Sant Eknath Part II

[Guest guest]

Om Namo Narayanaya!

 

Eknath started his life in Paithan; he had a regular

routine. After his early morning rituals he would read

the Geeta, the Bhagavatham, and then the Puranas in

the afternoon; evenings would be occupied by bhajans

and discussions. People started attending these

sessions in large numbers and soon a wave of

spirituality and knowledge was spreading through

Paithan.

It was Janmashtami and Eknath arranged a lot of

festivities. His Guru also attended the function

alongwith the Emperor; the Guru approached the

entrance to Eknath's house and saw God himself in

disguise at the gate welcoming people; both Guru and

Bhagawan looked at each other and smiled and Bhagawan

made a sign to the Guru to be quiet about His

presence. Inside the atmosphere was charged with

devotion. The Emperor pleased with Eknath's devotion

awarded him land and gold coins. Lot of people donated

wealth; all this was more than sufficient to meet

Eknath's needs.Chakrapani, Eknath's grandfather could

not contain his happiness and now only requested the

Guru that he instruct Eknath to get married. The Guru

replied that he can do that but they should find an

eligible girl. Among the people attending the

festivities, there was a merchant who overheard the

conversation; this merchant had one daughter Girija

and he requested to the Guru that he would like his

daughter to be married to Eknath; the Guru inquired in

more detail about the family and having satisfied

himself that this would be a good match for Eknath

consented to the marriage. At the wedding, among the

guests was a man called Uddhav who was very impressed

with Eknath. He wanted to devote his entire life in

Eknath's service. Eknath handed over the running of

the property etc. to him. Girija turned out to be an

ideal partner; now with Girija and Uddhav, Eknath's

home becaame a paradise. People called his home

Nath-mandir(Nath's temple) and looked upon them as

Lakshmi-Narayan. Because of Girija and Uddhav, Eknath

could now devote all his time to God's work. He

started a group called " Vasudev " -- young and old

adults well-versed in the scriptures would go out with

a headband with peacock feathers and anklets and

through song and dance convey stories and teachings

from the scriptures. This movement became very popular

in Karnataka and Maharashtra because the people found

the medium very appealing-entertaining but also

educative. further the language used was Prakrit, the

dialect of the people and this added to its

popularity. Eknath thus started the trend of

interpreting the Vedas and Upanishads in Prakrit so

that the common man could also benefit. Soon the

learned pandits started finding fault with this

method; their monopoly over the scriptures was being

attacked; they complained that Eknath was spoiling the

sanctity of the shastras by presenting them in impure

Prakrit language. Eknath, however, was too busy with

his work; there are several notable incidents from his

life ---

 

1)One day he was returning from a dip in the Godavari

when he saw a small infant crying on the banks; he

picked up the child and took him to the river and

bathed and dried him and then went to the nearby

locality where untouchables lived and asked around if

they knew whom the child belonged to. Soon a woman

rushed to him crying that it was her child; the

child's father recognized Eknath and bowed to him; he

was familiar with Eknath's reputation and his

Vasudevs. This man asked Eknath " your Vasudev's always

go far, even to Kashi and Rameshwar speaking about

God, but they never come here " Eknath replied that is

because you are not eligible to listen to the Vedas;

but then that man said if God resides everywhere and

in everyone then why can't we also hear about him? if

you don't teach us about him, then who will? Eknath

realized his mistake and from then went every evening

to give discourses to those people.

2) The pandits soon raised objection to that too; but

Eknath continued with his work; one day a kid in the

area asked Eknath if he would not eat with them?

Eknath could not say 'no' and agreed to lunch with

them the next day. This irked the pandits even more

and they decided that if he carried out his plan then

he should be punished. Accordingly the next day two of

the Pandits followed Eknath on the sly to see him eat

with the untouchables. The people there had cleaned

and decorated their house in honor of Eknath's eating

with them; all were dressed in their best;all had

taken special pains with their houses. Meanwhile two

other Pandits were at Eknath's house and were

surprised to see him there giving his usual Bhagavad

pravachan. They came to the untouchables' area to tell

the other two spies that Eknath had dropped his idea

of eating with those people. But there they saw Eknath

eating and the people all enjoying his company. The

pandits could not belive their eyes. They realized God

had made it possible for Eknath to be seen in both

places at the same time and were ashamed of

themselves.

 

3)One day a Brahmin from Saurashtra came and told

Eknath that he had lost all his relatives and I want

to devote whatever I have in your service and wish to

work for you. Eknath asked his wife what work they

could give him; they could do with help with the

cooking because Eknath's house was always good for

anyone hungry and wanting to eat. The Brahmin,

'Sreekhandya' agreed to do all the cooking but said

that he had two conditions: one that they should

always refer to him as 'tu' ('you' in Marathi or 'nee'

in Malayalam!) and second, because he was a Brahmin he

was very particular about cleanliness and so he would

close the kitchen door and cook; nobody shd come in at

that time. Eknath and wife agreed and Sreekhandya soon

became an integral part of the household; he would

cook and clean, collect flowers for Eknath's pooja and

draw water from the well, preparing sandalwood paste

etc. It is said that many years later a pious Brahmin

in Dwaraka inspite of repeated efforts could not get

God's darshan. God appeared to him in a dream and told

him that He was working in Eknath's house as

Sreekhandya and he could therefore go and meet him

there; when the Brahmin reached Paithan, he passed

Sreekhandya on the way going to the Godavari for

getting water. The Brahmin asked Sreekhandya the way

to Eknath's house and was directed there. Little did

the Brahmin realize that he had just spoken to God

Himself. When he reached Eknath's home, he told Eknath

that he was there to see Shreekhandya. Eknath asked

him what work he had with Shreekhandya? The Brahmin

told him that Shreekhandya was God himself. But, said

Eknath, God is everywhere; so why did you come all the

way here?! The Brahmin said that when God himself has

left his abode to be with you, I also left home to

come here! Soon they all started looking for

Shreekhandya; but after serving his beloved son for

almost 12 years, God was now not to be found. Eknath's

heart filled with love for his dearest God; Girija

started weeping. Both were overwhelmed by God's

service to them. With His presence there, blessing

Eknath's attempts to imbibe spirituality in every man,

Paithan had become Vaikunth.

4) Another incident speaks about Eknath's patience and

peaceful disposition. Once he went to take a dip in

the Godavari; there he met a youth who was well-known

for being troublesome. When Eknath returned from his

bath, the youth spit on him. Eknath went back into the

water and took another dip. Again the youth spit on

him; again he went back to take a dip. This continued

for a long time; some people around got quite angry

and wanted to beat up the young man. But Eknath asked

them to be quiet. When Eknath had taken about 108 dips

without even once complaining to the youth, the youth

was finally ashamed of himself and fell at Eknath's

feet. Eknath told him that he was forgiven the minute

he had regretted his doing and in fact because of him

Eknath could bathe in the Godavari 108 times! Since

then the youth turned out to be a staunch devotee of

Eknath.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

-this is indeed a very useful article and very nice to read the life

of sant Eknath. very informative.it needs lot of devotion and

hardwork to share such nice articles and stories and it is a great

service to our group.it is in simple language and we can tell this as

a story to our kids in the family and grow bakthi in their mind.

thanks veena; keep it up and may lord guruvayoorappan continue to

shower his blessings on you and our group. it is only because of His

Grace that we are able to get such nice articles in this group.---

vijaya. -- In guruvayur , " Veena A. Nair "

<veeus18> wrote:

>

> Om Namo Narayanaya!

>

> Eknath started his life in Paithan; he had a regular

> routine. After his early morning rituals he would read

> the Geeta, the Bhagavatham, and then the Puranas in

> the afternoon; evenings would be occupied by bhajans

> and discussions. People started attending these

> sessions in large numbers and soon a wave of

> spirituality and knowledge was spreading through

> Paithan.

> It was Janmashtami and Eknath arranged a lot of

> festivities. His Guru also attended the function

> alongwith the Emperor; the Guru approached the

> entrance to Eknath's house and saw God himself in

> disguise at the gate welcoming people; both Guru and

> Bhagawan looked at each other and smiled and Bhagawan

> made a sign to the Guru to be quiet about His

> presence. Inside the atmosphere was charged with

> devotion. The Emperor pleased with Eknath's devotion

> awarded him land and gold coins. Lot of people donated

> wealth; all this was more than sufficient to meet

> Eknath's needs.Chakrapani, Eknath's grandfather could

> not contain his happiness and now only requested the

> Guru that he instruct Eknath to get married. The Guru

> replied that he can do that but they should find an

> eligible girl. Among the people attending the

> festivities, there was a merchant who overheard the

> conversation; this merchant had one daughter Girija

> and he requested to the Guru that he would like his

> daughter to be married to Eknath; the Guru inquired in

> more detail about the family and having satisfied

> himself that this would be a good match for Eknath

> consented to the marriage. At the wedding, among the

> guests was a man called Uddhav who was very impressed

> with Eknath. He wanted to devote his entire life in

> Eknath's service. Eknath handed over the running of

> the property etc. to him. Girija turned out to be an

> ideal partner; now with Girija and Uddhav, Eknath's

> home becaame a paradise. People called his home

> Nath-mandir(Nath's temple) and looked upon them as

> Lakshmi-Narayan. Because of Girija and Uddhav, Eknath

> could now devote all his time to God's work. He

> started a group called " Vasudev " -- young and old

> adults well-versed in the scriptures would go out with

> a headband with peacock feathers and anklets and

> through song and dance convey stories and teachings

> from the scriptures. This movement became very popular

> in Karnataka and Maharashtra because the people found

> the medium very appealing-entertaining but also

> educative. further the language used was Prakrit, the

> dialect of the people and this added to its

> popularity. Eknath thus started the trend of

> interpreting the Vedas and Upanishads in Prakrit so

> that the common man could also benefit. Soon the

> learned pandits started finding fault with this

> method; their monopoly over the scriptures was being

> attacked; they complained that Eknath was spoiling the

> sanctity of the shastras by presenting them in impure

> Prakrit language. Eknath, however, was too busy with

> his work; there are several notable incidents from his

> life ---

>

> 1)One day he was returning from a dip in the Godavari

> when he saw a small infant crying on the banks; he

> picked up the child and took him to the river and

> bathed and dried him and then went to the nearby

> locality where untouchables lived and asked around if

> they knew whom the child belonged to. Soon a woman

> rushed to him crying that it was her child; the

> child's father recognized Eknath and bowed to him; he

> was familiar with Eknath's reputation and his

> Vasudevs. This man asked Eknath " your Vasudev's always

> go far, even to Kashi and Rameshwar speaking about

> God, but they never come here " Eknath replied that is

> because you are not eligible to listen to the Vedas;

> but then that man said if God resides everywhere and

> in everyone then why can't we also hear about him? if

> you don't teach us about him, then who will? Eknath

> realized his mistake and from then went every evening

> to give discourses to those people.

> 2) The pandits soon raised objection to that too; but

> Eknath continued with his work; one day a kid in the

> area asked Eknath if he would not eat with them?

> Eknath could not say 'no' and agreed to lunch with

> them the next day. This irked the pandits even more

> and they decided that if he carried out his plan then

> he should be punished. Accordingly the next day two of

> the Pandits followed Eknath on the sly to see him eat

> with the untouchables. The people there had cleaned

> and decorated their house in honor of Eknath's eating

> with them; all were dressed in their best;all had

> taken special pains with their houses. Meanwhile two

> other Pandits were at Eknath's house and were

> surprised to see him there giving his usual Bhagavad

> pravachan. They came to the untouchables' area to tell

> the other two spies that Eknath had dropped his idea

> of eating with those people. But there they saw Eknath

> eating and the people all enjoying his company. The

> pandits could not belive their eyes. They realized God

> had made it possible for Eknath to be seen in both

> places at the same time and were ashamed of

> themselves.

>

> 3)One day a Brahmin from Saurashtra came and told

> Eknath that he had lost all his relatives and I want

> to devote whatever I have in your service and wish to

> work for you. Eknath asked his wife what work they

> could give him; they could do with help with the

> cooking because Eknath's house was always good for

> anyone hungry and wanting to eat. The Brahmin,

> 'Sreekhandya' agreed to do all the cooking but said

> that he had two conditions: one that they should

> always refer to him as 'tu' ('you' in Marathi or 'nee'

> in Malayalam!) and second, because he was a Brahmin he

> was very particular about cleanliness and so he would

> close the kitchen door and cook; nobody shd come in at

> that time. Eknath and wife agreed and Sreekhandya soon

> became an integral part of the household; he would

> cook and clean, collect flowers for Eknath's pooja and

> draw water from the well, preparing sandalwood paste

> etc. It is said that many years later a pious Brahmin

> in Dwaraka inspite of repeated efforts could not get

> God's darshan. God appeared to him in a dream and told

> him that He was working in Eknath's house as

> Sreekhandya and he could therefore go and meet him

> there; when the Brahmin reached Paithan, he passed

> Sreekhandya on the way going to the Godavari for

> getting water. The Brahmin asked Sreekhandya the way

> to Eknath's house and was directed there. Little did

> the Brahmin realize that he had just spoken to God

> Himself. When he reached Eknath's home, he told Eknath

> that he was there to see Shreekhandya. Eknath asked

> him what work he had with Shreekhandya? The Brahmin

> told him that Shreekhandya was God himself. But, said

> Eknath, God is everywhere; so why did you come all the

> way here?! The Brahmin said that when God himself has

> left his abode to be with you, I also left home to

> come here! Soon they all started looking for

> Shreekhandya; but after serving his beloved son for

> almost 12 years, God was now not to be found. Eknath's

> heart filled with love for his dearest God; Girija

> started weeping. Both were overwhelmed by God's

> service to them. With His presence there, blessing

> Eknath's attempts to imbibe spirituality in every man,

> Paithan had become Vaikunth.

> 4) Another incident speaks about Eknath's patience and

> peaceful disposition. Once he went to take a dip in

> the Godavari; there he met a youth who was well-known

> for being troublesome. When Eknath returned from his

> bath, the youth spit on him. Eknath went back into the

> water and took another dip. Again the youth spit on

> him; again he went back to take a dip. This continued

> for a long time; some people around got quite angry

> and wanted to beat up the young man. But Eknath asked

> them to be quiet. When Eknath had taken about 108 dips

> without even once complaining to the youth, the youth

> was finally ashamed of himself and fell at Eknath's

> feet. Eknath told him that he was forgiven the minute

> he had regretted his doing and in fact because of him

> Eknath could bathe in the Godavari 108 times! Since

> then the youth becomes a staunch devotee of Eknath.

> Om Namo Narayanaya...................

>

> To be continued ...in Part III.

>

> Translated from Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale's

> 'Shraadh' in Hindi, a homage to the great people who

> have graced our motherland.

>

>

>

>

>

> Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

>

>