

Attend ye to the True Testimony of the Saints, for They speak out what They actually see within.

I speak nothing on my own, but as my Father bids me I do.

St John 8:28

Nanak speaking of God’s presence says:

I see my God as in full view.

Saints speak with authority. This is the way of sages gifted with Divine Wisdom. They have Love for all and enmity with none. They even Love Their enemies. Once the disciples asked Jesus as to how they should behave with the people, particularly with their enemies.

Jesus explained:

Ye have heard that it hath been said by Moses, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies and pray for them that ye may be sons of your Father in heaven.

You would realise that Divine Laws are given out according to the times and needs of the people. The Mosaic Law was delivered to the people because they were hard of heart. With the change of times, Jesus modified the position as above.

The really great persons wish well to everybody. Their Love is All-Embracing. Their hearts are large like a sea. They do not raise even their little finger against them who cavil and carp and speak ill of them.

It is a pity that the world is full of people who forget themselves for the sake of belly. It is very rare that you will find a person who is really in search of God. Our temples and Gurdwaras are crowded to suffocation. Thousands of people go there to attend the routine service. They listen quite attentively to the recitations and the talks over there. But just search their heart. Everyone has his personal motive for this kind of religiosity. Excuse me, we make a cat’s paw of God. We do not want God for the sake of God. We must, therefore, learn to be true to ourselves. This is the first step and the most important step. God is great and gracious. He gives what we desire. If we want world, He would give us world but not Himself. The process of world is long and unending.

Have you realised as to what is the greatest hurdle in our way to God? We stand at the gate blocking the way and pray God to enter. How can He? We must step aside and make a way for Him. We must empty ourselves of all thoughts of the world so as to make room for Him. We have to wait and watch for Him.

He comes like a thief in the night, and there is no hour fixed for His coming.

God is not deaf. He knows what is passing in our hearts and acts accordingly.

The Law of God is good, just, and for our ultimate benefit. If we ask amiss, He would not grant us. We must learn to live in His will and accept His will whatever it be. Therein lies our safety and security. We even do not know what to ask of Him and how to ask. The fault lies with us. Sometimes it so happens that our desires are fulfilled and yet in the end things go wrong. It is then that we realise that we had asked something undesirable. Why not then pray God to give us that which He thinks the best, rather than to blame the stars if anything goes wrong? That is why an Awakened Person has a ruling passion for God alone. All things work to the good of those who win the Love of God. How can we do this? We even do not know where God is and how can we reach up to Him.

For this:

We shall have to rise as high as He is; it is then that we can know Him.

God is very subtle and beyond the reach of our senses, our mind, and our intellect. We cannot see Him with the eyes of flesh. If we learn how to ethearlise ourselves, we can come in contact with God-into-expression and thereby win His love. Now the question is one of finding a Guru of the right type. On the one hand, we have gurus who simply profess themselves as such. By acting and posing as gurus they make their living. We have nothing to do with gurus of this category. Then there are social teachers and preachers doing their work according to the set rules of the organisations to which they belong. Man is a social animal and cannot but live in society. The fundamentals of all social orders are almost similar enough. They tell us to have a clean living and chaste life of truthfulness and continence. This is something commendable. Social reformers can certainly help to raise society and social life of the people to a certain extent. But unfortunately, our reformers too, in course of time, grow narrow minded and lose their elastic touch with the society, with the result that splinter groups grow within the society. This leads to splitting, friction, and unrest. So whatever they do, they do something of a limited nature for a limited time. The good they do is not enduring. This is the second category of teachers, and we may class them teachers of society and worldly wisdom. They cannot be of any great help to us in self-realisation and God-Realisation. For these objectives, we will have to search for another type of Guru – the Satguru type or one established in Sat or Truth. They are Realised Souls with a knowledge of and access into the realms beyond – realms beyond the range of the senses, the mind, the intellect, and the pranas – vital airs. They are teachers indeed and hold in Their hands the keys of Heaven and Hell and of the Beyond. The gnarled Sage, Ashtawakar, Who gave a practical experience of the inscape to Raja Janaka², belonged to this category. He was the only Rishi Who not only professed, but claimed to have realised His own self and was capable to make others realise likewise. India, as you know, was at that time at the zenith of its glory, full of sages and seers of different types and orders; but none could demonstrate God to the royal seeker after God – Raja Janaka. The great sage Yagyavalkya could only give the king the theory of Para Vidya or the science of soul. So all we need is a Perfect Master for our instruction and guidance on the Godway.

The next question is as to where a Perfect Master is to be found. You should know that He is not tied down to any particular society or to any particular country. A Man of Spirit comes and goes like a free wind. And then God may choose any Human Pole as His befitting receptacle to work through. He may come as a cobbler like Ravi Das³ or as a cloth printer like Namdev or as a weaver like Kabir. He may take His birth among Kshatriyas or among Jat cultivators as Dhanna Bhagar⁴. He may appear in one country or the other, in East or in West, or anywhere in the world. Wheresoever God’s Light may appear, people like moths are sure to gather. He may come in a high class family or be born low. It matters little. But this much is certain that if He Himself is a man of realisation, then alone you may expect some Inner Experience from Him.

We must then pray day and night for meeting a Competent Master. I would like to tell you one of my personal experiences. Even as a child, I had some background of my own. Everyday I would take down a couplet from the Sikh scriptures. I would write it down and throughout the day would cogitate upon it. On one occasion I took for my couplet something where stress was laid for contacting a Real Guru, may be a Sadhu, a Sant, or Mahatama. This set me athinking. I began to pray to God to help me to a Real Guru, so that I may derive full benefit in this very life and thus fulfil my long cherished desire. Gradually this became an obsession with me. I even wished that God may Himself shower His Mercy directly upon me as He did to Dhruva or Prahlad in bygone days. But now the times had changed. God’s Power could now be experienced only through the Grace of some Godman. I was afraid that if I erred in my choice, my life would be wasted.

For a long time I continued thinking like this. From time to time I had Divine visitations. I always took the form of the Holy Man Who used to visit me in my meditations as Nanak. In those very days, I composed a poem in which I beautifully described the lovely features of the Divine Guide Who kept guiding me all these years from day to day on different planes. This state continued for about seven years. It was only in 1924 that I happened to go to Beas and met that visionary figure in the form of Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. All I mean to say is that God listens to our prayers provided they are genuine, deep, and sincere. When I inquired from Hazur as to why He had taken so long a time to draw me to His Lotus Feet, He simply replied that it was the most opportune time to do so.

I cannot help repeating that a Godman is not a man in the ordinary sense of the term. He is always a Human Pole on and through which the God-Power works. The Power of God is pervading everywhere; and on the chosen Human Pole, It works on so many different levels. As a Guru, He works on the physical level as any other worldly teacher would do. He joins in our joys and sorrows. He may even shed tears with us in our distress. All this He does to develop our human nature and our faith in Him. Inwardly He remains as He is, unaffected and unconcerned with all our weals and woes. Thus on the human level, He acts as a perfect human being. But, besides this, He is something more as well. When you leave the physical plane and transcend into the astral world, the Guru now assumes the form of Guru Dev and appears in His Radiant Form. When the disciple is able to manifest in him this Radiant Form of the Master and starts communing with Him, he becomes a Guru-Sikh. This Radiant Form of the Master now becomes our guide on the Inner Planes and leads us to the feet of the Sat Purush. The Power that merges in the Sat Purush is called Satguru. It is this Power that works in the world on the human plane as a Guru.

This is why it is said:

Satguru remains in His fullness.

It means He is fully manifested where ever He is, even on the Human Pole but is not attached to the pole. Excuse me, we have not yet understood the real nature of Guru and His greatness. Like a little child, we presume to know Him. What can a child know of his father and more so of the heavenly Father? We know Him only to the extent that He wishes us to know or reveals Himself to us. The Guru is as incomprehensible and ineffable as God Himself. We simply cannot know Him on the human level of the intellect.

You may take the life history of any Great Soul and you will find that the heights he gained were because of the intense fire in Him. God cannot be had so easily as we may imagine. Rabia Basri⁵, a Muslim Divine, suffered from severe pangs of separation from the Lord. She had an intense longing for Him. She would go into meditation at early dawn and remain so till night. And then would sit again till daybreak. Her neighbours were surprised at her continuous devotion. Once they inquired of her: Oh Rabia, would you kindly tell us if God visits you before you go into meditation or after you have finished the meditation? She said: He comes before I sit for meditation. They asked: How do you know this? She replied: It is He Who pushes me into meditation. Whenever I feel restless and am overwhelmed by strong feelings and emotions, I know that He has come.

This is something normal in the lives of Spiritually Great. From a very early age, Nanak had no Love for the world. As a child He remained in a sort of self-absorption. He was the only son of His parents. His father and family members could not bear to see Him in a state of distress and distraction. Nanak was sent on to a pilgrimage. It did not help Him. A physician was called in. He began to feel the pulse of the young man.

Nanak Himself described this incident so beautifully:

The poor physician came in and began to feel my pulse; how could the simpleton know the anguish in my heart?

And then, He significantly added:

Oh physician, go thy way back for I am smitten by the Love of the Lord.

The first thing that we need is an Inner Craving for the Lord. It is in the furnace of Love that the Lord shineth in full effulgence. The past Samskaras – impressions – get a good impetus from a man of realisation. The latter fans the flame of Love. In every heart, there is Love. But what is desired is Love for the Lord and not Love for the world. The Guru finds a ready soil in a loving heart for sowing the Word of God.

Guru Arjan goes on to explain:

Whatever one sets his mind upon, he cannot do without that.

It is a matter of common experience that we always follow the mind. If a child is hungry, nothing would satisfy him except food. A mother may place hundreds of toys before him and try to play with him in diverse ways, and the child would still go on crying for milk. Milk is everything for him. This is exactly the case for one who has in him hunger for the Lord. The world and the things of the world have no value for him. The riches and the possessions, however immense he may have, fail to give him any satisfaction. The Inner Urge for God is gnawing him down. All that he wants is to find a way to God. He is prepared to sacrifice his all for One Who can put him on the Godway.

Once a man went to a Mahatma. The latter was preparing to go to the riverside for a bath. He asked the young man to accompany him. Taking off their clothes, they went to have a dip in the river. The Mahatma pushed the man where the water was deep and held his head down under the water. The man felt suffocated and struggled to raise his head out of the water for breathing. The Mahatma pulled him out and inquired of the man if he had a choking sensation for the Lord as he had for air while under the water. This is what is required for a seeker after God. Without it one cannot do anything.

Once Hazrat Junid of Persia was riding along a river bank when all of a sudden His mare came to a standstill. However hard He would kick the mare, the animal would not move. When all coaxing and kicking failed, He gave rein to the animal to do what it liked. All at once, the animal went into a gallop and took the Hazrat to a mountain cave where an old man was sitting by himself. The Hazrat alighted and remained with the old man for sometime giving him instructions in the way of Allah – Lord. Before parting, the Hazrat gave His address to the seeker after God. The man, all unconcerned, naively said: There would be no occasion for me to follow Thee to Thy place. He Who has sent Thee now, shall send Thee again if at any time I feel the need for Thee. It is, of course, too much to expect for a Mureed, disciple, from his Murshid, Master. The fact is that God is not far away from us. He is in us though we may not be in Him. It is He Who directs the Godman to seek and find the lost sheep.

I may tell you something from my own personal experience. One day I was sitting with Hazur in the house of one Duli Chand in Amritsar when a Sikh gentleman walked in. Hazur, with a twinkle in His eye, looked towards the newcomer and asked in a familiar tone:

Oh, you have come.

– Yes, Maharaj, I have,

he replied.

Surprisingly, I inquired from him as to how he had come. The gentleman replied:

Last night, Hazur came to me in a vision. He asked me to come to this place the next day. I had never met Hazur before. It is my good luck that I have come to Him.

What I mean to say is that an Awakened Soul is just like a person on the top of a hill Who from a point of vantage can look around and see smoke arising from the hearts yearning for God. When He does witness this, He makes a provision either to reach unto them or direct them in one way or the other to come to Him. Such a person is called Guru or a Mahatma – Great Soul.

Oh mother, with all thy dainty dishes before me, I feel as unsatiated as before.

The Love for God is unending and increases from moment to moment. No amount of worldly pleasures can divert the attention of a person suffering from the pangs of separation. The parental Love is undoubtedly immense, but the Love of the Master for His disciple is still greater and exceeds all bounds. It is as all-embracing as God Himself.

Once I called on Hazur at Beas. It was at night time. I offered my obeisance unto Him and sat down by the couch on which Hazur was reclining.

In the course of the talk I remarked:

Hazur, such of the disciples who do some Bhajan and Simran are undoubtedly doing something. But what of those who are still slumbering on the plane of the senses?

Hazur sat up on the couch and said:

Kirpal Singh, do you mean that I should stop giving Naam? A loving father always wishes well of his children. Am I not anxious that each one of my children should try to stand on his own legs?

The Grace of the Guru is always with us. His Spirit and Power are working for our good at all times. If He has left the earthly plane, it does not mean that He has gone away from us. I have told you so often that the Guru-Power never dies. It is only the Human Pole that the Power changes. He Who implants the seed of Naam, attends to the seed and helps it to sprout and blossom forth into a tree with flowers and fruits. His Power continues to work for our benefit both here and in the hereafter. We always err in thinking that Godpower in the Guru dies with the physical death of the Guru. But it is not so. When God is eternal, His Power too is eternal. Is not this Power upholding the heaven and the earth and all that is in them? Though we are unable to see Him physically, He is not far removed from us. His astral form in Divine Radiance is still behind our eye-focus. All that we need is to transform ourselves into spirit to contact the Spirit of God now in the luminous form of the Master – Guru Dev. In His Radiant Form, He is anxiously awaiting for us to shower His benediction the moment we reach unto His feet. He is like a Parda Nashin (veiled) lady who would not like to appear in public. If we keep playing in the world and do not turn towards Him, the fault is ours. We must, therefore, strive to reach the door where He is standing. The moment we get near Him, He would stretch out His hands to hold us and pull us up to Him. Be assured He would do so for His Name’s sake. This is His Truth, and He would always stand by It.

*****

Farid, I thought I alone had sorrow. Sorrow is spread over the whole world. From my roof-top I saw every home engulfed in sorrow’s flames.

Farid

_______________

Footnotes: 1) Namdev (1269–1344): Born in Maharashtra, he was a calico printer by profession. His 60 hymns are included in the ‘Adi Granth.’ 2) Raja Janaka: Father-in-law of Lord Rama – of Ramayana. 3) Ravi Das: An Indian mystic poet. His 41 hymns are included in the ‘Adi Granth.’ He was a cobbler by profession and disciple of Ramananda. 4) Dhanna Bhagar: A fifteenth century north Indian Saint. 5) Rabia Basri (717 A.D. – 801 A.D.): Born in Egypt, she was one of the earliest Sufi Saints.