Sant Kirpal Singh. Poster for 1972 World Tour.
[Kirpal Singh]. : [New Haven, Connecticut]. 1972.
Poster 13” x 18.5”. Text and illus. printed at recto only. CONDITION: Good, short tears at margins, no losses to text or image.
An evocative poster advertising the Sikh guru Sant Kirpal Singh’s lecture at Yale University while on his third and last world tour.
This poster shows Singh proudly standing before a camera, awaiting his photograph to be taken, while promoting his impromptu lecture at Yale’s Battell Chapel. Below his image is a quotation taken from his 1967 lecture, “Learn to Die so that You May Begin to Live,” which was delivered at the Sawan Ashram in Delhi, and attempted to dispel the two primordial falsehoods, namely that all being human consists of is being a body, and that all that exists in the world is material reality. A newspaper report from the Hartford Courant notes that from 2 to 4 PM at Battell Chapel, Singh spoke on “the practical application of spirituality” and the value of education. Singh’s visit to Yale was a sudden arrangement spurred on by the University’s invitation of the guru to their chapel while on his third World Tour. Before embarking on this tour, Singh and his travel committee had published a schedule of his lecture dates in the US and Canada, and it was agreed that “there would be no changes…as it would involve too many difficulties” (“The Third World Tour”). According to an account written by a member of Singh’s touring group, his lecture at Yale on October 12 was the only exception made to this rule. It was arranged between Singh’s lectures in New York City and Boston, which allowed the guru to leave New York “by car at 11 a.m.” and arrive “at New Haven, Conn., at 1 p.m. There…[h]e spoke beautifully and powerfully on education, stressing the need for an aim in life and the importance and necessity of experiencing higher consciousness” (“The Third”).
Sant Kirpal Singh (1894–1974) was a significant Sikh guru of the twentieth century. He was born in the Punjab region of present-day Pakistan, and began his spiritual education under the tutelage of Baba Sawan Singh in 1924, which continued until 1948. By the end of his discipleship, Kirpal Singh’s master entrusted him to spread his teachings, leading Singh to establish the “Ruhani Satsang, a common platform for all persons believing in any faith or religion” (“Sant Kirpal Singh”). He would go on to give three world tours, first in 1955, then 1963, and finally 1972. While he lectured throughout Europe during his first and second World Tours, it was only on his third World Tour that Kirpal Singh Ji came to America. After this tour, he would go on to convene “the gigantic World Conference on Unity of Man in February 1974 which was attended by religious, social and political leaders from all over the world and was a major step towards His vision for a peaceful society” (“Sant Kirpal Singh”).
Sources Consulted: “The Third World Tour” at Ruhani Satsang online; “Sant Kirpal Singh” at Ruhani Satsang India online.
[Kirpal Singh]. : [New Haven, Connecticut]. 1972.
Poster 13” x 18.5”. Text and illus. printed at recto only. CONDITION: Good, short tears at margins, no losses to text or image.
An evocative poster advertising the Sikh guru Sant Kirpal Singh’s lecture at Yale University while on his third and last world tour.
This poster shows Singh proudly standing before a camera, awaiting his photograph to be taken, while promoting his impromptu lecture at Yale’s Battell Chapel. Below his image is a quotation taken from his 1967 lecture, “Learn to Die so that You May Begin to Live,” which was delivered at the Sawan Ashram in Delhi, and attempted to dispel the two primordial falsehoods, namely that all being human consists of is being a body, and that all that exists in the world is material reality. A newspaper report from the Hartford Courant notes that from 2 to 4 PM at Battell Chapel, Singh spoke on “the practical application of spirituality” and the value of education. Singh’s visit to Yale was a sudden arrangement spurred on by the University’s invitation of the guru to their chapel while on his third World Tour. Before embarking on this tour, Singh and his travel committee had published a schedule of his lecture dates in the US and Canada, and it was agreed that “there would be no changes…as it would involve too many difficulties” (“The Third World Tour”). According to an account written by a member of Singh’s touring group, his lecture at Yale on October 12 was the only exception made to this rule. It was arranged between Singh’s lectures in New York City and Boston, which allowed the guru to leave New York “by car at 11 a.m.” and arrive “at New Haven, Conn., at 1 p.m. There…[h]e spoke beautifully and powerfully on education, stressing the need for an aim in life and the importance and necessity of experiencing higher consciousness” (“The Third”).
Sant Kirpal Singh (1894–1974) was a significant Sikh guru of the twentieth century. He was born in the Punjab region of present-day Pakistan, and began his spiritual education under the tutelage of Baba Sawan Singh in 1924, which continued until 1948. By the end of his discipleship, Kirpal Singh’s master entrusted him to spread his teachings, leading Singh to establish the “Ruhani Satsang, a common platform for all persons believing in any faith or religion” (“Sant Kirpal Singh”). He would go on to give three world tours, first in 1955, then 1963, and finally 1972. While he lectured throughout Europe during his first and second World Tours, it was only on his third World Tour that Kirpal Singh Ji came to America. After this tour, he would go on to convene “the gigantic World Conference on Unity of Man in February 1974 which was attended by religious, social and political leaders from all over the world and was a major step towards His vision for a peaceful society” (“Sant Kirpal Singh”).
Sources Consulted: “The Third World Tour” at Ruhani Satsang online; “Sant Kirpal Singh” at Ruhani Satsang India online.