Question 12: is Maharishi encounter with Sadhu Sundar Singh a true story? Did Sadhu wrote in his book about it?

Here’s what is documented about the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh’s encounter with the “Maharishi of Mount Kailash” and the reputed age claims — based on the best available sources and references:

1) Did Sadhu Sundar Singh really meet a 300-year-old Rishi?

Yes — in Christian hagiographical tradition and secondary accounts, Sadhu Sundar Singh is reported to have encountered an extremely old hermit (called a “Maharishi of Mount Kailash”) during his Himalayan travels. This figure is described as having lived well beyond normal human lifespan — sometimes stated as “over 300 years.”.

According to these accounts:

Singh reportedly met this hermit in a cave near Mount Kailash (Tibet) during his journeys. 

The hermit was described as living in deep meditation and peace, and claimed to have read early Christian scriptures (in some stories, Greek uncials of the Gospels), and to have spent his life wholly devoted to God. 

After their first meeting, they are said to have had multiple conversations about spiritual matters.

However — this story is not universally authenticated nor recorded in Singh’s own published works.

2) Where does this story come from?

The story most often circulates in secondary Christian writings, biographies, and devotional books that compile mystical experiences attributed to Singh — for example:

The Mystery of the Maharishi of Mt Kailash — a modern book (by Bernhard Koch) based on Sadhu Sundar Singh’s alleged experiences with this hermit, presenting the Maharishi as a “300+-year-old prayer warrior.” 

SpeakingTree and other devotional summaries which retell the encounter as a mystical and edifying episode. 

These sources often assume Singh’s account as factual, but they are not Singh’s own published works — they are later narratives or compilations.

3) Does Sadhu Sundar Singh himself write about this in his books?

This is where the evidence gets tenuous:

Sadhu Sundar Singh wrote eight books in his lifetime (translated from Urdu), including well-known titles such as:

• At the Master’s Feet (1922)
• Reality and Religion (1923)
• Visions of the Spiritual World (1926)
• With and Without Christ (1928)

These are his authenticated writings. 

Importantly, none of these mainstream published works contain an explicit chapter about the Mount Kailash Maharishi or the 300-year age claim that’s widely circulated on the internet or in modern books inspired by his life. Scholarly bibliographies of his works do not list such a story as a chapter in his canonical books. 

The Mount Kailash Maharishi narrative does appear in other Christian devotional compilations and later retellings (e.g., The Mystery of the Maharishi of Mt Kailash), but these are not part of Singh’s authenticated primary corpus. 

In other words:

• The story circulates widely in devotional literature about Sadhu Sundar Singh.
• But it has not been traced to a verifiable chapter in his own published books.

4) Scholarly / critical perspectives

Some biographers and researchers, including historians like Eric J. Sharpe (referenced in academic summaries), mention mystical tales in Singh’s life, such as this hermit encounter, but also emphasize that Singh did not leave written documentation of all these experiences, and that some stories may have grown in the telling.

They often characterize these tales as mystical or visionary, not strictly historical reports with verifiable evidence or independent witnesses.

Bottom Line

There are widely circulated stories that Sadhu Sundar Singh met an extremely old hermit at Mount Kailash who claimed to be centuries old. 

However, this narrative is not found in Singh’s primary published writings that scholars recognize as his official works. 

Most references come from later devotional books and secondary retellings, not direct quotes from Singh’s canonical texts. 

What is the conclusion?

There is no tangible evidence found in Sadhu Sundar Singh's authoritative books. He might have narrated some encounters with Rishis at Himalaya, but later the people twisted and retell the same incident with their own details like 300 yrs age etc.