A Simple Educationist Turned Philanthropist
Sanjeev Kant Soni, a resident of N block of G.K.1, is simplicity personified. He does not even believe in using a smartphone. Popularly known as Sant ji, he is mostly seen in the Mahavirji temple.
He believes that God loves him immensely.
He was born in 1954 in a family of good values, where his parents taught him the benefits of Early to bed and Early to rise and to Serve and Love all. His mother was a school principal and his father was an accounts officer; both served the Government of India. His initial years were spent in north and west Delhi before moving to Greater Kailash in 1977.
He completed his schooling at Ramjas Senior Secondary School No. 5 and joined the prestigious St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, in 1970 to graduate with a degree in Physics (Hons). According to him, despite no planning, he went on to do his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, by divine grace. He secured a fellowship of $400 per month from the Indian government, and $300 per month was granted by the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his doctorate in two and a half years even though his fellowship was for three years. He worked pro bono at the university for six months as a gesture of gratitude. He returned to India in 1982, and by this time his faith in and love for God was firmly established.
He taught at SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University, for 34 long years, wherein his students were very impressed with his simplicity. Besides physics, he also taught them to dedicate their hearts to God and donate at least ten percent of their earnings. Ten of his pupils keep in regular touch with him to contribute towards charities that he supports. He retired as associate professor in 2019.
Mr Soni got married in the year 1986 and raised a beautiful family of two daughters with his wife, who taught in a school. The daughters are now married and happy in their respective lives. Unfortunately, Mrs. Soni developed multiple sclerosis and suffered for ten long years before uniting with the Creator. She was bedridden for the last five years of her life, and he was her nurse.
Mr. Soni believes that if he is in the service of God, God will always be by his side. This philosophy has proved itself true time and again in his life. He is very impressed with the philosophies of Swami Vivekanand and his guru, Shri Hridya Narayan, whose Ashram by the name of the International Association for Scientific Spiritualism is situated in Meerut. The ashram is headed by Shyama Guruji now, and he visits there several times a year to make a generous donation. He donates Rs 10 lakh a year to the Delhi Commonwealth Women’s Association, an NGO that supports underprivileged sections of society.
Ever since October of last year, he has organised to distribute khichdi to about 150 people every evening. The khichdi made at the ISKCON kitchen is delivered to a gate of the block, which is close to his house. He makes it a point to distribute the khichdi with his own hands. Some of his neighbours also contribute towards this noble cause.
