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.  

Swami Adhbhudhanandha  - Sri Latu Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Latu Maharaj!

Chapter – 23

In the year 1868 Swami Vijayanada from Argentina came to meet Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ma Sharada.   He recorded all that conversation between Thakurji and Latu Maharaj in a tape recorder he was carrying; he went to meet Latu Maharaj.  Latu Maharaj  addressed his family name and asked “ Hey, Pashupati, did you bathe in Ganga?’ Swami Vijayananda said, “ Oh, No Swamiji, the waters of Ganga has become too polluted, so did not take bath in Ganga.” Maharaj said “ Oh! you will take a bath in the hospital sterile water, right.” Maharaj continued “ did you visit Lord Vishwanatha?” Latu Maharaj shouted at him.  One afternoon Swami Vijayananda, Mukundananda, and another Swamiji, three of them went to Ashwamedha Ghat, they were watching the sunset.  All of a sudden Swamiji Vijayananda saw mist rising from the waters of Ganges and took the form of Lord Shiva, he could not control his sudden rise of emotions after witnessing this incident.  Those days Latu Maharaj was living out of the Ashram, Swami Vijayananda before leaving went to meet Latu Maharaj, as soon as he entered the chamber, Latu Maharaj said “ Hey, Pashupati, what did you see on the waters of Ganga?” he fallen at the feet of Latu Maharaj and said “ It is all your grace.” Maharaj said “  It is not my grace, it is the grace of Lord Vishwanatha upon you. At least before leaving go and have Dharshan of Lord Vishwanatha. If you have done that, go to Ganga and take a holy dip.”

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that Latu Maharaj is the greatest miracle. He was one of the favorite disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,   though Maharaj had no basic education, he has attained highest of the spiritual state with the touch of his Master along with the constant meditation and perseverance, he had attained Mahasamadhi on  24^th April 1920.

Swami Adhbhudhanandha  - Sri Latu Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Latu Maharaj!

Chapter – 22

Once Latu Maharaj received a letter from a devotee in Bengal, in that “Maharaj, I have a long desire to visit Kashi and attain the Dharshan of Lord Vishwanatha, I do not have money to spend on the trip,” Latu Maharaj advised “ Somehow make arrangement of the money for the trip, other things will be taken care of,” The devotee arrived in Kashi, after having Dharshan of Lord Vishwanatha he became distressed to see that everyone offering various valuable things to Lord, he has nothing to offer other than a few bale leaves.  He felt pity of himself, for not having money for meeting basic needs, instead of sharing meals of a saint,  he returned from the shrine and started crying in his closed room.  Latu Maharaj came to know the distress of his devotee, he said: “Tomorrow after the holy dip, take waters from Ganga and offer to Lord Vishwanatha and pray to remove all the sufferings of the Universe.” The devotee thought it is just Maharaj wanted to pacify him.   Anyway, it is the order of Gurudev, so he decided to follow the instructions.  The next day he followed the instructions of Latu Maharaj, after the performance of the ritual he felt so serene and calm.   All those burdens from his shoulder have disappeared, he felt immensely blissful.

One day, a devotee was sleeping in the chamber of Latu Maharaj, that night he had nightmares, seeing the panicky state of the devotee, Latu Maharaj gave a push and said: “ You are thinking all those nasty things here,”.  One day a female had a conflict with her husband and arrived in Kashi, Latu Maharaj said “A married woman should sincerely follow the instructions of her husband, the woman who does not follow the righteousness would suffer from mental afflictions,” The woman was mystified to hear all these from Latu Maharaj,  she was surprised “how did Maharaj came to know about my family life? I did not even mention it to anyone.”   In this way, Latu Maharaj could read the grief of his devotees from their faces and advice them.