While various events were held on Jawahar Lal Nehru’s birth anniversary on Thursday, few know that the first Prime Minister of India looked up to an ascetic who had founded an Ashram in Haridwar. According to Mahant Swami Rupendra of Pracheen Avadhoot Mandal Ashram here, Nehru was a disciple of Swami Gurcharan Das, the founding trustee of the Ashram. "When Nehru encountered any problem or challenge in his life, he visited his Guru for guidance. He had been an ardent follower and a firm believer in his guru because he found him to be deeply knowledgeable," said Swami Rupendra.
During his lifetime, Swami Gurcharan Das was also a president of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj. He had considerable following across India and abroad. Hailing from the Jammu and Kashmir region prior to taking Sanyas, he was venerated also by various political leaders, industrialists and businessmen in addition to Nehru.
During the Sino-Indian war of 1962, Gurcharan Das had also donated a sum of about Rs two lakh to the government.
It is said that it was on his request that a locality in west Delhi was named Punjabi Bagh, which was initially a settlement for refugees arriving here after the partition. He breathed his last during 1972.
