Baba Balak Nath

Baba Balak Nath

Baba Balak Nath or Sidh Baba Balak Nath Hindi: बाबा बालक नाथ जी, Punjabi: ਬਾਬਾ ਬਾਲਕ ਨਾਥ ਜੀ is a Hindu deity worshipped in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. His shrine is known as "Deotsidh". It is 45 Kilometers from "Hamirpur"Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh and is on the border of Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. Baba Balak Nath Temple is situated at the village of "Chakmoh" in the district of Hamirpur on the hill top, in a natural cave/"Gufa" carved in the hills, considered to be the abode of Baba. An Idol-Image of Baba is placed in the cave. The devotees offer Sweet Indian Flour Bread"Rot"(a bread made of raw sugar/"Gur"Jaggery mixed with wheat flour and cooked in Pure Buttrr Oil)at the altar of Baba, ( When pure clarified sugarcane juice is boiled, what is left as solid is called as Gur which is called jaggery also). Goats are also offered to Baba as a gesture for his love. Goats are not slaughtered though; rather they are being fed and taken care of. The entry of women devotees is prohibited in the cave. However, there is a raised platform just opposite to the cave from where the women can have Darshan of the Babaji's Idol. Just 6 (six) kilometers ahead of the "Deot-Sidh" Temple, there is a small town named "Shah-talai” where Babaji is said to have practiced penance. The ancient name of this place was Changer-Talai. Baba Balak Nath’s worship and grazing Mata Ratno’s cattle’s, later returning her mattress of Chach-it got famous by the name of Chahtalai which later turned to Shahtalai, where Baba is said to have practiced disambiguationDhyana meditation.

Other Depictions

The origin does have a confirmation also in:Sidh Baba in Jana Srutis: Innumberable Jana Srutis sing praises to the divinity of Baba Balak Nath:

His birth references among 84 proven & exacted Chaurasi Siddhas:We narrate the Lord Shiva’s Gospel of Immortality[Amar Katha] as the Ballads of devotion[Jana Srutis] in this context. Amar Katha is a Puranic[puranas] story about the origin of Baba. As told, a parrot nestling incidentally heard the Amar Katha Srimad Bhagavatam, The Gospel of Immortality, being narraated by "Lord Shiva" to "Parvati". Lord Shiva’s Trident ‘Trishul’ followed parrot nestling. Parrot nestling hid in the stomach of the wife of Rishi (Sage) Vyasa and requested a promise of forgivness from Lord Shiva for coming out. The promise was that when parrot nestling would come out in human form, it along with all the children born at that time might become eternal. Lord Shiva agreed for that and an extraordinary beautiful lad came out and vowed before Lord Shiva for blessing. This lad famed as ‘Sukdev Muni’, later on. Baba Balak Nath was one of the nine ‘Nathas’ and eighty four ‘Sidhas’ born at that time Emanation of Lord Shankra in ‘Dvapara Yuga’: According to ‘Lok Srutis’ Baba Ji reincarnates in every Time Frame that is termed as Yuga in Hindu Religious structure of time. He was known as ‘Skanda’ in ‘Sat Yuga’, ‘Kaul’ in ‘Treta Yuga’ and ‘Mahakaul’ and ‘Dvapra Yuga’. ‘Mahakaul’ of ‘Dvapra Yuga’, while visiting ‘Kailasha Parvata’, met an old woman on the way. The old lady asked of his mission and destination. After listening to him she advised ‘Mahakaul’ to meditate on the bank of ‘Mansarovar’ and request ‘Mother Parvati’ (who would come there for bathing on special occasions), help him in reaching ‘Lord Shiva’. ‘Mahakaul’ acted as told and became successful in his mission of reaching ‘Lord Shiva’. On seeing ‘Balayogi Mahakaul’, ‘Lord Shiva’ became very happy and blessed Baba to be the ‘Sidha symbol’ of worshipping for devotees in ‘Kaliyuga’ and his child-like image to remain forever.

The Birth, the Education & the Boon of Lord Shiva to Baba Balak Nath

Baba Balak Nath is believed to be a Re-incarnation of Lord Kartikeya son of Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvati, born Sat-Yuga(Time Frame in Hindu Scriptures) to annihilate demon Tarkasur. Dear to Goddess Ganga & came on the Earthly Abode as the son of a Pandit (Name Prefix for Brahmins) Vishnu and Lakshmi, in Kathiawad Junagadh, Gujarat. The childless couple was granted a baby-boy as a Boon by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for the meditation & medicated prayers performed by the couple, at Girnar. The boy was named ‘Dev’. Dev later on became completely devoted to ‘Bhagvad devotion’. He got his formal education in Kashi here he mastered & recited Vedas. Back in Junagadh, He meditated on Lord Shiva. On a matter of marriage proposal, He left home to attain eternity & ‘Parma Sidhi’. Under the guidance of Guru Dattatreya, he learnt the attained mastership in concept of ‘Sidhas’. On attaining the ‘Sidha’, Dev became popularly known as BABA BALAK NATH."jai babe di" (laddi garhshankar).

Another Narration regarding BABA in Locale

Another narration goes as: The Child was named "Bal Shiva" by Pandit Vishnu and Lakshmi. Bal Shiva was no ordinary child and was very dear to Vishnu and Lakshmi. At an age of 5 yrs however, other parents started complaining about him and one day Lakshmi could not bear it and slapped him. After this incident, during the night Bal Shiva left the house and decided to go back to his eternal parents Lord Shiva and Parvati. While he left the house the peacock which is Lord Kartikeya’s Vahana (Celestial Mount) also wished to accompany him but was refused. Lord Shiva and Parvati could see that Their son Bal Shiva was sad and so appeared before him and gave Bal Shiva a Singhi which was none other than Lord Shiva's Dumroo (a small hand-held drum). They also blessed him with a boon to be always of 12 years of age.

Meeting Guru Dattatreya

After leaving Junagadh, Bal Shiva went to Vrindavan. Here he meditated to please Lord Shiva. , Dattatreya was visiting Vrindavan with his disciples. When he saw a divine child (Bal Shiva) meditating, he was impressed by the Child's dedication & faith he took child Shiva as his disciple. It was then Bal Shiva came to Dattatreya ashram at Girnar.

Vipan Dhiman

A strange episode at Dattatreya Ashram

It is said that once an old woman came to Dattatreya's ashram, wailing and looking for her lost child. She requested Guru to help her locate and find her child. Moved by her pathetic condition Guru promised her to get back the child unharmed, and asked of his disciples to find the child. All the disciples Looked around for the Child, with the aid of their Divine Powers, but were unable to locate the child. Then Guru asked of Bal Shiva to go & find the child, which he duly did & found the Child soon. In fact, He killed the demon (Ghori) in a duel, who had Kidnapped the old woman's child. Guru then renamed his favorite Disciple as Balak Nath.

Balak Nath Pursued his studies under Dattatreya for 12 years while travelling various places. Thereafter, Baba Balak Nath went to Haridwar.

King Bhartrihari & Temptation of Guru Gorakhnath

At Haridwar Babaji meditated to please Goddess Ganga. On being satisfied with his meditation, Goddess appeared before Baba Balak Nath to bless him. BhartriHari was also blessed by Ganga. BhartriHari on being enlightened that Baba Balak Nath was no ordinary Saint, accompanied Baba to Tijara (Rajasthan) from Haridwar[1].

Baba in Tijara

Baba and King BhartriHari stayed at the house of a Kumhara (Potter). Satisfied and happy with the Potter's devotion, Baba blessed him with a huge amount of hidden gold, which Kumhara unearthed after Baba had left. The Kumhara realized the miracle and Babaji's blessings. After leaving Tijara, BhartriHari went to Ujjain to meet his family.

Episode of Vrindavan

Babaji went to Vrindavan and sat in Samadhi (disambiguation). Meditating in deep Dhyana seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva. Being in Samadhi (disambiguation) for many years together, he was covered with the Soil (forming a mound on him). At this juncture Guru Gorakhnath visited Vrindavan with his disciples. He saw a divine child in Samadhi (disambiguation) and realized that he was no ordinary child. He was incited with a deep and strong desire temptation to convert the child into his disciple, as having a disciple as this child would fetch him great fame. Babaji, during Samadhi, could sense the plans of Guru Gorakhnath. Already having Dattatreya as guru, he could not accept Gorakhnath as his Guru. He disappeared from Vrindavan and re-appeared in Delhi using his celestial powers to avoid Guru Gorakhnath. “Since Babaji is none other than Kartikeya, he has Kankaneta (a goat as a ride) which can travel at the speed of mind.” In Delhi, Baba is believed to have sat in Samadhi on the banks of river Yamuna and had his Dhoona (ever-burning Holy Fire). River Yamuna is also believed to have come to seek the blessings of Babaji.

Meeting Mata Ratno in ShahTalai

It is said a Vidhyapati (Scholar Teacher) once deeply meditated on Lord Shiva. On being pleased Lord Shiva left Kailash and went to serve in the Vidhyapati's house. Also, Mata Parvati, longing to see her son Balak Nath, stepped, as Luhari(Ironsmith) Ratno, on the land of Shahtalai [2][3]. On the other hand, Baba also wished to meet his Mother and decided to come to Shahtalai. It is a popular legend in Shahtalai that on reaching the village, Baba took rest under a tree, where a snake sheltered him from the scorching sun.This miracle was witnessed by all the villagers of Shahtalai. Chanting Alakh Niranjan, Baba reached the House of Mata Ratno. He was pleased to reunite with his Mother, in form of Mata(Mother) Ratno. He requested her for a job at her place. She asked Babaji to take care of her cows. Thereafter, Babaji got the Name “Gopalak”(The Caretaker of the Cows) and is believed to be very dear to the cows.

The Miracles at Shahtalai

There is also the description of the miracle that in Shahtalai, Baba bought rains to help the farmers in the dry season. In fact the King of Bilaspur [4] also sought the blessings of the Bal Shiva Yogi after he heard about Baba. It is a popular folklore, wherever the Bala Yogi walked a cloud went along sheltering him. The King of Bilaspur was amazed to see the clouds rendering service to Baba. People in Shah-talai became devotees of the Bal Yogi. Mata Ratno was very happy to have her son in service. Whenever she sees Babaji in meditation, she used to bring Roti (Chapati) and Lassi (made from churning curd and water) for him.

The Duel between Baba & Guru Gorakhnath again

Guru Gorakhnath came with 125,000 disciples and stayed with the king of Bilaspur Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. The king Apprised him of the Divine Magical Powers of Bal Shiva Yogi with clouds rendering him service. Gorakh nath envisioned that this divine yogi is the same Balaknath, who escaped from him at Vrindavan. He decided to test the powers of the Bal Shiva Yogi. Baba welcomed Guru Gorakh nath and his disciples. Gorakhnath asked Baba to fetch water from Mountain of Dhaulagiri, and gave a vessel to Baba. Baba accepted his request and through his powers filled the Vessel with the Water. Baba discovered some magical power in the vessel that was trying to dissuade him, but by Shiva's grace, Baba saved himself from temptation. On being ordered to serve milk to all his Devotees, Baba called on cow Sundari(Divine Cow), & gave them a fill of Appetite. Gorakhnath and his disciples were amazed. Gorakhnath was still not convinced and to prove his superiority over Baba. He took tested Baba & tossed his deer skin high in the air. The deer skin went up high, sped away higher and disappeared. He then asked Baba to bring down the deer skin for him. Baba tossed his Chimta up and it tore the deer skin, Guru Gorakhnath tossed-up, in two halves. Now Babaji asked Guru Gorakh nath to get the Chimta back, Guru Gorakhnath desperately failed to get the Chimta back.

He ordered a forceful inquisition of Baba Balak Nath. when the followeres of Gorakhnath tore Baba's earlobe to put-on the ear-ring. Milk is said to have sprinkled out instead of blood. This miracle scared Guru Gorakhnath’s disciples. At the same time, Babaji escaped their grasp and hid in a secret cave, to avoid Guru Gorakhnath. It is believed that Bhaironnath and Bhartriharinath were also disciples of Guru Gorakhnath and after this incident they paid salutations to Baba. All the disciples abandoned Guru Gorakhnath and he soon realized the eternal truths about Baba. He bowed to Baba and left with Bhaironnath. BhartriHari remained with Baba. Baba gave Bhartrihari a divine fruit and asked him to give it to one he loved the most. Bhartrihari left for Ujjain with this divine fruit. Baba then went back to Shah-Talai and met Mata Ratno.

Babaji takes a Leave from Mother Ratno

Baba came back to Shah-talai and meditated again deep on Lord Shiva. Meanwhile, the cows he used to take care, were left unattended for sometime. One day the cows ravaged fields of the village and villagers complained to Ratno demanding the compensation. Ratno came with the villagers to tree where Baba was meditating and asked for money in lieu of the food ((Indian Flour Cake)Roti and Lassi(mix of Churned Curd & water)), she had given him for 12 years, as compoensation for the damage to the villagers. But that was again a miracle which the villagers witnessed, that fields were in unharmed state, which they were, before being ravaged by the cows.

It is said that after this, Baba dug his ForkChimta at the base of the tree, under which he used to meditate. The Chapattis served by Mata Ratno for 12 years came out. With another hit of Chimta(Fork), He bought out Lassi. After this Baba straddled his Vahana (Celestial Ride) Peacock and left for Dhaulagiri.

BhartriHari's realisation of the Eternal truth with the divine fruit

King Bhartrihari realized the divine and eternal truth with the divine fruit, given to him by Baba. ” No-one except the Lord Almighty was Lord of all and the Eternal Truth Thereof.” He came back to ShahTalai in search of Baba. Unable to find him there, he felt depressed and started praying for forgiveness. Babaji gave Darshan (divine appearance) to Bhartrihari and they both meditated at Dhaulagiri. It is believed that Banarsi Das was the first one to have Darshan (Divine Appearance of the Lord to the Devotee) of Baba Balak Nath. Baba gave him Vibhuti (The Sacred Ashes of the Holy Fire) from the Dhoona to remove the miseries of life. Jai Baba di.

Some Facts about Baba Balak Nath

1. Guru Guru GorakhnathGorakhnath could not win over Baba as Baba Balak Nath is none other than Kartikeya Kartikeya. Gorakhnath is a Navnath and was an incarnation of Hari Narayan. Dattatreya is the guru of Nath Sampradaya (Commune) and Baba Balak Nath was his disciple. Baba Balak Nath is not any of the Navnath. Baba Balak Nath is above Navanatha and all Navanatha come under him.
2. Kudnu (goat), offered at the temples of Babaji is none other than Kankaneta which can travel at the speed of mind. Varun gave it to Kartikeya, when he killed Tarakasur. The Kudnu is just offered (not killed) in Baba Balak Nath's temple.
3. Female Devotees are prohibited from entering the interiors of Baba Balak Nath temple. It is said that once Mata "Mother"Parvati, missing his son Kartikeya, took a form of cat and visited Junagarh to meet Bala Shiva. Bala Shiva played a lot with the cat. The cat left after sometime. After 1–2 days when Babaji missed Mata Parvati, he came to Kailash to meet her and saw scratches on Mata Parvati's face. Babaji enquired Mata about this, to which Mata informed that she had taken the form of cat to meet Babaji and he gave her (as a cat) the scratches through his hands. Babaji soon realized that ladies are very delicate and Baba is coarse like stone. So he prohibited women from entering his durbar. This has been mentioned by Ramakrishna Paramhansa in his book Jyoti.
4. Peacock as a Vahana was gifted to Kartikeya by Rishi (Sage) Garuna. The peacock was Rishi Garuna's son Chitravarhana.

Baba Balak Nath ji is blessed by Lord Shiva that he will always remain 12 years old. That is why Baba Ji devotees remember him fom the name of Baba Balak Nath.

Sidh Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust

1. Temple has a trust namely ‘Sidh Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust’ that keeps a watch on the functioning of the temple. ‘Mela’s are organized during Holi festival. Every Sunday is considered auspicious day of Babaji and consequently attracts huge devotees on this day.Food becomes available for public at about 11 a.m. Food in ‘Langar’ can also be had in evening after the prayer.

External links

• [5]
• Online portal dedicated to bababalaknath ji
• (Shalini and Ashwani)
• Baba Balaknath Divya Bhaag 2 by Pandit Dinnanath
• Baba Balaknath Chalisa-By Pandit Dinnanath
• www.sucha.net^{[dead link]}

during the stay of BABA Balak Nath with mata ratno, Baba Ji never ate the food offerd by Mata ratno. After 12 years when Mata ratno taunted Baba ji that she is feeding him from past 12 Years then Baba ji returned the food and buttermilk to Mata Ratano.