Devotee of unknown date and place; three hymns in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Bhagat Beni
A devotee about whom almost nothing is known, beyond a reputation for long solitary meditation. His three hymns in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji show a person who knew yogic practice well and set it aside for devotion to the Name. No source read gives his dates, birthplace or trade.
What is known
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says very little is known of his personal life. Nabhaji's Bhagatmal tells a popular story of how, lost in meditation, he neglected his household and the Deity came in person to help. Bhai Gurdas, as cited in the Encyclopaedia, praises his meditation in solitude at Var 10, pauri 14. These are tributes, not biography.
Macauliffe says that no account of him could be found. Because the hymns are so difficult, he thinks that their author may be fairly old, though he offers no date.[EoS][Macauliffe]
Hymns in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
BaniDB lists three hymns: in Sri Raag at ang 93, in Ramkali at ang 974 and in Prabhati at ang 1351.
The Sri Raag hymn follows human decline from birth to the end of life. Its heading directs that it be sung in the manner of the Pahare hymns. The Encyclopaedia notes how closely it resembles Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Pahare in the same raag, and credits the instruction to Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji.
The Ramkali hymn uses the language of the yogis, and it opens by naming the channels called ida, pingala and sukhmana. The Encyclopaedia reads it as showing knowledge of hatha yoga and turning from it to the Name. The Prabhati hymn censures a priest whose outward piety hides an evil heart, and concludes that liberation needs the true Guru's teaching.[DB][EoS]