" It is I who have created all! I am the source of everything in creation."
Upon hearing these ecstatic declarations, an angry mob of fanatic Baluchi soldiers buried alive the old woman who proclaimed them. Over ten years later, when some of these same soldiers happened to be in Poona, to their utter amazement they saw the same woman, Hazrat Babajan, giving her blessing to a group of devotees. Realizing their terrible mistake, the soldiers approached Babajan and begged her forgiveness, placing their heads at her feet in reverence.
Babajan had a regal bearing. It angered her if anyone addressed her as "Mother." The old woman would vehemently protest, "Do not call me that, you fool. I am not a woman; I am a man!" For after attaining the highest possible spiritual state of a Qutub (Perfect Master), her consciousness reflected the ascendency of Purush (the masculine principle of the self) over Prakruti (the feminine principle of Nature or maya ). Thus she became a true man — a Perfect Man.
Hazrat Babajan was born to a royal Muslim family of Baluchistan in northern India on 28 January between 1790 and 1800.1 Her given name was Gulrukh, which means like a rose or with cheeks like roses. The child's name truly befitted her, and she retained this delicate beauty throughout her life, attracting people to her wherever she went.
Gulrukh's father was a minister in Kabul for the Amir (King). She was raised as a princess, and no expense was spared in giving her the training and education appropriate to her royal position. The girl was bright and intelligent. As a child, she became known as a Hafiz-e-Koran , having learned the entire Koran by heart. She also became fluent in several languages, including Arabic, Persian, Pashtu, Dari, Urdu and even English.
Spiritually inclined from childhood, Gulrukh spent much of her time in solitude reciting the prayers she learned from the Koran or meditating silently. When her childhood companions came to her house to play, they were disappointed to find that she preferred a quiet room to their games. They sorely missed her. As the girl grew into a young woman, her spiritual inclinations increased. She spent more and more of her time alone. Her physical beauty also increased, and people remarked that Gulrukh's husband would be a lucky man indeed.
Footnotes
- 1.Baluchistan, now part of Pakistan, was formerly a part of British India.