His marriage to Nārāini
Devi (later known as Radha Ji), daughter of Izzat Rai of Faridabad was arranged at an early age. She
was of a generous disposition and was very devoted to her husband. Shivdayāl Singh was a teacher of Persian with a talukdar
of Ballabhgarh estate. His spiritual cravings, however, were so intense that worldly
attainments no longer attracted him and he gave up even this lucrative job. He
returned home for devoting his entire time to religious pursuits. After casting of the mortal frame of Parm Sant
Tulsi, Shivdayāl singh practiced Surat Shabd Yoga for 15 years in almost total seclusion
in a room/cavern. He started holding satsang publicly on Vasant Panchami (a spring festival) in 1861, and
continued for 17 years. Shivdayāl originally referred to the Supreme Being with
the names "Sat Nām" (True Name) and "Anāmi" (Nameless). The
term Rādhā Swāmi ("Rādhā"="Soul" and
"Swāmi"="Lord", hence "Lord of the Soul") was
used after Salig Rām became a disciple. The yoga system taught by Shivdayāl singh is known as
Surat Shabd Yoga.
Shivdayāl Singh has described the
secret of divine and True Name (Sat Nam).
SOAMI JI 25-08-1818 TO 15-06-1878
His bani (poetical
compositions) and sayings from satsang were published in two books after his
demise. Both are called Sār Bachan or Sār Vachan (meaning
'essential utterances} Sār Vachan Vartik (Sar Bachan
in prose)
Sār Vachan
Chhand Band (Sar Bachan in verse)
Sār
Vachan Vartik is in two parts: part one being an introduction written by Rai Saligram and part two compiled of notes taken from the
discourses of Shivdayāl Singh which he delivered in satang up to 1878. They
cover important teachings of the faith. P 8 contd 