Talk:Sati Kewal Rām

By Vishal Agarwal

Sant Kewal Rām was born in 1617 CE in Derā Ghāzī Khān. He was a very religious child. When his father Goswāmī Mathurā Nāth passed away, Sant Kewal Rām decided to roam all over Pakistan and Afghanistan to stop the conversion of Hindus to Islam.

The ruler of Afghanistan was furious and ordered his soldiers to arrest Sant Kewal Rām. When the soldiers came to arrest the Sant, he was sitting on a wall. He asked them to return to their king’s palace and that he would follow them. As they started on horseback, Sant Kewal Rām showed a miracle. The wall on which he was sitting started following the horses and soon overtook them! When the ruler heard of this miracle, he was terrified and gave a big donation to the Sant, who passed it on to the Maṇḍir in Derā Ghāzī Khān. The forcible conversion of Hindus was stopped in the area, thanks to the miracle of the Sant.

After a few years, Sant Kewal Rām decided to settle down a little north of Derā Ghāzī Khān. This new home was in an area called Derā Ismāʿīl Khān and was also located west of the river Indus. There, he erected a platform on which he sat and regularly gave talks on Hindu dharm (and specifically the teachings of Vallabhācārya). Many Muslim saints lived in that area and they opposed Sant Kewal Rām’s arrival.

One day, a Muslim saint spread a cloth on the Indus river and floated on it as if the cloth were a boat. He challenged Sant Kewal Rām to repeat the miracle. The Sant bested the Muslim saint by throwing a rock into the Indus and then floating on it as if the rock were a boat. Another Muslim saint once threw a snake at him. The Sant converted the snake into a stone.

One day, Sant Kewal Rām was travelling on the Indus river, using a piece of cloth as a boat. A Muslim saint was watching him with his head out of a window in his home. The Muslim saint performed some magic so that the Sant would drown. When the Sant realized that he was drowning, he performed some counter-magic so that the Muslim saint grew horns and his chin enlarged so that his face got stuck in the window. The Sant then forgave the Muslim saint and asked him not to ever misuse his magical powers.

Local Muslims still visit the platform of Sant Kewal Rām in Derā Ismāʿīl Khān and light a lamp in his honor. The platform is now taken care of by Muslim caretakers. A photograph of this platform is shown below.

Did you know?

The beautiful life of Kṛṣṇa inspired not just Hindu Sants, but also many others who were born as Muslims. These Muslims became devotees of Kṛṣṇa and wrote beautiful poetry to worship Him. Examples of these Sants include a temple doorkeeper Sulṭān of Jaipur (Rājasthān, India) and Raskhān (Delhi, India). Today, Hindus regard them as Hindu Sants, and sing Raskhān’s devotional poetry.