Bhagwan Gopinath (3 July 1898 – 28 May 1968), born Gopinath Bhan, also called Bhagwan Gopinath Ji, was a mystic saint of early 20th century Kashmir in India. He has been called a jivanmukta (liberated soul) and his spiritual state has been described as Shambhavi avastha (state of Shiva). Contemporary saints of his times have also called him an Aghoreshwar. It was sometime during 1946–1956 that he came to be called as Bhagwan by his devotees. Though not much is known about who his spiritual master was, he is known to have remarked that one can consider Bhagvad Gita as one's spiritual master. In his teachings, he regarded the practice of "self-enquiry" (atma vichara) as highly effective in helping a seeker attain self-realization. He considered lust and ego as impediments in one's spiritual development and extolled the virtues of honesty and truthfulness. He wouldn't differentiate between religions and regarded Hindus and Muslims to be one and the same. During various periods of his life, he spent considerable time meditating at various shrines in Kashmir as he considered it spiritually beneficial and would recommend the same to spiritual seekers. Birth and family Bhagwan Gopinath was born in a Kashmiri Hindu family of Bhans, in a locality called Bhan Mohalla, in the city of Srinagar in Kashmir, on Friday 3 July 1898, which corresponds to Ashad, Shuklapaksh, Dvadashi (Ashada 19th, Vikrami 1955) per Hindu lunar calendar. His grandfather, Pandit Lachhman Joo Bhan was a wazir wazarat (deputy commissioner) of revenue department in the Dogra regime of the then-princely state of Kashmir. His father, Pandit Narayan Joo Bhan dealt in the business of cashmere wool and devoted much of his time to spiritual pursuits. He is known to have donated all his ancestral inheritance to his step-mother. Bhagwan Gopinath's mother, Haar Maal, was the daughter of Pandit Prasad Joo Parimoo who was an initiated disciple of a local saint. His brother disciples used to call him Jada Bharata. Hindu scriptures like Yoga Vasistha were regularly taught and discussed in religious gatherings at their house. Prasad Joo had initiated his younger daughter, Zapaer Ded, into Japa Yoga and eventually in her fifties, she was recognised as a saint. On one occasion, while Pandit Prasad Joo Parimoo was meditating at the shrine of the deity of Mata Kheer Bhawani in Kashmir, he is said to have had a vision of the deity who expressed her