Akkalkot Maharaj

[Guest guest]

Akkalkot Maharaj

 

 

Believed to be an incarnation of Shri Dattatreya the name of this

spiritual master, popularly called Swami Samarth, is a household word

in Maharashtra and the region around. As this Perfect Master chose to

reside at a place called Akkalkot for 22 years where he took

Mahasamadhi (left his mortal body) in 1878, he is also known as the

Maharaj of Akkalkot, Akkalkot is situated in district Solapur of

Maharashtra state of India.

 

For the devotees of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, it would be inspiring to

learn about the life and deeds of 'Swami Samarth'. A comparative

picturisation of the lives of these two great Saints, i.e. Swami

Samarth and Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi would establish a surprising

amount of commonness in their lives and deeds which includes their

methods of teaching, the universality of their approach and the

miracles they performed. Even a critical approach by a non-conformist

would ultimately lead to the assertion that the over-all role of

these two spiritual masters during the second half of the nineteenth

century was similar, if not same. One, who is capable of making finer

spiritual analysis, would be faced with a bewildering reality. The

reality is that Swami Samarth and Shri Shirdi Sai Baba were the

manifestations of the same Divine Spirit in two gross bodies. Many

published writings on both these Saints by different writers

authenticate about the interaction between these two Sadgurus both in

the gross, and the subtle planes. Just before Mahasamadhi, Swami

Samrath advised one of his disciples to worship Shri Sai at Shirdi

saying that he (the Swami Samarth) would stay at Shirdi in future.

 

The early life of Swami Samarth like that of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba is

shrouded with mystery. For that matter, even Shri Shirdi Sai Baba's

advent and early life has not been established. Yet it does not

really matter for those who have faith in Him and continue to

experience his benevolence in different ways. How does it matter if

Christ was born of a virgin mother! He took the pain of the suffering

humanity and led them in the path of spirituality. That is what the

world needs.

 

Shri Narasimha Saraswati, about three centuries before the advent of

Swami Samarth is believed to be the earlier incarnation of Shri

Dattatreya. The 'Guru Charitra' one of the most famous books gives

lot of information about Him. As per the most popular belief, Shri

Narasimha Swami, after helping and spiritually uplifting a large

number of people over a few decades, went away to the Himalayas for

penance and went into Samadhi. In the Samadhi state He remained for

about three hundred years. With the passage of time a huge anthill

grew over him and he was lost to the outside world. One day

accidentally a woodcutter's axe fell on the bushes grown around the

ant hill. He was shocked to find blood stains on the blade of the

axe. He cleared the anthill and Lo, he found a Yogi in meditation.

The Yogi slowly opened his eyes and consoled the dumbfounded

woodcutter saying that it was the Divine Will for Him to re-appear in

the world to resume His mission. This Yogi, in his new role came to

be known as Swami Samarth.

 

Prior to his settlement at Akkalkot, Swami Samarth visited far and

wide. While moving in the Himalayan region he visited China.

Thereafter, he visited places like Puri, Benaras, Hardwar, Girnar,

Kathiawad and Rameswaram in the South. He also stayed at Mangalvedha,

a town near Pandharpur in Solapur district Maharashtra, which had

been inhabited earlier by famous saints like Domojipant and

Chokhamela. He came to Akkalkot in 1856 where he continued his

physical existence for 22 years. He came to Akkalkot on the

invitation of one Chintopant Tol and stayed at a place on the

outskirts of the town.

 

What we call miracles are the normal ways of functioning of the God

realized ones. The Risaldar of that area, a Muslim person, wanted to

test the Swami by offering him a 'Chilum' (an earthen smoking pipe)

without tobacco in it and asked him to smoke. Swami Samarth started

smoking the empty Chilum after lighting it as if nothing had

happened. Realizing him to be an advanced spiritual person, the

Risaldar apologized and made arrangements for his stay in the house

of one Cholappa. It is in this small house that Swami Samarth lived

up to his last.

 

Soon, the name of Swami Samarth as a Spiritual Master spread all

around and devotees came for taking his blessings. The ordinary

people did not understand many of his gestures and mystic statements,

which he used to make cryptically, although their meanings became

apparenton later dates. He treated Muslims, Christians and Parsees

all alike. His Kindness was always bestowed on the poor, needy and

the people at the lowest rung of the society. Both Hindus and Muslim

festivals like Dussehra and Moharram etc. used to be celebrated by

Him. As in Shirdi, Thursday became a special day of celebration at

Akkalkot. Like Shirdi Sai Baba, Swami Samarth of Akkalkot was fond of

mass feeding. Once, on his visit to a place called Rampur, a devotee

named Rawaji, to celebrate his visit, cooked food for 50 people.

However, hearing the news of Swami Samarth's arrival hundreds of

people from the neighbouring villages started rushing to the village.

Seeing such a large number of people at his doorstep Rawaji became

visibly panicky. Moved by his plight, Swami Samarth asked Rawaji to

get some empty baskets. When the baskets were brought from the

market, idols of all the deities like Khandoba, Annapurna, etc were

put in them and food materials like chapatis (bread) etc. were piled

over them. Bawaji and his wife were asked to carry these baskets and

take three rounds around the Tulsi plant. After that, they were asked

to serve food from these baskets to the guest without looking into

them. When food were being served, Rawaji and his wife were amazed to

see that the baskets never exhausted even after a few hundred people

had been served. After all the people who had come finished their

meal, Swami Samarth took his meal. This is known as 'Annapurna

Siddhi'.

 

Swami Samarth had the capacity to read the minds of all the people

coming to him and also was able to know about their past and future.

Baba Saheb Jadhav, one of his great devotees one day came to meet the

Master. Seeing him suddenly Swami Samarth said "Oh Potter! There is a

summon coming in your name". The potter being in the close circle of

Swami Samarth understood the meaning of this sentence and begged of

the Swami to save him from the approaching death so that he could

continue to serve him (the Master). Moved by his devotion Swami

Samarth looked-up towards the sky and muttered something as if he was

addressing to someone who was invisible. Suddenly, he pointed his

hand towards a bull passing nearby and said in a loud voice "go to

the bull". In the presence of a large number of devotees, the bull

instantly fell dead. Jadhav, with a fresh lease of life, devoted

himself totally to the service of Swami Samarth thereafter.

Similarly, A European engineer from Solapur visited the Swami with

the earnest hope of having a son. As he approached Swami Samarth, the

latter just looked at him and told that he would have a son within a

year. That is what exactly happened.

 

The Sadgurus or the Spiritual Masters always endeavors to change the

quality of men that encounter them. Besides bestowing material

benefit, they try to uplift them spiritually. Once a Jewish doctor,

who was working as an eye specialist in the J.J. Hospital, Bombay met

Swami Samarth. The doctor was very proud of his professional

competence. Seeing him Swami Samarth asked "tell me doctor, how many

of the eye patients you have treated have lost their eye sights for

ever"'. This sentence made a tremendous impact on the doctor. He

realized that many people had lost their sights forever even if they

had been treated by him. His ego immediately vanished and thereafter

he became a devotee of Swami Samarth. After retirement the doctor

settled-down at Akkalkot and served the Master till his last.

 

It is said that a touchstone can convert an ordinary metal to gold.

The Spiritual Masters are such touchstones that they can convert any

ordinary metal not to that of gold but to that of a touchstone. They

are capable of giving spiritual life to any person in a fraction of a

second by a touch, a look, a word or even by a mere thought. A person

like Ramanand Bidkar who had lived an immoral life for a long period

was converted to a Saint called Bidkar Maharaj by the kind grace of

Swami Samarath, who by one grace i.e. Drishti Diksha evolved him

spiritually. Under his guidance Sri Balappa Maharaj, Shri Gangadhar

Maharaj, Sri Gajanan Maharaj and many others rose to spiritual

eminence and contributed a lot to the society.

 

After serving the poor, curing the sick and helping the spiritual

seekers over a few decades, Swami Samarth one day suddenly announced

that the time had come for him to go out of his physical existence.

By Hindu calendar It was Chaitra Sudha trayodasi, Shaka 1800 i.e. the

year 1878 AD Tuesday at 4 PM. At this time he seated himself in

Padmasana (Lotus Posture) and uttered his last words - "no one should

weep I shall always be present at all places and I shall respond to

every call of the devotees"". Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi had also said

exactly the same thing before his Mahasamadhi.

Just before he had left his gross body, one devotee named Keshav

Nayak who was emotionally charged, asked "Maharaj, since you are

going, who will give us protection?". Swami Samarth gave him a pair

of his sandals to worship. He told him "in future I will be staying

at Shirdi in district Ahmednagar". Another devotee, Krishna Ali

Bagkar decided to go to Akkalkot and worship the padukas of Swami

Samarth. Thereafter he got a dream appearance of Swami Samarth who

told him "now I am staying at Shirdi, go there and worship me".

Bagkar went to Shirdi where he stayed for six months. Later, when he

wanted to take leave of Shri Sai and go to Akkalkot again Shri Sai

told him "what is there in Akkalkot, Maharaj of Akkalkot is staying

here". Bagkar realized that there is no difference between Swami

Samarth and Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi as he recalled his earlier dream.

 

The divine game (leela) of Swami Samarth did not end with his Maha

Samadhi (shedding his mortal coil). His devotees continue to

experience the miracles of his visible and invisible help even till

today. It is exactly like the experience received by the devotees of

Sai Baba of Shirdi after his Mahasamadhi in 1918. Many people have

authenticated his appearance in physical form before them. These

people are not the faith-blind rural folk. Many of them are well

educated people like doctors, educationists etc. For example, Dr.

S.V.Marathe, a private medical practitioner of Pune once underwent

treatment in a chest Hospital at a place called Aundh in 1964. Many

of his friends were anxious to come and visit him. At this juncture,

Swami Samarth appeared before many of his friends in a dream and gave

the same message to all of them. He asked them not to worry about

Dr.Marathe, as he was under His (Swami Samarth's) protection and also

not to come to Aundh.

 

Hundreds of devotees continue to have miraculous experience about the

Perfect Master even today. But his miracles and those of Shri Sainath

are so alike that one would be drawn to the conclusion that they are

not two masters but are one, and the ONLY ONE TRUTH.