The Great Sage of Nareshwar- Gujarat.
About Shri Rang Avadhoot Maharaj
In 1898 a boy name Pandurang Vitthalpant Valame was born in Godhra in Gujarat. His family originally belonged to the Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra.
Since his early childhood, there were indications that he was not like other normal children. It is believed that these enlightened souls come with preplanned preparations.
The way a farmer sows seeds in different locations for a specific purpose similarly the universe also has its own plan for which these souls arrive at different locations in order to serve a specific purpose which in turn is a part of this huge cosmos.
Little boy Pandurang's father once had a dream of Lord Vitthala saying that he wanted to be born as his son. His father ignored this dream completely. Gujarat is one of the states which witnessed the presence of this great "Brahma Rishi" who arrived on 21st November 1898 in Godhra.
Maharaj as a Child
The childhood of Maharaj was very difficult since his father had left his physical body very early in a plague epidemic. As a child, Shri Rang Avadhoot Maharaj was a very bright student.
Maharaj completed his school education in Godhra and for his higher studies, he joined Gujarat College in Ahmedabad in order to complete his first year. He perceived his second year from Baroda College and further completed his graduation from Gujarat Vidyapeeth.
Influenced by Gandhiji, he was also involved in the non-cooperation movement during British India. He was very active in the independence movement activities.
Spiritual Life
Maharaj was spiritually inclined since his childhood. Once while 8yrs old Pandurang was on a pilgrimage to Narsobachi Vadi which is located on the bank of Krishna River for his thread ceremony with his mother, he met his spiritual Guru Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati Maharaj.
His guru once asked whose boy was he to which he replied "Yours". This showed his immediate surrender to his spiritual guru. This was the only physical contact Pandurang had received from his Guru, though all his life he received guidance from his Guru through dreams, trance, etc.
Once Maharaj received a dream where he was commanded to "Read the holy book- (Gurucharitra)" which he later received it from his uncle. This mystic Saint- Poet followed a path of Datta- Panth (Gurucharitra Tradition Path of Lord Dattatreya).
For his serious tapas, Maharaj moved to Nareshwar which is a place on the bank of the Narmada River. Narmada Ghat has witnessed the presence of many Brahma Rishis who came there for their sadhana.
This became a very fruitful ground for this great soul who had renounced everything for his tapas and resided in Nareshwar. This place was surrounded by dense forest with dangerous creatures.
As guided by his guru, Maharaj recited Shri Dattapurana 108 times written by his Guru Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati (Tembe Swami) Maharaj. He also completed the sacred Narmada Parikrama in 108 days on foot.
Glorifying the name of Lord Dattatreya in his poems, writings, hymns were like his daily routine activity. His every breath was devoted to Lord Dattatreya. Nareshwar is the place that gave him his other name as "Pujya Bapji".
Many seekers from all over the place started visiting him as they witnessed a strange stillness of their mind in his presence. This is the innate quality of a great Brahm Rishi.
Pujya Bapji was later joined by his ailing brother and his mother in Nareshwar who died soon after. After his mother's death in 1968, he left Nareshwar and went to Haridwar. Finally, Pujya Bapji left his physical body on 19th Nov 1968. His physical body was brought back to Nareshwar and cremated 2 days later.
Literature Work:
Pujya Bapji was well versed in Marathi, Hindi, English, Sanskrit, and Gujarati. He has written more than 45 works.
Glorifying Lord Dattatreya in different languages were instrumental in spreading Datta worship to every corner of Gujarat and other places in the world.
His "Gurulilamrut" in Gujarathi is read by thousands of devotees across the world.It includes life stories of Lord Dattatreya, Shripad Shrivallabh, Shri Narshinha Saraswati, and his Guru Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati (Tembe Swami) Maharaj.
"Dattabavani" written by Pujya Bapji is a Gujarati hymn of 52 verses dedicated to Lord Dattatreya is regularly recited by thousands of devotees all over the world.
"Shri Gurudev Datta"
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Nice article
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