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Wisdom of the Sadhu: Teachings of Sundar Singh
A modern Saint Francis, Sundar Singh probes the essence of the Gospels with unusual freshness Sundar Singh (1889–1929) left the wealth of his home at sixteen to live as a sadhu, or wandering holy man. His beggar-like existence, his intense devotion, his mystical encounters with Jesus, and his simple yet profound parables became the stuff of legends. No one who met him – including the thousands who flocked to hear him during his visits to Europe, the Far East, and the United States – remained unaffected. Known in his lifetime as India’s most famous convert to Christianity, Sundar Singh would not approve of that characterization. He loved Jesus and devoted his life to knowing and following him, but he never accepted Christianity’s cultural conventions, even as he embraced its stark original teachings. Wisdom of the Sadhu, a collection of anecdotes, sayings, parables, and meditations, brings together the best of Sundar Singh’s teachings. Couched as they are in a distinctly Indian idiom, they probe the essence of the Gospels with unusual freshness and offer insights of great depth and value to every serious seeker.
206 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2000
About the author
Sadhu Sundar Singh
45 books32 followersSadhu Sundar Singh (3 September 1889, Patiala State, India) was an Indian Christian missionary. He is believed to have died in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1929.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 3, 2014
I actually have a difficult time reviewing this book. It was amazing. But how to explain that? Sundar Singh was a humble man who constantly worked to refocus people's attention to the Master, Jesu. He wouldn't have wanted a lot of accolades. So I'll suffice it to say that it was wonderful to read work that was so passionately devout and yet not stodgily white American Christian. Christianity without the culture that is too often associated with it, in this era of history. Because of his Indian culture and his Sikh upbringing, Singh brings a totally different perspective to the Gospel, and it's a necessary and refreshing one. Sometimes when you remove cultural trappings, truths become fresher and harder to ignore. And that's what Singh's work did for me. The format and teaching style were different from what I'm accustomed to, and sometimes that distracted me (teacher/ student dialogue format, heavy reliance on stories and proverbs and examples in nature, etc. [Singh's knowledge of science was pretty impressive, though, IMO.]) But mostly I just sat there, wanting to highlight and bookmark sentence after sentence on page after page. If you want to have your faith (or lack thereof) challenged in all the best ways, read this book. (Skip it if you'd really rather stay comfortable, if you must.) It will be completely worth your time, as it was with mine. Read it a small section at a time, savoring the words and letting the truths soak into your soul, and walk away changed and challenged.
November 6, 2014
I review a lot of new books on this blog. I have discovered a lot of new authors with poignant insights into the Christian faith. I have been challenged and stretched by many of them., but I seldom have the privilege of dipping back into an old favorite. The Wisdom of the Sadhu complies the teachings of Sadhu Sundar Singh, the most famous convert to Christianity in early twentieth century India.
Singh converted to Christianity in his early teens (after the death of his mother and an evening of desperate prayers). At the age of sixteen he left the comforts of home to live a life of a Sadhu--an Indian religious ascetic that renounces the comforts of this life. He was a believer in Christ and a committed Christian; however, he rejected the cultural accruments of Christianity-in-a-Western-guise (as it was often presented by missionaries to the Indian people like in the Presbyterian school of his youth). He was a mystic who lived a life committed to Jesus, albeit with an Indian flair.
Wisdom of the Sadhu compiles the teachings of this Jesus follower. In part one, scenes, we hear Singh's own story. In part two, conversations, we hear his answers to spiritual questions from seekers. In both sections, we read stories and parables that make vivid Singh's (and our) spiritual quest.
The Q & A format of Singh's 'conversations' may strike Western, tin ears as a sort of catechesis. And it is, but these stories and conversations are also Christianity in an Indian idiom. Even Singh's favorite title for Jesus--Master--mimics his native Sikhism. This is gospel contextualization at its best.
Singh lived a life more disciplined and simple than most of us have the courage to lead. The back cover of this book compares him to Saint Francis and this is an apt description. He left the comforts and status of his family to follow Christ. Because of this, he is a prophetic witness of what it means to follow Jesus. This book is chock-full of insights on the spiritual life and the human condition.
I read this book for the first time about eleven years ago. At the time I was seeking ways to press into my faith in profound and risky ways. Singh was a prophetic voice for me and called me to deepen my commitment to Christ, simplicity and prayer. More than a decade hence, I find these words no less beautiful, poignant and challenging. I give this book five stars: ★★★★★
Singh converted to Christianity in his early teens (after the death of his mother and an evening of desperate prayers). At the age of sixteen he left the comforts of home to live a life of a Sadhu--an Indian religious ascetic that renounces the comforts of this life. He was a believer in Christ and a committed Christian; however, he rejected the cultural accruments of Christianity-in-a-Western-guise (as it was often presented by missionaries to the Indian people like in the Presbyterian school of his youth). He was a mystic who lived a life committed to Jesus, albeit with an Indian flair.
Wisdom of the Sadhu compiles the teachings of this Jesus follower. In part one, scenes, we hear Singh's own story. In part two, conversations, we hear his answers to spiritual questions from seekers. In both sections, we read stories and parables that make vivid Singh's (and our) spiritual quest.
The Q & A format of Singh's 'conversations' may strike Western, tin ears as a sort of catechesis. And it is, but these stories and conversations are also Christianity in an Indian idiom. Even Singh's favorite title for Jesus--Master--mimics his native Sikhism. This is gospel contextualization at its best.
Singh lived a life more disciplined and simple than most of us have the courage to lead. The back cover of this book compares him to Saint Francis and this is an apt description. He left the comforts and status of his family to follow Christ. Because of this, he is a prophetic witness of what it means to follow Jesus. This book is chock-full of insights on the spiritual life and the human condition.
I read this book for the first time about eleven years ago. At the time I was seeking ways to press into my faith in profound and risky ways. Singh was a prophetic voice for me and called me to deepen my commitment to Christ, simplicity and prayer. More than a decade hence, I find these words no less beautiful, poignant and challenging. I give this book five stars: ★★★★★
May 12, 2011
This man and his teachings are AMAZING!! Deeply spiritual, Sundar Singh lived his life as a wandering Sadhu for Christ in India. The simplicity is stunning here and his analogies bring God's truth to life. Powerful. A must-read for anyone seeking to really know God.
January 24, 2018
This is a tantalising introduction to Sundar Singh who was a much respected Christian teacher in India. He became a Christian from a Sikh background after an visionary encounter with God. The book is a compendium from Singh's writing, collected by themes. For the most part he teaches simple devotional ideas, richly illustrated by Indian analogies or anecdotes. There are a number of chapter length 'parables' too. Towards the back of the book is a searing indictment of the Western Church 'The West is like Judas Iscariot, who ate with Yesu (Jesus), only later to deny him.'
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December 2, 2021The Wisdom of the Sadhu is a collection of Sadhu Sundar Singh’s writings. These include autobiographical stories, parables, and a collection of dialogs between him and a seeker. While many of them are interesting, he seems like he would have been a far more interesting person to have met than to have read his books. I admire his life and devotion to Jesus far more than the parables and dialogs. Which is not to say they are bad, but that they don’t inspire in the same way his life does.
March 25, 2015
Born into a wealthy Sikh family and drawn to religious studies from an early age, Sundar Singh angrily rejected Western Christian missions into colonial India. He insulted missionaries, burned Bibles, and made his objections known. But as Hindu and Sikh beliefs left him feeling bereft, he contemplated suicide. Then a road-to-Damascus moment altered his path forevermore. Before his death in 1929, Sundar Singh became India's most renowned Christ follower, and remains a national icon today.
Compiler Kim Comer selects representative samples from Sundar's writings, numerous speeches, and moments recorded by his many followers. Like Rabbi Hillel or Saint Francis, Sundar Singh attracted enthusiastic followers and initiated a school of thought that survived his mortal life. He accomplished this, not by trumpeting himself, but by righteous teachings, unclouded thought, and (too rare among Christian leaders anymore) matching his actions to his words. Before long, his reputation transcended borders, religions, and cultures.
European Christian brethren trained Sundar for their idea of Christian missions. but despite his eager Gospel studies, he couldn't embrace Christianity's accrued cultural baggage. I can sympathize. Intensely attuned to his people, Sundar wanted only to become a Sadhu, an itinerant Indian holy man. Leaving the European school, he undertook a lifetime of humble wandering, Socratic questioning, and mindful prayer. He never sought renown, only clarity, but perhaps that's why spreading renown soon found him.
Comer assembles Sundar's words along a straightforward path intended to draw new readers into the Sadhu's thinking. In Part One, "Scenes," Comer pairs Sundar's parables with autobiographical sketches, allowing the parables to illuminate important spiritual principles from the factual report. Part Two, "Conversations," pairs these parables with what Westerners might call sermons, brief discursions on important transcendent concepts. Because Sundar uses Hindu terms like "karma" and "dhyanam," jaded Western audiences can read with unhindered minds.
By parables, I mean exactly what you think. Like Christ or Buddha, Sundar uses brief, allegorical stories to convey ideas too vast to speak as mere dictionary definitions. Narratives of a bereaved bridegroom or a fledgeling hawk touch first the heart, moving afterward to the head, where simply telling us something would prematurely strangle it in analysis. Sundar's homiletic approach encourages audiences to apprehend his truth quickly, seeking factual confirmation and theological scrutiny only afterward.
Had Sundar not embraced Christ, he could've inherited vast fortunes--then as now, India's Sikhs are generally wealthier than average. But like St. Jerome or John the Baptizer, Sundar abandoned easy urban comfort, preferring the company of society's dispossessed. If anyone donated money, he shared generously with all around. He slept in borrowed beds and ate donated food. And though his teachings eventually brought lucrative European and American tours, he owned little besides his clothing.
Despite comparisons to Francis or Jerome, Sundar has transformative potential for Western Christianity because he abjures comfortable cultural touchpoints. The liturgical language Westerners often find boring, and must consciously strive to keep vital and new, doesn't enter Sundar's storytelling. His references come from Indian peasant life, Hindu practice, and the poor among whom Sundar lived. He strips away Christians' learned pretenses, permitting us no cozy hiding hole. That which we consider dull, Sundar renders alien.
Stephen Mansfield writes that many spiritual hucksters have sold Westerners a sanitized Hinduism to solve Christianity's recent failures. Hinduism provides the spiritual counter-narrative spiritual seekers want, and Christianity hasn't much provided. But in doing so, these purveyors have scrubbed anything Westerners might find offensive, offering a spiritual elixir that makes people feel good without challenging them to do good. This creates an environment of spiritual self-sanctification, where we can believe everything while striving after nothing.
Not so with Sundar Singh. He's bracing, difficult, even slightly dangerous. Like Christ or the Hebrew prophets, Sundar's message reminds us that we, as we exist, have accomplished tragically little. Salvation isn't a matter of belief, but new life. As a resolute non-Westerner, Sundar's messages, pierce the protective cultural barriers Christians build themselves, demanding we separate what's truly Gospel from mere cultural baggage. That isn't easy. But stagnating Western Christianity definitely needs an outsider's rebuke.
Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer or John Calvin, Sundar Singh doesn't write (and Kim Comer doesn't compile) to convert unbelievers. Sundar rather calls believers to live actively what they speak verbally, and offers wanderers a spiritual home. Therefore this book appeals primarily to current Christians and the spiritually homeless. It illuminates Christ-like thought by erasing false cultural camouflage. Seeing faith through Sundar's eyes, it appears as dangerous today as that upstart Christ must've seemed two millennia ago.
Compiler Kim Comer selects representative samples from Sundar's writings, numerous speeches, and moments recorded by his many followers. Like Rabbi Hillel or Saint Francis, Sundar Singh attracted enthusiastic followers and initiated a school of thought that survived his mortal life. He accomplished this, not by trumpeting himself, but by righteous teachings, unclouded thought, and (too rare among Christian leaders anymore) matching his actions to his words. Before long, his reputation transcended borders, religions, and cultures.
European Christian brethren trained Sundar for their idea of Christian missions. but despite his eager Gospel studies, he couldn't embrace Christianity's accrued cultural baggage. I can sympathize. Intensely attuned to his people, Sundar wanted only to become a Sadhu, an itinerant Indian holy man. Leaving the European school, he undertook a lifetime of humble wandering, Socratic questioning, and mindful prayer. He never sought renown, only clarity, but perhaps that's why spreading renown soon found him.
Comer assembles Sundar's words along a straightforward path intended to draw new readers into the Sadhu's thinking. In Part One, "Scenes," Comer pairs Sundar's parables with autobiographical sketches, allowing the parables to illuminate important spiritual principles from the factual report. Part Two, "Conversations," pairs these parables with what Westerners might call sermons, brief discursions on important transcendent concepts. Because Sundar uses Hindu terms like "karma" and "dhyanam," jaded Western audiences can read with unhindered minds.
By parables, I mean exactly what you think. Like Christ or Buddha, Sundar uses brief, allegorical stories to convey ideas too vast to speak as mere dictionary definitions. Narratives of a bereaved bridegroom or a fledgeling hawk touch first the heart, moving afterward to the head, where simply telling us something would prematurely strangle it in analysis. Sundar's homiletic approach encourages audiences to apprehend his truth quickly, seeking factual confirmation and theological scrutiny only afterward.
Had Sundar not embraced Christ, he could've inherited vast fortunes--then as now, India's Sikhs are generally wealthier than average. But like St. Jerome or John the Baptizer, Sundar abandoned easy urban comfort, preferring the company of society's dispossessed. If anyone donated money, he shared generously with all around. He slept in borrowed beds and ate donated food. And though his teachings eventually brought lucrative European and American tours, he owned little besides his clothing.
Despite comparisons to Francis or Jerome, Sundar has transformative potential for Western Christianity because he abjures comfortable cultural touchpoints. The liturgical language Westerners often find boring, and must consciously strive to keep vital and new, doesn't enter Sundar's storytelling. His references come from Indian peasant life, Hindu practice, and the poor among whom Sundar lived. He strips away Christians' learned pretenses, permitting us no cozy hiding hole. That which we consider dull, Sundar renders alien.
Stephen Mansfield writes that many spiritual hucksters have sold Westerners a sanitized Hinduism to solve Christianity's recent failures. Hinduism provides the spiritual counter-narrative spiritual seekers want, and Christianity hasn't much provided. But in doing so, these purveyors have scrubbed anything Westerners might find offensive, offering a spiritual elixir that makes people feel good without challenging them to do good. This creates an environment of spiritual self-sanctification, where we can believe everything while striving after nothing.
Not so with Sundar Singh. He's bracing, difficult, even slightly dangerous. Like Christ or the Hebrew prophets, Sundar's message reminds us that we, as we exist, have accomplished tragically little. Salvation isn't a matter of belief, but new life. As a resolute non-Westerner, Sundar's messages, pierce the protective cultural barriers Christians build themselves, demanding we separate what's truly Gospel from mere cultural baggage. That isn't easy. But stagnating Western Christianity definitely needs an outsider's rebuke.
Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer or John Calvin, Sundar Singh doesn't write (and Kim Comer doesn't compile) to convert unbelievers. Sundar rather calls believers to live actively what they speak verbally, and offers wanderers a spiritual home. Therefore this book appeals primarily to current Christians and the spiritually homeless. It illuminates Christ-like thought by erasing false cultural camouflage. Seeing faith through Sundar's eyes, it appears as dangerous today as that upstart Christ must've seemed two millennia ago.
November 4, 2017
Unknown to many, I personally discovered this book a few years ago and keep reading it over and over and always find many wonderful teachings and wondering why has not been discovered by more searching souls...
May 29, 2018
I highly recommend this book. This is gospel contextualization at its best. Singh's parables are wonderful, full of poetic expressions of love. Sadhu Sundar Singh is an absolute gem. Can't wait to read more of his work. (I think if he read that last line, he'd think, "Don't seek to read more of my work... first follow this Yesu I'm following! That is what you truly need.")
April 24, 2019
A useful and inspiring anthology of a great Christian mystic.
July 16, 2020
Is a book full of wisdom, very short and easy to read but full of deep teachings on spirituality and religion.
Want to Read
January 13, 2011Prayer is an effort to lay hold of God Himself, the Author of life, and when we have found Him who is the source of life and have entered into communion with Him, then the whole of life is ours and with Him all that will make life is perfect.
The essence of prayer does not consist in asking for things, but in opening one’s heart to God. Prayer is continual abandonment to God. It is the desire for God himself, the giver of life. Prayer is communion with God, receiving him who is the giver of all good gifts, living a life of fellowship with him. It is breathing and living in God.
In prayer when we fix our love an attention on God the Father, which is the unseen and spiritual, then we pay little regard to temporal blessings. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. By leading a life of prayer, we receive from God the gift to dwell in the spiritual realm even while we remain in the material world. If we live in prayer, no force of evil or temptation can overcome us; we remain in safe communion with God without any fear. If we abandon the gift of prayer, we become like well-trained animals and no longer recognize our own imperfection, our relationship with God, or our responsibility for our neighbours.
Climate affects the form, colour, and growth patterns of plants and flowers. In the jungle we often see insects that have taken on the form and colour of the grass and green leaves on which they feed. In the snow of the North, the polar bear’s fur has the same snowy whiteness. The Bengal tiger wears stripes on its skin like the reeds where it lives. Our spiritual environment similarly affects us. If we remain in communion with God, our habits and disposition – even our appearance – are all changed. To pray means to be on speaking terms with God, to be in communion with him and to be transformed into his likeness. We begin to take on a glorious and incorruptible spiritual nature.
This is what the author says, "When I spent hours at his feet in prayer, then I found enlightenment, and God taught me so many things that I cannot express them even in my own language. Sit at the Master’s feet in prayer; it is the greatest theological college in this world. We know about theology, but he is the source of theology itself. He explains in a few seconds a truth that has taken years to understand. Whatever I have learned has been learned only at his feet. Not only learning, but life, I have found at his feet in prayer."
The essence of prayer does not consist in asking for things, but in opening one’s heart to God. Prayer is continual abandonment to God. It is the desire for God himself, the giver of life. Prayer is communion with God, receiving him who is the giver of all good gifts, living a life of fellowship with him. It is breathing and living in God.
In prayer when we fix our love an attention on God the Father, which is the unseen and spiritual, then we pay little regard to temporal blessings. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. By leading a life of prayer, we receive from God the gift to dwell in the spiritual realm even while we remain in the material world. If we live in prayer, no force of evil or temptation can overcome us; we remain in safe communion with God without any fear. If we abandon the gift of prayer, we become like well-trained animals and no longer recognize our own imperfection, our relationship with God, or our responsibility for our neighbours.
Climate affects the form, colour, and growth patterns of plants and flowers. In the jungle we often see insects that have taken on the form and colour of the grass and green leaves on which they feed. In the snow of the North, the polar bear’s fur has the same snowy whiteness. The Bengal tiger wears stripes on its skin like the reeds where it lives. Our spiritual environment similarly affects us. If we remain in communion with God, our habits and disposition – even our appearance – are all changed. To pray means to be on speaking terms with God, to be in communion with him and to be transformed into his likeness. We begin to take on a glorious and incorruptible spiritual nature.
This is what the author says, "When I spent hours at his feet in prayer, then I found enlightenment, and God taught me so many things that I cannot express them even in my own language. Sit at the Master’s feet in prayer; it is the greatest theological college in this world. We know about theology, but he is the source of theology itself. He explains in a few seconds a truth that has taken years to understand. Whatever I have learned has been learned only at his feet. Not only learning, but life, I have found at his feet in prayer."
October 29, 2014
Christian Wisdom From an Indian Mystic
Sundar Singh as a young man was a devout Sikh. He read and memorized the holy books and sought out Sikh priests and hermits, always searching for wisdom. After his mother died, none of it felt satisfactory and he became distraught. Then he had a vision of Christ. It changed his life. His father unable to accept Sundar's embrace of Christianity, instead of the family's Sikh religion, threw him out. After attempting unsuccessfully to conform to the Christian community, he became a Sadhu wandering the mountains, valleys and jungles of India bringing his tales of faith to remote villages.
Wisdom of the Sadlu is a very moving book. The first chapters give an overview of Sundar's early life and how he became a mystic. The later chapters contain parables, and interviews between Sundar and a Seeker in which he explains his vision of God.
This is a wonderful book that gives a perspective on Christian beliefs and God's love from the perspective of a different culture. I highly recommend this book for Sundar's insights and the beauty of his vision.
I reviewed this book for Handlebar Publishing.
Sundar Singh as a young man was a devout Sikh. He read and memorized the holy books and sought out Sikh priests and hermits, always searching for wisdom. After his mother died, none of it felt satisfactory and he became distraught. Then he had a vision of Christ. It changed his life. His father unable to accept Sundar's embrace of Christianity, instead of the family's Sikh religion, threw him out. After attempting unsuccessfully to conform to the Christian community, he became a Sadhu wandering the mountains, valleys and jungles of India bringing his tales of faith to remote villages.
Wisdom of the Sadlu is a very moving book. The first chapters give an overview of Sundar's early life and how he became a mystic. The later chapters contain parables, and interviews between Sundar and a Seeker in which he explains his vision of God.
This is a wonderful book that gives a perspective on Christian beliefs and God's love from the perspective of a different culture. I highly recommend this book for Sundar's insights and the beauty of his vision.
I reviewed this book for Handlebar Publishing.
August 14, 2017
Absolutely loved this book. Encountering a faithful Christian Indian Sadhu and his perspective will probably be uncomfortable for westerners because the Sadhu doesn't fit into our categories or labels and is more loose with systems than we'd care to allow. People had and will continue to heave accusations of syncretism at the Sadhu and he very well may tiptoe up to the line and even hedge over.However, there is room for distinctive Indian perspective on Christianity. And this work can be a refreshing challenge. The parables and illustrations throughout are provocative and wonderful. I'll be returning to this book again.
March 26, 2016
Sundar Singh was to become a very prominent spiritual teacher and The Wisdom of The Sadhu is a compilation of his thoughts, parables and experiences. Born and raised in India as a Hindu, he discovers the teachings of Christ that will forever change him. Sundar lives much like a vagabond, needing only his strong faith to lead and guide him. Each breathe he takes is to spread his new belief and to encourage others about the Love of God. Kim Corner does a superb job in editing and organizing Singh's musings to create this book. I was given the opportunity to read for Handlebar Publications.
July 30, 2010
I think this book is phenomenal in its simple truths and difficult concepts that are often buried in parables. I have been blessed by Sundar Singh, and so very pleased to see my understanding of faith mirrored so many times in the wisdom that he shared. If only more people could understand the principles that are, ironically, taught by Jesus but most often ignored in Christianity.
January 2, 2013
I just Loved that book.....
so sweet.... filled with morality... & heart-touching stories//
and presented to me by a good friend "Victor Hugo".....
..that was a nice gift for me on the New Year...
..My Heartfelt thanx 2 u.... Victor..
I was not popular with such books,...
....and this was a very good experience 4 me....
so sweet.... filled with morality... & heart-touching stories//
and presented to me by a good friend "Victor Hugo".....
..that was a nice gift for me on the New Year...
..My Heartfelt thanx 2 u.... Victor..
I was not popular with such books,...
....and this was a very good experience 4 me....
December 22, 2014
i read the whole thing (devoured more like) in less than 24 hrs. something about the sadhu's profound wisdom and simple parables completely captivated my imagination. it has convicted me and deepened my faith to see how this former Indian Sikh obeyed the call of Jesus and shined His light wherever he went. this instantly became one of my favorite books.
July 7, 2010
great book really gave me insight into life and a stronger view about christianity and how the culture of india.
December 9, 2016
This is a powerful account of the life and teachings of a man whom most western Christians know nothing about. Sundar Singh represented Christ without Christianity; anyone who is seeking spiritual reality will do well to sit at his feet.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews