One of the duties of holy saints is to reveal and establish Gurdwaras at those locations where one of the ten Masters had made the place holy by the touch of their sacred feet. They also have the responsibility to establish Gurdwaras in places where none exist earlier. This is necessary to make the people of the village or town aware of the Sikh discipline and educate them that in order to receive the blessings of the Satguru, they should regularly pay their obeisance to Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
In these incomparable worship-houses, they continually sing Kirtan,
the Praises of their Lord and Master. Where the Saints and the Holy gather together,
there they meditate on you. (Page 248)
Sant Baba Harnam Singh ji was to establish many Gurdwaras during his lifetime. The following are some of these.
1. Sant Baba ji revealed the holy place located in the village Barri Laheli. The sacred feet of the Seventh Master Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib had made the place holy during his visit here. Sant Baba ji convinced the people of the area to construct a Gurdwara at this holy spot. He was able to so enthuse the people that in practically no time they cleared the place, and the ground was dug and made ready for laying the foundation. The devotees also liberally donated money, gold and silver ornaments for the construction. Sant Baba ji placed all the collections in the foundation. He laid the foundation stone of the Gurdwara. He gave strict instructions to all those present, “Let no one dare to steal the wealth we have placed in the foundation. Anyone foolish enough to disobey this injunction will have to face troubles throughout his life.” His command was sufficient to ensure the safety of the assets.
A three storey Gurdwara was later constructed at this place, and exists to this date.
2. The Seventh Master Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib had also visited the village of Harian Vela. A small room existed at this holy location. The people of this village were devotees of Sant Baba ji. Sant Baba ji kept on persuading them to construct a beautiful Gurdwara but at first no one came forward to take the lead. One day Sant Baba ji announced to the devotees, “I have received orders from Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib to establish an attractive Gurdwara at the site. Please start preparations for its construction.” This was enough to galvanize the sangat.
A date was fixed for digging the foundation. The ground was dug quite deep for the foundation as per instructions of Sant Baba ji. He said, “This building will remain open to the public for many centuries and thus a strong foundation is required.”
The enthusiastic devotees here also donated gold and silver ornaments in large quantities and the same were placed as in the previous case in the foundation. Sant Baba ji here also issued the warning, “Any greedy person trying to steal the ornaments would have his hands and legs permanently spoiled.”
One of the masons from Bari Bassi did not pay heed to the warning and picked up a few ornaments. It transpired that his hands and legs did get diseased and became dysfunctional. He was unable to ever again use them. The faith of devotees in Sant Baba ji was greatly strengthened and they became better and more upright humans thereafter.
ਪਾਪੀ ਕਉ ਲਾਗਾ ਸੰਤਾਪੁ ||੧|| (ਪੰਨਾ ੧੯੯)
The sinner is now suffering in despair. ||1|| (Page 199)
The devotees participated in the service of the construction of the Gurdwara with full zeal. They knew that it was being made for their own benefit and for the devotees from all over who would in the future visit this holy place.
3. Sant Baba ji also had a good following in the village of Gondpur. The devotees here were all baptized Sikhs. On the request of the devotees Sant Baba ji once visited the village. The devotees came in large numbers to pay their homage to Sant Baba ji. It was mentioned by the sangat that Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib had rested for a while in this village.
The villagers requested Sant Baba ji for blessing them with strength so that a Gurdwara could be constructed at the site. Sant Baba ji was very happy to see the enthusiasm in the devotees and gave the signal to go ahead with the plans. Sant Baba ji laid the foundation stone of the Gurdwara. The villagers whole-heartedly participated in the work. Sant Baba ji himself supervised the construction.
After completion, it came to be known as Gurdwara Tahli Sahib of the Sixth Master, and is much frequented by the sangat since then.
4. The fortunate village of Jiyan was blessed with the presence of Sant Baba Harnam Singh ji. The people of this village slowly started becoming his devotees. The preaching of Sant Baba ji had a tremendous effect on the sangat. There was a natural and growing attraction towards the Sikh way of life, which had been missing earlier. There wasn’t at that time any Gurdwara in the village. The people of the village desperately required a holy place for their many ceremonies.
The devotees collected and made a request to Sant Baba ji for establishing a Gurdwara. Sant Baba ji accepted the request of the sangat and laid the foundation stone for a Gurdwara building. A small building was constructed. Later Sant Baba Jawala Singh ji of Jiyan was instrumental in getting a bigger premises constructed.The people of the village visited the Gurdwara frequently and some on daily basis. The landlords of the village performed their various functions at the Gurdwara. The people of other castes also collected there during functions of happiness and grief.
The most important aspect of this village was that the followers of Bhagat Ravidass, who normally have an independent Gurdwara in almost every village, did not have a separate one in this village. They also celebrated all their functions in this Gurdwara. In the true spirit of a casteless society in Sikhism everyone used to join and participate in these gatherings.
The description of some of the important Gurdwaras is given in detail below.