Hazrat Babajan, Sufi Matriarch, Pt. I

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

The following is excerpted from a book I purchased some years ago on

Hazrat Babjan. There is one reference foot note (marked *) that is

from a biography on her written by Dr. Abdul Ghani Munsiff. I am

inspired to put this in because a friend asked me more about her, and

also because of what Satish S. brought to my attention, namely, Meher

Baba, who was awakened to his Godhood through a kiss from Hazrat

Babajan on his forehead (I think I remember reading that he (Meher

Baba) felt a current going through him for something like 6 mos.

after this kiss),

 

An excerpt:

 

"Increasing numbers of Muslims and Hindus, together with a sprinkling

of Zoroastrians, visited the neem tree, some coming over long

distances. But the matriarch gave no formal teaching, no weighty

discourses. Visitors reportedly felt the sheer impact of her

presence, which in many cases exerted a transforming influence.

 

It was at this time that she gained her well-known name of Hazrat

Babajan, though it seems that some had been calling her this prior to

the Great War. _Hazrat_ is an Islamic title frequently bestowed upon

sufi types, and means "the Presence." Her name was conferred in

deference to a standard reaction of hers. The common appellation for

any type of holy woman in India, is _Mai_ or _Amma_, meaning mother.

But if anyone addressed our matriarch in this manner, she would

heatedly rejoin "I am a man, not a woman!" She was evidently

stressing her sufi role of dominance. She was accordingly known as

_Baba_ (father) - _Jan_ (soul). *

 

Perhaps the least important aspect of her influence, though notable

nevertheless, was the transformation of her environment. "Within a

decade of Babajan's presence, the locality underwent a metamorphosis

surpassing all expections," writes Dr. Ghani. The squalid slum area

gained a prosperous facelift that was decidedly more picturesque.

This was not due to any city council or cantonment project, but

beause of the matriarch under the tree. The flow of visitors gained

pilgrimage overtones, and to an extent that the Char Bavadi vicinity

gained a populatrity amongst shopkeepers. New buildings sprang up,

and old ones were renovated. Teashops did a thriving trade, their

customers taking welcome refreshment while waiting to see Babajan.

In the street itself there were often sizeable numbers of people.

Hindus would approach Babajan by touching their heads to her feet in

the traditional manner of verneration; Muslims would kiss her hand in

greeting. Some merely gazed on. The crowd was interspersed with the

inevitable beggars, and also curious idlers who will always

congregate where other people congregate." (p. 5l-52)

 

To be continued in Pt. II...