For part of the journey, Sundar sat beside an Englishman. The man introduced himself as Dr. Smith, and he and Sundar fell into conversation. As they talked, Sundar explained that he was going into the forest to fast and pray, and that he hoped to do so for forty days just as Jesus had.
Dr. Smith was astounded at this revelation and asked Sundar many questions about his health. Finally he said, “I believe you will not survive such a fast, and I urge you not to do it.”
Sundar insisted that he had to undertake the fast because he felt that was what God wanted him to do. So the doctor made a different request. “Very well,” he said, “if you will not take my advice, at least give me the names of some of your closest friends that I may keep in touch with them and assure myself that you are safe and well.”
It seemed like a reasonable request to Sundar, so he wrote down the names of Susil Rudra, Bishop Lefroy, and several other men.
At the next station, Nimoda, Dr. Smith left the train, leaving Sundar to complete his journey alone. Sundar arrived at the station near the Kajiliban Forest on January 26, 1913, and clambered off the train. Clutching his blanket and his New Testament, Sundar made his way into the forest and found a quiet place to fast and pray among a dense thicket of bamboo. He then gathered forty stones together into a pile. He planned to roll one of the stones away from the pile each morning to keep track of how many days he had been fasting. Sundar then began his forty days of prayer and fasting.
Each morning as the early sunlight filtered through the trees, Sundar rolled another rock off the pile and then spent the day reading his well-worn New Testament, singing chants, and praying. Soon one day melted into the next, and with each passing day Sundar began to feel a little weaker. In fact sometimes he found it hard to concentrate, and occasionally he forgot whether or not he had rolled away a rock that morning. Finally, after twenty-three days, Sundar lapsed into unconsciousness. He lay amid the bamboo thicket, alone and hidden from sight by the thick vegetation.
The next thing Sundar knew, he was being lifted onto a stretcher and hoisted up onto strong shoulders. He again lost consciousness, until he was lying in a bed. He felt crisp, white sheets enveloping him and heard a soothing voice.
“Ah, you are awake at last, I see,” the voice said.
Sundar lifted his head half an inch off the pillow and nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“Do not strain yourself, Sadhu,” the voice said. “You have been on quite a journey. Some bamboo cutters found you in the forest and brought you by train to Dehra Dun. Then some Christians brought you here to Annfield by bullock cart. You are now at Pastor Dharmajit Singh’s home. He is away, but I am his son, Bansi, and I will take care of you.”
Sundar managed a weak smile.
“They knew you were a Christian because they found a New Testament in your pocket, but I must confess that I did not recognize you until I read your name inside the front cover. I heard you speak once and was greatly impressed with your message.”
Sundar listened to Bansi, but the effort exhausted him, and he drifted off to sleep.
It was three weeks before Sundar was fit and healthy enough to travel again, and when he did, Sundar was in for a big surprise.
“You are alive! You are alive!” a man in the train station at Chandigarh yelled when he spotted Sundar. “You are Sadhu Sundar Singh, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and as you can see, I am indeed alive,” Sundar replied. “Why do you suppose otherwise?”
“A month ago I went to your memorial service…” The man stopped and looked at Sundar. “Are you sure you are Sadhu Sundar Singh?”
“Of course. What memorial service?”
“The one at the Anglican church here. Many people were there: Christians and Hindus, and the priest read a letter of consolation from Bishop Lefroy. Surely you have heard you are dead? Your obituary has appeared in every newspaper in India.”
It took Sundar several more hours to get to the bottom of the story. He visited the church in Chandigarh where his memorial service had been held. After startling the vicar, he learned that Dr. Smith had sent out a peculiar telegram to the men whose names Sundar had furnished him with. The telegram read, “Sundar Singh slept in Christ. Signed Dr. Smith.”
All that Sundar could conclude was that Dr. Smith, the man he had met on the train, had been so convinced that Sundar would die during his fast that he had sent out the telegram heralding his death. The whole situation astonished Sundar, who hurried to the Simla area to show everyone that he was very much alive and well and ready for his next missionary journey.
Chapter 10
Into Nepal
After assuring his friends around Simla and across northern India that he was alive and well, in May 1913 Sundar set out once again for Tibet. As he made his way toward a village located along the trail that led up to the Himalayas, Sundar noticed two men ahead of him in the distance. As he walked on, he noticed that one of the men suddenly fell down. By the time Sundar caught up to them, the man had been covered with a robe.
“What has happened to your friend?” Sundar asked.
“He stumbled and fell, and now he is dead,” the man said. “What should I do? I have no money to pay for a burial, and I do not wish to leave him here for the jackals to eat.”
Sundar was touched by the man’s predicament and decided to hand over his blanket and the two small coins someone had given him before he set out for Tibet. “Here, take these. I know it will not pay for much, but it will help. May God comfort you,” he said as he handed his belongings to the man.
The man was very thankful, and Sundar went on his way. He had nearly reached the village, when the man came sprinting up behind him. “He is dead, my friend is really dead!” he yelled, as he grasped Sundar’s arm.
Sundar looked at the man strangely. “Of course he is dead. I saw him fall. What are you talking about?”
The man wailed. “You see, Sadhu, my companion and I have been together for many years. We each take turns pretending to be dead in order to get money from unsuspecting travelers. After we had tricked you, I uncovered my friend, but he did not get up. I shook him, and he would not wake, for he really was dead this time.” The man’s face was ashen by now. “Forgive me, Sadhu. Forgive me for tricking you. I have obviously incurred the displeasure of the gods.”
Sundar reached out and laid a hand on the distraught man’s shoulder. “My friend, what you did was wrong, and I am sorry that your companion has died, but let me tell you about One who is the Lord of life and death.”
Sundar went on to share the gospel with the man. The man listened attentively, asking questions as Sundar spoke, and eventually asked if he, too, could become a Christian. Sundar led the man in a prayer. Following the man’s conversion, Sundar sent him on his way to the town of Garhwal, where there was a mission station and missionaries who would instruct him further in his new faith.
Sundar continued on his way over the mountain pass that led to Tibet. As usual, his summer in Tibet was a mixture of being taunted and abused in some villages and listened to and questioned in others. He also had some unique opportunities to preach.
On one occasion, as Sundar was climbing over a mountain, he came upon a man praying in a cave. So as not to fall asleep while he prayed and meditated, the man had tied his long hair to the roof of the cave. Sundar walked into the cave and asked the man what he was doing.
“I have led a life chasing after worldly pursuits, Sadhu, but that has only brought me emptiness and has not calmed my dread of an unknown future. So I have come to this cave to forsake the world and search for the enlightenment that will take away my fears.”
“And have you found what you seek?” Sundar asked.
“Alas, Sadhu, I have not yet found that which I seek. No relief or enlightenment has yet overcome my spirit.”
Sundar then began to share the gospel with the man. A look of delight slowly spread across the man’s face until he could not seem to contain his joy. The man untied his hair from the roof of the cave and jumped up.
“Now my soul is at rest!” he declared. “Sadhu, this Jesus Christ, make me His disciple. Lead me to Him.”
Sundar led the man in prayer and explained to him more about Christianity. Before they parted, Sundar encouraged the man to go to the nearest mission station.
On another occasion Sundar had been chased from a village by an angry mob. As he fled the village, he began making his way along a narrow ledge, when he slipped and dislodged a large boulder. The boulder tumbled from the ledge and crashed to the ground, right on top of an enormous black cobra, crushing and killing it. A young boy nearby saw what happened. He ran to Sundar and explained to him that he had just killed the snake that had bitten and killed several residents of the village. People were so scared of the creature that they no longer used the track along the narrow ledge that he was following. The boy then ran into the village and told everyone what had happened. The residents of the village were so grateful that they invited Sundar back to the village to stay with them. This time they listened attentively as he shared his faith with them.
On still another occasion, Sundar was making his way over a steep mountain pass strewn with sharp rocks, when his feet began to bleed. As he sat down at the side of the road to bandage them, a man making his way over the same pass stopped to talk to him. The man introduced himself as Tashi and asked what it was that drove Sundar to walk in bare feet over such rough terrain. Sundar explained to Tashi about Jesus Christ and the gospel and his desire to share its message with as many people as he possibly could.
When Sundar had finished bandaging his feet, the two men walked on together. Tashi explained that he was a seeker of truth but found himself perplexed with more doubts than ever before.
When they reached his village, Tashi urged Sundar to stay with him and tell his family about Jesus Christ. Sundar stayed with Tashi for a week, sharing the gospel before traveling on to the next village. Two weeks later Sundar decided to return and visit Tashi. Much to Sundar’s surprise and delight, Tashi announced that he and his family had become Christians. Now they wanted to be baptized. Sundar reminded them that this was a dangerous act—that there might be severe consequences when the lama learned what he had done.
Tashi explained that he had once served as the lama’s secretary and enjoyed a warm relationship with him as a result. So he had already gone to the lama and told him what he wanted to do. At first the lama was not pleased, but because of his friendship with Tashi, he would allow him and his family to be baptized as long as they did not try to actively persuade others to join their new faith. Sundar was amazed at the lama’s broadmindedness, and he gladly baptized Tashi and the eight members of his family in a nearby river.
Finally the shadows began to lengthen, and the chill of fall permeated the air as Sundar began the trek back over the mountains to India before winter set in.
Back in India Sundar stayed in Simla for several weeks before beginning a tour of villages in the northern region of the country. His successes in Tibet over the summer spurred him on. Everywhere Sundar went, he encountered people who needed to hear the good news that Jesus Christ was the only Person who could lift them out of their despair.
In May 1914 Sundar found himself preaching in an area he had never been in before on India’s border with Nepal. As he made his way along, he felt strongly that God wanted him to cross the border and go and preach in Nepal. It would be a dangerous venture. Christians were even less welcome in Nepal than they were in Tibet. To make matters worse, to enter Nepal legally you needed a Nepalese passport, and it was impossible for a Christian to be issued such a passport. These obstacles notwithstanding, Sundar decided to go anyway. He bought as many New Testaments in Nepalese as he could carry and set out.
