CHARPAT NATH,

CHARPAT NATH, one of the yogis whom, according to the Miharban Janam Sakhi, Guru Nanak met on Mount Sumer, was a Gorakhpanthi recluse. Guru Nanak himself mentions his name twice in his compositions in the Guru Granth Sahib in his Si`dh Gosti and in another hymn in Raga Ramkali. In the Sidh Gosti (lit. discourse or dialogue with the Siddhas), Charpat is stated to have put this question to him: “How is one to go across the world described as an impassable ocean?” Answers the Guru: As unaffected liveth the lotus in water, And the duck, So with the mind fixed on the Word, One swimmeth across the Ocean of Existence.

He who liveth detached, Enshrining the One Lord in his mind, Who hopeth yet desireth not, Canst see as well as show The Unfathomable and the Unperceivable, Of such a one will Nanak be a slave. (GG, 938) In the Natha tradition, Charpat, is known to have been a disciple of Gorakhnath whose period falls somewhere in the llth to 12th century.

Guru Nanak whose period is much later must have therefore met some contemporary incumbent ofCharpat`s seat who also bore his name. Sixtyfour slokas attributed to Charpat are included in the Hindi work Natha Siddhon ki Baniyan some of them relating to the preparation of elixir to prevent disease and infirmity. Charpat is counted among Siddhas of the rasayana (alchemy) tradition.

References :

1. Dwivedi, Hazari Prasad, Nath Sampradaya. Varanasi, 1966
2. Malik, Kalyani, Siddha Siddhanta Paddhti. Pune, 1954
3. Jodh Singh, The Religious Philosphy of Guru Nanak. Varanasi, 1983