He grew up under his erudite father SAHAJ BHAT, who made him read the great
scholars of Philosophy, Religion, Medicine and Poetry at very young age when he was undergoing school
education. Over a short passage of time he had read a vast number of books. He did his graduation from
erstwhile Punjab University in the year of 1924 and was probably the only Kashmiri Pandit who apart
from Philosophy and Psychology had taken Arabic and Persian as subjects at the graduation level. He
loved all religions and was a Sanskrit Scholar. A staunch believer in Gita could cite it with
eloquence. Hakim Shyam Lal Bhat Sahib was HAAFIZ-I-QURAN and also a QAARI. He read Bible many times.
Because of his erudition in Arabic and Persian he would receive letters and later telephonic calls
from many of his admirers in the state and from elsewhere to know the meaning of Arabic and Persian
verses. He was a great orator and was dubbed as Gazi-e-Guftar. He was also the President of the Jammu
& Kashmir Unani Tibbya Board in the year 1967.
He was the first graduate in the dynasty and probably among a few young graduates in the state
of Jammu & Kashmir during that period. This is the period when the literacy was at the lowest ebb
in the state.
After graduation he was offered a number of executive posts in the state government by the
then Maharaja of the state, but he declined. He qualified as Tabib-i-Hazik from Lahore in the Unani
System of medicine and adopted his father's profession. He was the personal physician of Late Maharaja
Hari Singh and Prime Minister Col.Haksar.
Hakim Sahib was against religious conversion. He would always talk
to Muslims about the great teachings of the Holy Book The Quran, so that they change and leave their
ignorance about that religion. In his religious and philosophical discourses once a group of Muslims
told him that since he (Hakim Sahib) was talking so high of Prophet Mohammad, why was he then not
adopting Islam as his own religion? To them he would cite the Quran, wherein Prophet Mohammad himself
said, that one must never change ones 'Deen" religion and one should always stick to ones
religion. Hakim Sahib was a staunch Hindu and would always put Saffron 'Tilak' (A symbol Hindus puts
on their forehead). Muslim admirers before leaving for Haj Pilgrimage would seek his blessings and
good wishes. Once a person asked him what should he get for him from the Holly Place Mecca? Hakim
Sahib told " that Instead of getting anything from there I want you to give 'SAJDA' (bow and
rubbing ones forehead) on my behalf but with one caution that my Tilak should not get wiped off---- It
should remain in tact". Such was his love and respect for his own religion and reverence for
Prophet Mohammad.
He married at a young age to a gorgeous young lady
Tarawati. She was a graceful and a magnanimous woman and would command
awe and respect from all. She was popularly known as Oma Dedi and she was herself a philanthropist and
loved children very much. She became mother of seven children. Out of the seven the eldest was a
daughter. Because of the physician's over busy engagement with his profession and evening discourses
on religion and philosophy amongst his great friend circle, this great woman took all the brunt of
upbringing her children. Hakim Sahib always acknowledged this fact. At the time of her demise she was
66 years of age.