Brahmachaitanya
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Brahmachaitanya or Gondavalekar Maharaj (February 19, 1845 - December 22, 1913) was an Indian Hindu saint, mystic and spiritual master. He was born in Gondavale Budruk, a village in present-day Satara district, Maharashtra, India. His name prior to assuming sainthood was Ganpati. Brahmachaitanya was a devotee of the Hindu deity Rama and signed his name as 'Brahmachaitanya Ramdasi'. He was a disciple of Tukamai.[1]
Brahmachaitanya | |
|---|---|
 Brahmachaitanya | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Ganpati Ravji Ghugardare (Kulkarni) February 19, 1845 |
| Died | December 22, 1913 |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta, Vaishnavism |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Tukamai |
Disciples
| |
Early life and initiationEdit
Brahmachaitanya was born Ganpati into a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family[2] to Geetabai and Ravji Ghugardare. His father Rajiv Ghugardhare was Kulkarni of the village. His parents were known to be devotees of the Hindu deity Vitthala.[1]
Ganpati left home in spiritual pursuits at an early age of nine. After knowing of his whereabouts, his father tracked him down and brought him back home from Kolhapur. He entered into his first marriage at the age of eleven. Soon at the age of twelve, he again left home in search of a spiritual guru. He traveled across India and is believed to have visited numerous contemporary saints and spiritual masters such as Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, Manik Prabhu, Trailanga Swami and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He later arrived at Yehalegaon, a village near Nanded and became a disciple of Tukamai. After a while, he was initiated by Tukamai and given the name 'Brahmachaitanya'. He reportedly attained enlightenment at the age of sixteen.[1]
Return to Gondavale and later yearsEdit
As per Tukamai's instructions, Brahmachaitanya went on a pilgrimage across India. He returned to Gondavale after nine years. Later, he and his wife lived in Nashik for some time. About a year later, his wife gave birth to a son who died early. His wife too passed away shortly after. At the insistence of his mother Geetabai, Brahmachaitanya married again. His second wife was blind since birth and later came to be known as Aaisaheb.[1]
In later years, Brahmachaitanya continued to expound spiritual methods revolving around devotion to Rama. Initially, he had a Rama temple built as an extension to his residence.
With time, the number of his disciples and followers continued to increase. In order to accommodate the large volumes of visitors, he arranged for the construction of Rama, Dattatreya and Shani temples along with an accommodation facility at Gondavale. He also had Rama temples built in other rural regions of Maharashtra. Between 1876 and 1896, a severe famine gripped Gondavale and the adjacent region. During this period, Brahmachaitanya helped save many lives from starvation by making provisions for employment on his farm and offering food to the needy.
From 1890 onwards, he mostly lived in Gondavale. He breathed his last during the early hours of Monday, December 22, 1913 at Gondavale.[1]
PhilosophyEdit
Brahmachaitanya was a proponent of Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion.His teachings were mostly aligned with that of Samarth Ramdas, a 17th-century Indian saint and philosopher. The Ram Nam mantra (sri Ram jay Ram jay jay Ram), originally attributed to Samarth Ramdas, was adopted by Brahmachaitanya, and was central to his teachings. [3] According to S. G. Tulpule, Gondavalekar maharaj, like Mirabai, Ramdas, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Tulsidas, was a great practitioner of the divine name being taken as an incarnation of God.[4][5] According to him, regular recalling of the mantra in everyday life ensures continuous remembrance of the divine and consequently leads to spiritual progress. He advocated for complete surrender to Rama as a pathway to contentment. He maintained that one need not sacrifice his or her material engagements to develop spiritually. He frequently emphasized upon the importance of discipline, selflessness, morality and compassion towards attaining well-being. He frequently employed means such as pravachan (spiritual discourses), and bhajan (hymns) to engage people along the path of devotion. He encouraged cow protection and food donation. He was also one of the key figures in the revival of Vedic ritualism (vaidik anushthaan) in Maharashtra.[3]
Followers and worshipEdit
GondavaleEdit
Brahmachaitanya lived in the village of Gondavale for most of his life. After his death, Brahmanand swami, Brahmachaitanya's closest disciple established a trust, per his Guru's wishes, called Chaitanyaopasana Shri Gondavalekar Maharaj Trust. All the activities and rituals carried out by the trust to this date are in line with guidelines set by Brahmanand swami.The trust built Brahmachaitanya's samadhi (shrine) with his symbolic slippers(Paduka in Marathi).The trust also provides accommodation facilities for pilgrims.The Samadhi forms the center for all rituals, activities and celebrations carried out by the trust, also known as Gondavale sansthan. The chanting of the Divine Name, Worship at the samadhi and feeding devotees, and other people (Annadan in Marathi) are the main activities at the sansthan.The trust also fulfills its annual resolution to complete 130 million crore chantings of Ram nam through the help of pilgrims and monks (Sadhakas) visiting Gondavale. Punyatithee of Shri Maharaj' (passing away anniversary) is the most important event of the year at Gondavale. Other important events celebrated include Ram Navami, Gurupournima, Janmashtami, and all other Full moon Days in a year.
TemplesEdit
Maharaj consecrated many temples around India when he travelled during his lifetime.
| Location | Temple Idol | Year | History | Ref(s) |
|---|
Other templesEdit
There are also temples dedicated to Brahmachaitanya in Bangalore (Srinivasanagar), and Hebbali in Dharwad district .The Ram nam japa ritual is held on a daily basis in these temples.
Notable FollowersEdit
- D.R. Bendre (1896 – 1981)- Eminent poet in Kannada language. A life long devotee, he credited Brahmachaitanya for bestowing on him the gift of poetry.[6]
In literatureEdit
- Sri Brahmachaitanya Gondavalekar Maharaj - Biography by K.V. Belsare[7]
- Brahmachaitanya - Novel by Ashok Deshpande
- Sri Brahmachaitanya Gondwalekar Maharaj- Biography by Girija Keer
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "(1)".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Tejakumāra Bukaḍipo (1998). Nirvāṇa-prakaraṇa-pūrvārddha aura uttarārddha. p. 92.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Borayin Larios (10 April 2017). Embodying the Vedas: Traditional Vedic Schools of Contemporary Maharashtra. De Gruyter. pp. 198–199. ISBN 978-3-11-051732-3.
- ↑ Laddu, S. D. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 74, no. 1/4 (1993): 335-38. Accessed June 3, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43977237.
- ↑ Tulpule, S.G., 1991. The divine name in the Indian tradition:(a comparative study).
- ↑ G. S. Amur (1994). Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre (Ambikatanayadatta). Sahitya Akademi. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-81-7201-515-2.
- ↑ UPADHYE, P.M. "Saint Literature in Marathi." Indian Literature 19, no. 5 (1976): 49-62. Accessed June 7, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24157340.
- Belsare, Prof.K. V. The Saint of Gondawale.