Talk:Baba Lāl Dayāl

By Vishal Agarwal

Baba Dayāl is one of the long‐lived saints of Hinduism. He was born in 1412 CE in Kasur, near Lahore. He was a child prodigy and mastered several Hindu scriptures at a young age. He developed the feeling of vairāgya, or indifference towards the world, and finally met his Guru Swāmī Caitanyadeo on River Ravi in Lahore. His Guru taught him many Yogic techniques, such as flying in the air, reviving the dead, or disappearing and reappearing. However, Baba Lāl Dayāl did not attach much importance to these Yogic siddhis.

During the reign of Emperor Shāh Jahān, Baba Dayāl took his Guru’s blessings and went on a pilgrimage across north and north-west India all the way to Afghanistan with his 22 selected disciples. The crown prince Dārā Shikoh learned about the great saint and wrote to him respectfully, requesting a meeting. The conversation that took place between Baba Lāl Dayāl and Dārā Shikoh in Lahore is recorded in the form of questions and answers, and was published from Lahore in 1912 with the title Asrāre Marphat.

Baba Lāl Dayāl left his mortal body in the year 1712, and his samādhi exists in a village called Dhyanpur close to the town of Batala (district Gurdaspur) in Punjab. A fair is held at the site during Daśaharā and Vaiśākhī Daśamī in the Vaiṣṇava Maṭha there. Childless couples and sick people come for the Baba’s blessings at his samādhi in the hope of getting progeny and good health. A continuous succession of disciples has headed the Maṭha since 1712 to this day.