CHAHAR MAJRA (Mullanpur), Dec 28 — The mood was upbeat. The entire population of the village in general and Muslims in particular had every reason to feel overjoyed. Their enthusiasm was reflected not only in their colourful costumes and clothes but also in their fervour and warmth with which they greeted their guests on Id today.

The reason: they received an unusual and unprecedented gift from none other than Sant Waryam Singh, founder of the Vishav Gurmat Ruhani Mission, whose Ashram is located in the adjoining Ratwara Sahib.

The gift is none other than a beautiful mosque built during the past one year at the instance of Sant Waryam Singh for 15-odd Muslim families who had preferred to stay back here than migrate to Pakistan at the time of partition more than 50 years ago.

All these years, these Muslims, in the absence of place of worship nearby, had to go all the way either to the Sector 20 Jama Masjid or the Mosque at Burail village, which are more than 10 to 15 km away, to offer their prayers. Being poor farm labourers, they could not afford to build their own mosque.

This unprecedented gesture of a Sikh saint for his Muslim brethren may perhaps be a shining stone in the country’s secular necklace.

When Sant Waryam Singh set up his Ashram at adjoining Ratwara village, he was informed that the area surrounding his “Ashram” was full of addicts. His crusade to cleanse the area of “addicts” brought him closer to the Muslim population also.

The Muslims of Chahar Majra, not only offered to do “sewa” at the “Ashram” but also started looking after tea “langar” for the visitors during the annual “samagam” in September-October.

When Sant Waryam Singh came to know that these poor Muslim labourers had no place of their own to worship, he offered to help them by building a mosque for them. An abandoned and stinking village pond was chosen as the venue for the mosque, the foundation of which was laid by Sant Waryam Singh himself in December last year.

In between when Sant Waryam Singh visited the USA, he met Dr Ali Farvad of Iran at Stratford University. Impressed by the learning of Sant Waryam Singh and his universal message of spirituality and brotherhood, Dr Ali Farvad sent him some money for the Ashram which was diverted towards the construction of the “mosque”.

“The foundation stone of Sri Harmandir Sahib was laid by Mian Mir, a Muslim Peer,” said Sant Waryam Singh maintaining that Sikh tenets and history were full of instances where “respect for other religions and places of worship” were amply demonstrated.

When a Muslim emperor, he said, ordered demolition of a couple of towns, including Sri Hargobindpur, he was informed that there was a beautiful mosque there.

The Muslim ruler withdrew his demolition orders once he knew that the beautiful “mosque”, now called “Guru Ki Masjid,” was built by the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind.

“All religions have the same message of universal brotherhood, religious tolerance and communal harmony. We have highest respect for holy scriptures of all religions. We have been building temples for Hindus, schools and dispensaries for general public. Our job is to provide the people what they need. Once buildings are completed, we hand over these to them and then let them decide how they want to use it,” added Sant Waryam Singh saying that he did not believe in any ostentation or publicity.

“I was keen that this mosque be inaugurated by Raja Karan Singh of Kashmir during our annual samagam this September. But he could not make it. So I left it to our Muslim brethrens to decide from whom they want this mosque to be inaugurated. They chose the sacred occasion of Id today,” Sant Waryam Singh concluded.