Baba ji was born to father Kripa Singh and mother Sooba Devi in village Kajiaan in the Rawalpindi district in Pakistan in 1826 A.D. At that time, Bedi Sahib, Baba Sahib Singh, the eleventh generation descendant of the Great Guru Nanak Dev ji’s family was in the seat.

Kajiaan village was blessed with natural greenery and cool waterfalls abounded. Some great Sadhu or Mahatama was sure to establish a base there to enjoy the beauty of the natural scenery and to find solitude in order to recite the name of God. In this way, the village would always be humming with activity. Baba Sahib Singh Ji Bedi had halted here with his disciples while on his journey. This village had been founded by a Nirankari Kaazi. There were a few houses of Hindus and Sikhs, all of whom were engaged in trade. As soon as the news of Baba Sahib Singh Ji Bedi’s arrival spread, the crowds flocked to pay their respects.

Baba Karam Singh Sahib’s maasi, that is, his maternal aunt, Kartar Kaur also went for an audience with Bedi Sahib. When she saw countless multitudes being initiated and blessed, Kartar Kaur also thought of bringing her sister to visit the great soul. Her sister was unhappy at the lack of a son; Babaji may shower blessings in her lap. As the Baani teaches us:

“Chaari Padaarth jei ko maange saadh jana kee sevaa laagei.” (All that I ask for may be dedicated in the service to humanity.)

With such thoughts, Bibi Kartar Kaur inspired the entire family of her sister to pay their respects to Baba Sahib Singh Ji Bedi. After offering the fruit and other things that they had brought at the feet of Babaji, the entire family greeted him and sat around him. Bibi Kartar Kaur waited for an opportunity and then pleaded humbly before Babaji, “Babaji! You are one who can look deep into the soul and know what is inside the heart; my sister has three daughters, this Gurmukh family has come to sit at your feet to seek the blessing of a son. Please show mercy. Bless them with a son.” Babaji quietly closed his eyes upon hearing Kartar Kaur’s words. He went into ‘samaadhi’. After a while, he opened his eyes and smiled and the following words fell from his lips, “There will be a son… and if he is born at dawn, then he will be a great and renowned soul, the likes of whom the world has not seen. He shall be one who shall show the right path to lakhs of people.” The whole family was delighted to hear Babaji’s pronouncement.

As per the boon bestowed by Babaji, Mata Sooba Devi was soon heavy with child. Guru Arjan Dev Ji issues an edict in his pronouncement:

“Uderei maahi aayee keeya nivaasu.
Mata kei mani bahut bigaasu.”

The family was very happy. As Vaheguru had ordained, a child was born at dawn after ten months. The joy of the entire family and relatives and friends knew no bounds. Sardar Kripa Singh went to the gurudwara to render thanks and offer ‘prasaadi’, and asked for a name through a prayer to the Holy Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji. The alphabet ‘k’ was granted. The congregation of the holy men, who were the representatives of the Gurus, pronounced the name of the child as ‘Karam Singh’ and expressed their joy with loudly proclaiming the blessings of the Guru.

When the child was five years old, and old enough to start education, Sardar Kripa Singh confabulated with his wife, and decided to send him to the gurudwara for religious instruction by the Granthi Sahib, so that he could learn the Gurumukhi alphabet and learn to read and write. Santji was far ahead of the other children in reciting from the holy scriptures. Granthi Sahib also grew to love him more than the others.

One day when Babaji was going to the Granthi Sahib to study, he saw two students of his school fighting with each other. They were hitting each other with their wooden slates. Babaji ran towards them and struggled to pull them apart. In the scuffle, one of the children got a few extra whacks with the slate. That child went to Granthi Sahib and complained that the other two had beaten him up.

When the Granthi Sahib heard this, he reprimanded Babaji severely. But Babaji did not offer any explanation, deeming the Granthi Sahib to be his venerable Guru. He kept sitting silently. Later, Bhaiji went to bed after taking his meal as was his routine. He had a dream in the middle of the night and his body felt weighed down. A divine voice rang in his ears, “Bhai Sahibji! Do not use harsh words to the child that you have reprimanded today. That child is an incarnation of a saint and he will live a saintly life.”

This happened twice with Granthi Sahib but he did not pay heed. The third night the divine voice reverberated again, “Granthi Sahibji! Do not ignore this by thinking of it merely as a dream. He is a divine saint; a great saint!” Granthi Sahib was forced to believe it the third time it happened. He woke up at dawn and completed his ablutions. Then he went to the Gurudwara and cleaned it. He lighted the lamp for Guru Maharaj, and prepared the ‘deg’ for the ‘karah prasad’. He recited the ‘paath’ of Sukhmani Sahib, chanted the kirtan, and offered prayers. Several of the devotees had arrived at the Gurudwara Sahib. After taking the ‘hukumnama’, before distributing the prasaad, he greeted everyone and narrated what he had experienced – that a divine voice had come to him in a dream and told him Kaka Karam Singh was a divine saint. It had reiterated it three times with great force till “I decided that Kaka Karam Singh was indeed a divine saint. So it is my request to all of you that you must not refer to him as Karam Singh; henceforth everyone is to call him Saint Karam Singh. Everyone is to honour this request made before the Guru Darbar.” After that, everyone began to refer to him as Sant Karam Singh. His own family began to call him Sant Karam Singh.