Part 9 - Descendants of Jhulelal: Pugar Sahib

The noble work taken up by the Saints and Seers is not complete without help. A Master or Guru has disciples, God has devotees and a teacher has students who learn from the Master, acquire knowledge and become helpful in spreading the knowledge and wisdom; acquired by them from the Guru.

There are classic examples of Guru-Shishya Parampara in our country and some examples are Krishna-Arjun, Swami Yukteswar Giri–Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa -Swami Vivekanand, Sadhu T.L. Vaswani and Dada J.P. Vaswani, Samarth Guru Ramdas -Shishya Kalyan, Saint Namdev -Saint Janabai, Saint Nivruttinath -Saint Jyaneshwar, Swami Vivekanand -Sister Nivedita and many more.

When Lord Jhulelal thought that his main purpose of coming on the earth -'Avtar Karya' is complete, he wanted to hand over the baton to someone who would carry the noble task of Shraddha and Bhakti (faith and devotion) to the future generations. Therefore, he first asked his two brothers Soma and Bheda. As the work of Lord Jhulelal was not for financial or material gains, Soma and Bheda refused to get involved in this work, obviously because as they were looking at some material gains.

Lord Jhulelal next approached his cousin brother Pugar Sahib and asked him if he would be interested, and he agreed to do so willingly and happily. He had a great respect for his cousin brother Lord Jhulelal and he considered this as a great opportunity to show his devotion towards Lord Jhulelal and carry his noble task ahead to serve the society. (Sachadeva 2007:20)

Pugar Sahib became a humble, sincere and the first devotee of Lord Jhulelal and assured him that he would obey him in every respect and would do everything that he is told to follow the path shown by the Master. (see plate 9)

They took a journey together to some places in Sindh and other regions to preach the principles of brotherhood, and peaceful co-existence and love. They established places of rest for travellers and pilgrims and made available Jal and Jyot (water and fire) which would be very much necessary for them.

Pugar Sahib was such a faithful disciple that his Master was extremely pleased with him. His hard work, sincerity and commitment to the cause made his Master extremely happy. In appreciation of the same, he was rewarded "Siddhis" and "Boons" by the Master. However, he was not a material person. Therefore, he was not interested in the reward and pleaded not to give them but bless him that he remains an ardent devotee of the Master and always want a place at his sacred feet. (Sachdeva 2007: 21)

Pugar Sahib subsequently wrote a holy scripture with details of the journey undertaken by them, the questions and answers between Master and disciple and the knowledge obtained from the Master. This is the book "Shri Amarkatha–Shri Jhulelal Ji" referred in this chapter. It is also full of 'Leelas' of Lord Jhulelal and with great resemblance to Purana, with all the characteristics of Purana literature.

Soma and Bheda after realising the greatness of their brother wanted to become his disciples. However, realising that their intention was towards material gain and with not much interest towards Bhakti and Seva (devotion and service), they could not become worthy of the grace of God Jhulelal.

Pugar Sahib carried out noble work entrusted to him without selfish motive, which resulted into a large following of devotees towards teachings of Lord Jhulelal.

For a long period of time, the people of Sindh lived in harmony and brotherhood, the fruits of which were peace and prosperity.

It is interesting to note that the twenty-fourth generation of Pugar Sahib is found in Mumbai and their seat of worship (Gaddi) is also found there. The researcher visited their place and had an interaction with the present descendants of Pugar Sahib. They are father and son. The father stated that his father migrated to Mumbai during partition and came to stay in Chembur which is a colony that was established to accommodate the members of Sindhi community who migrated from Sindh.

Today, Lord Jhulelal temples are generally found in the cities where Sindhi population is found in good numbers. Some temples are old, could be as old as hundred and twenty-five to hundred and fifty years, some are about sixty-five to seventy years old especially the ones which were built after 1947 in next few years after the migration and settlement of Sindhi people, whereas some temples are built during the recent times of ten to twenty years. Lord Jhulelal occupies a prominent place in the hearts of the Sindhi community, irrespective of the size of the temple or how old or recent the temple is. Their faith is unquestionable, and their devotion is praiseworthy. When one visits Lord Jhulelal temple during Cheti Chand festival, a great enthusiasm is seen in the participants, which include young and old and people from all strata of society. This is a sufficient proof of their concrete faith in their deity.

During the time Sindh was ruled by Mirkshah, the Sindhi community had to face a very difficult situation. The ruler of Sindh wanted the Sindhi community to leave their faith and accept the ruler’s faith, failing which they would have to face persecution. It was a very challenging situation and at such a time the Sindhi people went to the banks of Sindhu and surrendered to Lord Varuna After a long penance of forty days, there was proclamation from the sky that an Avatar of Lord Varuna would be born in the house of Ratanrai Thakur (Thakkar/Thakkur) and he would be your saviour.