Baba Siri Chand

Baba Siri Chand
Eldest Son of Guru Nanak Dev

“Sri Chand, aka Baal Yogeswar, is the eldest son of Guru Nanak. For 151 years he served the entire humanity and never looked more than 12 years in his appearance. He was always in his subtle body.* Very few people met him in the physical sense, but everywhere he appeared in his radiant body, in perfect form and shape." -- Yogi Bhajan

Baba Sri Chand is known as the world’s greatest Yogi. He is said to have walked on the planet for 151 years and never aged. He attained what the yogic writings describe as, “Kanchan Kaya,” the golden body. Born on September 8, 1494 in the sacred land of Sultanpur Lodhi in India, he was the elder son of Guru Nanak and Mata Sulakhani. He was initiated at the age of seven by Guru Nanak who taught him the yogic science of Charan Jaap and Mantra Jaap. Under the instructions of his father, he also studied the Sanskrit texts and the Khat Darshan.

When Guru Nanak returned from his final Udasi (travels), he presented his Udasi robe to Baba Sri Chand. Continuing the tradition of Udasis, Baba Sri Chand went as far as Afghanistan, Tibet, Assam, and all over India to continue spreading the message of his father. There still exists a Dhuna, the sacred fire of Baba Sri Chand in Shor Bazar Complex, Kabul, Afghanistan, where the local Sikhs have built a Gurdwara.

“Guru Nanak was heard, followed, listened to by thousands, hundreds of thousands and there was only one who could succeed him, Lehna. Guru Nanak’s own sons, Baba Sri Chand and Baba Lakshmi Chand, were perfect. Don’t think that there was anything less in them. But Guru Nanak wanted to give grace to the householder. One Gadee or throne of spirituality was given to Baba Sri Chand for the Udasi Panth, the unattached sect of that time. Therefore the other throne was to be given to a disciple, and that was Lehna who became Guru Angad." -- Yogi Bhajan

Guru Nanak himself crowned Baba Sri Chand as a Yogi, to take care of the Yogis, who were bothering the householders with their occult powers. While Gurugadee was passed to Guru Angad, Udasigadee was bestowed upon Baba Sri Chand. He wholeheartedly accepted the responsibility given to him by his father and Guru to unite the various Yogic schools of India known as Sadhu Samaj.

When Guru Ram Das, the 4th Guru, became Guru, Baba Sri Chand came to visit him. This meeting is beautifully recorded in the Gurpratap Suraj Prakash Granth as follows:

Sri Chand the kind one questioned the guru with an intention of testing him. “Why have you grown the beard so long?” Hearing this Guru looked at the ground. [77]

The Guru held the feet of Baba Sri Chand with topmost devotion and began to sweep it again and again with his long beard. “This is the reason for growing it so long, hear oh, the great son of my Guru” [78]

Seeing the humility of the Guru, Baba Sri Chand was totally pleased and remarked, “Guru Angad earned the Gurgaddhi through service, and you got it through devotion.” [79]

Your glory is higher then the high what more can I say who ever shall came into your fold, even the greatest sinners shall be saved [80]

Baba Sri Chand in return bowed at the feet of Guru Ram Das. Under Baba Sri Chand’s guidance, the heads of all the schools of yoga, which he had united under the instructions of Guru Nanak, also came and bowed to Guru Ram Das. This sealed the future.

From that moment forward, the lineage of the royal throne of Raj Yoga would come through the subtle and radiant bodies of Guru Ram Das. Thus, Kundalini Yoga as Raj Yoga was brought through the House of Guru Ram Das, and got ‘colored’ with the Sikh consciousness.

Baba Sri Chand, who is known as the protector of innocent seekers, left behind many yogic technologies for us. One such gem is the mantra, "Adh Such, Jugad Such, Hai Bhay Such, Nanak Hosi Bhay Such."

The mantra was composed on the request of Guru Arjun, the 5th Guru, when he came to visit Baba Sri Chand at Baath Sahib.

“The power of this mantra is when a man gets stuck it penetrates through anything. It takes you through. There is nothing in the universe, which can stop it.” -- Yogi Bhajan

Many other compositions and mantras are available that are well preserved in the Sikh lineage of the Udasis. Among them is the Matra, a spiritual dose. It was composed by Baba ji in the presence of the Siddhas, the masters of the twelve Schools of Yoga. The Matra talks about the unification of entire humanity at all levels and to rise above the limitations of the body and mind and to recognize the one consciousness, which is one in all. See Baba Sri Chand related music.

Once the Emperor of India, Jahangir, enquired from his spiritual teacher, Sain Mian Mir, who was also the head of the Sufi Order of Qadiris, “Who is the King of all the Darveshes today?" The Sufi master replied, “The elder son of Guru Nanak is the king of all the Darveshes."

Such was the legacy of this blue bodied Yogi who was revered by Muslims, Sufis, Lamas, Hindus, Yogic Sects, ascetics, and householders alike. -- Yogi Amandeep Singh

*Note: "You are a total combination of ten (10) bodies. You have a () spiritual body, () mental negative, () mental positive, () mental neutral, () physical body, () arc body, which you call halo, () auric body, () subtle body, () pranic body, and () radiant body. And they are interlocked, but two are free to go. Whenever the soul desires to leave, the arc body and all other bodies remain behind. They have no combination. The pranic connection with the pranic body totally breaks and with the subtle body the soul leaves. That means your identity is gone." -- Yogi Bhajan

See The Ten Bodies.