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Offline SOWMYA_4

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Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
« on: October 04, 2010, 03:58:28 AM »
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  • Sairam,

    From today i will share with u all the great saint.. a king of yogi shri Gajanan Maharaj pothi. It is composed by Das ganu in marathi.It has 21 chapters.

    I seek Baba's grace to bless me this.Oh great Gajanan maharaj please forgive me.. today i am able to post this by your grace..

    All saints are one.. they are gods in human form in this kaliyug..

    i know u all will have nice time reading this great Gajanan vijay..May sai fullfill all our desire..

    Jai sadguru sainath :)
    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #1 on: October 04, 2010, 04:01:14 AM »
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  • Gajanna maharaj English Pothi

    Gajanan Maharaj-Pothi 1

    Shri Ganeshayanmah! Shri Ganesha, You are famous for Your generosity and valour. O Gouriputra, all intellectuals and saints first remember You before starting any work.
    With Your powerful Blessings all obstructions are just like cotton before fire. So I solemnly bow at Thy feet and invoke Your blessings to bring out the best and the sweetest poetic recitation of my narration. I am ignorant, dull and have no qualities of a poet. But if You bless me, my work will be done.
     
    Now my obeisance I give to "Adi Maya Saraswati-Sharada", who is born of Brahma and who is a great inspiration to the poets. Next I pay my obeisance to Jagadamba, to whom I pray for upholding my self-respect. Her blessings are so great that with her "Ashis" even a lame will climb a mountain and a dumb become a good orator. In keeping with that reputation kindly help Dasganu to write this book of Shri Gajanan. Now I beseech the "Puran Purush" Panduranga of Pandharpur, to have an obliging glance at me. You are the sole supporter of this universe and occupy every animate and inanimate object here. You are the creator of everything, omnipotent and You command all the universal actions. You are this world, the life in this world and also the ultimate power. You are Saguna, Nirguna, my father and also my mother. O Purushottama You are so great that I am too small to comprehend You. Shri Rama blessed the monkeys who thereafter gained enormous strength. Same thing happened with the Cowherd boys of Gokula. Saints have said that money is not required to receive Thy favour. A complete surrender at Your feet earns us the support from You. That is why I have come to Your door. Please do not disappoint me. 0 Panduranga of Pandharpur, kindly help me to write this great saint's biography, by residing in me.

    O Bhavanivara, Nilkantha, Gangadhara, Onkarrupa. Trimbakeshwara bless me. "Paras" changes iron into gold. Now Your favour is "Paras" and I am iron. Kindly help and do not disappoint me. Nothing is impossible for You since every thing is in Your hands. Kindly come quickly and help this child of Yours to compose this book. Now my obeisance I pay to my family Deity who resides at Kolhapur. I beseech Her to bless me with everything auspicious. O Durgamata Bhavani of Tuljapur, I invoke Your blessings by having your hand on my head. Then I pay my obeisance to Dattatraya and request Him for inspiration to sing in praise of Gajanan.

    Now I bow to the Saints of Saints Shri Shandilya, Shri Vashishta, Shri Goutam, Shri Parashar and Shri Shankaracharya the sun in the sky of wisdom. My obeisance to all the saints and sages who should, by holding my hand, get this writing done. Shri Gahani, Nivrutti, Shri Dyaneshwar, Shri Tukaram and Ramdas are dependable ships in the ocean of life. I bow to them.

    O Saibaba of Shirdi and Waman Shastri (Shri Dasganu's Guru) kindly free me of all my fears. By the kind grace of You all only, I shall be able to write this book. So be kind to me. Only the real affection can teach a child to speak; and I share a relationship with you as that of a child with the mother. Pen writes letters, but not by itself. A pen is only a means for writing. Dasganu is a pen and I beseech all the saints to hold it to write and make this biography melodious.

    Now listeners, get ready and listen single-mindedly to the biography of a saint for your good. On this earth, saints are Gods, ocean of renunciation, and giver of Moksha. Saints are the embodiment of all that is good, sacred and full on sanctity. Now calmly listen to the life story of such a Saint. Saints never deceive anybody. They are full of wisdom that guides us on the path leading to the ultimate truth. God Himself is indebted to those who surrender themselves at the feet of the saints. Now with an open mind listen to the biography of Shri Gajanan Maharaj.

    No other country is as fortunate as Bharat in being a birthplace of so many saints and therefore it has never fallen short of any happiness so far. It is so because, since time immemorial, our land continuously has had the touch of sacred feet of saints. Shri Narad, Dhruva, Kayadhukumar, Uddhava, Sudama, Subhadravar, Anjanikumar, Dharma Raja, Jagatguru Shankaracharya, We are all born in this country. Madhawa, Vallabha, Ramanuja, the able defenders of our religion, too were born here. The greatness of Narsi Mehta, Tulsidas, Kabir, Kamal, Surdas and Gourang Prabhu is quite beyond my power to describe.

    Intense devotion of Princess Mirabai made lord Vishnu swallow poison for her. The great deeds performed by the supreme yogis like Shri Goraknath, Macchindra and Jalander are described in detail in the sacred book "Navanath". Shri Namdeo, Narahari, Janabai, Kanho, Sakhubai, Chokha, Savata, Kurmadas and Damajipanth won over Shri Hari by "Bhakti" only. God became "Mahar" for Damajipant. Since Mahipati has already written the biographies of Mukundraj, Janardan, Bodhala, Nipat and Niranjan, I do not repeat them here. I only suggest you to read the sacred books "Bhakti Vijay" and "Bhaktimala". After that I have composed songs in praise of three saints and equal to them is Shri Gajanan Maharaj who greatly influenced the public. With my good fortune, I am now getting an opportunity to write this detailed biography of this great saint. In fact, He was first seen by me at Akot, but His biography is being written by me last for the following reasons. First we prepare a plain garland and the middle gem (Merumani) in it is attached at last. So the story of Shri Gajanan Maharaj is like that Merumani.

    Shegaon, a small village in Khamgaon Taluka of Berar is a great market center. Though a small village, it gained importance due to this Saint and became a world famous place. In this Shegaon Lake, a lotus in the form of Shri Gajanan Maharaj has sprung up and its fragrance spread all over the universe. Shri Gajanan Maharaj is a diamond of Shegaon mine and I, with my limited intelligence, wish to narrate His glory. Please listen to it and do not forget that you can attain "Moksha" by complete surrender at His feet. Shri Gajanan biography is like a cloud and you the peacocks. The rain in the form of Shri Gajanan stories will make you dance in gaiety. People of Shegaon are really fortunate to get Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Good deeds only can invoke the blessings of Saints who are superior even to Gods.

    It was Kartik Ekadashi day when Ramchandra Patil met me at Pandharpur and requested me to write the biography of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. It was in fact my long cherished desire to sing in praise of Shri Gajanan, but was not getting the opportunity. Shri Maharaj seem to have understood my wish and so made Ramchandra Patil a tool for the fulfilment of that desire. Nobody can know the designs of great saints like Shri Gajanan Maharaj who was a gem amongst the saints. Historically, nothing is known about His caste, creed or place of origin, like Brahma whose origin nobody knows. Like a brilliant diamond we should only appreciate its brilliance and not bother about the mine of its origin.


    Shri Gajanan Maharaj appeared at Shegaon on 7th Vadya Magh of 1800 Saka. Some say that he came from Sajjangad the place of Shri Ramdas Swami. Though there is no sufficient proof to accept this fact, it may have some sense in it.
    There was wide spread corruption and misery and it is possible that Shri Ramdas Swami, for the good of the people, took rebirth as Gajanan Maharaj. Yogis can enter anybody and many saints have done so in the past. Gorakh was born in dustbin, Kanifa in the ear of elephant and Changdeo in the "Narayan Doha" - all unlike the traditional human birth. Same may be the case of Shri Gajanan Maharaj - the king of Yogis. It will be seen from His actions that Shri Maharaj had a detailed knowledge of all yogic feats. Yoga has got a unique importance incomparable with anything else.

    Shri Gajanan appeared in Shegaon on 7th Vadya Magh for the spiritual liberation of the sinners. It so happened that there was one pious Brahmin named Devidas Paturkar at Shegaon and to celebrate the puberty function of his son he had arranged a lunch for his friends. The leftover food from the plates was thrown out-side the house and Shri Gajanan Maharaj was seen sitting near that food. He had a worn out old shirt on His body, a dry gourd for drinking water, a pipe of clay for smoking and nothing else. His body was lustrous like the rising sun and eyes concentrated at the tip of nose indicative of His yogic strength. Sitting by the roadside He was picking particles of food thrown there. His action of picking up the food particles from the leaf plates lying on road was to convey to the common man that food is Brahma. "Shruti" and "Upanishad" say the same thing. Bankatlal Agrawal and Damodar Pant, who were passing by, were surprised to see His behaviour. They thought that had this man been really hungry He would have begged for it and Shri Paturkar, being a pious man would have given the food to Him. Thinking such, Bankatlal said to his friend, "Let us watch His actions. Vyas has said in Bhagawat that real saints, many times, behave like mad men, and this can be a case like that".
    Thousands of people must have passed that way but only these two persons were attracted to observe this person. Only wise men and experts can detect a diamond lying in the heap of pebbles. Bankatlal asked Him as to why He was eating the food lying on the road and volunteered to serve good food. In reply Shri Gajanan simply looked at them. They were delighted to see His broad chest, Muscular shoulders, eyes concentrated at the tip of nose, and gay face. They respectfully bowed to Him and asked Devidaspant to immediately bring a dish of food. Shri Devidas brought and put it before Shri Maharaj. He having no likes and dislikes, mixed (all the food & sweets together and satisfied His hunger.

    It was like an emperor being presented with a small village. So was this food presented to Shri Gajanan who had already satisfied Himself by consuming "Brahma Rasa". Bankatlal regretted having called Him a mad man. It was very hot noontime and even the birds did not dare come out of their nests. Under such unfavourable conditions, Shri Gajanan was sitting fearlessly and full of joy as if He was Brahma himself. So Shri Maharaj had taken food but then Damodarpant observed that there was no water in His Tumba. Bankatlal Said  "Maharaj, if You permit I will bring water for You". Shri Maharaj smiled and said, "If you wish, go and bring water. Brahma is everywhere and he won't differentiate between you and me, but we have to follow the worldly traditions. So when food is taken the body needs water too". Bankatlal felt happy over this reply and rushed to bring the water for Shri Maharaj. Meantime Shri Maharaj went to the roadside tank where water was stored for the cattle and satisfied His thirst with that water. Bankatlal returned with a jar of cold water and requested Shri Maharaj not to drink the dirty water from that tank. Shri Gajanan said, "Everything in the universe is pervaded by Brahma without any differentiation of clean or dirty, good or bad. Brahma is in clean water as well as in dirty water and the one who drinks it is also occupied by Brahma Himself. You should try to understand the omnipotent nature of God and also to know the origin of this world. Instead of this, you are involving your-self in wordly attachments".
    Hearing so from Shri Maharaj, both Bankatlal and Damodarpant bent down to prostrate before Shri Maharaj, Knowing their intentions Shri Maharaj ran away with the speed of the wind.

    May this " Gajanan Vijay" Granth bring happiness to all.


    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter One.


    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline v2birit

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #2 on: October 04, 2010, 04:50:13 AM »
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  • Thankyou dear Sowmya ji. Stories of Saints always do good to us, remove our suffering of all kinds & give us knowledge.

    Om Sai Ram

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #3 on: October 04, 2010, 11:24:21 PM »
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  • Gajanan Maharaj - Pothi2

    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O lord of Rukmini residing on the bank of Chandrabhaga (river), God of Gods, Friend of the poor, kindly look at me.
    O God! Everything is futile without Your favour. No one cares for a lifeless body. Beauty of a lake is due to the water in it. Juicy core of the fruits gives importance to its husk. Same is the case of your blessings. Kindly oblige me by removing all my sins, woes and poverty.

    In the last chapter we have seen that Shri Gajanan suddenly left Bankatlal and went away. Since then Shri Bankatlal was craving to see Shri Gajanan again. Forgetting all worldly things like food and water he was constantly thinking of Shri Gajanan only, like a calf for its mother. But he could not share his mental condition with anybody not even with his father. His search continued throughout Shegaon but could not find Shri Gajanan. His father however, noticed the anxiety and despair written large on the face of his young son. He asked him the reason for his unhappiness especially because God had blessed them abundantly with every thing required for a happy life. Bankatlal did not reply and continued his search for Shri Gajanan. At last Bankatlal told everything about Shri Gajanan and his search for Him to a neighbour Ramajipant Deshmukh, a pious old man. Hearing the details from Bankatlal, Ramajipant noted that He must be some yogi, and meeting with such yogis is possible only if one has to his credit a lot of good deed from the previous birth. He, therefore, encouraged Bankatlal to continue his search and also to take him for the Darshan of that yogi when found.

    After a few days there came the renowned Kirtankar, Govindbua Taklikar to Shegaon. His Kirtan was arranged in the Shankarji's temple where a lot of people assembled to listen to him. Bankatlal also went there. He met his friend Pitambar in the temple and narrated to him everything about Shri Gajanan. They sat listening to the Kirtan and lo! There was Shri Gajanan Maharaj also attentively listening to Govind Bua. They were as delighted as does a miser at the sight of gold or a peacock at the glimpse of a cloud. Bankat and Pitamber got up, went to Shri Gajanan, bowed before Him and asked if He would like to eat something. Gajanan looked up and said, "Go and bring some bread for me from the house of some Mali (Caste). Bankatlal immediately brought bread and vegetable and gave it to Shri Gajanan. He ate it and asked Pitambar to bring some water in His "Tumba" from the river. Pitambar said that the river was practically dry and so offered to bring water from somebody's house. Shri Gajanan insisted to get water from the river only and with a further condition that the water not be filled by hand, but taken directly by dipping the Tumba in the river. Pitambar went to the river and saw that the water in the river was not at all sufficient to dip the Tumba in it. What to do? He was in a fix. Ultimately he dared and lowered the Tumba in the water and there was a miracle. The Tumba went straight full in the water and the dirty water from the river became clean in the Tumba and it was full. He tried again and was surprised to see that wherever he dipped the Tumba in the water, clean water rushed into it to the brim. He now understood that it was due to the yogic power of Shri Gajanan. Pitambar brought and offered the water to Shri Gajanan. He drank the water and said "Don't try to satisfy me with the bread of that Mali. I want a nut from you".
    Bankatlal gave Him the nut and along with it offered a copper coin as Dakshina (offering). Shri Gajanan said that He was not a businessman to accept money, and asked for Bhakti only. Then Shri Gajanan asked Bankat and Pitambar to listen to the Kirtan attentively.

    Govind-Bua started the Kirtan with a stanza from Shri Bhagavat. Govind-Bua recited the first part of the stanza and Shri Gajanan loudly recited the latter part of it. Govind-Bua was surprised and said that the man who recited this stanza must be a man of great authority. Saying so, he requested Shri Gajanan Maharaj to come inside the temple. Likewise other people also requested Shri Maharaj, but Shri Gajanan Maharaj ignored them all. Then Govind-Bua himself came out and said to Maharaj, "You are the incarnation of Lord Shankar. Please come in. The temple will be empty without You. By the grace of some good deeds of my previous birth I have come across saint like you. So kindly come in the temple". Shri Maharaj said, "Be firm on what you say. Just now you have said that God is every where, then why force me to come in the temple ? You should practice what you preach and a student should avoid playing with words. It is not proper for you to behave against the preaching of the stanza from Bhagavat that you preached to these people right now. I don't wish you to be a preacher preaching just for lively-hood. Now go and continue your Kirtan". Bua returned and announced to the audience, "An invaluable gem has come to your Shegaon. Protect Him careful. With the arrival of this Pandurang in human form, Shegaon now becomes Pandharpur. See that He lives with you, serve Him well and obey Him. That alone will bring you all immense happiness".

    Bankatlal brimming with joy returned home and told his father Bhavaniram about Shri Gajanan and received his consent to bring Shri Maharaj home. Then he started his search for Shri Gajanan. After four days of wondering, Bankatlal Saw Shri Maharaj in Manik Chowk. It was evening time and the sun was setting, but for Shri Bankatlal it was the rising of sun in the form of Shri Gajanan. Cows returning home, gathered around Shri Gajanan thinking Him to be Shri Krishna. Shopkeepers were preparing to light the lamps when Shri Bankatlal brought Shri Maharaj to his house. Bhavaniram overjoyed at the sight of this saint,  prostrated before Him and offered a wooden Pata to sit and said "You are Shri Shankar incarnate, coming to us in the evening time. I wish to offer to You food, so please kindly accept it. I am really very fortunate to have You at my place in the evening time. Skandhapurana says that it is a great fortune to worship Lord Shankar in the evening time."

    Saying so, he respectfully worshipped Shri Maharaj with Bilwapatra. Bankatlal's father was now worried because he had requested Shri Maharaj to accept the food at his house; however, in fact the food was not yet ready, and if this saint did not wait till the food gets ready, it would be a great disappointment, as this would mean that Lord Shankar went away without taking food in the evening time from his house. So he was in a fix. What to do? He thought over and decided to offer Shri Maharaj puris which were prepared in the morning, as fried food is not treated as stale. Moreover he knew that his mind was pious and sincere in offering food to Shri Gajanan. Accordingly he brought a thali full of puris, almonds, dates, bananas, and oranges and put it before Shri Gajanan. He applied Bukka on His forehead and put a garland round His neck.

    Shri Gajanan ate everything that was served, consumed about three seers of food and stayed that night with Bankatlal. Next morning Bankatlal gave Shri Gajanan a ceremonious bath with one hundred pitchers of water. Men and women washed Him with soap and massaged His body with scented oils. After the bath, a very costly Pitamber (yellow robe) was given to Him to wear and made Him sit on a well-decorated high seat. Garlands of flowers and Tulsi were put around His neck, Kesar paste was applied on His forehead and fruits and sweets were offered to Him to eat. Thus Bankat's house became Dwarka for all the devotees. That was Monday, the auspicious day of worshipping Lord Shankar. All the people fulfilled their desire of worshipping Shri Gajanan except one. That was Ichharam, a cousin of Bankatlal. He was a devotee of Lord Shankar and it being a Monday, the day of Lord Shiva, he wished to worship Shri Gajanan at evening time by treating Him to be Lord Shiva. At Sunset time, Ichharam took a bath and with great devotion offered Puja to Shri Gajanan. He told Shri Maharaj that he had a fast since morning and would take food only if Shri Gajanan accepted and ate food offered by him. Saying so, Ichharam brought a thali full of rice, many varieties of Sweets, curry, puris, ghee, fruits and many other things, sufficient to feed at least four persons and put it before Shri Gajanan. Looking at that thali Shri Maharaj said to Himself, "You, greedy Ganpya, always want to eat and eat. Now eat all this food without hesitation and let all these people see Your greediness". Saying so, He started eating everything that was served to Him and did not leave even a grain of salt in the thali. Then to show the result of forceful eating, Shri Gajanan vomited everything that He ate. Shri Ramdas Swami once did the same thing. It so happened that he felt a craze to eat Sweet Kheer. He asked for it and ate it to His full content. Overeating resulted in vomiting. Shri Ramdas started eating that what he vomited just to win over his obsessive eating desire. Similarly Shri Gajanan, though quite strong to digest anything, vomited only to teach a lesson to those who pressurize Him to eat. Thereafter the devotees cleaned the place, gave a bath to Shri Gajanan and made Him sit on a raised seat. Many people came to pay respect to Gajanan.

    They started singing devotional songs. Shri Maharaj was very happy to listen to them and then He began chanting to Himself "Gan Ganat Bote" in the same tune in which the Bhajan was composed. It continued this way for the whole night. Because of His above utterance of "Gan Gan Ganat Bote", people started calling him as "Gajanan". In fact He Himself being Brahma needs no name. Yogis are perpetually engrossed in their yogic trance and the joy that  they derive out of that has no comparison. As people go to Pandharpur in Ashadha, to  Nasik in Sinhastha or to Haridwar for Kumbhamela, so they started going to Shegaon to worship Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Swami Samarth Gajanan, and some believe is the incarnation of Vithal Narayan, is standing like a rock of determination at Shegaon. His words were the bank of holy Godavari, the joy begotten out of it was Haridwar and the whole Shegaon was crowded by people who wished to meet Shri Gajanan in this temple which was Bankatlal's house. Thus innumerable people were coming to Bankatlal's house for the Darshan of Shri Gajanan. One who has attained Brahmapada has no caste. The rays of the sun equally bless everything and everybody. Fresh batches of people were coming daily to Shegaon and food was served to hundreds of people. In fact it is all beyond the power of description of a small fly like me. Everything is being said and narrated by Shri Gajanan Himself by using me as a tool for that purpose. His life story is vast and I fall too short to describe it. However, I now narrate to you His daily routine. At times He took a good bath and some times used to drink dirty water. His daily routine was most uncertain like the speed of air. He loved smoking but had no craving for it. Now listen to the next chapter with faith.

    Dasganu desires this book to be an ideal guide for the devotees.

    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter Two

    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline v2birit

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #4 on: October 05, 2010, 03:37:27 AM »
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  • Dear bhaktas,
         Two Questions,
    1.  Does anyone know the meaning of "Gan Gan Ganat Bote".
    2.  Is it possible for us to get darshan of a Siddha such as Gajanan Maharaj or Sai baba live face to face, in this lifetime. Does anyone know of any such siddha who is living in bodily form, in present times. Anybody already had darshan ?

    Om Sai Ram

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #5 on: October 05, 2010, 06:13:56 AM »
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  • sairam V2BIRIT ji,

    even i feel same think.. around 100  ya 200 yrs back.. so great siddha's like akkalkot maharaj then Gajanan maharaj then Shirdi saibaba was there people used to get darshan of god so easily...  :)  but now ??? ??? ???
    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline v2birit

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #6 on: October 05, 2010, 08:51:10 AM »
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  • Well there are but not so easy to get access

    I know the following Siddhas living at present,

    1. Satya Sai baba of Puttaparthi
    2. Domak Maharaj , somewhere in Domak, in Vidharbha Region of Maharashtra
    3. Aniruddha Bapu in Mumbai.

    but they are not easily accessible.

    It requires great Merit (Punya) to get thier contact without effort.

    Om Sai Ram

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #7 on: October 06, 2010, 03:13:02 AM »
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  • Gajanan Maharaj- Pothi3
     
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O Sachhidananda Shri Hari, be kind to me as You have never been harsh to the fallen ones.
    You are the ocean of kindness, a mother to the sufferers and Kalpataru to Your devotees. O Rama, such is Your reputation as sung by the saints. So, Purushottama, please bless this Dasganu also, without delay.

    Shri Gajanan Maharaj stayed at Bankatlals house. People from distant places started coming to Him for Darshan. Flies gather where there is honey with no invitation.

    Now listen to what happened one day. Shri Maharaj was sitting in a jubilant mood. It was morning time. Eastern horizon was red and birds were singing. Soft breeze was blowing and old people, sitting in their beds, were chanting Gods name. The sun peeping up of from the east drove away the darkness. Pious married ladies were sprinkling water in their courtyard and calves were running to the cows.
    At such a pleasant morning time, an ascetic came for the Darshan of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. With his worn out clothes he was looking like a beggar. How can such a beggarly looking person expect good reception from the rich people sitting around Shri Maharaj? He had a small loincloth, a kerchief around his head and a small bag hanging from his shoulder. His dry disorderly hair was hanging on his back. He quietly sat in one corner before Shri Gajanan. Amongst many people coming for the Darshan of Shri Maharaj, this poor man was totally neglected. Sitting there, he was wondering as to how to get near Shri Gajanan to touch His feet. Having heard of the greatness of Shri Gajanan at Kashi, he had vowed to present Ganja to Shri Maharaj. In the first place, now he was finding it difficult to get a chance to fulfil his vow, and if at all he got a chance, the utterance of the word Ganja in the temple would make him face kicks from the people around. But after all, his coming to Shri Gajanan was only for the fulfilment of the vow of offering Ganja to Shri Maharaj. His vow of offering Ganja was because he liked it the most and so he thought it to be the best offering. While he was thinking so, Shri Gajanan understood and pointing to him asked the devotees to bring forth that ascetic to him. He was happy to see that Shri Gajanan knew everything that was going on in his mind. Saints know everything of the past, present and future. So he now expected Shri Gajanan to know the purpose of his coming to Shegaon. When he was brought-forth, Shri Maharaj said, Take Out that bundle which you have been keeping in your bag for last three months. Overwhelmed with joy, the ascetic started rolling like a child before Shri Maharaj. Maharaj said, Shamelessly you vowed to offer Ganja to me and now feel shy to take it out of your bag. The shrewd ascetic said that he would take it out and offer Ganja with a request that Shri Maharaj, as a token of his remembrance, accept the offering permanently. He further said, I know that You dont need Ganja, but kindly accept it as my humble offering. God fulfills all the desires of devotees. For example, Anjani prayed to Lord Shiva to come to her womb and take birth as her child. Lord Shiva accepted and took birth as Maharudra Hanuman. Taking the form of a monkey was accepted by Lord Shiva to fulfil the desire of His devotee. Shri Gajanan hesitated a bit but then agreed. The ascetic then took out Ganja, rubbed it in his hand, filled in the pipe and gave it to Shri Maharaj to smoke. This is how Shri Gajanan started smoking Ganja; but He never became an addict to it. Just like a lotus leaf he was free from attachments. The ascetic stayed there for a few days and then went away to Rameshwar.

    Some-times Shri Maharaj used to recite Vedic verses in sweet clear tones, and at times observed silence. His Reciting of the Vedas indicated that He was a Brahmin. Sometimes he used to sing a composition in different ragas or go on singing His Mantra, Gan Gan Ganat Bote At other times He observed silence or quietly slept. Some-times He behaved like a mad man, or wandered in the jungles or entered somebodys house unexpectedly.

    At Shegaon there was a famous man by name Janrao Deshmukh. He was on deathbed and all the doctors declared him to be as a hopeless case, and accordingly notified his relatives the sad news. They prayed to God, took vows in exchange of his life to God but to no avail. So they thought of the last remedy i.e. of approaching Shri Gajanan Maharaj with the belief that saints can perform any miracle. Shri Dnyaneshwar brought Sachhidananda back to life, and the same can be done by Shri Gajanan for Janrao. So one of the relatives went to the house of Bankatlal, where Shri Gajanan was staying, and narrating the whole story of Janrao requested him to give Pada Tirtha of Shri Gajanan which they would give to Janrao Deshmukh. Shri Bankatlal with the permission of his father Bhavaniram, took a glass of water touched it to the feet of Shri Maharaj and told Him that the Tirtha was being given to Janrao Deshmukh. Shri Gajanan Maharaj gave His consent. Thereafter the Tirtha was given to Janrao Deshmukh who immediately regained consciousness and thereafter slowly recovered from the illness. All the medicines were stopped and Janrao was kept on a daily dose of the Tirtha from the feet of Shri Maharaj. He gained his normal health within a week and went to Shri Bhavanirams house for the Darshan of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Look, the water from the feet of Shri Maharaj had the effect of life saving nectar. This is so because the saints are the God incarnates in Kalyuga.

    With such a happening one may say that no body should die in Shegaon so long as Shri Gajanan Maharaj is there. This statement however, is not logical. Saints do not prevent death, nor do they behave against the laws of the nature. But they can avoid a death if it is unnatural or accidental. Shri Dnyaneshwar avoided the death of Shri Sachhidananda at Newasha but the same Sachhidananda later on had to die at Alandi. That means, the saints can check unnatural or accidental death and it is not at all difficult for them.
    There are three types of deaths namely, Adhyatmic (subjective) meaning natural or destined, Adhibhoutic (Phenomenal) means by material effects and Adhidaivic (God sent) means accidental or un-natural. Of all these three, the first is most powerful and no body can avoid it. The second i.e. Adhibhoutic death is the result of bad eating and living habits and an undisciplined life style which gives rise to various diseases in the body. But this type of death can be averted with the help of a competent doctor. The third i.e. Adhidaivic death can be prevented by prayers and blessings of Saints. This category again is divided into two types, namely Bhoutic cause by material effect and the other is Daivic    caused by not pleasuring God.
    Adhyatmic i.e. the natural death cannot be prevented by anybody. Remember that Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, died in the presence of Shri Krishna Himself. Janraos death was of an un-natural type and so could be prevented by Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Some deaths can be averted by vows of offerings to God. But it should be done with full faith in the Almighty. In fact it is the strength of the faith involved itself that works to prevent the unnatural type of death. This sort of death can also be avoided by the Pada Tirtha of a saint who is pious and free from the six hostile forces of life. One should surrender to a real saint only and keep away from the hypocrites. After his full recovery, Deshmukh celebrated the blessings by feeding hundreds of people at the Math where Shri Maharaj stayed.

    The incident of saving Deshmukh created problems for Shri Gajanan Maharaj and to avoid them, He had to become rather strict and indifferent to the people. His real devotees; however, could bear with that attitude of Shri Maharaj. God Narsinha, by His very appearance created terror in the minds of people, but Pralhad was not afraid of that outward look. Tigress is fearful for others but not to her cubs playing in her lap. Likewise the real devotees were not afraid of the strictness shown by Shri Maharaj.
    Now listen to another story. It is seen that the earth when in contact with musk gets its fragrance. Similarly by mere contact of sandal wood and ordinary wood also gets its fragrance. This is quite natural, but it will be absurd if the wood thinks itself to be sandalwood. Along with the Sugarcane also grows some useless bushes. Saints and Satan both are born on the same earth. Along with the diamonds are found ordinary pebbles too in the mines. Though found in one place they differ in their values. Ordinary pebble cannot get the lustre of diamonds and they will simply be trampled under our feet and the diamonds picked up.

    Vithoba Ghatol, like above pebble, a hypocrite, was staying with Shri Gajanan Maharaj at Shegaon. He was dishonest and insincere, but showing off as if a great devotee. He used to call himself Kalyan of Shri Maharaj, and said that Shri Gajanan depended for everything, i.e. food, pipe and other comforts, on him. He was taking all sorts of advantages by his association with Shri Maharaj and boasted himself to be a bull before Lord Shiva. By his divine vision, Shri Gajanan Maharaj knew what Vithoba was doing and so taught him a lesson by following incidence.

    It so happened that some people come to Shegaon for the Darshan of Shri Maharaj. At that time Shri Gajanan was sleeping, and no body could dare wake Him up. These people were in hurry to go but at the same time wanted Darshan of Shri Maharaj. They approached Vithoba and said, Vithoba, we are in hurry to go back and want Darshan of Shri Maharaj before going. Amongst all the disciples you are the most intelligent, nearer and dearer to Shri Maharaj. So kindly wake him up and let us have his Darshan.  This request flattered Vithoba and he immediately went and woke up Shri Maharaj. People got Darshan but it invited calamity for Vithoba. Shri Gajanan got a stick and thrashed Vithoba severely with it and said, You rascal, you have started business here, and if I tolerate you, I shall be guilty before God. So I must punish you: Wine should not be treated as sweet drink, poison should not be touched, and thieves should not be made friends. Saying so, He knocked him again with the stick. Vithoba ran away and never returned again. This is how the real saints behave.

    Hypocrites pose as saints, with the help of selfish people, and misguide the public. This is an antisocial act. Real saints will always try to eliminate such elements from the society. A chaste lady will not like a prostitute as a neighbour. Gold will not like the ornaments of aluminium. Saints may accept bad people but will not give them importance. It is so because the saints realise that these people are sufferers because of their sins of previous life. It is just like the earth, which allows a prickly-pear also to grow along with Mogra. Mogra and prickly-pear are both the children of earth but they get different treatment. So also the saints will offer protection to all but have different values to individuals.

    Vithoba was most unfortunate. He got the touch of the Saints feet but unfortunately lost the same. He failed to understand the greatness of the saint. Had he realised it, he would have attained divine pleasure. By sitting under Kalpavriksha he desired for an ordinary pebble or asked for a coconut shell from Kamdhenu. No body, in association with saint, should do like this.

    May this Gajanan Vijay Granth be a saviour to all devotees.

    SHUBHAM BHA VATU
    Here ends of Chapter Three.


    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline samarthasai

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #8 on: October 06, 2010, 11:31:47 PM »
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  • Chapter - Pothi 4
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O Almighty! All Powerful God, Nilkantha, Gangadhara, Mahakal Trimbakeshwara, Shri Omkara manifest Yourself to me. You and Vishnu are one and the same as water and aqua. People worship either of Your forms as per their liking. One who sincerely loves You gets Your affection as a child gets from his mother. I am Your innocent child craving for Your love, You are all powerful, a Kalpataru. Kindly fulfil all my desires.

    Swami Gajanan was staying at the house of Bankatlal when the following incident occurred. On the third of Vaisakh Shudha day, people offer an earthen pitcher full of water to their dead forefathers. In Vidarbha, this day namely Akshaya Tritiya is celebrated on a large scale. On this day, Shri Maharaj was sitting with some boys, probably to reveal some of His super natural power. He told the boys to fill up His pipe with tobacco and light it for smoking. Boys prepared the pipe and started searching for fire. They could not get it. So Bankatlal suggested them to go to Jankiram the Goldsmith to ask him to ignite the pipe for Maharaj, as all goldsmiths first ignite fire in the morning to start off with their business and then attend to other works.

    The children then went to Jankiram and asked him for an ignited piece of coal for the pipe of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Jankiram got angry and refused to oblige the children saying that he did not like giving fire to any body on Akshaya Tritiya day. The boys told him not to be superstitious as the fire was required for the pipe of Shri Gajanan, the God of Gods. Jankiram turned down their request and said, "I don't accept Shri Gajanan as a saint. He has no caste, eats from anybody's hand, smokes tobacco and Ganja, remains naked, drinks sewage water and behaves like a mad man. Bankatlal is a fool to go after Him. I will not give fire for His pipe. If He is really a Saint, He should be able to create fire by His super natural powers as was done by Saint Jalander. So get out." The boys, disappointed went back to Bankatlal's house and narrated everything to Shri Maharaj. Shri Gajanan Maharaj smiled and took the pipe in His hand and asked Bankatlal to hold one matchstick, without igniting it, on the pipe. Bankatlal did it and was surprised to see the match stick igniting itself on the pipe. Such were the supernatural powers of Shri Gajanan Maharaj.

    Now listen to what happened to Jankiram by this incident. Neem leaves have a special significance on the New Year�s Day (Gudi Padwa), so has the tamarind curry on Akshaya Tritiya day. Shri Jankiram had invited many people for lunch on that day and the main dish was tamarind curry. When this curry was served to the people it was seen full of small dirty worms. It created nausea amongst the people gathered to eat and so the people left Jankiram's house without eating any food. The gold smith felt very sorry and it suddenly occurred to him that because of refusing to provide fire for the pipe of Shri Gajanan, all his food was wasted. He thought to himself, "Shri Gajanan is the pure water of Janhavi, the king of Kings and I treated Him like a beggar. He is the knower of the past, the present and the future and I thought Him to be a mad person. A Kalpavriksha was taken by me to be a thorny bush. He is a Chintamani and I thought Him to be splint. I could not understand His divine power. By my ill luck I lost an opportunity of getting the Blessings from a great Saint. I am a mere burden to the earth, an animal walking on two legs."

    Saying so, he condemned himself again and again. At last he decided to go and surrender at the feet of Shri Maharaj. He took some tamarind curry with him, went to Bankatlal's house and narrated his misfortune to Bankatlal. He said "Bankatlalji look to this curry full of worms. I am completely disgraced as all the invitees for lunch had to go without food. It is all due to my own fault. I refused this morning the fire for the pipe of Shri Maharaj and this is the result."
    Bankatlal said that the tamarind used by him might be worms infested. Jankiram said, "The tamarind was new and clear. Now all that I want is to prostrate before Shri Gajanan and beg His pardon for my blunder". Jankiram went and falling at the feet of Shri Gajanan said, "0 Maharaj I beg to be pardoned for all my mistakes. You are lord Shiva in Shegaon but I did not recognize You. Now I am free of all doubts, and whatever punishment is given to me today should be enough to improve me. You are the protector of orphans like me, so kindly pardon me." Shri Maharaj replied, "You are telling a lie. Your curry is fine and there are no worms in it". And really the curry was clean and fine. All the worms had disappeared in a moment. The people around, saw the miracle and bowed before Shri Maharaj.

    Now listen to the story of Chandu Mukin, a devotee of Shri Maharaj. In the month of Jeshta in summer all the devotees were sitting around Shri Maharaj. They were offering Him fruits, sugar balls, garlands, applying sandalwood paste to his body and some of them were cooling air by hand fans. At that time Shri Maharaj said that He did not want mangoes or fruits but two "Kanholes" kept in the earthen pitcher at Chandu�s House. Chandu, with folded hands said that there were no Kanholes at his house, but would get prepared fresh if necessary. Maharaj replied that He did not want fresh Kanholes, but only those stale ones lying in the earthen pitcher at his house. Chandu went home and told his wife what Shri Maharaj had said. His wife said that the "Kanholes" were prepared a month back on Akshaya Tritiya day and all were consumed the same day, and if at all some were left, they must be stale and hard by this time. She however, showed her readiness to prepare fresh "Kanholes" for Shri Maharaj. But Chandu replied that Maharaj wanted only the stale ones and not fresh. He asked her to remember where she kept them since Swamiji couldnot possibly utter a lie. She paused and tried to remember and in a flash said that what Swamiji had said was correct. She remembered that two Kanholes were really kept by her in the earthen pitcher. She took out the Kanholes and gave them to Chandu, and the wonder was that they had not hardened or dried at all. Looking to it they both were happy. Chandu went back and offered the "Kanholes" to Shri Maharaj. All were surprised at the divine knowledge of Shri Maharaj. Shri Gajanan happily ate the "Kanholes" as fruits offered by Shabari were devoured happily by Shri Ram.

    At Chincholi, a town near Shegaon, there was a Brahmin by the name of Madhao. He was over sixty years old and was physically very weak. He passed away his youth years in attaining material pleasure only. It is not possible to change ones fate. Madhao lost all his children and wife and was left alone in this world at an old age. He lost all interest in his life, sold out all his possessions and regretted that while in material pursuits he never remembered Almighty God. Again and again he begged pardon from God and prayed for helping him out of the tragedy of his life. Full of repentance he came to Shri Gajanan and squatted at His doors fasting and chanting the name of God. After one full day of his fasting Shri Gajanan said, "What you are doing is not proper. Why did you not remember God like this before? It is just like calling a doctor after the death of patient or like marrying in an old age after spending one�s youth being a bachelor. Everything should be done in its proper time. Otherwise the action bears no fruits. It is no use digging a well when the house is on fire. The family for whom you toiled in your good days has left you alone. You wasted all your time attaining things that were transient and forgot the One truth which is eternal. As a consequence you have now to bear the results of your actions from which there is no escape. So do not be obstinate. Be reasonable." Other people also tried to persuade him but he ignored all and kept up his fast and the chanting of �Narayan, Narayan�.

     At mid night when it was pitch dark, and nobody was near about, Shri Gajanan played a trick with Madhao. He changed His human form into a fearful form of Yama, the God of death, and with a big open jaw rushed to Madhao, as if to eat him. Madhao was dumb founded his heart throbbing, he started to run away. Looking at his condition, Shri Maharaj regained His normal self and loudly said, "Is this the boldness that you have got? Remember that you are the food of death, and it will swallow you like this only. What I have shown is an indication of future happening of Yamalok wherefrom you will not be able to run away. Madhao said, "Kindly save me from Yamalok. I do not want this life also. My last request to You is to send me to Vaikunth. You have already shown me the Yamaloka once, so do not send me there again. I am fully aware of my sins and if you wish, it is not difficult for You to free me from them. I am fortunate enough to be at your feet, probably because of some good deeds from the past to my credit. The one who meets a saint during his lifetime cannot go to Yamalok". Shri Maharaj said, �Keep on chanting the name of Narayan, as your death is quite near now. If you still want to live, tell me and I will extend your life span." Madhao said, �I do not want to live any more. This world is all unreal and so kindly don�t let me get involved in its attractions any more.� Upon which, Shri Maharaj said, "TATHASTU - I give you what you want. You will not be reborn on this earth.� Such was the secret conversation between them, for which my words fall short to describe. Madhao lost all the worldly responses and looking at his behaviour, people thought it to be the effect of his fasting. Madhao died at the feet of Shri Gajanan Maharaj and finally escaped the cycle of birth and death.

    Once Shri Maharaj wished to listen to the Vedic recitation and so asked the devotees to get some learned Brahmins for reciting of Vedas. Devotees said that learned Brahmins able to recite Vedas, were not available there days. Swamiji however, asked them to go ahead with making the necessary preparations saying that the Brahmins would come the next day. The devotees were happy; they started the preparations and collected a sum of a hundred rupees for the purpose. Next day, at noontime, a team of learned Brahmins arrived at Shegaon and they recited the Vedas before Shri Gajanan Maharaj. All of them were given "Dakshina". Then they went away. This shows that Almighty God fulfils all the desires of the saints. Bankatlal, and now his descendants continued this recitation of Vedas on that particular day every year. 

    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter Four.

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #9 on: October 07, 2010, 12:14:36 AM »
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  • Gajanan Maharaj- Pothi5

     
    Shri Ganeshayanmah. O God You are unconquerable to the foes.
    O Adwait,
    Sachhidananda, Karunalaya, relieve this Dasganu of all my fears. I am a fallen,
    poor, sinful person and possess no authority. Thus I am entirely helpless. But great people often help the poor. Look, Lord Shankar has applied ash to His body.
    The smallness of the smalls does not degrade the great ones. So with this understanding let this Dasganu be at Your feet. A mother fulfils all desires of her child. I am at Your mercy. Do whatever you like, but be kind to me for all my aspirations depend on You.

    While Maharaj stayed at Shegaon, hundreds of people started coming to Maharaj to receive His Darshan. His reputation spread far and wide; but Shri Gajanan wanted to keep away from all people. So he used to wander in forests for months without giving anybody any knowledge of His movements. In His wandering once He went to Pimpalgaon. There was a temple of Lord Shiva in the forest near Pimpalgaon Shri Gajanan went there and sat in Padmasan Mudra. There was a small stream near the temple where cowherd boys came with their cattle. As the cows were drinking water at the stream, the boys went to the temple for Darshan of Lord Shiva. They saw Shri Gajanan sitting there with closed eyes and were surprised. They used to visit that temple but never saw anybody sitting there like Shri Gajanan. Some of them sat before Him, but the saint did not open His eyes nor spoke anything. The boys could not understand the reason why He sat like that at the temple. They thought that He must be very tired and so unable to open His mouth and eyes. Some of them thought that He must be very hungry and so they put some bread before Him and started shaking Him. Even then there was no response from the saint. It was all very surprising for them. The boys said that He couldn't possibly be dead since He was sitting straight without any support also His body was warm. One of them suggested that He might be a ghost. Some people; however, argued to that saying that a ghost couldn't dare come in the proximity of Lord Shiva. Then they thought to themselves that He must therefore be a God from heaven, and with this idea occurring to them, considered themselves to be fortunate to get the Darshan of God. So they decided to offer Him puja, and brought water and flowers to wash His feet, put flowers on His head and some bread and onions before Him as Naivedyam. They performed Bhajan sitting there for some time. Being engrossed in performing the Bhajan they forgot about returning home. When they remembered that they were late and that it might create anxiety amongst elders and their parents might even come out in search of the cowherds. Moreover the calves also might be lowing for the mother cows. So they returned home immediately and narrated everything about that Saint to the elders. Next morning the villagers came to the temple and saw the saint sitting in the same position without touching the bread that was offered to Him the previous day. Some said that He must be a yogi, while others thought that Lord Shiva Himself might have come out of Lingam to give them Darshan. They, however, were unanimous on one point that the saint was in deep Samadhi and should not be disturbed till He came out of the trance. They remembered that in Bengal Saint Jalander was in Samadhi for full twelve years. Then a palanquin was brought and the saint put in it and brought to Pimpalgaon accompanied by a great fanfare of procession and on the way Gulal and flowers were scattered on Him. After reaching Pimpalgaon, He was ceremoniously put on a raised seat in Lord Hanuman's temple. That day also passed but the yogi did not come out of trance. Next day the villagers decided to sit in prayers observing complete fast till He came out of the trance, and surprisingly, the saint immediately opened His eyes and came out of the Samadhi. The jubilant villagers prostrated before Shri Gajanan as a mark of respect, and offered Him sweets and food. The news of Shri Gajanan spread to the neighbouring villages. The following Tuesday, people of Pimpalgaon went to Shegaon for marketing and incidentally told the people over there that they too had got a saint at Pimpalgaon, who is a God incarnate. The news spread in Shegaon and reached Bankatlal also, who immediately went to Pimpalgaon along with his wife and with folded hands said to Shri Maharaj, "You had promised to return soon, but it is now more than a fortnight since You left Shegaon. Shegaon is lifeless without You and all are anxious to see You back. I have brought the cart for You, so let us go back to Shegaon. It is not good to separate a child from his mother. Because of Your absence, many regular visiting devotees might not have taken food. And despite this if You don't come to Shegaon, I will kill myself." So Shri Gajanan sat in the cart to leave for Shegaon. At this sight, the people of Pimpalgaon remembered the occasion when Akrura had come to Gokul to take away Shrikrishna. They thought of Bankatlal as Akrura, who however, told them that Shri Gajanan Maharaj was not going far away as He would stay in Shegaon only and they could very well visit Maharaj there whenever they liked. Most of the people from Pimpalgaon were tenants for Bankatlal and so were unable to displease him. They helplessly saw the saint go away with Bankatlal. On the way Maharaj jokingly said to Bankatlal, "It is not proper for a "Savkar" to forcibly take away others property. Looking to the affairs at your house, I am afraid to come with you. You have locked Lakshmi, the mother of the people, the wife of Lord Shri Mahavishnu, and the most powerful deity Herself in your house. Looking to the plight of Jagadamba, I got frightened and so ran away". Hearing that, Bankatlal laughed and said, "Gurunath, the mother was not scared by my locks but stayed in my house because of your presence there. Mother and child have to stay together. Your feet are the real wealth for me. I do not care for any other wealth. That is why I had to come to Pimpalgaon in its search. My house is not mine any more. It now belongs to you. How can a watchman obstruct the owner of the house? You may do anything you like, go anywhere you want to go, and Bless the whole world, but do not forget us, the people of Shegaon. Cows go out in the morning to feed themselves in the woods, but return home in the evening. That is what; you too should do with us."
    Thus Bankatlal brought Shri Gajanan Maharaj to Shegaon.

    But after some days Shri Maharaj again went away. It so happened that one fine morning, Shri Gajanan left for Adgaon without anybody's knowledge. Like Lord Hanuman, His speed was that of the wind. It was the month of Vaishakh and the severe summer had dried up water everywhere. In such hot noon Shri Maharaj reached Akola. Perspiring profusely and His lips gone dry due to the thirst, He looked around for water. At that time a farmer, named Bhasker, was working in his field. A farmer is an important person in the society who provides food to all, bearing all the agonies of heat and cold. There was an acute shortage of water around Akola, so much so that one might get ghee under normal circumstances, but not water in that area. Bhasker had brought water for himself in an earthen pitcher and kept it under a bush. Shri Maharaj came to him and said, "I am thirsty. Give me water and do not refuse. As one cannot live without water, it is a great "Punya" to give water to the thirsty. That is why rich people during the summer open water booths on highways to quench the thirst of thirsty people." Bhaskar replied upon that, "How can one get "Punya" by giving water to the useless naked man like you? This talk of Punya is good only in context with, orphans, disabled or a social worker; religious books too say the same thing. And it is sin to give water to sluggish people like you. Will anybody nourish a snake on humanitarian grounds or give shelter to a thief in his house? You have become fat by begging from door to door and are a dead weight to the society by your actions. I have brought the pitcher of water on my head for me and not for you. I will not give water to you. Go away immediately from here, you rascal. Because of lazy people like you amongst us, we have become useless in the world." Hearing Bhaskara, Shri Maharaj smiled and went away. He saw one well at some distance and went there. Seeing Him go to that well, Bhaskara shouted loudly saying, "Do not go to that well, it is dry". There is no well filled with water within two miles of radius from here. Maharaj said, "It is true, but I will try to fill water in it. When People like you get tormented due to lack of water, I must do something in the interest of the society. God will help me if my intentions are honest."
    Saying so, Shri Gajanan went to the well and peeped into it. It was completely dry. In a dejected mood he sat on a nearby rock under the tree, closed his eyes, meditated for some time, and solemnly implored the Almighty to give water to the village. Shri Maharaj said,
    "0 God, Wamana, Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Raghava, Vithala, Narahari, the people of Akola are worried about drinking water. There is not a drop left in any of the wells in the village. All human efforts have failed, so now You come to their rescue. You can do the most impossible things. Panduranga, You have saved cats in the burning furnace, You have appeared out of a pillar to honour the words of Pralhad. Vaishwanara, You have swallowed twelve villages in Gokul, O Murari, You lifted up a mountain on Your finger tip, You became a Mahar for Damajipant, You did the work of Chokha Mahar, and protected the birds of Savata Mali. You had created water for Namdeo in the dry land of Marwad. If You wish, anything can be done."
    After Gajanan Maharaj made such an imploration to the Almighty, a powerful spring burst in the well and in minutes it was full of water. The might of God is unlimited, enabling Him to do anything that is desired sincerely by the devotees. Shri Gajanan drank water from the well and quenched His thirst. Bhaskar saw it and could not believe his eyes. He knew that the well contained not a drop of water for last twelve years and now it is full of water. How can it happen? It meant that this man was not an ordinary, useless person, but must be a great saint. Bhaskar realising his fault, left his field, went running to the saint and fell at His feet. He said, "O God incarnate, kindly pardon me. I am an ignorant child of Yours, please be kind to me. Not knowing Your real self I insulted you. I regret it now. Please excuse me. Milkmaids at times insulted lord Krishna, but He never took it seriously. O kindhearted God, Your external appearance has deceived me. By this act of miracle, You have freed me of ignorance and manifested Your true self to me. I now realise Your power by this creation of water. I will, now never leave Your feet, and, You as a mother, should not desert this child of Yours. I have now fully realized that the material attachment is unreal, so do not discard me."  Shri Gajanan said, "Don't lament like this, I have created water in this well to save you the trouble of bringing water on your head from long distances. Then why do you renounce prapanch? This water has come for you, use it and grow a nice garden." Bhaskar said, "Gurudeo, don't tempt me like this. My determination itself is a well; It was absolutely dry without a drop of water. Your miracle was an explosive, which broke the rock inside that well, and out came a fine spring of faith. With that water, now I will grow the garden of deep devotion to You. By Your kind blessing, I will plant the fruit trees of good moral and flower plants of good deeds everywhere. I will do away with all the momentary attachments of worldly property."
    Look, 0 listeners, what a transformation had taken place in Bhaskara's attitude, with a brief association with a saint! Darshan of a real saint is of a unique nature, which has been narrated in detail by Saint Tukaram in his hymns. Read those hymns, meditate over it, and experience the truth in your own interest. The news of creating water in a dry well spread like wild fire and people, like flies rushing to honey, or ants running after sugar, came for the Darshan of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. They went to the well, drank water and quenched their thirst. The water was clean, cold, tasty and sweeter than nectar. People cheered Shri Gajanan Maharaj again and again. Shri Maharaj did not stay in Adgaon, He instead returned to Shegaon with Bhaskar.

    May the "Gajanan Vijay" epic composed by Dasganu, be an ideal guide for devotees to understand the greatness of a real saint.

    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter Five
    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

    Offline samarthasai

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #10 on: October 08, 2010, 03:11:50 AM »
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  • Chapter 6
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O most auspicious one, it is the experience of saints that says that Your Blessings drive away everything that is inauspicious. Believing it, O God, I have come to Your door with great hopes. If You disappoint me, it will mean disrepute to You and the saints as well. So, Madhava, uphold my prestige and never be angry with this innocent child of Yours. Please remember that any shortcomings of a child bring blame to his mother.

    One time Bankatlal took Shri Maharaj to his farm to eat maize corns. Many other people had gathered there for this party of corns and the seating arrangement was made near a well. The well had ample water and there were many tamarind trees around. Fire was lit at 8-10 places to fry the corn and a lot of smoke was rising up in the sky. There was a big honeycomb on the tamarind tree and due to the smoke, the bees rushed out to attack the people seated below the tree. Leaving the corn the people fled the place. Some of them covered their heads with blankets. In this world nothing is more precious than one�s own life. So was the case with these people. In all this havoc, Shri Gajanan Maharaj sat undisturbed and thought about the honeybees. He thought to Himself, "I am the bees, I am honeycomb. The one who has come to eat corn is I, and the corn is also me.� While he was thus thinking bliss-fully, innumerable bees landed on his body giving an appearance of the blanket of bees. The insects were biting and piercing their needle like thorns in His body, but Shri Maharaj did not bother about it. This went on for some time making the helpless devotees miserable. Bankatlal felt very sorry for having brought Shri Maharaj to the farm and felt that he himself was responsible for the bites inflicted by the bees on Shri Gajanan. Thinking so, Bankatlal was about to rush to the rescue of Shri Maharaj when by His divine power Shri Gajanan understood it and said to the bees, "Oh insects, go back to the honey comb and don't harm my beloved Bankatlal, who is the only real devotee amongst all the people here."
    Bankatlal said, "Oh Maharaj, I very much regret for having brought You here. I am responsible for causing You these bee bites today. I am a great sinner. Kindly tell me what I shall do to relieve You of these bee-bites. Shall I call a goldsmith to pull out the bee thorns with his pincers?" Shri Maharaj replied "Bankat, nothing extraordinary has happened, as it is the nature of bees to bite and they behaved according. I assure you that these bites will not affect me as I know the "Sachhidananda" in those bees. He is in those bees and I am His incarnation. How can water hurt the water? You have given a good feast of these bees to me. These poisonous insects attacked me and all the Laddu-Bhakta ran away. Give a thought to it and remember that in times of calamity none but God helps you. These selfish people gathered here for a feast, and ran away when the bees attacked?" Hearing this divine knowledge, Bankatlal kept quiet and brought a gold smith to pull out the bee thorns from the body of Shri Maharaj. The goldsmith came with a pair of pincers and started searching for the thorns in His body. Shri Maharaj laughed and said that eyes would not see the thorns and the pincers are useless to pull them out. And in order to prove what he said, He inhaled the air and held His breath. The thorns immediately came out of the body. Looking at this miracle, people were glad to realise the greatness of Shri Maharaj. After that, all the people enjoyed the feast of maize corns and returned home in the evening. Once, Shri Maharaj went to Akot to meet his saint brother Narsinghji, who was a disciple of Kotasha. Although Maratha by caste, he had become dear to Shri Vithala by his Bhakti (devotion). Since I have narrated his detail life in �Bhaktileelamrut", I don't repeat in here. Akot is 36 miles to the north-east of Shegaon and Gajanan Maharaj went there with the speed of wind. Shri Narsinghji was staying in the dense forest near Akot to get solitude. This forest, without any habitants, was very dense with big trees, creepers, wild grass and many snakes in it. In such dreadful forest Shri Narsinghji was living all alone. Shri Gajanan went there to meet him. Water mixes with water and like things merge with each other. Unlike things never mix with each other. So looking at Shri Gajanan, Shri Narsinghji was happy beyond description. One was Hari and the other Har, one was Rama, while other, the son of Vasudeo-Devaki. One was Ganga and the other that of Godavari. One was the Kohinoor, and the other Kaustubha. One was the Vashistha and the other, son of Anjani. Both of them met each other and were very happy. They sat near each other and exchanged their experiences.
    Shri Gajanan said, "Narsinha, you have done well by leading a family life. I renounced that and followed the path of Yoga, to know the ultimate reality, the "Brahma". In this path of yoga, many strange things, incomprehensible to the common man, happen, and to hide them I, many times, behave like a mad man. To know the ultimate Truth there are three paths - Karma, Bhakti and Yoga. Apparently they look like three different paths, but in reality they reach the same goal. If a yogi feels proud of his path, he will remain away from the ultimate Truth. He should keep himself clean from the effect of Yogakriya, like a lotus leaf. Then only he can know the ultimate Truth. Same is the case with family life. You should not have attachment with your family. A pebble remains in water, but does not allow the water to enter it. Such should be your behaviour in family life - free from any expectations and with full concentration in Almighty. Then nothing is impossible. You, me and God are one, and the people too are not different from Him."

    Shri Narsinghji said, "I am grateful to you for meeting me. This "Prapanch" is unreal like the shadow at noon. I will follow your advice, but keep on coming to me. Everything is predestined in this world, and we have to perform our duty in this life as per desire of God. My only, request is that you should come frequently to meet me as I am your younger brother. Just like Bharat, waiting at Nandigram for Shri Ram, I am here at Akot for you. With your yogic achievements, it is very easy for you to come here. A yogi, without touching anywhere, can traverse around the universe in minutes."

    With intimate love for each other, they were speaking all that night. Real saints behave like this only, but the hypocrites quarrel with each other. These hypocrites should not be accepted as Guru as they are like a broken ship on the sea. They receive a lot of publicity, but carefully we should discard them. Living in a "math" or learning an art of composing poems does not make one a saint, but only self knowledge does it. Can we accept gold-coated articles as gold, or a prostitute as a house wife? These two saints were real and pious. When people knew that Shri Gajanan Maharaj had come to meet Shri Narsinghji, They thought it to be the confluence of Godavari and Bhagirathi and by going there they could get the satisfaction of taking a dip in that confluence. So the people with coconuts in their hands started rushing to the forest. But Shri Gajanan, with the permission of Shri Narsinghji had already left and all the people were disappointed.


    Once, in his usual wandering, Shri Gajanan, with his disciples, reached a village named Shivar. This place is on the bank of Chandrabhaga (not of Pandharpur) but the one near Daryapur where Shri Vrajabhushan, a learned man lived. He had the knowledge pertaining four various languages and was famous all over the Vidarbha, was also a great devotee of the God sun. It was his daily routine to get up early in the morning, take a bath in the Chandrabhaga and offer prayers to the Sun. He was respected by all the intellectuals. Shri Gajanan Maharaj came to this Shivar village as if to give Vrajabhushan the fruits of his prayers. He as usual came to the Chandrabhaga for his bath and saw Shri Gajanan Maharaj sitting on the bank of that river. It was morning time with twilight spreading all over the sky, cocks crowing all around while Chatak and Bharadwaj birds were flying as if to pay respects to the rising sun. With the sun peeping up the horizon, darkness quickly disappeared, like fools leaving the congregation at the sight of the learned. At such a pleasant morning, Shri Gajanan was sitting there in full bliss of "Brahmanand" and his disciples around him like the rays of the sun. While offering his usual prayers to the sun, Vrajabhushan saw Shri Gajanan Maharaj with his lustrous body, long arms and the eyes concentrated at the tip of his nose. With great joy he went running to Shri Gajanan Maharaj, poured water on his feet, offered puja, went round him, and prostrated before him twelve times reciting the holy names of the sun. Then respectfully performed Arati and prostrated before him singing hymns in the praise of Shri Gajanan.
    Vrajabhushan said, "By the Darshan of these divine feet I got today the fruits of my penance. So far I was offering prayers to the sun in the sky, but today I see him in the form of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. 0 Gajanan, you are the real Brahma full of knowledge and the supporter of this universe. You take many births, ages after ages, and by your Darshan all the woes vanish. Kindly bless me." Saying so, Vrajabhushan finished his prayers and Shri Gajanan affectionately embraced him like a mother to her child. Then placing his hand on the head of Vrajabhushan Shri Maharaj said, "You will be respected and loved by the people. Don't leave the path of Karma (duty) nor think the rituals to be meaningless, but at the same time don't get involved in it. Do your duty and renounce the fruit. This will enable you to meet Shri Krishna and keep you clean of the effects of your actions. Remember my words and go home. I will always meet you in meditations."Saying so, Shri Maharaj gave Vrajabhushan the prasad of a coconut and went back to Shegaon.

    This Shegaon was formerly known as Shivargaon and later on became Shegaon. There were seventeen Patils in this village. Shri Maharaj returned to Shegaon but did not stay there for long. He kept on moving from place to place. He visited Akot, Akola, Malkapur and many other places. Months of Jeshta and Ashadha passed, Shravana came and the annual functions of Lord Hanuman started in the temple. This is a big temple a Shegaon and all the Patil families were devotees of Hanuman. Patil being a powerful authority in the village, all the people normally co-operated with everything that he did. The function lasts for a month with Abhishek, reading of holy books, Kirtan and feeding the people to their hearts content. Khandu Patil, noble hearted, was the leader of the function. The authority of the Patil is like a tiger's skin, and who-so-ever puts it on, becomes a terror to the people. There is a proverb in Marathi meaning that whatever a king cannot do, can be done by the united people. The proverb aptly applies here. So Shri Gajanan Maharaj came to this temple in the month of Shravana to attend the functions, and told Bankatlal,"Henceforth I will stay in this temple and you should not mind it. Saints and sages are not supposed to stay permanently with men leading family life. I am a Sanyasi and so shall stay in this temple only, but whenever you want me I will visit your house. I am giving you this secret knowledge. Shri Shankaracharya had to move from place to place. Sages Macchindra and Jalander avoided the houses of people leading family life and stayed in forests under trees. Shivaji, who protected Hindus and punished Yavans, loved Ramdas Swami, but Swamiji preferred to stay away at Sajjangad. Think over this, obey me, and don't bother about my place of stay. This is in your own interest."

    Helplessly, Bankatlal gave his consent to what Shri Maharaj said. Shri Maharaj came to the temple and all were happy. Bhaskar Patil stayed there in His service.
    May the "Gajanan Vijay" epic composed by Dasganu, be an ideal guide for devotees to understand the greatness of a real saint.

    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"


    Offline samarthasai

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #11 on: October 08, 2010, 11:13:26 PM »
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  • Chapter - 7 ~
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! Jai to You, Rama, Meghashyama, Sitapati, Dasharathe, You are the refuge to the saints. It was by Your blessings that the monkeys gained strength and defeated Ravana in Lanka. Your blessings always bring victory and fulfilment of all desires. A favourite of the King, howsoever incapable he may be, becomes lovable to the ministers. Am I suitable for such a favour? With this question, O Panduranga, I realise that my condition is most pitiable as I lack real knowledge and devotion. My mind is always unsteady, suspicious and full of desires. With all this, how can I expect to get your favour? Logically it is all right, but O God, even Puranas say that you have got a genuine liking for the Sinners. It is no wonder if you liberate the pious ones. But real greatness lies in saving a sinner. Since there is nobody greater than you in this world, I invoke you to ignore my sins and bless me. O Narayana, accept this Dasganu who has surrendered at your feet and uphold your greatness.

    Under the leadership of Khanderao Path, all the villagers actively participated in the function at Hanuman temple. These Patil people have an ancient heritage of wealth and landed property. Devotion to saints and sages has been their family tradition and now with the authority as village head, this worshipping is done with greater enthusiasm. Mahadaji Patil had two sons, Kadtaji and Kukaji. Kukaji, the younger was a great devotee of Pandurang of Pandharpur. The family had the blessings of Shri Gomaji Maharaj of Nagzari. Kadtaji Patil had six sons and Kukaji none. After the death of Kadtaji Patil, Kukaji did the bringing up of these six children as his own, and also brought great prosperity to the family. After Kukaji, Khandu Patil became the head of the family. He was a terror to the village and used his authority fearlessly. He had five brothers, Ganpat, Narayan, Maruti, Hari and Krishnaji. In addition to the authority of Patil, wielded by him, he possessed a lot of wealth too. All the brothers were fond of regular exercise, playing swords & sticks. Hari Patil liked wrestling. For name's sake the celebrations were for Lord Hanuman, but in fact everybody was interested in pleasing the Patil. The attitude of the Patil was rude and unreasonable which frequently resulted in quarrels and disputes in Shegaon. He abused everybody and did not spare even the saints. Patil, with his brothers, went to the temple of Lord Hanuman and started jesting at Shri Gajanan Maharaj by making bad puns on his name. One of them even challenged Maharaj to come out for wrestling and prove the greatness bestowed upon Him by the people. The brothers asked Shri Maharaj to prove His greatness, failing to do which ,he should get ready to get beat up at their hands. Shri Maharaj just laughed away their remarks and never got angry. Looking at all this rude behaviour of Patil brothers, Shri Bhaskara said, "Maharaj, let us go to Akoli, away from these insolent boys, corrupted by their strength, money and power". Shri Maharaj replied, "Bhaskara, wait a bit. All these Patil brothers are my great devotees. They lack modesty but see them closely to know their affection for me. They are just like my sons and already have got blessings from the saints. Executive power generally is accompanied by rudeness. How can a tiger behave like a cow? Can fire ever be cold? Sword will be useless if it is soft. After some time this insolence will disappear as muddy water of rainy seasons becomes clear in winter."

    One day Hari Patil came to the temple and said to Shri Gajanan, "come on wrestle with me and I will defeat you, don't sit quietly chanting "Gan Gan Ganat Bote". All people praise you and I want to test that greatness of yours today. If you defeat me in wrestling, I will give you a prize." Maharaj accepted the challenge and sat down saying, "Come on, if you are really strong, come on pull me up." Hari Patil wrestled and applied all his strength but could not move Shri Maharaj even an inch. He used all his strength and the tricks of wrestling and all his body started perspiring, but could not move Shri Maharaj at all. He realized that though Maharaj appeared thin and frail, His strength was like an immovable mountain and that is why, like an elephant, he ignored all the teasing from others. Hari Patil felt himself like a jackal before an elephant or a barking dog before a tiger. Accepting the defeat he, who never bent before anybody, now decided to surrender and bow before Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Looking to his condition Shri Maharaj said, "Now, defeat me or give me the prize promised by you. Wrestling is the best of all manly sports. Shri Krishna and Balaram played wrestling in their childhood. Mushtik and Chanur, the great wrestlers and bodyguards of Kansa were killed by them. Good health is the best wealth, second is landed property and third is money. Shri Krishna, who was living on the banks of Yamuna, made all the boys of Gokul strong. I want you to do the same and make the boys of Shegaon strong. Shri Maharaj said that this was the only prize he wanted. Hari shrewdly replied that it was possible only with His blessings. Since then Hari started behaving well with Shri Maharaj. Looking at this, his other brothers started questioning such cowardly behaviour of Hari Patil. They said, "We being sons of Patil, the highest authority of the village, should not bow before such a naked man. This mad man is getting unnecessary popularity and we must take immediate steps to stop it in public interest, and if we neglect our duty, people will go astray. It is our duty to caution the people in time. Hypocrites put on the garb of a sage and innocent people are befooled. Gold has to stand acid test to prove genuineness. Incident of sugarcane showed saint Tukaram's control on mind and Dnyaneshwar was accepted as saint only when he made a buffalo speak. As we should not respect anybody without proper test, Shri Gajanan Maharaj too should be put to test."

    Saying so, they came to the temple with a bundle of sugarcanes. Hari was quiet, but other brothers said to Shri Maharaj, "You fool! If you want to eat these sugarcanes, fulfil our condition. We shall beat you with the sugarcanes and if this beating does not raise marks on your body then only we shall accept you as a yogi." Shri Maharaj smiled and ignored their talk as children's prattle. Maruti said, "He appears to be afraid of sugarcane beating." Ganapati said, "His silence implies acceptance to the beatings." Saying so all the brothers rushed and started beating Shri Maharaj with the sugarcanes. All people in the temple, except Bhaskar, started running away. Bhaskar appealed to them to stop beating Shri Maharaj. He said, "Please do not beat him. You are born in the Patil family and so should be kind to others. If you do not think him to be a great saint, treat him as an innocent man and ignore him. Brave hunters always attack the tigers and never shoot at insects. Hanuman attacked and burnt Ravana's Lanka and not hurt poor people." The boys replied, "People of this village treat him as a great saint, and therefore, we want to test his greatness so you keep away." So saying the boys started beating Shri Maharaj with the sugarcanes like a farmer beating grain bunches for taking out the grains. Shri Maharaj kept smiling and did not reply back. The beating did not raise a single mark on His body. Looking to this fact the boys got afraid and bowed before Shri Maharaj saying that He was a real yogi. Shri Maharaj said, "0 boys, your Hands must be aching by beating me, and so to refresh you I will give you sugarcane juice." Saying so he took sugarcanes one by one and by his hands squeezed the juice from the sugarcanes and gave it to them to drink. Thus Shri Maharaj squeezed juice out of sugarcanes without any machine. The boys were very happy. People said that this was possible due to the yogic strength in Shri Maharaj. By this miracle Shri Maharaj conveyed that if we want to make our nation strong, we must learn yoga. The boys prostrated before Shri Maharaj and went away. They told the whole story to Khandu Patil saying that Shri Gajanan is really a God in Shegaon. He was surprised and started going to Shri Maharaj, but his rough way of speaking with Shri Maharaj did not change. He used to call Shri Maharaj as Ganya or Gajya. This type of addressing a person in a singular fashion occurs in two cases. One when there is intimate love involved as is between a mother and child. Second is when a person speaks to his servants or poor people. Patil is accustomed to speak in a singular manner as all the people in the village are his subject and that was the reason that Khandu Patil called Shri Maharaj as Ganya or Gajya. But in his heart he had great respect and love for Shri Maharaj. It was just like a coconut that has a hard and rough surface externally but inside there is a sweet and tasty fennel.


    Once Kukaji called Khandu Patil and said, "You always say that Shri Gajanan is a great saint, then why are you dumb before him? You have no child and since I am getting old I very much like to see a grand child to me. You go and request him to bless you with a child; if he is a real saint he will fulfil our desire. Thereupon Khandu Patil went to Lord Maruti temple and said to Shri Maharaj, "O Ganya, my uncle has grown old and desires to see me getting a child. People call you a saint, able to fulfil the desires of his devotees and I wish you prove it by giving a child to me." Maharaj said, "It is good that you have begged for something from me. You have got power and money and you believe in your efforts. Then why are you asking me for this favour? You behave like power or money can give you anything, and then why not get a child by your own efforts? You have got a lot of land, money, mills and shops and nobody disobeys you, then why don't you order Brahma to give you a child? Khandu said, "This is something beyond human efforts. Crops need water for its growth, but bringing rains is not in the hands of human beings. That is why during famines lands lie dry. But once the rains come human efforts prove fruitful. Same is the case with me." At this, Swamiji smiled and said, "You have now begged for a child. Since it is a begging, I bless that you will get a son whom you should name Bhikya. It is not entirely in my hands to give you a child, but I will request the Almighty to fulfil your desire. You will get a son and in return I ask you to feed mango juice to Brahmins every year; as a token of your gratefulness. Khandu accepted it, went home and told this conversation to his uncle. Kukaji was very happy. After some days Swamiji's blessing proved true and Khandu Patil got a son. He was very happy and Kukaji�s happiness knew no bound. Khandu Patil distributed jaggery and wheat to the poor and sweets to the children of Shegaon. The child was rightly named Bhiku who like a moon, went on growing. Khandu Patil, as promised, fed Brahmins with Mango juice and this practice is still continued by his descendants. The child, by the grace of Shri Gajanan Maharaj started crawling in the house of Khandu Patil.

    Happiness of Patils made Deshmukh people unhappy as Shegaon was a divided village since long. There were two rival groups in Shegaon; one of the Patil's and the other of Deshmukhs. They were always at daggers searching for an opportunity to destroy each other. Two Pundits, two ministers, two fighters, two mechanics and two dogs when face-to-face, always fight. Same was the case with Patil and Deshmukh. After seeing the grand child, Kukaji died at Pandharpur on the bank of river Bhima, and Khandu Patil was sad to have lost his protector. Looking to Khandu Patil's state of mind, Deshmukh exploited the opportunity to put Patil into trouble, the details of which will be narrated in the next chapter.

    "SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter Seven.


    Offline samarthasai

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #12 on: October 10, 2010, 01:17:24 AM »
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  • Chapter - 8 ~
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O! Son of Vasudeo & Devaki, O! Beloved one of Gopa & Gopis, O Killer of demons, Bless me Shri Hari. Devotion and penance is required to get your favour, but I am not able to attain any of these. I do in ancient language not know all your gospels; I am also dull and so cannot study that language. Tell me how can a frog get honey of lotus? If I try to get your favour by feeding people, that too is not possible due to the poverty bestowed upon me by you. Getting your blessings by visiting holy shrines and places is also not possible due to poor health & fading eyesight. Thus I am helpless all-round. It is seen that hopes of poor are never fulfilled. Apparently it is true but, if you wish, your blessings can enable me to attain all the bliss. Specialty of your blessings is that it does not require money to obtain. When clouds pour water, all the rivers and lakes get filled with it. I am hungry of such blessings from you. Please give me at least a morsel of it and make me happy. A drop of nectar can remove all the diseases.

    Let it be as it is. In the previous chapter we have seen that Patil and Deshmukh were divided. Whenever there is such division, it destroys all happiness. Tuberculosis to the body and division in the society entail death and all attempts prove futile.

    On the bank of the lake one Mahar was arguing with Khandu Patil regarding some work given to him by Patil who is the highest authority in the village. That Marya Mahar had the support of the Deshmukh�s clan. Patil told him to do some work but he refused to do it expressing himself in a very rough language. Patil asked him to behave himself reminding him that he was addressing the head of the village and admonished Marya thereby. Marya did not obey the Patil and instead ridiculed the Patil. The cause of the argument was the fact that Patil wanted to send some important dak to Akola Police Station and asked Marya to carry it, while Marya blatantly refused to go saying that he was subordinate to Deshmukh only. He made some nasty gesticulations at Patil, which infuriated him. In the fury, Patil gave a forceful blow of a stick on Marya's hand, which resulted in a fracture to Marya's hand, making him unconscious. Patil sent the dak with some other man. Relatives of Marya took him to Deshmukh, who grabbed this opportunity to corner and trouble Khandu Patil. Deshmukh took Marya to the police station and reported the matter to the officer. Whenever there is conflicting groups in the society, even the small things are magnified by the individual groups to denounce each other. The Officer registered the complaint and issued orders to arrest Khandu Patil. The news spread like wildfire in Shegaon and Patil naturally got frightened and worried over the impending danger. He prayed Almighty God to save him from the humiliation of an arrest. For a man of dignity, insult is worse than death. All his brothers were worried as well and felt helpless. Then it suddenly occurred to Khandu Patil that he better surrender himself to Shri Gajanan Maharaj and seeks his help as none else could be able to save him from this calamity. His brothers went to Akola for legal and personal efforts. Khandu Patil went straight to Shri Maharaj at night. He prostrated before Shri Maharaj and narrated the whole episode. He said, "I gave a beating to one Mahar as he refused to do a Government work and that matter is being used by Deshmukh people to put me in trouble. They are arranging to get me arrested and there is nobody to save me except you. Tomorrow policemen will come to arrest me. Please kill me before that. I am a man of dignity and soul and insult of arrest is as good as death to me. I do accept my mistake, but that is being exaggerated out of proportion. Please save me from this contempt. Arjuna was prepared to burn himself to save his dignity in the episode of Jaydratha. God saved him and protected his honour. God also saved the honour and respect of Draupadi by covering her by Saris one after another. Similarly my self respect, like Draupadi's is being stripped off by these Deshmukh Kaurawas." Saying so Patil wept bitterly. All his brothers were very much worried over the impending humiliation to the family. Shri Maharaj took Khandu Patil in his embrace to pacify him and said -"A man with responsibilities has got to face such situation frequently, and so should not mind it. Such things are the outcome of selfishness, and a total lack of pious thinking. Both of you, Patil and Deshmukh belong to the same caste, but due to selfishness, are trying to destroy each other. In the past the enmity between Kaurawas and Pandawas was also the result of selfishness only. But as Pandawas were legally right, they received God�s blessings for the upkeep of truth. Consequently the Kaurawas were killed. So don't be afraid. All of Deshmukh�s efforts to arrest you will fail." This prediction made by Shree Gajanan Maharaj came true. Patil was declared innocent by the court of law. The words uttered by true saints can never be futile. After this incident, the Patil brothers became more devoted to Shri Maharaj. Who will not like to drink nectar? After some days, Khandu Patil requested and affectionately took Maharaj to stay at his house.

    While Maharaj lived at the house of Khandu Patil, there came some Telangi Brahmins. These Telangi Brahmins are known to be quite orthodox, learned and in charge of the authority of Vedic knowledge, but their biggest drawback is that they are somewhat greedy for money. They came to Shri Maharaj with the hope of getting some money from Him. When they came, Shri Maharaj was sleeping. The Brahmins started reciting Vedic hymns loudly to awaken Shri Maharaj. There was some mistake in their recitation, but they did not correct it, so Shri Maharaj got up and said to them, "Why have you become Vedic? You are lowering the greatness of Vedas unnecessarily. This knowledge is not for the purpose of running a business but for the salvation 0f human beings. At least show some respect to the saffron head-dress, which indicates that you are a Vedic. I will now recite the hymns and you repeat the same as I pronounce. Do not misguide innocent poor believers." Saying so Shri Maharaj recited the same chapter of Vedas, this was being recited by these Brahmins incorrectly. His pronunciation was clear, loud and there was not a single mistake in His recitation. It appeared as if Vashistha himself was reciting the holy Vedas. The Brahmins were astonished and felt embarrassed to even lift their faces. The analogy can be compared to a lit candle fantasizing that it has better capacity to spread light around itself than the sun itself. The Brahmins first thought that Shri Maharaj was a mad person, but now found Him to be a learned saint. They were convinced that all the four Vedas were on the tip of His tongue. They took Shri Maharaja to be a God incarnate and a Brahmin by caste - a yogi free of any bondage or attachment, and because of their good deeds of previous life, they believed they were fortunate enough to get the "Darshan" of such a Godly saint. Shri Maharaja asked Khandu Patil to give them a rupee each as "Dakshina". The Brahmins accepted this dakshina and happily went away.

    Shri Maharaj, like a true saint disliked the attachment of Shegaon�s locals. In the northern region of Shegaon there was a garden where vegetables were grown in abundance. Under the cool dark shade of a neem tree, there was a temple of Lord Shiva in the Garden. Krishnaji Patil owned the temple. Shri Maharaj went there and sat on a platform under a tree near the Shiva temple and said to Krishnaji, "I have come to your garden to stay here for a few days near Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is the God of all Gods and since He liked to stay in your garden, I too wish to be near Him. So erect a small shade for me here." Krishnaji thereupon erected a tin shade on the platform. The Garden became a holy place due to the presence of Shri Maharaj there. This is so because a place of the king's stay becomes the capital of the Kingdom. Bhasker & Tukaram Kokatya - stayed with Shri Maharaj to render Him necessary service. Krishnaji used to attend personally to His food and personally ate only after Shri Maharaj had taken His meals. While Maharaj lived thus in Krishnaji�s garden, some 15 to 20 ascetics who had already heard about Shri Gajanan Maharaj arrived there. They told Krishnaji Patil that they were on a pilgrimage and were on their way to Rameshwar, carried the holy water of Ganga with them. They also said that they were the disciples of Shri Brahmagiri Maharaj, who was also with them, and with him they had visited on foot the holy places like Gangotri, Jamnotri, Hingla and Girnar and Dakur. They further said, "Our Brahmagiri, who enslaved God Himself, has come to you probably due to the good deeds of your past life. So feed us "Shira Puri" and also give us some Ganja to smoke. We shall stay here for three days and leave on the fourth day. Do not hesitate to take this opportunity to serve us, which is a way better thing to do than serving the mad man whom you are feeding here. It is analogous to kicking a cow and feeding a donkey. We are ascetics who have renounced everything and also know all the Vedas. If you would like, do come and listen to our discourses."


    Krishnaji said, "I will entertain you with Shira Puri tomorrow, however for today please take these breads and besan. You will get a lot of Ganja to smoke as Shri Shiva Himself is sitting there in the form of Shri Gajanan Maharaj." It was noon time when the ascetics took the meals of bread and besan near the well. In the evening they sat under the shade before Shri Gajanan Maharaj and their Maharaj, Shri Brahmagiri, started reading the Bhagwad Geeta. The ascetics and some people from the town were listening to the discourse of Brahmagiri, who started to preach on the first stanza of Nainam Chindanti. The Bramhachari was a pure hypocrite with no personal spiritual attainment. The people therefore, were naturally not impressed by his talk and said that he was only playing with the words. When his discourse was over, all the people went to Shri Gajanan Maharaj for His Darshan. They said, "We heard philosophy over there, but see here in Shri Maharaj the reality itself. There we heard the history and here is the Man himself." The ascetics who were smoking Ganja were irritated by these remarks. Shri Maharaja Himself was sitting on a cot and Bhaskar was giving him Ganja pipe to smoke. A spark from the pipe fell on the cot and slowly smoke started coming out of it and in a little while the entire cot was in flames. Looking at the sight, Bhaskar requested Shri Maharaj to leave the cot and come down, saying that the cot was of teak wood and won't extinguish without water. Thereupon Shri Maharaj said, "Don't bring water to extinguish the fire O! Brahmachari Maharaj come and sit with me on this cot. You know the entire Geeta with its meaning and now the time has come to put your knowledge of Geeta to test. Prove the fact mentioned in the Geeta that the element of fire does not burn a true Brahman. You have just imparted a discourse on "Nainam Chindanti" for an hour, so you should not be afraid of sitting with me on this burning cot. Bhaskar, go and bring him with due respect to sit with me here.�


    Bhaskar being a well-built strong man at the orders of Shri Maharaj caught hold of Brahmagiri's hand and brought him to Shri Maharaj. The entire cot was on fire and the flames were leaping up from all around the cot; however, Shri Maharaj did not move a bit and was sitting firm on it. Shri Vyas wrote in Bhagwat that Shri Pralhad, son of Kayadhu, was made to stand in fire and in a way the same scene was relived by Shri Gajanan Maharaj in the garden of Krishnaji Patil. When Bhaskar caught hold of Brahmagiri to take him to Maharaj as per Maharaj�s order, Brahmagiri prayed to Bhaskar to let him go by saying, "Please do not take me to the burning cot. I accept that I failed to appreciate the authority and greatness of Shri Gajanan Maharaj." But Bhaskar not paying any heed to it dragged and brought him before Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Shri Maharaj said "Now prove that 'Nainam Dahti Pawak" At this Brahmagiri got frightened and said, "To tell the truth, I became ascetic to enjoy good food only, so excuse me I fruitlessly tried to learn Geeta and called you mad, but I now regret all this and surrender before you. Please forgive me." People of Shegaon begged of Shri Maharaj to leave the burning cot for their sake, as they were afraid of seeing Him engulfed in flames. Brahmagiri hung his head in shame and said nothing. Shri Gajanan Maharaj got down from the cot to respect the public sentiments and immediately thereafter the burning cot collapsed. Practically all the cot was burnt, but people poured water and extinguished it, thereby salvaging a portion of it as an evidence to demonstrate Maharaj�s greatness to other people. After this incidence occurred, Brahmagiri shed away his entire ego and prostrated before Shri Maharaj. The objects that Ganga water touches cannot remain impure. Then at midnight Shri Maharaj advised Brahmagiri. "Leave all the hypocrisy as an ascetic has to denounce all worldly attachments. Without self-realization one should not preach anything to others. Learning of words without understanding or practicing the spirit behind is useless. To save our culture from destruction it is necessary to understand the spirit behind the things we learn. Saints like Macchindra, Jalander, Gorakh Gahaninath and Dnyaneshwar were of great authority.

    Shri Shankaracharya was a saint who attained self-realization, and Eknatha, though a man of family attained Brahmapada. Swami Samarth Brahmachari too had attained self-realization. You should remember all these great sages and stop wandering for Shira Pun, as it will be a useless and fruitless wandering. Brahmagiri calmly listened to all this advice and felt real detachment for the material things. Early next morning he left the place along with his disciples without meeting anybody else. Next day when people heard of the happening in the garden they came to see the burnt cot.
    SHUBHAM BHAVATU"
    Here ends Chapter Eight

    Offline samarthasai

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #13 on: October 11, 2010, 12:26:44 AM »
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  • Chapter - 9 ~
    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O Rukmini's consort, O you, who lives on the bank of Chandrabhaga, adores flute and blesses saints, you are the saviour of the fallen and giver of blessings. Greatness of the great cannot exist without the presence of small ones, and God cannot get his importance without the existence of sinners. Oh God please remember that because of us, the sinners, you are called the saviour. "Paras has the importance because its touch turns iron into gold. Godavari is called a holy river because it accepts the water from all small brooks. Oh, Madhava think over this and give a helping hand to this Dasganu, to save him from drowning.

    One "Kirtankar" named Govindbua Taklikar once came to Shegaon to perform Kirtan. There was an ancient temple of God Shiva at Shegaon and it was renovated by a rich man named Mote. Now-a-days the rich people are not very fond of spending money over building or renovating religious institutions like temples, instead they like investing their money on motors, cars and cycles. Mote Saokar was not that kind of a person. Though he was rich, he was a believer in God, and that was why he got the temple renovated. So the temple was called Mote's temple. Now listen to the story. Govindbua Taklikar camped in the above-mentioned Mote's temple and had tied his horse in front of the main door. The horse had very bad habits like kicking anybody coming near it, and biting people as well. It frequently snapped the ropes holding it, never stayed steady and at times used to run away in the jungles. Day and night it used to neigh causing lot of noise. Govindbua had got specially prepared iron chain for it, but forgot to bring the same with him during his trip to Shegaon The horse was some how tied with a rope while Govindbua slept in the temple monitoring the horse at all times.

    It was past midnight and everything, had drowned into a pitch darkness. Night birds, creating fearful sounds, were searching for their feed. All the doors in the villages were closed and there was a fearful dead silence all around. Nobody was seen on the roads. At that time Shri Gajanan came to the place where the horse was tied. Saints' birth on this earth is ordained by Gods to improve the bad people, and as medicine cures disease, the saints help remove the wickedness from the disillusioned people. So Shri Gajanan Maharaj on that particular night came to the horse and happily slept between its four legs. He was reciting His usual Mantra-"Gana Gan Ganat Bote", the meaning of which nobody knew. My interpretation of this symbolic Bhajan is as follows - Gani means count, Individual soul, (Gana) means devotee, who is not different from Brahma and to suggest it the word "Ganat" is used. Bote appears to be the corrupt form of Bate meaning individual soul in Brahma Himself and not anything different from it.

    There are two versions of this Bhajan, but we need not bother about it, as we are concerned about the story only. So Shri Maharaj slept in the four legs of the horse and was reciting the above mentioned Bhajan. The horse stood still as if restrained by the means of the �Chain� of this Bhajan.

    Govindbua was constantly anxious about his violent horse and so frequently got up and saw to it that the horse was restrained and not creating any havoc in the neighbourhood. When he saw that his horse was standing still it surprised him and he feared that his horse might be inflicted by some sort of an illness. The horse�s silence was quite unusual as it was never silent like this before. So, anxiously he went to the horse and was astonished to see that somebody was sleeping below its stomach. When he carefully looked down, he found that Shri Gajanan Maharaj was sleeping there. He now knew the reason as to why his horse stood so peacefully. It dawned on him that it was due to Shri Maharaj�s presence that the horse kept quiet. Just like the fragrance of Musk driving away the bad smell, the divine power emanating from Maharaj drove away all the sins surrounding the horse. Govindbua prostrated before Maharaj, placed his forehead on the feet of Maharaja and said, "O Maharaj, you are really Gajanan who clears all the obstructions. I have seen and experienced this today. My horse being very wicked caused all the people a lot of worry and anxiety, and so you have come to drive away its wickedness. It has been possessed by several bad habits like jumping and kicking while someone was riding it. I was fed-up with it and had offered to sell it off, but nobody wanted it, not even if I gave it away for free. It is really a good thing that you have obliged me by calming down this animal. Horse owned by a preacher like me should be a gentle one, since it is the sole means of transportation for us. Tiger is harmful in the house of a cowherd." Thus the horse suddenly became gentle and thereby Shri Maharaj manifested His power to save even the animal life from straying away to the wrong path.

    Then He said to the Horse "O friend, don't be naughty hereafter and quit all your bad habits from this moment on. Remember that you are standing here before Shiva and so should behave like a bull. Do not trouble anybody henceforth." Saying so, Shri Gajanan, who controlled the behaviour of an animal, went away. Next day, while Shri Maharaj was in the garden, Govindbua came there riding his horse. All people of Shegaon knew the misbehaving horse of Govindbua very well and feared it greatly. When they saw it coming one of them said, "Govindbua, why have you brought this trouble with you? This horse will harm the ladies and children here." Thereupon Govindbua said that Shri Maharaj had made the horse sober last night and forced it to abandon all its bad habits and that there was no need for anyone to fear it anymore. The horse was allowed to stand unrestrained under a tree and lo, it stood there for an hour in a well behaved manner. There was lot of vegetables & grass around the horse but he did not touch it at all. See how powerful are the saints, who can control the mannerisms of even the animals and change their habits. In praise of Maharaj, Govindbua chanted as follows:
    Nobody in the world is able to understand your actions.Your Blessings can bring-round any villain. Please place your hand on my head as my benefactor." So praising Him, Govindbua left for Takli on his horse.

    Every day people used to come to Shegaon with the intentions of fulfilling their desires. Among them were two persons from Balapur, who, on their way, vowed to offer "Ganja� to Shri Maharaj the next time they visited Shegaon in the exchange of the completion of their desirable tasks. They believed that Shri Maharaj liked Ganja more than sweets. The other time they visited Shegaon; however, they forgot to bring Ganja along with them. They felt shy and vowed to bring twice the quantity next time they visited Shegaon. The next time they visited Shegaon too, they forgot to bring Ganja with them. Referring to them Shri Maharaj said to Bhaskar, "Look at the way people behave these days. They vow to do something enthusiastically and then forget all about it. They are Brahmans by caste and yet do not know the fact that Brahmans are expected to practise as they preach. That is why this caste has lost its superiority. When they vow something and forget about fulfilling it how can they expect to get their desires fulfilled? Bhaskar, one should adhere to what he speaks or vows, in order to get the blessings of God." These words hurt the two Brahmins very much and they looked at each other in surprise to realize that Maharaj knew everything that was in their mind. When they saw that Shri Maharaj knew everything about their vow and subsequently having failed to fulfil it, they were guilt struck and immediately got up to go to the market to shop for Ganja and thereby bring the Ganja to Maharaj right away to correct their mistake. Thereupon Shri Maharaj said, "Why are you now crying over the spilt milk? I do no craze for Ganja; so don't go to the market now. Only remember the lesson that one should keep up his vows and promises made before God or saints in order to deserve God's blessings, as liars don't get them. Now you go, and bring Ganja only after the fulfilment of your desires. It will be fulfilled by next week. But remember to come here five times for the Darshan of Shri Shiva, by whose blessings Kubera became rich. Go, prostrate before Him and do not forget to bring Ganja next time you visit Shegaon. One should not violate the vows made to God and the saints."
    They accordingly bowed before Lord Shiva and returned to Balapur. Next week after the fulfilment of their wishes, they came to Shegaon to offer Ganja as per their vow.

    Now listen to another story of Balapur. Balkrishana of Balapur was a great devotee of Shri Ramdas Swami. His wife Putalabai was an equally pious lady, and they both used to visit Sajjangad every year on foot. Their journey started in the month of Poush with a horse for company to carry their luggage which consisted of three things - A kubadi, and the sacred book of Dasbodh. His piety was free of any form of ego. They accepted alms of food in the villages on way and the same food was offered to Shri Rama before they had their meals. Every year he used to leave Balapur with his wife, on the 9th Vadya of 'Poush' month. On the way they continuously chanted the name of Rama and thus with the chant of Shri Ram Nama emanating from their lips they travelled via Shegaon Khamgaon, Mehkar, Deulgaon Raja and Jalna, where they paid respects to Shri Anand Swami. Then from Jalna they went to Jamb, the birthplace of Shri Ramdas Swami, where they used to stay for three days. From there went to Divara, Bid, Mohari, Beleshwar and Domgaon, the place of Kalyan, the arch devotee of Shri Ramdas Swami. Thereafter to Narsingpur, Pandharpur, Nate Pote Shingnapur, Wait at Satara. Thus he used to reach Sajjangad on 1st Vadya of "Magh" month to attend the celebrations of Navami (Magh). As an offering to Shri Ramdas Swami, Balkrishana used to feed the Brahmins to the best extent possible for him. He was a real Ramdasi, it is really difficult to find any Ramdasi like him, now a days. After the celebrations of Ram Navami he used to return the same way he followed while going there. This routine continued for years till he became 60 years old. On the eve of starting his return journey, he sat near the "Samadhi" of Shri Ramdas Swami with tears in his eyes, and with extreme grief said, "O all powerful Ramdas Swami, O my teacher and guide. I have become old now and as such it will not be possible for me to come here all the way hereafter on foot. Even journeying here by a vehicle appears difficult for me. I could follow this routine of an annual visit so far, but it may not be possible hereafter. You know that to follow any sacred or devotional routine, good health is required of the follower. Praying thus, Balkrishna went to sleep. In the dream he saw Shri Ramdas Swami saying to him, "Don't despair. You need not come to Sajjangad hereafter. I am very much pleased by your devotion and so wish you to celebrate "Navami" at your home next year. I will come to you that time. This is my promise. Expenditure for the celebration of Navami should be within your means.


    Balkrishna was very happy about the dream. He returned to Balapur with his wife. Now listen to what happened next year at Balapur. Balkrishna started the celebration of Ramdas Navami on the first day of Magh Vadya at Balapur. The daily routine was that of reading the �Dasbodh� during the daytime, and performing the Kirtan at night. At noon he offered food to the Brahmans and performed Arati in the evening. But all the while Balkrishna was eagerly waiting to see Shri Swami come and visit him as per His promise. The villagers contributed money for this celebration as requested by Balkrishana, and thus the "Utsava" continued for all the nine days at Balapur.
    And on the 9th day there was a surprise. At noon on that day Shri Gajanan Maharaj appeared at the door of Balkrishna Bua when he, along with other people, was offering worship to Shri Ram. People at the door called for Shri Balkrishna so as to receive Shri Maharaj. He was very happy to see Shri Gajanan Maharaj, but at the same time said that he was eagerly waiting for Shri Ramdas Swami to come to his house as per His promise. He was certain that His word would not go waste. Shri Gajanan Maharaj started reciting �shlokas� from Dasbodh. Hearing those lines, Balkrishna rushed to the door and saw Shri Gajanan Maharaj with his long arms and usual self without any clothes adorning the body. He prostrated before Him and when he looked up he saw Shri Ramdas Swami in place of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Balkrishna Bua was overwhelmed with the love and affection of his benefactor for keeping up the promise, and his eyes were full of tears due to the extreme happiness. Moments later He appeared to him to be Shri Gajanan Maharaj in place of Ramdas Swami and as he was disappointed at the disappearance of Shri Ramdas, again Shri Swamiji appeared in place of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Thus alternately Ramdas Swami and Gajanan Maharaj would appear before him like intermediately disappearing images in a cinema. He was confused and could not understand this mystery. Then Maharaj said, "Don't get confused, I am your Ramdas Swami. In the past I was staying at Sajjangad and now I reside in the garden at Shegaon. As per my promise given to you last year at Sajjangad, I have come to you. Do not have any doubts, I am Ramdas. Know the "Atman" only and forget its covering of a body. Remember what is said in the Geeta. Come on now and offer me a "Pat" to sit on."

    Shri Gajanan Maharaj got hold of his hand, entered the house with him and sat on a Pat. The news of the Saint's arrival spread in Balapur and people started coming to get His glimpse. Balkrishna worshipped Shri Maharaj, but the whole day he was thinking about what Shri Maharaj said. At night Shri Ramdas appeared in his dream and said, "Shri Gajanan Maharaj is My incarnation, and so do not have any doubt about it. Otherwise it will entail your downfall. Your worship to Him is the same as worship to Me." On seeing the dream, Balkrishna most respectfully prostrated before Shri Maharaj and said, "You have removed all my doubts by appearing in my dream. I am now fully satisfied with the celebrations of Navami, and feel very much grateful to You. Now please do me a favour by staying with me for a few days." Thereupon Shri Maharaj promised to come again after some days and went away. He reached Shegaon in a moment and was not seen by anybody on the way.

    BABA BLESS ALL

    Offline SOWMYA_4

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    Re: Gajanan Maharaj Pothi
    « Reply #14 on: October 11, 2010, 05:46:30 AM »
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  • Gajanan Maharaj- Pothi10

    Shri Ganeshayanamah! O Poorna-Brahma of Pandharpur, You are a shelter for pious people.
    Please do not send me away from your feet. O Narayana, do not disown this Dasganu nor think of my sins. I know that there is no Punya to my credit and as such I dont deserve to come to you. lnspite of it please accept and oblige me like that holy Godavari does to the small nalas entering her. Please do like that and save me from all grief and sins. You are all powerful and if You wish, can do anything. Even a pauper becomes rich by Your blessings.

    Once Shri Gajanan Maharaj went to Amravati and stayed with Shri Atmaram Bhikaji at his house. This Atmaram, Kayastha Prabhu by caste, was a big officer at Amravati. He was a well-behaved, pious man who loved and respected saints very much. Shri Maharaj went to him and Shri Atmaram worshipped him with full devotion. Bathed him with hot water and applied Chandan paste to his body. He also offered him silk bordered Dhoti of Umred and applied Keshari Tilak on his forehead. Then he garlanded Shri Maharaj, gave an offering of many sweet dishes and a Dakshina of one hundred rupees, followed by an Aarti, which was scented by Agarbathis and placed flowers on His head. Atmaram did all this with great love and devotion. People of Amravati came in great number to get a glimpse of Shri Maharaj. Everybody wished to take Shri Maharaj to his house for worship. Though many desired so, only a few could get that favour, as it requires a lot of Punya to ones credit to feel the presence of the holy feet of the saint in their house. Whosoever had that Punya to their credit, Shri Maharaj went to their houses. The saint understands everything by His divine power.

    There was one leading pleader at Amravati by the name of Ganesh Shri Krishna Khaparde alias Dadasaheb. He was a pious Shukla Yajurvedi Brahman, at whose request Shri Maharaj went to him and accepted his worship. There was one Ganeshappa, a Lingayat Wani who had a devoted wife by name Chandrabhai. She said to her husband that the saint must somehow be taken to their house and asked him to request Shri Maharaj accordingly. She said, If our minds are pious enough then our house will be graced by Shri Maharaj because God always helps his devotees. Ganeshappa said that it was foolish on her part to think so, as it requires a lot of recommendation from influential people to arrange the saints visit. He further reminded her of the troubles Shri Khaparde had to face in order to invite the saint to his house and in view of that wished her not to press the matter any more. But Chandrabai said, I dont agree with you. My mind says that he will come to our house. You know that saints have special affection for the poor. So just request him to come to us.Inspite of her constant urging, Appa could not gather enough courage to invite Shri Maharaj to his house. But Shri Maharaj read their minds and eventually said, I wish to come to your house. Tell me how far it is from here. You should not hesitate to open your mind before me. Hearing this Ganesh Appas happiness knew no bounds. He took Shri Maharaj to his house and reverently worshipped him. Appa offered all his belongings at the feet of Shri Maharaj. Many such Pujas were offered to Shri Maharaj at Amravati and for every such puja one particular gentleman was present. He was a nephew of Shri Atmaram Bhikaji and a Telegraphist in a post office at Bombay. His name was Balabhau and he had come to Amravati on a leave from his job place, to see his maternal uncle. He felt great attached to Shri Maharaj which is why he did not wish to leave him or Shegaon. He started thinking that it is better to renounce the family life as it was purely transient. This thinking made him desire to stay with Shri Maharaj. He thought - �who will reject the nectar and take to poison? That is why he attended all Pujas at Amravati with no other reason behind it. After some days Shri Maharaj returned to Shegaon and went straight to Motes temple instead of the garden where he formerly stayed. To the east of this temple there was a vacant plot of land. Shri Maharaj went and sat there. Krishna Patil got the news of the arrival of Shri Maharaj and also of his having abandoned the former place in his garden. So be came rushing to Shri Maharaj, prostrated at His feet and sat with bowed head before Him. Tears started coming from his eyes and the clothes on his chest got wet. Shri Maharaj said, Why are you weeping? What is the grief? Tell me immediately. Patil, with folded hands asked Him the reason for leaving the garden and said,What is that unpardonable offence committed by me? O learned one. I am your child, tell me the reason, this land where You are sitting belongs to one Mali and he is of Deshmukh group. Please do not stay here. If You like to come to my house, I will vacate it for You. Let me tell You that I can sacrifice everything to get You. All Patil brothers knew about this and they too came to request Shri Maharaj to stay with any of them. Shri Maharaj said My coming to this place for stay is in your interest, and you will realize it later on. So dont ask anything now. I assure you that the dispute between you two (Patil & Deshmukh) will be settled amicably. All the executive Officers in the world have one defect about them, and that is, they fail to foresee the consequences of their actions. Now you do one thing, go and bring Bankatlal. He was not angry at my leaving his house. You go and ask him why he was comfortable about the fact that I left his home. My Blessings are always with you and will always be so in the future. Later Bankatlal arrived at the scene and said, Please dont take Him back to the garden against His wish, Remember that I did nothing to obstruct Him when He went away from my house. We are all His children and His love is the same for each and every one of us. Sakharam Asolkar is generous at heart and, I think he will not hesitate to give this land to Shri Maharaj. Once he gives the land, our further planning will enable all of us to come together
    Thus there was compromise and a Mathwas built for Shri Maharaj, with great efforts by Parashram Saoji. Shri Maharaj had four deeply devoted devotees with him, Bhaskar, Balabhau, Pitamber, Ganesh Appa of Amravati and Ramchandra Gurav also who was with them. They were like five Pandavas and Shri Maharaj was the Shri Hariamongst them. Balabhau, felt completely detached from the worldly life and cared least about being late to report to his job on time. He frequently received letters from his work place asking him to return to work immediately; however he paid no head to it. Bhaskar finally had a talk with Maharaj and said to him, Gurudeo, this Balabhau is not leaving us simply because he gets a lot of Pedhas (Sweets) as long as he is here. I am afraid that he will leave this place only when he receives a good beating at your hands. The only way to tame a monkey is to thrash it real hard with a stick the same way that big mountains can be threatened by thunderbolts. Once Bala Bhau was driven out against his wish, but he returned back to Maharaj having resigned from his service. At that time Bhaskar said to him in an agitated tone, Why are you troubling us by frequently visiting this place like a shameless bullock keeps returning to the green pastures? Only those who have renounced everything in life can rightly visit this place so frequently. Shri Maharaj did not like this egoistic talk of Bhaskar and so decided to remove his ignorance. Maharaj did as follows.
    There was a big umbrella in the hands of a gentleman sitting nearby. Shri Maharaj took hold of that umbrella and beat Bala bhau till it broke. He continued the beating by means of a cane. People that were around got scared and some of them ran away, but Balabhau was lying still before Shri Maharaj. Many thought that he must have died owing to such beating and even Bhaskar now got worried about what was happening, but did not dare to say anything to Shri Maharaj. That cane also broke by the merciless beating. Then Maharaj started trampling Bala bhau with both His feet like a potter trampling the mud. While this was going on, some of the disciples went to call the devotees whom Shri Maharaj loved the most. Bankatlal and Krishnaji came running to the temple but they too could not dare restrict Shri Maharaj from what he was doing. At last Bankatlal, most hesitantly, requested Shri Maharaj to stop beating Balabhau, saying that he too was his devotee. At that Shri Maharaj laughed and said, You are speaking something irrelevant. I have not beaten or trampled Balabhau. You can see yourself and examine his body. O, my dear Balabhau, get up and show your body to these people.So Balabhau got up and people examined his body carefully. There was no trace of beating on it. He was happier then ever before. With this incidence Shri Maharaj proved the authority and greatness of Balabhaus devotion to Bhaskar, who thereafter treated Balabhau with due respect. Gold is treated with acid test, and if it sustains it only then it is accepted as an object of value.

    There was a man named Sukhlal Agarwal at Balapur who owned a wicked cow. She used to wander in the town trampling and hurting people by the means of her horns. She would enter any shop eat grains to her hearts content and then pushed and spilled the remaining on road. She even kicked oil and ghee containers thereby spilling the contents on the road. If tied down at home, she snapped the rope and broke the chains. She behaved like a tiger and the people of Balapur got fed up with her nuisance. She was not getting pregnant and never remained indoors. Many folks advised Sukhlal to hand her over to a butcher or get her shot down by a bullet. He permitted them to do whatever they liked to her. One Muslim man once tried to kill her by gun, but some how she seemed to have gotten some warning about it and so she attacked and threw him away by her horns. Sukhlal then took her and abandoned her in another village but she returned back to Balapur again. Somebody then remembered the fact that it was Shri Gajanan Maharaj who had tamed Govind buas horse, and so advised Sukhlal to take her to Shegaon and offer her to Shri Maharaj, thereby serving dual purpose of getting rid of her and obtain Punya for giving a gift to a saint. All liked the idea, but their attempts to catch her failed every time. Then they kept a heap of green grass and some cottonseed on an open ground. As the cow rushed to eat it, 10-15 people surrounded and trapped her by ropes. Then she was lifted and tied on a bullock-cart with iron chains and brought to Shegaon for giving her to Shri Maharaj. As Shegaon was nearing, there appeared a significant change in her behaviour, and when brought before Shri Maharaj, she appeared to be an extremely tame creature. With tears in her eyes, she looked at Shri Maharaj. Thereupon Shri Maharaj said. it is your foolishness to have tied and tortured a poor cow like this. Her neck, horns and legs are tied with rope and chains. Such type of Bandobastis all right for a tiger but not for a poor cow like this. You fools! you should know that this is a cow, a mother of all, and by tying her like this you have committed a sin. Release her at once, she will not trouble anybody.However, no one dare go close to her. Maharaj, with his sacred hands released her of all the restraining chains and ropes. As Soon as she was free the cow came down, folded her fore-legs and with bowed head went round him three times and started rubbing his feet by her tongue. All the people saw this miracle and were surprised. Shri Maharaj said to the cow, O cow, do not trouble anybody hereafter and dont leave this place at all.
    When this happened all people raised cheers in praise of Shri Maharaj. Since then She was never tied by any rope and became a wise cow. Even today her progeny exists in Shegaon. This incidence shows that whatever is said by the saints always comes true.

    Now read the story of Laxman Ghude. He was a rich Brahman of Karanja and had some disease of the stomach for which he had taken lot of treatment spending much money but to no effect. Hearing the fame of Shri Gajanan Maharaj, came to Shegaon with his wife. The ailment was so acute that he could not even walk and so 2-3 persons lifted and brought him to the Math. He was not able even to bend his body to bow before Shri Maharaj. His wife bowed and begged for the health of her husband. She said, O Maharaj, I am like a daughter to you and request to cure my husband from the agonies of the disease. When nectar is present the death must go away kindly save my husband. At that time Shri Maharaj was eating a mango and he threw the same at Laxman's wife crying. Now go and feed this mango to your husband. It will cure him of disease, you are a good devoted wife to him. Then he kept quiet and started smoking his pipe. Since the lady was still sitting there Bhaskar said, O Lady, Now do not sit here, Take your husband back to Karanja and feed him the Prasad of mango given to you by Shri Maharaj. As soon as he eats the mango it will cure his ailment.
    She returned to Karanja with her husband and fed that mango to Laxman. When this couple reached Karanja, people started asking her as to what had happened at Shegaon. She told all the details and also about the prasad mango which she had fed to Laxman. There upon the doctors said that it was wrong for Laxman to eat mango as it would aggravate the ailment of the stomach. They pointed out that great Vaidyas like Mahaonid, Sushrut, Nighant and Sharangdhar clearly stated in their writings that the mango is a prohibited fruit for stomach ailment. They further said that if she had eaten the Prasad, instead of her husband, her Punya would have been useful for curing Laxman. Everybody started criticizing her for what she had done. But a miracle happened. Laxman suddenly excreted stools and his stomach became soft. Gradually he recovered completely. His ailment passed away through the stools. Doctors cant help when things are beyond nature, because at such times only the blessings of God and the saints are useful. When Laxman was fully recovered, he went to Shegaon and respectfully invited Shri Maharaj to his house, saying Please purify my house by the touch of your feet. Shri Maharaj was reluctant, but Laxman requested again and again and at last Shri Maharaj agreed. Shri Maharaj went to Karanja along with Shankar, Bhau and Pitamber. Laxman very warmly received Shri Maharaj at his house and performed his detailed Puja. As for the Dakshina (offering) he said, Maharaj, every thing that belongs to me is yours, so who am I to give you anything? Saying so, he placed some money in a plate and offered it to Shri Maharaj. Having looked at that Maharaj said, When you say that you possess nothing, then wherefrom have you brought these rupees? Laxman dont try to trick me by your hypocrisy. Since you have given me everything of yours, open all the doors and throw away the locks. Laxman kept quiet. But Shri Maharaj insisted upon his opening the safe. Hesitatingly, Laxman opened the locks of his safe, sat at its door and asked Shri Maharaj to take whatever he liked from it. Though he said this, he was not that honest or sincere from his mind. Shri Maharaj could understand his hypocrisy. An actor cannot keep up his disguise for long. A bitter fruit appears fine from outside but inside of it there is nothing but bitterness. Saints are never happy at the house of hypocrites, so Shri Maharaj left Laxmans house without eating anything. He did not care for Laxrnans house or his money as He was the ocean of renunciation himself. He only wanted to find the truth in what Laxman had said, and when found his falsehood, He just left the place and while leaving said. You are most selfish, trying to own everything. Now get ready to face its consequences. I had come to bless you and give you double of what you have, but it appears that you are not destined to get it. It proved true and within six months of the above mentioned incident, Laxman lost everything and was reduced to a beggars state. By this incident, Shri Maharaj wanted to show that one should not be insincere and dishonest in parmarth. Shri Maharaj was Chintamani i.e. capable of getting anything and as such did rot care for the pebbles of Laxman. Can aluminium decorate the God?

    May all devotees listen to this Gajanan Vijay Katha for their own good.

    May all devotees listen to this Gajanan Vijay Katha for their own good.

    SHUBHAM BHAVATU
    Obeisance to the Har and Hari

    Here end of Chapter Tenth


    *Mere Malik sai*

    Tu Karta Woh Hai Joh Tu Chahta Hai, Par Hota Woh Hai jo SAI Chahte Hai.
    Tu Woh Kar Joh SAI Chahte Hai, Phir Woh Hoga jo Tu Chahta Hai

     


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