True mystics are rarely hard to find at present times. We see news of many fake saints and babas who in reality are criminals and they have been publicised as a miraculous product. But there are many names that never made out a business from spirituality and were never promoted as a commodity. One such name is Reshi Pir Pandit, one of the greatest saints of Kashmir of the 17th Century A.D.

 

 

Born in 1637 to Pandit Gobind Kaul resident of Batayar Mohallah Ali Kadal Srinagar,Kashmir and named as Keshav, Resh pir was a very bright and intelligent child. Little Keshav was not an ordinary child. He was born after invoking cosmic power.It was a practice among the Kashmiri Pandits in those days that the first child should be born in the Mata Maal i.e. in-laws place. So when the time to deliver the child came near his mother was taken to Srinagar on a boat from Handwara according to the prevalent custom in the community. While she was in the boat on her way to Srinagar she started having delivery pains at Sopore and gave birth to a son who was named after Lord Krishna who was also born under similar circumstances. So just after his birth it is said that a mystic yogi woke up and told his disciples that a second sun had risen on the horizon of Kashmir, to guide all of us. The mystic came out from his hermitage and went up to the Shikara and kissed the forehead of Keshav and placed two gold coins in his delicate hands.

 

 

 

 

When he became 5 years old his Yagnopavit sanskar was performed as per social traditions in the community. He was then admitted in a school for his formal education. But he was more interested in spirituality. He used to go to Hari Parbat daily with his father. The ambience of the holy hill with abode of goddess Sharika had a great impact on the mind of young Keshav. Here he came into contact with some enlightened persons and thus his journey to be one with the divine power began. In the company of ascetics he built an Ashram in Devi Aangan in front of Hari Parbat. When his parents observed that their son was taking no interest in worldly affairs they married him with a beautiful girl to change his mind, but their all efforts could not distract him from the path of spiritualism. Meanwhile, his father passed away and his mother sent him to his maternal uncle's village for studies. But he continued the same routine there without any difference. One day when his uncle went away for some work young Keshav left the village and came to Hari Parbat straight from there to continue his spiritual journey. He then performed the circumambulation of Hari Parbat on naked knees for forty days with great devotion and succeeded in getting darshan of goddess Sharika in human form, who blessed him and asked for a boon. He simply said I want a Guru who can lead me to the ultimate truth to which the goddess Sharika replied that the first person who will come in your way will be your Guru and then disappeared. Later he found his Guru and kindled the divine spark in himself. He then expressed his desire to his mother to become a saint. But his mother was not prepared to leave the company of her only son. So to keep his mother happy, he then started doing meditation in his own house, with great devotion and concentration.

 

 

He did saadhna for 14½ years during which period he only took milk, honey and fruits as his diet. After this his body started radiating a glow like sun and became a great saint of very high spiritual order with supernatural powers to perform miracles. The people started coming to his house in hordes to pay their obeisance to him and he became famous as Rishi Peer all over the Valley among his large number of followers. He became a Rishi for the Hindus and a Peer for the Muslims of the Valley.

 

 

 

 

Rishi Peer had performed a number of miracles during his life span. In 1675 when Iftikhar Khan was the governor of Kashmir a big fire broke out and engulfed the entire Ali Kadal area. When the flames could not be controlled by all possible means then the people in utter panic approached Rishi Peer for his help who then threw his one wooden sandal into the fire and the fire was extinguished within no time.

 

 

It is also said that Rishi Peer had a spiritual discourse with his contemporary saint Roopa Bhawani and some Sufis from Baghdad. When his mother died he dedicated everything whatever he gained in her memory. He then did saadhna again for another 14 years taking only milk, honey and water to attain salvation. Due to all this he became very weak. He left his mortal frame in 1697 at the age of 60 years. His Hindu disciples took his mortal frame for consigning it in fire, but when his Muslim disciples came to know about his death they insisted that his body should be buried as per Muslim customs. When the talk was going on between these two groups over the issue of performing the last rites some body uncovered the bier carrying the dead body and found only 27 flowers in place of the dead body. The Muslims then went away and the Hindus consigned those flowers in a fire on the bank of river Jhelum in Batiyar mohalla. A temple was built at that site in his memory which still stands even today.

 

 

The famous Urdu poet of Lucknow Pt. Ratan Nath Dar Sarshar composed the following couplets in the honour of Rishi Peer as his tribute to that great saint:

 

 

 

Rishi Peer can be seen as one of the lesser known mystics of the valley, who truly worked for the welfare of the people. Maybe that is the reason people made the saying: "PIR PANDIT PADSHAH HARDU JAHAN MUSHKIL ASAN" i.e. Emperor of two worlds and answer to difficulties of all kinds.