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At 22, while having a cup of tea, Ralph Neal saw an image, a vision, one that made him leave his life in the US and come to India in '70. "There was a voice within me since childhood, my constant companion, and I saw it take form. What I was seeking for was the truth, the call took me on a pilgrimage to points unknown and to Baba Virsa Singh and it's his message that I strive to interpret in my book, A Path to Follow, a Life to Lead,'' Ralph Singh, an American who embraced Sikhism charts his journey, his life.
Ralph describes himself as an ordinary person with extraordinary life experiences, and these stories find way into the book, as he tries to share amazing spiritual instances which are his own or of others who personally felt them. The material world, shares Ralph had no meaning and it was truth that he yearned for and found it as the first foreign devotee of Baba Virsa Singh and the years in Gobind Sadan, under Baba's wings. "Like any good student, I took class notes at Gobind Sadan, learning the language, a new way of life, philosophy and growing up again in the process. And all this finds way into the book,'' Ralph talks about the importance of rising above oneself and involving oneself in community building.
The path, recalls Ralph wasn't easy, there were fears, sufferings, frustrations, doubts, but he was able to overcome it all and arrive at a solid ground because of his commitment and search for faith. Over the last 33 years, Ralph has been involved with community building efforts, finding ways to define civil society, education development and teaching a course, Exploring Spirituality. "The idea of writing this book (printed by Sterling) is to share the blessings with everyone, help find light, dispel darkness, invoke the feelings of faith, forgiveness and galvanize the entire Sikh community,'' Ralph believes spirituality is not to be sold for it's not a commodity, but a driving force behind our life and not separate from anything, but an integral part of our life. The idea of spirituality, adds Ralph, is to overcome poverty, conflict, hatred, spread love, faith, beliefs and in the book through his own experiences Ralph shares a path that's not torn away from reality. "We need to carry values into schools, remember where we come from and do away with the disconnect. The ultimate goal is to be better human beings, raise the bar, and never let anything bog you down,'' Ralph inspires to seek peace and continue learning, discovering. "The toughest lesson is called life, and it's still going on. Have an iron will, nerves of steel and don't be afraid or get beaten down,'' Ralph's is thefinal word.
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