Hazrat Babajan
Hazrat Babajan hailed from Afghanistan (Central Asia) and was the daughter of well to do Afghan of noble lineage. Her maiden name was Gulrukh (rose faced) and her early training was that befitting the status of an Afghan aristocrat. At a very early age she learned Quran by heart and later became conversant with Arabic, Persian, Pushtoo and Urdu. From early life she developed mystical tendencies, and unlike girls of her age, she used to pass a good deal of her time in prayers, meditation and solitude.
This mystical aspect in her asserted itself, as when coming of age, she was found to be against any idea of marriage. The parents could not understand her and to them the idea of a Pathan girl remaining unmarried was extremely scandalous. Finding the situation no longer tenable and the parents bent upon forcing the issue of matrimony on her. Gulrukh managed to escape and came to Peshawar (India) and then to Rawalpindi. For a Pathan girl brought up under the strictest discipline of the Parda system, wandering at the age of 18 years, was not an easy undertaking.
She was initiated in to the path of spirituality by a hindu saint who met her in Rawalpindi. She stayed in that place for few years and then moved to Punjab. There she met a Muslim saint who put an end to her spiritual struggle and provided her the God-realization. After that she started here journey and visited many places. In 1903 she came to Pune.
Babajan never stayed in one place for more time in Pune. She always used to change her places but later she started staying at ‘Char Chavdi’ and that place became a pilgrimage as more and more people started visiting here seeking her blessings. Babajan used to call everyone as ‘Bachha’ (child) and blessed everyone.
After staying in Pune for about 35 years this holy mother left here mortal body on 21st September, 1931 at the age of about 125 years.
