The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 12

Sri Kshethra Pandarpur is one of the famous shrines of Lord Sri Panduranga located on the river banks of Chandrabhaga, in Sholapur District, Maharashtra.  Sant Jyaneshwar, Sant Namdev, and Tukaram were staunch devotees of Lord Vittobha.  Sri Krishna Rai, stepbrother of King Veer Narasimha undertook the regime after the demise of his brother, he was a righteous and wise ruler, and he built many shrines and re-built the dilapidated shrines.  During his regime, the idol of Lord Vittobha was taken from its place to the Kingdom of Vijayanagara.   People of Pandarpur were distressed when the idol of Vittobha was removed from its place, later it was brought back to Pandarpur with the great effort of Bhanudas who was a staunch devotee of Vittobha.  Bhanudas was always remembered in the history for his braveness to bring back the idol of Lord Panduranga into the shrine of Srikshethra.  Chakrapani, who was the son of Bhanudas was a great scholar and a saintly person took good care of Eknath after the death of his parents Suryanarayana and Rukmini.

Sant Eknath announced the day of his Mahasamdhi, he has chosen the auspicious day of Shashti in the month of Phalgun, the day Swami Janardan was born, the day Swami Janardan had attained the Dharshan of Swami Dhaththathreya,  the day he had given Deeksha to Sant Eknath and attained Samadhi.  The devotees were shattered at the announcement of Mahasamadhi of Sant Eknath,  the people from lower caste were broken hearted.  The scholar of Paitan was anxious, there was Eknath Maharaj to guide them through the righteous path, Maharaj consoled them that the pious and devoted people never get stranded in the world of  Samsara, the supreme Lord will guide them through the blameless path.     He arrived on the river banks of Godavari with his devotees and disciple; he conducted meditation and gave lectures on scriptures.  His final nectar-like advice was the recitation of glories of Lord and Namasankeerthana only can bring liberation from the repeated births in this era of Kali, there is no other source for Moksha.  It was in the year 1521, on a Phalgun Shashti day Namasankeerthana was in progress on the river banks of Godavari, there were devotees and villagers assembled in large number, Sant Eknath moved to the waters of the Godavari as if a child seeking shelter on its mother’s lap and attained Mahasamadhi.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 11

One day there was  Namasankeerthana in progress in the house of Eknathji, there were crowds of devotees and neighbors, there was a person named Ranya in the crowd of devotees.  Those days people born in an outclass were considered as untouchables, therefore he felt embarrassed to be present in the crowd of Namasankeerthana, but Eknathaji advised him not to feel uncomfortable, everyone is equal before the supreme Lord, there is no one superior or inferior, there is no one good or bad.  The Universe is the creation of the Supreme Lord, it is a mixture of good and bad.  Ranya was highly impressed with the magnanimity of Maharaj, so he decided to invite Eknathji to his home.  Ranya was quite sure that Eknathji will not refuse his invitation; he is a noble person who treats everyone as equals.  One day Ranya revealed his desire after the Namasankeerthana session to Eknathji, surprisingly Eknathji readily accepted the invitation of Ranya. Soon this news was spread all over the village from the people who attended the Namasankeerthana.  People of the higher class were not happy at this, they decided to disgrace Eknathji while he visits Ranya’s house, and expel him from the caste, and both the houses were keenly observed by a group of people who found Eknathji in his home engaged in Bhajans and Keerthan, at the same time people who were guarding the house of Ranya witnessed Eknathji in his house too.  It was mystifying for the people to witness Eknathji in both places at the same time.  Later, Eknathaji replied to  his devotees  ‘ It was the amusement of Lord Panduranga, If you leave all your troubles with the Lord, he will take care of everything and perform the miracle at the toughest moments.  He does services to his ardent devotees like Lord Krishna served Arjuna as Parthasarathy in the great battlefield of Mahabharath.”

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 10

One evening Sant Eknath’s home was crowded with the devotees for Namasankeerthan, suddenly they heard a loud noise outside the door, he came out of his cottage, and all of a sudden the recitation of Bhagavnama stopped.  When he came out of the house saw a man was trying to get up from the floor, people assembled were suspected that he must have come for stealing while doing so he must have fallen down on the ground with a loud knock.  Eknathji went near the man and gave him a hand to lift him up from the ground, and said “Oh! he is unconscious,” Eknathji brought the man and laid on the Veranda and sprinkled water on his face, soon the man regained his consciousness.  Eknathji asked “ Who are you?” where are you staying?” The man replied “ I am feeling so hungry, kindly feed me with something after that I will explain all that to you.”  Eknathji told his wife to bring a cup of  Kheer which was made to offer to Lord Panduranga.   Eknathji fed the man with his hand, he felt better after having Kheer.  He explained “ Maharaj, honestly I am a thief, my health was deteriorating day by day, so I was released from the prison thinking that I would die soon,  I was struggling to get a meal, I have heard Namasankeerthana from your house so thought of begging for a meal, but I could not make it, I was feeling tired and fell down.”  Eknathji said, “Do not worry; now you take rest, I will arrange medicines from our village physician.”  On the next day, Eknathji met the jail superintend, he elaborated the condition of the man, Jailor said “ You are a saintly and innocent person, but you should not be too considerate towards a thief, I had to release him before imposing punishment, I want to avoid ill fame to the authorities.  Eknathji returned from Jailor’s office and said to the thief “ Uddhav, if you can manage your life like a normal person, you can live in my residence. You have to assist me with the daily chores of the house, evening you should participate in Namasankeerthana, and arrangements for the people who visit home.”  Uddhav said “ Maharaj, a blind needs eyesight, what else I need, who will employ a thief in their homes?”  But one of the associates of Eknathji was not happy with the idea of keeping Uddhav at home.  Eknathji explained, “ Uddav was into the wrong company of people, so he engaged in burglary if he did not change in my company, then I cannot do anything, it is all his destiny.”  Within a short period of time, Uddhav has become transformed into a saintly man, engages in pious activities, helping Eknathji with daily chores of the house, sincerely participate in veneration and Namasankeerthana.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 9

Once a young guy appeared from nowhere and requested Sant Eknath that he wanted to engage in his service and stay in his house.  Eknathji happily agreed to the request of Srikandya and asked him to assist his wife Girija in her household works.  He sincerely performed all the tasks of the house, cooking meals, cleaning the house, taking care of the guests arrived in the home, etc..  In this way, he relentlessly served Sant Eknath and his wife Girija.

Once Sant Eknath was invited to have a meal in the house of a lower caste man Rano was readily accepted and promised to be there in his home for lunch.  The Brahmins of the Paitan were in a rage, they decided to take this opportunity to disgrace and expel Eknath Maharaj from their society.  On that day,  Eknath Maharaj left home early, Srikandya asked Ma Girija “ Ayi Sahib, why you did not  stop Maharaj from visiting the house of a lower caste fellow for lunch?”  Ma Girija said, “ A person will not become superior by Varnna, he is considered as superior with his Karma, a person is considered as Bhramin or Shudra with his deeds.”  Srikandya said “ No Ayi Sahib, how can he leave to a lower caste guy’s home without performing Bhajans in the shrine?”  Ma Girija said, “ Sri Kandya, purity of heart needs in all actions, any deed performed without the purity of heart is considered as fruitless.”  Srikandya took the form of Sant Eknath and played Bhajans and Keerthans, while Maharaj was taking the meal from the lower caste house.  Later, a Saint from Kashi visited Paitan at the instruction of Goddess Rukmini to meet Srikandya who is supreme Lord Panduranga serving his staunch devotee Eknath.  Sri Kandya understood the Saint's intention to reveal his identity before Sant Eknath, he immediately disappeared from Paitan.   Finally, Eknath Maharaj came to know that it was Sri Panduraga served him in the form of Srikandya in his home, he and Girija wept bitterly; they both were grieved over the separation from Srikandya.  The couple spends days of extreme pain and agony, finally got Dharshan of Lord Panduranga.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 8

Sant Eknath’s grandparents passed away, all the rituals of death were performed elaborately, charities were performed, and all the arrangements were made to feed the Brahmins of Paitan who were strict followers of religious rites.   A few of an outclass people were passing in front of his home was troubled with hunger and thirst, they were talking about the fragrances of a delicious meal coming out of his home, they were cursing their ill fate for not getting an opportunity to consume a sumptuous meal, Sant Eknath heard all their conversation.  He amiably said “ Wait for a minute, I will make arrangements to feed you all, you do one thing, go to your homes and bring your families here by that time I will keep everything ready to serve you all,”  Within a short period of time, his front portion of the house is filled with a large number of people from outclass, they were served with delicious meal.  The people assembled were immensely pleased and left the place.  Sant Eknath with the help of Uddhav cleaned the home and started preparing to serve the Bhramin of Paitan who was assembled on time.  They found that Sant Eknath has already served the people of low caste before serving meals to them.  It irked the Bhramins, they felt insulted and could not control the anger.  Sant Eknath prayed to them with folded hands “ It is true that I have fed the outclass people before your arrival, they were extremely tired of hunger and were enjoying the fragrances of the meal prepared, after serving them I have thoroughly cleaned the home and prepared meals for you all, there are no impurities in the home.”  The Pandits were in a rage said “ Don’t’ you feel ashamed of your act? Usually, people feed the Bhramins not to Shudras during the occasion of homage to Ancestors.  Do you think we will consume a meal the place where outclass were fed? You have fed the people from a low caste, therefore, your entire clan and your home have become impure.  In the future, none of the Bhramins will attend you.”  Sant Eknath begged the Bhramins to forgive, but it ended in vain.  Sant Eknath gravely remembered the incident happened in the life of Sant Gyandev.  He returned inside the home with a sad face, his wife asked what will happen next. Sant Eknath replied “ It must be the wish of Lord.  You need not worry.  Bring all the required ingredients; I will perform the Shraddha ceremony.  It is the wish of Lord Vittobha.”  Sant Eknath performed the Shraddha rituals invoking ancestors, there were no Bhramins to feed, other than his family members and one of his neighbors.  After the rituals the food was served to all the members’ presents, at that moment they could witness that his ancestors Bhanudas, Chakrapani, and Suryanarayan were present on the seats provided, and consuming meals.  It was one of the incidents which cannot be imagined for the ordinary people.  Soon this news was spread all over the village.   The Brahmins realized that Eknath is definitely not an ordinary person; he is one of the supreme ascetics who performs miracles.  They felt ashamed of their demeanor; they assembled before Sant Eknath and begged for forgiveness.  They have promised that they will not repeat the ill behavior in the future.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 7

Sant Eknath’s fame spread across the village, especially the Bhramins of Paitan were jealous of this, they plotted plan against Sant Eknath, they were looking in all possible ways to disgrace him.  Sant Eknath goes for a holy dip in the Godavari on a regular basis.  They appointed a Muslim guy to play trick on Sant Eknath,  he took seat near the stairs of the pond and started chewing pan, he intentionally spit juice of the pan on Eknath when he was passing through the stairs, it compelled Sant Eknath to go for holy dip again and this wicked person repeated the same several times.  Finally, he realized that he was spitting on a Mahapurusha not on ordinary man, ultimately he regretted his demeanor and begged for forgiveness.  Sant Eknath pacified him and was concerned about the wound caused in his mouth by the continuous chewing of Pan, he took the Muslim guy to his home and served him to get rid of the pain of the wound on his tongue.   There were many incidents like this that happened in his life, many people were trying to put off his righteousness and piousness, but none could win over his determination and faith.  He has treated people of all caste and faith without any differentiation, even though those days people of low caste were treated as untouchables, he taught the people of lower caste about the truth of ‘oneness in all’,   his humility paid its fruits; he had forgiven all the sinners with great empathy. 

Once he visited the Samadhisthal of Sant Gyaneshwar situated twelve miles away from Pune city, he had a dream on the previous day in that Sant Gyaneshwar was giving instruction to remove creepers from his Samadhisthal.  Sant Eknath arrived in the place and conducted a thorough search for the Samadhisthal, all his search went in vain, he was too desperate and prayed to Lord Siddheshwara in the temple, suddenly Nandikeshwara guided him to a hidden corridor which leads to the underground tunnel where he could reach the Samadhisthal of Sant Gyaneshwar, he attained the Dharshan of Gyaneshwar Maharaj who advised Eknath to continue his effort to publicize his great work Jyanehswari which is the essence of Bhagavad Gita in Marathi.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 6

Once a few thieves disguised as devotees and attended the Namasankeerthana, while leaving home they took all the vessels and packed, they saw Sant Eknath was immersed in meditation in the small shrine at home.  Suddenly they have lost eyesight,  bumped on to each other and fallen on the ground with a thud, soon Sant Eknath got out of meditation,  he realized that they are thieves, he said “Why  are you taking so much pain, you should have told me, I would have given all those things you have required.  There are a few more things left on the next room as well, go and collect them.”  The thieves in folded hands prayed “ Maharaj, we have made a mistake.  We are not able to see anything, we don’t want anything.  Kindly bless us with eye-sight.” Eknath Maharaj understood that Lord Panduranga imposed punishment to save his devotee.  His eyes were soaked in mercy; he placed his hands on the eyes of the thieves, immediately they have regained the eye-sight.  Sant Eknath said, “ You can take whatever you feel like.” The thieves fell at the feet of Sant Eknath and said “We will not do that mistake again. Kindly forgive us.”

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 5

One day, family priest of Sant Eknath arrived in the shrine where he was settled. He could instantly recognize  Eknath.  The priest informed his grandparents about the return of their grandson in the village, a saintly person giving lectures on Bhagavath in the shrine of Lord Shiva is none other than Eknath.  The priest took Chakrapani to the temple.  His grandfather was highly enthusiastic to receive his grandson after several years; he had several questions popped up in mind.  On their way, the family priest explained, once he had been to Dhaulatabad where he had the Dharshan of Swami Janardan, he came to know that Swami Janardan gave Deeksha to Eknath, those days Eknath was not with Swami Janardan,  he was undertaking pilgrimage at the instruction of his preceptor.  They made up mind to meet this saintly person and if it is not Eknath, they have to return home empty-handed.  They arrived in the shrine, Eknath immediately prostrated before the elderly people; Chakrapani was in a state of ecstasy seeing his grandson after so long.  Later, Eknath started living with his grandfather at his request.

One day his grandfather said “ Eknath, you should marry and get settled. I want to see you as Grihastha.” But Eknath was not happy with the idea of his grandfather; finally, the family priest involved and pacified his grandfather that he will take care of this matter.  The next day, the family priest arrived in Daulatabad and met Swami Janardan and informed everything about Eknath.  He also informed about the anxiousness of the elderly couple Chakrapani and Saraswathibayi about their grandson, he also said: “If Eknath is not married; the illustrious clan of scholars will come to an end, which is not a good idea to watch the end of the clan of well-known Bhanudas.”  Swami Janardan said “I will not let it happen, I will give you a letter in the name of Eknath. You kindly deliver to him, it is his responsibility to follow the instruction of his preceptor.”  The family priest returned with the letter and handed over to Eknath who had no choice other than agreeing to the proposal of his grandfather, he reluctantly agreed to the desire of his grandfather.  Sant Eknath married to Girijabayi who was a pious and caring woman, she was a perfect match for him, his grandparents and Eknath was extremely happy at the marriage.  Girijabayi  took good care of all the members of the family.  His daily routines were taking a holy dip in the Godavari, worship of Lord  Panduranaga and arrange Namasankeerthan at home in the evenings, and Girijabayi was a dutiful wife who assisted him in all his righteous deeds, most of the time he will be receiving holy men at home and serving them, spending hours in the lectures and debate with them.

The great saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 4

Sant Eknath traveled to Nasik and visited the shrine of Lord Thrayambakeshwar where he wrote Chathusloki Bhagavath, further he visited Kashi and Mathura.   On his way, he met with numerous holy men and lived in their association. He took a spiritual tour to Rameshwaram with the holy men, they have arrived in a desert, it was one afternoon, and scorching heat took a huge toll on the travelers.  Sant Eknath saw a donkey was fighting for life in the blazing sun, everyone looked at the donkey with great sympathy, but none has the courage to save, there was no source of water close by.  All the saints were started moving slowly towards their destination; one of the saints turned around and saw a miracle.  Sant Eknath took his water jug containing waters of Ganga collected for the ablation of Lord Ramanatha, holding near the mouth of the donkey and feeding with water.  One of the saints said, “ Eknath, we have brought this holy water for the ablation of Lord Ramanatha in Rameshwaram, and you are using this water to feed an animal?”  Sant Eknath said, “ This living being is also a form of Lord Ramanatha, it is not a donkey, it is the supreme Lord Maheshwara who requested me to feed him with water and I am following his command.”  The holy men thought Eknath lost his mind in extreme heat; they left him alone and moved further.  Suddenly Eknath witnessed Lord Mahadeva in front of him and blessed him. 

After visiting Rameshwaram and  Dwaraka, he returned to his hometown Paitan in Maharashtra and stayed in a shrine.  By that time, his appearance was totally transformed into a saintly person with a long beard, matted hair locks, and thin stature, none could recognize him.  He spent solid hours in reading scriptures and meditation.  He wrote Bhavarthth Ramayan,  and Rukmini Swayamvaram in Marathi.

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 3

Janardan Swamiji was lived during the period of 1504 – 1575, he was  a great scholar, Marathi Saint of Varkari Sampradaya and a great devotee of  Lord Dhaththathreya.   He was born in a pious Brahmin family in  Chalisgaon, Maharashtra.  He was initiated to Sanyasa by illustrious Nrisimha Bharathi/Akkalkot Swami Samarththa Maharaj, an incarnation of Lord Dhaththathreya.   Swamiji was too pleased with the sincerity and devotion of Eknath.  One day he took him to the hills of Devagiri and advised him to conduct Tapasya.  The hill was the abode of Maharishi Dhaththathreya, who used to appear in different forms, Swami Janardan advised “ If you find something alarming, nothing to worry, it is the abode of Lord Dhaththathreya, you have to contemplate upon him and eulogizes his glories.” 

There is Sulabhaparvath also known as Soorbhanjan near Devgiri, it was the place where Sage Markandeya used to take penance, there is a pond called Surya Kund in the hills.  Eknath Maharaj takes a holy dip in this Kund on regular basis and conducts meditation on the sacred syllables he has received as mantra Deeksha from Janardan Swamiji while doing so, there is a serpent used to fasten his body.   Sant Eknath had the Dharshan of Lord Krishna in Sulabhaparvath, after concluding Tapasya he returned to Swamiji Janardan and described all those incidents that took place while he was conducting Tapasya in Sulabhaparvath.  Janardan Swamiji advised to conduct spiritual tour across the lands and propagate the righteousness of Lord Dhaththathreya. 

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 2

During those days Janardan Swami was working as an accountant in a fortress, he gets one day off from the work in a week, on that day he conducts elaborate worship of Lord Daththathreya.  Eknath spend nearly six years at the service of his preceptor, his routines were bringing water from the pond, give bath to his Guru, feeding him and give massage to his feet was the duties of Eknath.  He was a sincere attendant to his preceptor; Swami Janardan was highly pleased with the sincerity and selfless service of Eknath, eventually  he was assigned with the work of Accountant in the fortress.

Once Eknath was stressed out at the work, some of the records and its calculations were missing, the whole night he spent in finding the right calculations recollected the error and found the right answer, he started clapping hands in great enthusiasm.   Janardan Swami got out of the sleep and looked at Eknath, he asked the reason for his excitement, Eknath explained the reason for it.   Swami was so pleased with his sincerity at work, though it was too little amount went missing from the calculation.  Janardan Swamiji said " Eknath, if you conduct the search for truth with dedication and faith, one day you will achieve the same.  The Supreme Lord is omnipresent, he resides as soul in living beings, he is the form of preceptor, he resides in the home of pious and righteous people, he is the creator, and preserver of the Universe, he  causes deluge at the end of Yuga and absorbs all the living and non-livings created by him.  He is absolute truth attainable to worshiper who conducts a rigorous search for it.” These words echoed in the mind of Eknath, it kindled the fire of spirituality in him. 

The great Saint of Maharashtra - Sant Eknath Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Eknath Maharaj!

Chapter – 1

Eknath  Maharaj was a well known Marathi Saint, scholar, and religious poet of Varkari Sampradaya.  He was lived during the period of  1533 -1599.  He was born in a Maratha Rigvedi Bhramin family; his parents Suryanarayana and Rukmini were passed away in the early years of his childhood.  Those days it was believed that a child born with birth star Moolam causes the death of parents.   He was taken care of by his grandparents Chakrapani and Saraswathibayi.  His grandfather Chakrapani was also a Sant of Varkari Sampradaya, all the members in this family were great scholars and intellectuals. Undoubtedly all those virtues were inherited in Eknath as well.  He has lots of interest in listening to the stories from scriptures, worship of deities, visiting shrines, and performing Namasankeerthana.  He was a studious child, learned scriptures, Veda, Vedanta at a young age. 

 Eknath was twelve years old, he visited the nearby shrine of Lord Shiva, there he could listen to a divine voice commanding him to go to Devgad/Devagiri where he could meet his preceptor Janardan Swamiji and attained Deeksha.  One day he left to Devgad after listening to this divine voice, he traveled by foot from Pandarpur to Devgad which is located more than three hundred miles from his native village Paitan.  In Devgad he met Janardan Swamiji and prostrated before him, and revealed his purpose of visit.  Swami Janardan was extremely happy to hear from Eknath and accepted Eknath as one of the disciples.   He learned Vedanta, Nyaya, Mimamsa, Yoga, etc.. from Swami Janardan.