Hazrat Babajan (1806 - September 18, 1931) was a Baloch Muslim saint considered by her followers to be a sadguru or qutub. It was Babajan who gave Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, his God-realization through a kiss on the forehead in January 1914, after this, he said that he experienced being in bliss for nine months. According to Meher Baba, Babajan was one of the five Perfect Masters of her time.
A regular visitor to Hazrat Babajan could never miss hearing her constant muttering to herself, worded somewhat like this: "Vermins are troubling me incessantly; I sweep them away, but still they keep on gathering." Simultaneous with these mutterings, unintelligible to listeners, she would keep on moving the palms of the hand all over her body, as if removing dust or cobwebs.
Meher Baba, when questioned as to the meaning and significance of the above meaningless utterance and the almost constant movement of the hands, gave the following illuminating explanation: "Annihilation Of all Amal (actions) good and bad, means Najat (salvation) and Babajan being God-realized was much above the state of salvation. She not only had no Amal (actions) to account for, but was in a position to destroy the Amals of others. The physical body of a saint like Babajan, when working on earthly plane after realization, becomes the focal point to which myriads and myriads of Amal of the universe get attracted, and getting purified in the furnace of Divinity i. e., the body of the saint, they go out again into the universe as spiritual Amal. ... Perfect saints like Babajan give out more spiritual Amal to the world than they destroy. Hence it is that living saints are a blessing and mercy to the world whether one knows it or not." This condition: (halat) in saints is the aspect of Divine love and beauty (Shane-jamal).
Hazrat Babajan often times, when the aspect of Divine glory (Shane-Jalal) possessed her, used to rave and grumble in the following strain: "Why do you torment my children; nay, you even kill them. They have done no wrong to you. Do I not feed you, and clothe you? What is it you lack? And still you perpetrate all these atrocities on them. What have I done to merit all this?" Words conveying this sense have been frequently heard from Babajan and naturally they gave rise to some guess-work on the part of the hearers, who interpreted the words to mean that Babajan was remembering and bemoaning the loss of her children who perhaps were cruelly dealt with by her people.
Meher Baba, when questioned on the point, explained: "There can be nothing further from truth; Babajan was never married and had no children. By children, she evidently meant the saints of the time (Awliyae-waqt), who are misunderstood, vilified and persecuted by the churches of all denominations, unmindful of the circumstances of which they are the outcome. Babajan was equally concerned with the enlightened and the ignorant, and hence her reference to feeding and clothing of the latter. She was as much for the material well-being of the world at large, as for the spirituality of the godly few whom she called her children.
Hazrat Babajan's spiritual status in the hierarchy of saints is that of Qutub. Literally the word Qutub means pole, and a Qutub functioning on the physical plane is the hub round which the universe revolves. Babajan's subjective experience (halat) of Gnosis (Irfan), would be described by Sufis as that of Salik-Majzoob. After God-realization, one returning to normal consciousness is possessed both of Divinity and Gnosis (Haqiqat and Marefat). When Divinity is uppermost in him he is called Majzoob, and when Gnosis predominates he is a Salik. Babajan had both these aspects in her equally balanced, and hence she was Salik-Majzoob of the time, possessing all the characteristics of a Qalandar.
the final resting place of Babajan. Pune, India
Hazrat Babajan, like all Qutubs (Perfect Masters), had a circle of twelve disciples and the spiritual chargeman thereof is Hazrat Meher Baba of "Meherabad" (District Ahmednagar). She stood in the unique position of a mother (a storehouse of spirituality) to all the saints of the time.
After a spiritual sojourn of about 35 years in Poona, Hazrat Babajan left her mortal coil on 21st September 1931 at the ripe old age of 125 Years. Her funeral procession was a tremendous affair, never accorded to any dignitary or royalty in the annals of Poona. Her remains were laid at rest at the very spot underneath the neem tree where she sat and dispensed Divine Grace for such a long number of years, thus confirming the Sufi belief, that:
"Cycles change,
the worlds rotate,
But Qutubs never their
seat vacate."
A regular visitor to Hazrat Babajan could never miss hearing her constant muttering to herself, worded somewhat like this: "Vermins are troubling me incessantly; I sweep them away, but still they keep on gathering." Simultaneous with these mutterings, unintelligible to listeners, she would keep on moving the palms of the hand all over her body, as if removing dust or cobwebs.
Meher Baba, when questioned as to the meaning and significance of the above meaningless utterance and the almost constant movement of the hands, gave the following illuminating explanation: "Annihilation Of all Amal (actions) good and bad, means Najat (salvation) and Babajan being God-realized was much above the state of salvation. She not only had no Amal (actions) to account for, but was in a position to destroy the Amals of others. The physical body of a saint like Babajan, when working on earthly plane after realization, becomes the focal point to which myriads and myriads of Amal of the universe get attracted, and getting purified in the furnace of Divinity i. e., the body of the saint, they go out again into the universe as spiritual Amal. ... Perfect saints like Babajan give out more spiritual Amal to the world than they destroy. Hence it is that living saints are a blessing and mercy to the world whether one knows it or not." This condition: (halat) in saints is the aspect of Divine love and beauty (Shane-jamal).
Hazrat Babajan often times, when the aspect of Divine glory (Shane-Jalal) possessed her, used to rave and grumble in the following strain: "Why do you torment my children; nay, you even kill them. They have done no wrong to you. Do I not feed you, and clothe you? What is it you lack? And still you perpetrate all these atrocities on them. What have I done to merit all this?" Words conveying this sense have been frequently heard from Babajan and naturally they gave rise to some guess-work on the part of the hearers, who interpreted the words to mean that Babajan was remembering and bemoaning the loss of her children who perhaps were cruelly dealt with by her people.
Meher Baba, when questioned on the point, explained: "There can be nothing further from truth; Babajan was never married and had no children. By children, she evidently meant the saints of the time (Awliyae-waqt), who are misunderstood, vilified and persecuted by the churches of all denominations, unmindful of the circumstances of which they are the outcome. Babajan was equally concerned with the enlightened and the ignorant, and hence her reference to feeding and clothing of the latter. She was as much for the material well-being of the world at large, as for the spirituality of the godly few whom she called her children.
Hazrat Babajan's spiritual status in the hierarchy of saints is that of Qutub. Literally the word Qutub means pole, and a Qutub functioning on the physical plane is the hub round which the universe revolves. Babajan's subjective experience (halat) of Gnosis (Irfan), would be described by Sufis as that of Salik-Majzoob. After God-realization, one returning to normal consciousness is possessed both of Divinity and Gnosis (Haqiqat and Marefat). When Divinity is uppermost in him he is called Majzoob, and when Gnosis predominates he is a Salik. Babajan had both these aspects in her equally balanced, and hence she was Salik-Majzoob of the time, possessing all the characteristics of a Qalandar.
the final resting place of Babajan. Pune, IndiaHazrat Babajan, like all Qutubs (Perfect Masters), had a circle of twelve disciples and the spiritual chargeman thereof is Hazrat Meher Baba of "Meherabad" (District Ahmednagar). She stood in the unique position of a mother (a storehouse of spirituality) to all the saints of the time.
After a spiritual sojourn of about 35 years in Poona, Hazrat Babajan left her mortal coil on 21st September 1931 at the ripe old age of 125 Years. Her funeral procession was a tremendous affair, never accorded to any dignitary or royalty in the annals of Poona. Her remains were laid at rest at the very spot underneath the neem tree where she sat and dispensed Divine Grace for such a long number of years, thus confirming the Sufi belief, that:
"Cycles change,
the worlds rotate,
But Qutubs never their
seat vacate."
by Dr. Abdul Ghani
HAZRAT BABAJAN: The Emperor of The Spiritual Realm of Her Time
Meher Baba onexperience with Babajan
"When the five perfect masters brought me down, they drew a veil over me. Hazrat Babajan was one of the perfect masters, and she unveiled me to my present form. With just a kiss on my forehead, between the eyebrows, Babajan made me experience (in May 1913) thrills of indescribable bliss that continued for about nine months. Then one night (in January 1914) she made me realise in a flash the infinite bliss of God-realisation.
At the time Babajan gave me the nirvikalp experience of my own reality, the illusory physical, subtle and mental bodies—mind, worlds, and all created things - ceased to exist for me even as illusion. Then I began to see that only I (in the sense of Highest Self), and nothing else, existed.
The infinite bliss of my self-realisation was, is, and will remain, continuous. At the moment I experience both infinite bliss as well as infinite suffering. Once I drop the body, only bliss will remain.
But at the time, I could not have said all this. During the first three days of my superconscious state, I was truly dead to everybody and everything other than my own infinite Reality, although my physical body continued to function more or less normally. Actually dead, though really living, I was considered by others to be seriously ill. I remained in bed, with wide open, vacant eyes that saw nothing.
On the fourth day, and after I was slightly conscious of my body, I began to move about without any consciousness of my surroundings. I received no promptings from my mind, as would an ordinary man. I had no knowledge of the things I did or did not do. I did not sleep and had no appetite. I did everything by instinct, like an automaton.
Although the infinite bliss I experienced in my superconscious state remained continuous, as it is now, I suffered agonies in returning towards the normal consciousness of illusion. Occasionally, to get some sort of relief, I would knock my head so furiously against walls and windows that some of them showed cracks.
In reality there is no suffering, only infinite bliss. Still, within the realm of illusion, it is suffering. My reality, although untouched by illusion, remained connected with illusion. That was why I suffered spiritual agonies.
Nine months after my self-realisation, I began to be somewhat conscious of my surroundings. Life returned to my vacant eyes. Although I would not sleep, I began to eat small quantities of food. I now knew what I was doing but I continued to do things intuitively, as impelled to do them by inner forces. I did not do things of my own accord or when asked by others.
Later, I began travelling long distances. Once, I left Poona by rail for Raichur, but felt the urge to get off at Kedgaon. There for the first time I came in physical contact with Narayan Maharaj (one of the five perfect masters) whose ashram is not far from that railway station. Similarly, from time to time I was drawn to see masters like Banemiyan Baba at Aurangabad, Tipoo Baba at Bombay and Tajuddin Baba (another perfect master) at Nagpur.
Finally, in December 1915, I felt impelled to call on Shirdi Sai Baba. The perfect Master among Masters. At the time he was returning in a procession from Lendi (in Shirdi). Despite the crowds, I intuitively prostrated myself before him on the road. Sai Baba looked straight at me and exclaimed: "Parvardigar" (God-Almighty-Sustainer, equivalent Quranic term would be Rabb).
I then felt drawn to walk to the nearby temple of Khandoba in which Maharaj (Shri Upasani) was staying in seclusion. He had been living on water there under Sai Baba's direct guidance for over three years. When I went near him, Maharaj threw a stone at me that struck me on the forehead exactly where Babajan had kissed me. That blow was the stroke of gyan (Marefat of Haqiqat, or divine knowledge)."
- From Hazrat Babajan by Meher Baba and A.G. Munsif (credit)
Further:
. Hazrat Babajan
. Shrine of Babajan (youtube)
. Sufi Masters of Indian sub-continent in 19th Century
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