Dear Brothers & Sisters,
Sadda Singh Gulliani (Saddabhai) was born in August 1943. He lived in a small village in North Punjab called Apra in a family of six brothers and one sister with his father owning a motorbike business. After a period of illness and a recent hospitalisation, he peacefully left the body on 18 April and flew to Baba’s lap.

In his early years, he witnessed the massacre between the India and Pakistan partition with blood on the streets – however these psychological scars never hindered him in any way. At the age of 16, he left his family and home, alone, with very little money or belongings, to go to the United Kingdom. He left without informing his mother – but like all mothers she was aware.

Over the next 10 years, he worked across different parts of the UK working in foundries, blast furnaces and other dangerous jobs while sending money back to his family in India. A few years later in the mid 1960’s, two of his brothers joined him in the UK – the younger (Swan) and the elder one (Arjun).

Getting a job became a challenge as he was under the legal age. While others refused the hard work, he was always ever-ready given the opportunity. He had a social life too, as he enjoyed a drink or two, in fact, 10 pints of lager was normal. Some mornings his manager would personally pick him up in his car as others refused to work in the furnace as it was that dangerous.

Over the years he would return to India, he got married and had four children. It was in 1975 that he brought his family to the UK even though my mother (Sharda Devi) was reluctant to leave India. He wanted to settle in West Bromwich since he wanted a better life for his children. I was then born in 1975 (the mistake as they say).

He did all types of service while living in a 3 bedroom house, along with his younger brother’s family – so 13 people in 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. He purchased a grocery store which my mother managed for 30 years, whilst his brother moved close by.

My dad would typically go to the cash and carry at 4.00 am in the morning, come back, unload the van and then go to work in a chemical factory for 10 hours in the evening which continued over the next 20 years to ensure the family was comfortable.

In 1980, his life was totally transformed when he came across a Brahma Kumaris centre just opposite the grocery store. Manuben was running the Brahma Kumaris centre in West Bromwich and became a very important person in my dad’s life. Once he joined the Brahma Kumaris, there was a complete change of lifestyle – he stopped eating meat and drinking alcohol overnight. Instead of the pub at night he would be in bed early to ensure he was up early to have meditation at 4.00 am in the morning.

That same year, my mother also joined the Brahma Kumaris alongside him; she remained committed until her passing in 2006. Induben, his daughter, dedicated her life to the organisation at the age of 18 in 1986, while I later moved to London in 1998. From a young age, all five children regularly attended classes with Manuben.

Over the years, he continued to work hard, managing his home and family, while focussing on his spirituality. In 1994, he stopped working in the Chemical factory as he could see the children were more than capable to run the family business with my mother. Dadi Janki asked him if he would come to help at the newly acquired Global Retreat Centre (GRC) in Oxford, so my dad left the home and family, because he felt he had fulfilled his responsibility for the family as all the children had grown up by now. So he left all of us for the Retreat Centre.

Not long after. In 1996, he moved to Global Co-operation House (GCH) in London. His duties in the early years in GCH were doing night security which meant staying up all night and during the day, he would be helping wherever there was a need, managing with only a few hours of sleep.

He enjoyed tutoring students from India, providing them with support and sustenance. From ensuring they had close accommodation near Global Co-operation House and they were eating God’s food, and then they would also do service in return.

Recently, he financed a new Brahma Kumaris centre in Punjab. He was always so generous and wanted to leave a legacy. He did all of this out of his love for God.

We all know dad loved his fruit and he loved to feed everyone else also. Any guests that came from India, without fail, my dad would invite them over to his flat to have a fruit party, and the papaya was a must, sometimes, mangoes and other fruits too. Once Mango season would start, people would order boxes from him. One of his other duties was going shopping for the centre – so every Wednesday and Saturday, dad would go shopping for the centre and many others would ask him to bring something for them too.

He was a very hard working person, who was very firm with his discipline. He had great strength and courage for everything he did. He was very innocent and straightforward.

Thank you, Dad, for your teachings and for the foundation you created for me. Many called Saddabhai their ATM… “Anytime I needed something, I would ask him and he would instantly give me whatever I asked, without asking a question.”

The funeral service took place on 27 April, 2026. Dad, Grandad, Uncle, Brother – you were the support for everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Baba’s yaad,
Jashpal and the Gulliani Family