Bhai Balu Hasna (13 November 1564 – 2 December 1660) was a Sikh preacher and leader of a branch of the

Udasi Udasis ( Gurmukhi: ਉਦਾਸੀ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; ''udāsī saparadā'') (Devanagari: उदासी संप्रदाय), also spelt as Udasins, also known as Nanak Putras (meaning "sons of Nanak"), are a religious sect of ascetic ' ...

sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' (/ səmpɾəd̪ɑjə/,; ), in Indian-origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmissi ...

''. He was the younger brother of Bhai Almast.

Early life

Balu Hasna was born on 13 November 1564, in a Gaur Brahmin family of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

(

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

) to Pandit Hardatt and Mai Prabha.

Later life

Initially named Balu, he travelled with his elder brother Alu, also known as Bhai Almast, to receive teachings from

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expande ...

in Amritsar in 1604. Balu devoted himself to serving the Guru, and later accompanied

Guru Hargobind Guru Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644) was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his ...

on his chases, always wearing a smile that earned him the nickname "Hasna," meaning the laughing one. At the request of

, Bhai Balu Hasna joined

Baba Gurditta Baba Gurditta (5 November 1613 – 15 March 1638, Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦਿੱਤਾ) was the son of Guru Hargobind (sixth Sikh guru), and the father of Guru Har Rai (seventh Sikh guru) of Sikhism. There is a gurudwara in Kiratpur Sahib, Punja ...

, the Guru's eldest son and spiritual successor of Baba Sri Chand, the founder of the

sect.

Missionary work

Baba Gurditta assigned him the task of preaching

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

in the

Pothohar The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Etymology A l ...

region for the remainder of his life. Balu Hasna continued this mission until his death in Peshawar on 2 December 1660.

Legacy

Bhai Lal Das Daryai and Bhai Jado Rai, both Punjabi poets and disciples of Bhai Balu Hasna, carried on his work in western and southern Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Sindh. According to sources, Bhai Lal Das accompanied Guru Gobind Singh to the South, received khalsa baptism, and was renamed Prahilad Singh, writer of one of the Sikh codes of conduct, the ''rahit-nama'', is attributed to Balu Hasna. Udho Das, another of Bhai Balu Hasna's followers, served Mata Panjab Kaur, the widow of Baba Ram Rai at

Dehra Dun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, ...

after her death in April 1741, and succeeded her, constructing a

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

honouring Bhai Balu Hasna at Dehra Dun.

References

External links