True Tales

Sardar Singh Khalsa of Oslo, Norway passed into the light on December 1, 2007. His friend, Gurudass Singh, wrote this loving tribute to him a couple of days later. (If you have any photos of Sardar Singh please contact us. We would love to post them.)

I met Sardar Singh in Amsterdam in the summer of 1977. He was this jovial red-haired kid filled with enthusiasm and positivity (which he always kept). We had both just moved  from the US into the ashram and he soon became the buyer for the Golden Temple Emporium’s restaurant. He was given a van for his job, which he proceeded to slowly destroy by crashing it almost every other day until he had to change jobs or the ashram would lose its only means of transportation.

At the same time Seva Kaur also moved into the ashram. She was this bright eyed Australian girl who laughed and served without a thought for herself. Later that year I moved to Spain, but they remained in the ashram, getting engaged and married soon after and then moving to Australia.

We lost contact for a long time until they came back to Europe, moving to Oslo, now with a family of two (soon to be three) beautiful girls. But it didn’t take long for Sardar to become a leader in our European community. His positivity, selflesness and joyful disposition made him a top candidate to become the general coordinator for the Yoga Festival. He took on this challenge perhaps not knowing what he was getting into. but it soon became apparent that he was "the man for the job." Sardar turned the organization of the Yoga Festival into an invisible yet effective and well balanced team of people. Many attendants have commented over the years how smooth it runs and yet you don’t see who is doing it. He led with a kind hand and heart, listening to people, giving us the space to run our areas with freedom yet always being there when needed.

He had a lousy sense of humor. It took him sometimes a whole day to understand a joke. Once I found him laughing by himself at a joke I’d told him the day before. He knew half a dozen bad jokes which he told over and over again, laughing each time as if it was the first time he’d heard it.

Sardar was a wonderful father and family man. He loved Seva and the girls. They became for many of us an emblematic example of the love and unity of a family. His love allowed him to sacrifice for them, at times having his whole family away in India. His daughters were his pride and he treated them with respect and kindness. He love it when they poked fun at him and he wore his authority with humility and love. Our Ransabai kirtans will never be the same without their kirtan together.

Sardar…amigo…you are greatly missed. You have taught us all an enormous lesson about life and death. Your humble, yet positive approach to your illness, made it seem to many as if it was no big deal, yet you suffered it quietly, with faith and hope. When the time came you accepted your fate and all the years of love and devotion to the Guru carried you.

There will never be another Sardar…yet you will live with us forever. Every Yoga Festival will be a tribute to your efforts and vision. You will be honored by your daughters’ achievements and by Seva Kaur’s example of love and commitment.

On the Ransabhai kirtan night I will look for you. I will find you, sitting as you always did, with your head bowed, quietly, discreetly. Your voice will be heard as a whisper, singing along with the kirtan. When the time of the Ardas comes, you will stand by us. Your Wahe Guru will resound in our minds as a reminder of someone who lived life to the fullest, filled it with
devotion to God and gave love to everyone wherever he went.

We will always love and miss you….