।। अनंतकोटी ब्रम्हाण्डनायक महाराजाधिराज योगीराज परब्रम्ह सच्चिदानंद भक्त प्रतिपालक
शेगाँव निवासी समर्थ सदगुरु श्री गजानन महाराज की जय ।।
जय गजानन श्री गजानन...
It’s really difficult to describe Shree Gajanan Maharaj in a few words because HE is not just a person; HE is an entity with distinct, independent and still omnipresent existence.
To describe this concept, Gajanan Vijay Granth has following verse which means we can’t describe Brahma (The holy energy that resides in the universe and runs the universe) to ordinary people. When they themselves experience it, they realize the magnitude of it.
जेवीं ब्रह्माचा ठावठिकाणा। न कळे कोणा लागून।
ते ब्रह्मास पाहून। निश्चय त्याचा करणे असे।।
Shree Gajanan Maharaj was a magnificent Yogi. No one knows when and where he was born. People have seen him as an adult in the village of Shegaon in Maharashtra, India. Bankatlal was the first person to notice that Shree Gajanan Maharaj is a significant yogi and not an ordinary man. He saw Maharaj on February 28, 1878 ( On Magh Vadya Saptami - the 7th day of fading moon fortnight that ends with new moon of Hindu calendar month Magh) It is beautifully described by below mentioned verse in Gajanan Vijay Granth :
शेगांवी माघमासी। वद्य सप्तमी ज्या दिवशी।
हा उदय पावला ज्ञानराशी। पदनताते तारावया।।
HE did not have any particular pattern of living. HE was liberated soul. Wearing or not wearing clothes did not matter to HIM even in extreme weather conditions. Unlike ordinary people, HE did not care about consuming food or water to support HIS body. HE was able to skip food and water for days. However, HE had tremendous respect for food. When Ichchharam Shetji (Bankatlal’s cousin) offered HIM lot of food, he ate it all. HE was fed chilies by a woman and HE still happily ate them with no regrets.
It seems, HE wanted to preach a lesson of ‘अन्न परब्रह्म’ to people which in nutshell means - We should always respect food because all the body material (right from blood cells, skin, organs through bones) are formed by the consumed food and water.
HE used to get beyond bodily senses. There was no change observed when HE was bitten by the honeybees or when Patil brothers beat HIM with sugarcane. HE was in HIS own unique Yogic state of mind with eternal peace. That’s how Patil brothers became HIS hardcore devotees.
Everyone has to leave this material body some day and so did HE. The analogy here is, the way we change old clothes and wear new ones, the soul drops the old body and takes up new one. Below are the verses explaining the same:
हें शरीर वस्त्रापरी। बदलणे आहे निर्धारी।
ऐसे गीताशास्त्रांपरी। भगवान् वदला अर्जुना।।
जे जे ब्रह्मवेत्ते झाले। त्यांनी त्यांनी ऐसेच केले।
शरीरवस्त्रांसी बदलले। हे कांही विसरु नका।।
Even after HE left HIS material body and took Samadhi, HE still continues to watch over all of HIS devotees and takes care of them. Per Gajanan Vijay Granth, Maharaj is still here with HIS devotees:
मी गेलो ऐसे मानू नका। भक्तीतअंतर करु नका।
कदा मजलागी विसरूं नका। मी आहे येथेच।।
When we read or hear HIS experiences, we can’t stop chanting with tears in our eyes - SHREE GAJANAN JAI GAJANAN 🙏🏻