Raamadaasa Navamii

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namaskaar,

 

Yesterday was 'raamadaasa navamii' - anniversary of the day when shrii

samartha raamadaasa took samaadhi. He is the author of the maraaThii

raama mantraache shloka that I had posted earlier on the bhakti-list.

 

There had been a few requests for more details about him as well as a request

for word meanings while posting the maraaThii works. Sunderji has very

graciously given me both.

 

Here is a brief life sketch of swammi raamadaasa.

Following this, I will try to send in one verse daily from manobodha -

manaache shloka, which is a reminder to one's own self to always remember

Lord Ram, with the word meanings and english translation by Sunderji and

it's sanskrit translation by 'raamadaasaanudaasa'.

 

Hope this will inspire some more posting regarding 'bhakti movement' in

North India.

 

If anyone does not want to get this mailing, please let me know :-)

 

Regards,

Shree

 

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Swami Ramadas:

 

Birth anniversary chaitra shuddha (shukla)navamii Apr.5, 1998

Death anniversary maagha vadya (krishhNa) navami Feb 21, 1998

 

"Swami Ramadas was born in 1608 A.D on Chaitra, Shuddha Navami in Kulkarni

family, in Jaamba town, situated on the banks of the river Godavari.

 

At the age of 5, he developed an intense yearning for the vision of

Rama, and had it fulfilled by Him in the local Rama temple.

 

At 12, he agreed to get married on the insistence of his mother, but

when he heard the priests sing the marriage chants with the word

"saavadhaana"(=beware!) he escaped from the hall, and went to a place

TaakaLii, and spent 12 years in intense prayers.

 

He then travelled across the land, and established temples and

monasteries in Maharashtra, for the upliftment of mass renewal of divine

awareness.

 

King Shivaji was entering the political scene at this time and he

became an ardent disciple of Ramadas. He sought his advice on many

issues of governance of the kingdom.

 

Swami Ramadas was a prolific writer and an inspired poet.

His major work is "Dasabodha", in the form of a dialogue between

a spiritual teacher and a disciple in search of wisdom.

It has attained the status of a "Marathi Veda" (along

with GYaaneshvarii, Eknath's Bhagavat, and Namdev-Tukaram's Abhangas.)

 

His most popular work is "Manobodha"(manaache shloka), or

"advice to the mind", a profound summary of Dasabodha. It has 205

verses, and easy to memorise. It gives a masterly synthesis of the

pathways to the highest goal of life, liberation, through action,

meditation, devotion, and philosophy (advaita vedanta), based on

his own spiritual realisations.

 

He completed his life's work in 1681 AD., 1 year after Shivaji's

death. His samadhi is at Sajjangad, near Satara (Maharashtra). The

followers of his tradition are known as daasapa.nthii (raamadaasii

saMpradaaya).

 

The best assessement of his life and work can be found in Prof.

R.D.Ranade's "Mysticism In Maharashtra", originally published in 1933,

(most recently in 1982 by Motilal Banarasidas.)"

 

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email: shree

satsangh: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/8891/

bhajans: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4637/