Didi Radhika Devi

Born on 9th May 1935, Didi Radhika Devi is the fifth child and third daughter of Dadaji. She was lucky to have all the blessings of her father from childhood. With her extraordinary intelligence, she stood first in group ‘C’ ( age group having children of 1st to 7th standard) in the Gurbani Classes held by Dadaji in Gur-Mandir, Karachi. She continued to stand first in Group ‘A’ in Delhi when Dadaji restarted Gurbani Classes after the partition of India and Pakistan. She accompanied her father - Dadaji on the Tanpura in kirtan and became a very important participant in his daily kirtan.

She graduated from the University of Delhi in 1956 and obtained a Law Degree in 1959. Though a law graduate she, like her father, did not take up the profession of a lawyer since, according to Dadaji, in this profession one would protect the wrongdoer for the sake of earning name and fame. She joined her father on his First Kirtan Yatra and stayed back in Mumbai permanently under Dadaji’s instructions. This was her greatest sacrifice - staying alone in Mumbai, far from her parents, at the tender age of 24 years. Dadaji wanted to bring her up in this field of kirtan from a very young age, sowing the seed of non-attachment to the world as a whole. She helped Didi Shanti Devi in Kirtan. Since Dadaji always believed in self-sufficiency, she joined National College as secretary to the Principal and thereby earned her livelihood. Looking into her progress in the religious field, Dadaji inducted her as one of the Niraguna Baliks and she became one of the founder members of the Institution on the sacred Birthday of Guru Nanak Sahib in 1963 in Delhi.

Immediately after Pujya Dadaji left for his heavenly abode, she joined Didi Kamla Devi in the remaining Kirtan Yatra and joined her in her foreign Kirtan Yatra covering Bangkok, Hongkong, Singapore and Manila in December 1964. In 1968, once again, she accompanied Didi Kamla Devi on her foreign Kirtan Yatra of East Africa, England and the Middle East. In 1979 she left her job and became a full-time devotee of the Institution. On the fateful day of 31st December 1980 when Didi Kamla Devi left for her heavenly abode, Didi Radhika Devi was unanimously elected as the Trustee of the Institution and Member-in-charge of the Ashram Circle. Since then she was fully engrossed in Mandal’s work. She would be in Ashram for all five months from May to September and take up Kirtan Yatras for the remaining seven months.

She was the fourth Trustee in succession in the history of the Mandal. Under her trusteeship, her outstanding achievements were:

(a) the release of Niraguna Granth in Sindhi where all the spiritual writings of Dadaji are compiled and also translated the same into Hindi

(b) the construction of new premises of Nij Thanw in Ashram.

She conducted kirtan yatras each year until the end of her life, as instructed by Pujya Dadaji and Kamla Didi, and eventually reached the ashram. During the commemoration of Pujya Dadaji's birthday, she enthusiastically led kirtan on 1st May 2017. Despite her advanced age, she suggested an extended yatra from Bombay by road to Solan's ashram for kirtan, passing through all significant cities along the route.

On 2 May 2017, after ensuring that all arrangements were made for Dadaji's birthday celebrations, she departed for her heavenly abode. Her final utterance was "hare ram."

Thus, she was a genuine source of inspiration and a guiding beacon for all Nirguna Baliks of bhakti, seva, and devotion, not only to your guru and his teachings but also to Dadaji's teachings.