Chajju Bhagat

Chajju Bhagat (died 1640) was a Punjabi Hindu religious figure during the 17th century who left his business to become a spiritual renunciate. A monument dedicated to him can be found in Lahore. He was celebrated as a bhagat.

Biography He was originally known as Lala Chajju Ram. According to Syad Muhammad Latif, Bhajju was of Bhatia origin and worked as a saraf (money-dealer) in the city of Lahore. He worked at Suha Bazaar in Lahore, trading jewels and gold. One account states that Chajju encountered a street sweeper, which led him to reconsider his current path as a businessman. The well is located in Loha Bazaar with an opening on Kesera Bazaar, now called Gurdwara Baoli Sahib. He also rejected the varna system. Guru Arjan contemplayed but ultimately decided to reject the idea of including the compilations of Chajju and the other three figures in the Sikh scripture as they were not completely in-line with his teachings.

The Sikh guru rejected the hymns as they were against the principles of being a house-holder who married, which the Sikh gurus promoted. According to the Sikh gurus, only women other than one's wife were to be avoided, not women in-general, which was a practice of ascetics who gave up the world, not Sikhs. Rudyard Kipling noted that the monument complex associated with Chajju was in poor-condition after the British annexed the Punjab.

Chajju da Chaubara

A monument dedicated to him, known as Chajju da Chaubara ("Chajju's dwelling"), was built in Tila Bukhari Mohallah, now located within the middle of Shams Shahabuddin Convalescent Home next to Mayo Hospital in Lahore, believed to be the place Chajju resided and meditated. After his death, a marble samadh was constructed, being managed by the Dadupanthis. The monument was originally raised during Bhangi rule. The Udasi figure Bawa Pritam Das of Pakpattan constructed a mandir there and acted as the mahant. The site was associated with sadhs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh visited the site every Monday and donated to its operation. The architecture of the edifice contains both Mughal and Sikh influences. The site is now used as a makeshift mosque. The chaubara complex once consisted of a number of auxiliary structure although now only the chaubara remains.

Another chaubara monument associated with him, with the same name, was found in Dhal Mohalla, which marked the location where Chajju is said to have caused the Ganges river to flow to help an old woman bathe during Vaisakhi.