Saints of Maharashtra teach

the livelihood for the well-being of mankind

I now make my obeisance to the Saints and the virtuous – Nivritti – Dnyaneshwar – Muktabai – Sopan – Eknath and his Guru Janardan – Tukaram – Kanha and Narhari. This book will not suffice if  I name every Saint. Therefore, I bow down to all of them and pray for their blessings.                                    –        Hemadpant in Shri Sai Sat Charita

      What is the Maharashtra Dharma which all the Saints - Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Ramdas to Sai Baba promoted ?

Maharashtra Dharma is the same Vedic Dharma simplified by the Saints so that the ordinary man from the highest to the lowest caste could achieve salvation while living as a householder and carrying out his worldly duties.  The Saints brought the essence of the Vedas from Sanskrit to the language of the masses – Marathi. The simple method of ‘Nam Japa’ (chanting the Lord’s name) rejuvenated the religion, which was becoming confined to some rigid rituals of the privileged classes and was in a sort of a stupor.

Bhajans, Kirtans and Pravachans were their forte.

 As said by Lord Krishna in the Geeta —

 ‘‘Yada yada hi dharmasya, 

Glanir bhavati bharat,

Abhyutthanam adharmasya,

Tadatmanam srujamyaham...’’

Whenever Dharma goes downhill and Adharma prevails, I take birth.  Saints are the various manifestations of the Lord to bring this world in order. 

How did the Saints achieve this ?

The foundation of the great teachings of Saints of Maharashtra was laid by Sant Dnyaneshwar, who at the tender age of 16 brought the essence of the Geeta along with his own beautiful elaborations in Marathi, a language, which he said, could win a bet against the sweetness of ‘Amrit’.  He opened the doors to knowledge with his beautiful writing.

Spreading the message of the Geeta amongst the masses, he attracted them to ‘Karmayog’ and ‘Bhaktiyog’.  This knowledge led to the path of self-realization.

Sant Namdev was a devotee of Lord Vitthal and he had the privilege of being very close to Him. It is said, Lord Vitthal used to listen to Namdev.  He advised the householder to be dedicated to the Lord while carrying out his daily duties. He abhorred hypocrites who professed to be great Sanyasis. He exhorted people to control their senses and realize their ‘Swadharma’.

Sant Eknath continued the tradition of educating the people and reviving the religion by mingling with all sorts of people — from the upper caste to the down-trodden.  He taught them by narrating stories based on their own culture, tradition and life-style – the ‘Bharuds’.

The people realized that they could achieve salvation while doing their very own business and carrying the worldly chores. Thus many Saints from all walks of life were born.  People became self-confident and took pride in their own profession.  But, Sant Eknath also exposed hypocrisy and conceit of the so called Pandits and orthodox Shastris.  He practiced, what he preached.  He said, there is God in all living things and so, one should love all and hate none.  He not only cared for humans but also for birds and animals.  Sant Eknath wrote a Marathi commentary on the ‘Chatushloki Bhagwat’, so that the ordinary man could understand the concept of God and His worship and achieve salvation.

Sant Tukaram was a contemporary of king Shivaji. His ‘Gatha’ is considered to be an equivalent of the Vedas.

Sant Ramdas actively promoted the Maharashtra Dharma and gave it a new dimension. He built Hanuman temples in various places.  He promoted the worship of Lord Ram and ‘Ram Nam Japa’.  Sant Ramdas was king Shivaji’s Guru and helped him to secure the Maharashtra Dharma and a Hindu kingdom to ward off Mughal attacks and religious conversions.  He wrote the ‘Dasbodh’, which describes various types and behaviour of people and the righteous way of life.  His ‘Manache Shlok’ are taught to children and recited even today to teach the mind, what is right and what is wrong. 

Shri Sai Baba is a latter day Avatar in the tradition of the Saints of Maharashtra, manifested almost two hundred years after Ramdas Swami.  He preached equality, non-discrimination amongst religions, as well as between rich and poor, high caste and low. He said that feeding the animals or birds would mean feeding Sai Himself.  He asked His devotees to take care of the weak and sick, as well as to quench the thirst of the thirsty and feed the hungry without any discrimination.  Sai Himself was kind and generous. He asked people to desist from fighting to show one-upmanship and not to speak ill of others.  A pure mind, austerity, righteous thoughts and action were essential attributes for progress in a peaceful and contented life. 

All the Saints promoted the Maharashtra Dharma, which symbolizes the following –

n God is everywhere, in all living beings, in the entire universe.

n ‘Nam Japa’ is the simple way to achieve salvation while carrying out the household duties.

n Love all, hate none.

n Live truthfully, do not discriminate, and be humane.

n Listen to your conscience.

n Do not envy.

n Do not fall prey to pride and think you are the doer; but offer all you do to God, as it is He Who gets it done through you.

n   Do not hurt anyone mentally, verbally or physically.

n   Simple living, high thinking.

Baba practiced, what He preached and thus continued the good work started by the Saints Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Ramdas  and others.  He attracted the devotion of people from all religions and walks of life.  Today Maharashtra Dharma and Sai’s message is spread world-wide through the august volume of the ‘Shri Sai Sat Charit’.

 – Jyoti Ranjan Raut

jyotiraut53@rediffmail.com    

–        qqq

‘‘Because of Shivaji, ‘Maharashtra Dharma’ survived;

Spread the ‘Maharashtra Dharma’, all over the world.’’

‘‘Get the Maratha to unite; make the ‘Maharashtra Dharma’ world-wide.’’                                                       – Ramdas  Swami 

Ramdas, the foremost of the Saints, left the banks of the Godavari and appeared on the banks of the Krishna, for the deliverance of the world.

So also Sai, the Yogeshwar (ascetic), by the great good fortune of Shirdi, for the sake of the deliverance of the world, appeared on the banks of the Godavari.                                                                 – Shri Sai Sat Charita

Back