The transformation of an Atheist to a Monk!

On first impression, Niranjan Singh Mehta seemed to have everything well set up for a highly visible career as a Civil Servant. Born in the rich family of Doctor Ralla Singh he was surrounded comfortably by a retinue of servants.

He scored a gold medal in M.A. in 1900 and then cleared LLB in 1901 and started his law practice but could not work for more than 7 days, since he could not accept himself resorting to fabricated lies to win cases. In the interim, he got an offer of Headmastership of an Anglo Sanskrit School. He labored for one year in the school. At that point he tested the civil services exam in the Salt division. In 1902, he was appointed as the Assistant Superintendent at Sanbhar Lake.

He was clear only about one thing that he would serve the commoners for the rest of his life. As a Salt officer three thoughts bothered him too much: “that the salt which for miles has come out of the ground, only needy ones make it for their use. My duty was to catch them and imprison them. It came into my mind that the nature had given a free gift to the poor and being instrumental for their arrest just for earning wages became a repulsive idea.”

“One day I thought that it was better to educate the poor than to brag about my status as a Salt officer.

But the accumulated spiritual wealth of past-life brought about a deep spiritual transformation in Niranjan Singh, who took to baptism after meeting Sant Attar Singh in 1905. After baptism he was given the name of ‘Teja Singh’ by his spiritual mentor. Sant Attar Singh valued education and wanted to establish institutions that provide a blend of spiritual as well as modern education.

During his stint in Khalsa College Amritsar, Teja Singh felt elevated, subdued and purified. He was drawn towards Guru Granth Sahib as if it was a magnet. “Thy name brings glory Nanak seeks good of all.”