IAF Wing Commander To Spiritual Guru, How Kapil Singh Became Pilot Baba – News18

Pilot Baba is known for practising samadhis or death by interment, a feat which he claims to have performed more than 110 times in his life since 1976. Pilot Baba was formerly an Indian Air Force Pilot, named Kapil Singh. He was a wing commander in the IAF but later he chose to retire at an early age to pursue spirituality. Pilot Baba has fought in numerous and important battles for India. After leaving, he became the centre of attraction among the lakhs of Sadhus at Ardh Kumbh in 2007 for performing samadhis.

Pilot Baba was born in Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar. He did his post-graduation M.Sc. from The Banaras Hindu University (BHU). After completing his education, Kapil Singh (as he was formerly known) joined the Indian Air Force as a pilot. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in 1957 where he was classed as a Green Pilot, as per reports.

Pilot Baba took part in the Indo-China war in 1962. Apart from this, he also fought in the India-Pakistan war in 1965 and 1971. Pilot Baba was awarded several medals during his service in the Indian Air Force which included Shaurya Chakra, Vir Chakra and Vishisht Seva Medal.

But after working for all these years, an incident changed the perception of Kapil Singh towards life which eventually made him Pilot Baba. During one of his interviews, he said that in 1996, he was flying a MiG aircraft in the North-East of India when his aircraft lost control while he was returning to the base. The fighter plane developed a technical fault and the situation went out of control. Pilot Baba said that he had lost all hope of survival and started remembering his spiritual master, Hari Baba.

After some time, he felt the presence of the spiritual guru in his cockpit guiding him for the safe landing. The plane landed safely and Pilot Baba left the aircraft unscathed and alive. According to him, this was when he decided that he would be leading a spiritual life.

Pilot Baba took retirement from IAF at the age of 33 after this incident. It is believed that Pilot Baba did penance for 1 year in the Nada Devi valley of the Himalayas. Today, he has millions of devotees around the world and he has also authored many books. Some of his written literature includes Kailash Mansarovar, Pearls Of Wisdom, Discover the Secrets of Himalayas and others.