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LIGHT ON THE PATH OF SELF-REALIZATION (Containing the life-sketch of Shri Gajanana Maharaja and Spiritual Experiences of his disciples and devotees) Complied By AN ADMIRER AND PUBLISHED BY NAGESH VASUDEV GUNAJI, B.A., LL.B., THALAKWADI, BELGAUM (S.M.C.) SOLE AGENTS : THE POPULAR BOOK DEPOT Grant Road, Bombay - 7 [MAY, 1941] PRAYER and THANKS GIVING Oh Lord Almighty-the Maker and Dispenser of all things ! Blessed and hallowed be Thy Name. Thy will is done in heaven as on earth. On this auspicious occasion we remember Thee with love and reverence, and most humbly and respectfully pray to Thee. Make this work a complete success and grant happiness, peace of mind and the bliss of self-realization to the readers of this work and to all. We thank most cordially the Great Sadguru Shri Narayan Saraswati Maharaja of Antri for inspiring this work and also his able, noble and worthy Disciple Shri Gajanana Maharaja of Nasik for helping us to carry it out successfully. We also thank all the admirers and disciples of Shri Gajanana Maharaja for giving us their spiritual experiences and also for supplying the ‘sinews of war’ for this publication; and also some friends whose names we are not permitted to disclose, for helping this publication in various ways. Lastly, our thanks are also due to the staff of the Tatva-Vivechaka Press, Byculla, Bombay for executing this work neatly and promptly. PUBLISHER - OM - PEACE BE TO ALL Dedicated To The holy feet of the Great Guru Shri Narayan-Saraswati Maharaja of Antri With most profound love and reverence. CONTENTS PREFACE FORWORD CHAPTERS I) Nath-Pantha II) General information about Yoga and its different systems with special reference to Dhyana Yoga as taught by Shri Gajanana Maharaja III) Life-Sketch of Shri Gajanana Maharaja IV) Some interesting conversations V) Spiritual Experiences of various disciples 1. Mr. S. M. Gadkari 2. Mr. Sadashiv K. Garude 3. Mr. Vinayak K. Khale 4. Mr. Vishwanath T. Patankar 5. Mr. Bhabani Charan Sidhanta 6. Mr. Ganesh R. Bhide 7. Mr. Mahadevrao A. Vaidya 8. Mr. D. D. Bhave 9. Mr. Vishunapanth Chaphekar 10. Master Madhukar D. Chitnis 11. Mrs. Anandibai S. Gupte 12. Rao Saheb Shankar S. Gupte 13. Mr. P. L. Inamdar 14. Mr. Waman K. Mahegaonkar 15. Mr. Vasant N. Nirokhekar 16. Mr. Govind K. Ekbote 17. Mr. Bhargav V. Parchure 18. Mr. Dattatrya S. Sakrikar 19. Mr. Bhau Raje 20. Mr. Shankar M. Sant 21. Mr. S. T. Sayagaonkar 22. Mr. Vithal P. Upadhye 23. Mr. Vishwanath Gopal Vaidya 24. Mr. Pandurang L. Bhagwat 25. Mr. Balkrishna V. Deshmukh 26. Mr. Balkrishna M. Gadkari 27. Mr. K. K. Pradhan 28. Mr. Kashinath Ramchandra Gandekar 29. Mrs. Janakibai Sadasiva Pradhan 30. Mr. Shankar Keshav Phansalkar 31. Mr. Dattatraya Keshav Bhat 32. Mr. Kashinath Bhimaji Suryawanshi 33. Mr. Dagdu Dhaku Sonar 34. Mr. Chonkkar 35. Mr. G. D. Mandavgane and his wife Godavaribai 36. Mr. Kurdukar (Vaidya) PREFACE (Oh, Beloved Ones, the Spirit of the Nath Panth is quite different from that of all the sects of the world.) I have been entrusted with the work of publishing this book-Gajanan Maharaja - His life sketch and his disciples’ experiences - and writing a few prefatory words thereto. This I do in the spirit of love and humble service. The Nath Sampradaya Shri Gajanan Maharaja, the subject of this treatise, belongs to the celebrated Nath Cult or Sampradaya. The early history of this Sampradaya as well as the later one is shrouded in mystery and therefore definite information regarding the luminaries (important personages) of this Cult and other particulars, is lacking. Still we get here and there a few glimpses which throw a flood of light on the glory, grandeur, superiority, nobility and utility of the Nath Cult. To quote an instance : Jnanadev the premier poet-saint and prophet of Maharashtra and the author of the two most important works viz. (1) Bhavarthadeepika, the unique and rare commentary on Bhagwadgita, and (2) Amritanubhava, an independent philosophical work of real merit, was a ripe and mature product of this Nath Sampradaya. He gives in his epilogue to the Jnaneshwari or Bhavartha-deepika, the early history or origin of this Sampradaya as follows: - "Once upon a time (we don't know exactly when) Adinath or Lord Shankar was imparting spiritual wisdom to his consort Shakti or Uma in the precincts of the Milky Ocean. This was overheard by Matsyendranath who was concealed there in the heart of a great fish. Matsyendranath then meet the broken-limbed Chouranginath on the Saptashringi mountains (about 25 miles from Nasik) and he imparted the spiritual treasure to the latter upon which he became whole (perfect). Then in order to enjoy himself the undisturbed peace (samadhi), he gave the spiritual secret to Gorakshanath (a towering personality in this Cult) from whom this spiritual lore descended to Gahininath who communicated it to Nivrittinath who in his turn passed it on to Jnanadeva." The Warkari Sampradaya There was just growing at the time of Jnanadeva (1271 to 1296 A. D.) another Cult - the Warkari Sampradaya of Pandhari. Jnanadev made an extensive tour all over the country in company with Namdev and helped to spread the teachings of the Warkari Sampradaya known as Bhagwat Dharma to such an extent that Jnanadev himself came to he recognized as the pioneer of this new Sampradaya. Namdev and later on Eknath and Tukaram tried their best to spread the teachings of Bhagwat Dharma far and wide. So these four poet-saints i.e. Jnanadev, Namdev, Eknath, and Tukaram became the main props of this Sampradaya. As one abhang beautifully puts it, Jnanadev laid the foundation of this edifice, Namdev raised the superstructure, Eknath hoisted the flag of the Bhagwat Dharma and Tukaram became the pinnacle. On account of these four great personages, the teachings of the Bhagwat Dharma have permeated the whole of Maharashtra and its adherents are continually increasing ever since its inception and can be counted by lacs; but it must be remembered that the impetus and the force behind this movement - The Warkari Sampradaya - did really come from the Nath Cult. The Warkari Sampradaya has accepted in toto the Adwaitic and Yogic teachings of the Nath Cult and have added on Bhakti (Devotion to the Lord) to them. So there was a bifurcation of this Nath Cult from Jnanadev onwards. The Warkari Sampradaya is working more in the limelight while the original Nath Cult is working in secret. The Nathpanthi successors of Jnanadev are, according to some authorities, as follow :- Satyamalnath, Gaibinath, Guptanath, Udbodhanath, Kesarinath, Shivdinkesari, Narharinath, Mahipatinath, Kashinath, Lakshmannath etc. The later successors of this Cult are not known and we cannot therefore trace the line unbroken down to Shri Gajanana Maharaja - the subject of this sketch. The Place of Gajanana Maharaja in the Nath Cult The spiritual Guru of Gajanan Maharaja is Shri Parmanand and that of Shri Parmanand is Shri Narayan Saraswati. When Shri Narayan Saraswati was passing away, he called his disciple Shri Parmanand and bade him continue the line and spread the teachings of the Nath Cult, assuming his own name i.e. Narayan Saraswati as they both were one. So Shri Parmanand is also called Narayan Saraswati. The name of the Guru of Narayan Saraswati is not known to us. So we, can’t trace the spiritual genealogy of Gajanan Maharaja to the earlier Nath Teachers named above. There was another branch of the Nath Cut named Jalandarnath Branch (so named from Jalandarnath who received initiation from Shri Dattatreya) in addition to the Matsyendranath branch described above ; but we do not know any names of this branch except Kanifnath and Mainavati - the mother Raja Gopichand. Of these two branches we know for certain that Gajanan Maharaja belongs to the Matsyendranath branch and he seems to be an incarnation of Chouranginath, for firstly Gajanan Maharaj is deficient in limbs being lame, as Chouranginath was and secondly and mainly Gajanan Maharaja like Chouranginath received initiation direct from Matsyendranath. The story of this initiation may be briefly narrated. When Gajanana Maharaja was 14 years old, his aunt took him to Antri near Chikhali (Berars) for the Darshan of the Guru Narayan Saraswati and while they were staying in a cave nearby Gajanana Maharaja had a vision, while he was resting there being half awake and half asleep. He saw himself being carried away to a deep cave through wind and rain, torrent and storm, when he saw a beautiful Samadhi adorned and worshipped with flowers. He then wished that the Sage resting therein should bless him, a poor and wandering soul - when lo ! the Samadhi broke in twain and out came Lord Matsyendranath. Gajanana Maharaja saw the figure distinctly as if with eyes wide open. Along with this Darshan, came the sound of Ajapa Japa (“Om Hansa Soham”) which - reverberated into Gajanana Maharaja's ears. This vision was, soon after waking, mentioned to the aunt who took him immediately to the Guru Narayan Saraswati who was extremely pleased with the occurrence and he there and then formally initiated Gajanana Maharaja. This incident clearly shows the high place which Gajanana Maharaja occupies in the Nath Sampradaya. The Main Points in Gajanana Maharaja's Life Elsewhere in this treatise the reader will find a full life-sketch of Shri Gajanana Maharaja. Here the main points in his life may be jotted down. Birth and parentage : Shri Gajanana Maharaja hails from the Inamdar-Gupte family of Pen, Vasi and other villages in the Colaba District. Towards the middle of the last century the condition of the family began to deteriorate and hence Mr.