Abhivadan (Opening Prayer) Table of Content. Gajanan-Gunjan Shri Samadhi Centenary Special Issue Opening

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2 Opening Table of Content Abhivadan (Opening Prayer) Table of Content 2 Abhivadan (Opening Prayer) 2 Shri Gajanan Stotra 3 Recollected By Sunil Joshi 3 Devotee Experiences 15 By K Nagraj Bhat 15 Incidences- Miracles still follows 15 Sai-Gajanana 15 Splendid Shegaon Sojourn 17 By Sunil Joshi 17 What is Guru Purnima? 17 Visit plan 18 Exciting journey 18 The Guru Purnima day 18 The following day 23 Food Offerings (Recipes for Prasadam) 24 By Sharada Joshi 24 (a) Milk Cake (Milk Burfi) Fast & Easy 24 (b) Mixed Vegetable with gravy 24 Shree Gajanan Maharaj and the Saga of the Patil clan 26 By Sharada Joshi 26 Shri Gajanan Maharaj as sturdy as Mountain 26 Canning left no impressions on Maharaj s body 28 Khandu Patil blessed with a Son 29 Concluding Words 31 HEY Lord Ganesha, all obeisances unto You. We invoke Your blessings for this Shri Samadhi Centenary Special Issue of GAJANAN-GUNJAN. HEY Sadguru natha, Hey Gajanana! All salutations to You. So far all the earlier issues of this e- magazine came into existence by Your inspiration and blessings. Devotees have welcomed the content so far. HEY Mauli! We beg Your pardon for not continuing the practice of bringing out regular issues of this e- magazine, for whatever reasons. NOW as part of the Rishi Panchami centenary celebrations, we have made an attempt to compile this special issue to be released on the auspicious day of Deepawali. Please accept our literary offering at Your lotus feet and help us progress in our endeavour towards spiritual enlightenment. PLEASE also forgive us for any mistakes and inaccuracy of information herein. Our only intention is to make our ever-wondering minds to focus and remember You, ensure Your continuous attention, and seek Your boundless mercy. You have been extremely compassionate towards us. In all humility, we pray to You for Your blessings to remain with us forever. Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara, Guru Sakshad Parabrahma, Tasmayi Shree Guruve Namah Jai Gajanan, ShriGajanan For free circulation only Page 2

3 (Marathi) Shri Gajanan Stotra Recollected By Sunil Joshi A quite a few number of prayers, stotras and pothis - small and big are written by various devotees in the praise of our Sadguru Shri Gajanan Maharaj and His past-times while He was physically present on the Earth. The following Stotra especially appealed to me from my school days. It is a very old composition and I grew up seeing my grandmother reading it. Out of curiosity, I started reading it; initially on and off, but later, almost daily since Gradually the booklet I had worn out, but by then, I had known the content by heart. I continued reciting it. It s nice, beautiful and very powerful summary of Maharaj s Leela s from his physical appearance until His physical disappearance from Shegaon along with the teaching and messages He tried to convey. I wish to take this opportunity to present that composition from my memory. I have made every attempt in gathering back the Stotra word-to-word, but I must confess that some of the words might be slightly different from the original version and I beg pardon of Shri Mauli for that. Nonetheless, it is one of the most complete, short and sweet prayer, we can offer our Mauli almost every day. For free circulation only Page 3

4 (Marathi) For free circulation only Page 4

5 (Marathi) For free circulation only Page 5

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13 (Marathi) For free circulation only Page 13

14 (Marathi) Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 14

15 Devotee Experiences By K Nagraj Bhat Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Gajananaye Namah Om Namo Matru Devaya Namaye Om Namo Pitru Devaya Namaye Om Namo Kanakvalli Sameta Veera Raghav Swamy Devatabhyo Namah MY most humble obeisance at the lotus feet of Lord Gajanan Maharaj. I am most grateful to my Gajanan Baba, who has given me a chance to chant His holy name and provided me His Blessings to visit Shegaon regularly since past thirty years. IF I look back in my life, I find innumerable incidences which give me sure evidence of presence of my Gajanan Baba in each and every facet of my life. I have been blessed with His holy guidance and omnipresence which has been instrumental in keeping me on to the path of goodness and humanity. I often found Maya drawing me into its shackle, but with Gajanan Baba as anchor, I try to come out of that.. MY presence in this world is not more than the minutest of miniscule dust particle and with His Holy name only I found myself so strong to face the worldly challenges. O My dearest Gajanana! How many more Janma s (births) I have to take to finally come to you? Please lead us on the path of righteousness and virtue to serve humanity without selfishness. I am getting the inspiration from my Lord Gajanan to share a few of the incidences in my life and to share a few of striking similarity of avatar of Sai of Shirdi and Gajanan Baba of Shegaon. Incidences- Miracles still follows I have two daughters and from their childhood till date, I confidently vouch that Pavitra Udi of Sai Gajanan has always provided them with instant relief during their illnesses, headaches, stomach Pain and else. I would like to share with my fellow Devotee Bhakt Gan that whenever I have put the Udi to my children, chanting the Holy Mantra Om Namo Bhagvate Shri Gajananaye Namah, I have observed instant relief to their pain. Please don t think that I don t take them to doctor in their illnesses, but all those times, also we (I and my wife) offer prayers to Lord Gajanan to take care of them. I can t forget the incidence when our car had met a serious accident, and believe me, with the condition of the damage, people have commented about definite casualties. With Gajanan Maharaj s Blessings none of us including my wife and both daughters got hurt. THERE have been other numerous miraculous incidences too, which gives us a feel of the presence of Lord Gajanan Baba always around us. I humbly pray Gajanan Baba to keep showering his affectionate blessings and Sai Kripa on all of us so that we may live our lives purposefully. Jay Gajanan! Sai-Gajanana Om Namo Sai-Gajananaye Namah- Pious Mantra for our Salvation THERE are so many common traits of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sant Shree Gajanan Maharaj that mind is forced to believe the oneness of Sai Gajanan. AS per the writings available in Vijay Granth ( Gajanan Baba) and Sai Sacharitra (Sai Baba) Both the Saints have shown their Holy presence to this world during contemporary period. The Saints came to bless the humanity in Their young age from nowhere and there is no concrete evidence of their native/place of birth.. For free circulation only Page 15

16 Both were most benevolent, kind and revered saints, who lived their Avatars for serving the humanity and shown us the right path to lead our lives Both Saints had equal faith in all religions wherein Gajanan Baba had blessed Mahetabasha of Kurum. Sai Baba also celebrated all festivals equally. Both the Saints were master of all Vedas. Shri Bankatlalji was the first to spot our Gajanan Baba and so was Shri Mhalasapati for the Shirdi Sai Baba (who called him Sai). Both the Saints wore bare minimum cloths. Gan-Gan Ganath Bote and Allah Malik Hein were always on Their lips. Both of them knew very well, when they shall be taking their Samadhi s. The words of Sai Baba and Gajanan Baba were even obeyed by animals. The changing of behavior of a horse and a cow, instructions to the crows and chat of lizard sisters, altercation of a snake and a frog, nirvana of a tiger at the Lotus feet of Sai show us the omni potency of these great Souls. Both, Gajanan Baba and Sai Baba, were targeted initial vagaries of people i.e. Patil s (initially), Goldsmith, Shri Bhaskar, fake Gosai Maharaj, etc. Kulkarni and others. All these people ultimately became their unstaunched devotees. I don t have the capability to describe the numerous Miracles during their Life time and even now as experienced by us. Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 16

17 Splendid Shegaon Sojourn By Sunil Joshi AS said in Brahma Samhita, the compilation of the prayer by Lord Brahma offered to Lord Hari, Lord Govinda or Lord Shri Krishna īśvarah paramah krsnah, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah anādir ādir govindah, sarva-kārana-kāranam (Meaning Krishna, who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.) THE same is said about the Spiritual Guru Guroraadi Anaadischa Guruh Parama Daivatam Guroh Parataram Naasti Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha. (Meaning: The Guru has neither beginning nor end; the Guru is the ultimate God in the visible form. There is nothing beyond this Guru principle, and I salute such a Guru.) SUCH is the glory of Shri Guru. Similar to the Lord Govinda, Guru has neither beginning nor end. SAINT Kabir Das has said in a very simple and emphatic way in his dohas that Guru govinda dono khade, Kake laagu paay, Balihaari guru aapno, Govinda Diyo Bataaye. (Meaning - Both Guru and Govinda (Lord Krishna) are present before me, to whom shall I bow down first? I salute the Glorious Guru, He who showed me the Lord Govinda.) HE further said Kabira Te Nar Andh Hai, Jo Guru Kahate Aur, Hari Ruthe Guru Thor Hai, Guru Ruthe Nahi Thor. (Meaning - Those people are blind who regard Guru and God to be different from each other. If God becomes annoyed (with a certain act of yours), Guru is the Protector. However, if Guru gets angry, then there is no savior.) ALL these essentially mean that there is no difference between Guru and Govinda. we all are so fortunate to have Shri Gajanan Maharaj as our Sadguru, who appeared in 1878 in the holy dham of Shegaon in Buldhana district of Maharastra state in India. Upon completing His leela, He took Samadhi at the same place in the year THIS year, being the centenary year of our Sadguru Mauli s year of Samadhi, many devotees have been wanting to visit Shegaon, at least once. It s probably the once in a lifetime occasion for each and every devotee of Shri Gajanan Maharaj to be able visit Shegaon and participate in some or other way in this centenary year celebrations. EVER since this centenary year arrived, we started thinking about making a trip to India so that we could visit Shegaon. As it happened most of the times before, everyone was not having holidays that could match so that a quick visit to India is planned. But, as always rightly said, when Shri Sadguru Maharaj Himself have something in His mind, things automatically start to fall in place and plans, whatsoever, move in the right direction. FINALLY we could find a common time and were able to think of a two-week long family holiday to India; it was in the latter half of July While looking at the calendar, we suddenly realized that it was the perfect time to visit Shegaon as the Guru Purnima was falling on 25 th July. What is Guru Purnima? THE full moon day in the Hindu month of Ashad (July-August) is observed as the auspicious day of Guru Purnima. This day is dedicated to the great sage Srila Vyasadev, who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata, and the Srimad Bhagavatam. For free circulation only Page 17

18 Srila Vyasa had even taught Lord Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus. On this day, all spiritual aspirants and devotees worship Srila Vyasadev in honour of his divine personage. All spiritual disciples offer a special 'puja' to their respective spiritual Masters on this day. Visit plan What a coincidence it was! This year, the Guru purnima was on Sunday. This made it easier for us to plan the Shegaon trip within India. We started calling our relatives, who are also devotee and could possibly join us over that weekend to Shegaon. To whomever we contacted, all of them liked the idea in fact, welcomed it. They even suggested arranging a brand new private vehicle for the trip. My mother, brother, his family, all agreed to join in the trip. OBVIOUSLY this multiplied our enthusiasm. Except the accommodation, almost all other things were falling in place. Our earlier experiences were such that getting a place to stay in Shegaon on any such festive days was difficult. That too, going with the family and kids would have been definitely a challenge. I suddenly realized that Shri Pandeji, who is an ardent devotee of Shri Gajanan Maharaj from his childhood and an active member of Shri Gajanan Parivar is from Shegaon and has a house in there. I decided to contact him and check whether he could accommodate us for those 1-2 days. WHEN I wrote to Mr. Pandeji about our plan and the number of people joining us in the trip, he immediately and very happily agreed to provide us with an accommodation on those days. In fact, he told us, he himself would be in Shegaon to receive us, and if time permits, would be there for the Guru Purnima celebrations as well. IT was such a great relief! Almost everything was arranged in no time without any hiccups by the mercy of Shri Sadguru Mauli. We were all delighted with the very thought of being able to see our Sadguru Murti in this auspicious centenary year of His Samadhi. WE then called some of our friends back in India and told them about our programme. To our gladness, one of the most dedicated devotee couple and our close friends, immediately expressed their wish in joining us on this pilgrimage as the days were convenient to them as well, provided they get the reservations. Once again, when Maharaj Himself invites! for us, it was an icing on a cake! Exciting journey IT is about a 6 hours drive from our town to Shegaon. By the time we started, it was 1130pm. Since we already had finished our lunch, there was no need for a long halt on the way, and we were expecting to reach Shegaon by 530pm. When we started, it was drizzling a bit, but the roads were still clean and clear. AFTER about 2 hours or so into the journey, it started pouring heavily. Although, it was good to see raining, our speed dropped. This obviously delayed our arrival in Shegaon. We finally reached Shegaon by 8pm, where Pandeji was eagerly waiting for us. Although we all were meeting for the first time, Pandeji and his family welcomed us in a very homely manner. To our surprise, he had reserved and made ready two independent units with attached baths and toilets for us. Since it was already late, we freshened up quickly and opened our food baskets, had a nice dinner and went to bed. We were told that, if we could join the queue by 630-7am, the queue would not be that long and we would be able complete our darshan in about 2 hours time. The Guru Purnima day NOT only the adults, but also the kids got up early and were ready to leave for the temple by 7am. It only took 5 minutes to reach the temple. After buying flowers and sweets for offering and making arrangements for our footwear, we quickly moved on to join the queue. Shri Sansthan has now built huge double storey halls for people to queue in without bothering about the hot sun or rain. By the time we all were inside the hall, it started raining. IT was entirely a different scene inside. Thousands of devotees, gents and ladies, old and young, all were eagerly waiting to take darshan of Shri Sadguru Mauli! While inching forward, some were busy reading Gajanan Vijay, some were reciting Gan Gan Ganaat Bote, some were busy managing their kids, and some were once in a while chanting slogans glorifying our Mauli. The tempo was gradually building up. We all were some or other way offering our prayers as well as joining sometimes the slogan chants. AMONGST all, one thing touched everybody s heart. One, year old, lady was continuously mopping the huge hall single-handedly. She was there before we entered and was still there until we left the hall. For free circulation only Page 18

19 She neither looked at anyone around her nor showed any signs of tiredness. She was busy doing her service with all her heart and soul. Everyone in the queue slowly noticed her and started talking about her service attitude, dedication and the devotion. WHILE in the queue, we tried establishing communication with our friends, whom we could not meet previous night due to our late arrival. They were also in the queue, one hall ahead of us. We then decided to meet in the Bankat Sadan after the darshan. The queue was moving faster than we expected. As we could see, the temple was under renovation. But, there was no mess anywhere, although it was still drizzling outside. Everything was so orderly; hats off to the volunteers and the sansthan for their thoughtful planning and arrangements. WE reached entrance to the darshan hall of the main temple at 930am. Everybody was pushing towards the darshan hall. We were also excited to be there. It was so pleasing to realize that everything had fallen in place and now, we finally were near our Shri Sadguru Mauli. AS we entered the hall, we looked at Maharaj, He was looking so serene and effulgent. Everybody s heart was getting heavy and chocked up. Everyone was trying stay within the darshan hall as long as possible. WE slowly moved close to Maharaj, made our offerings, and thanked Maharaj for the invitation and the darshan. ALTHOUGH, we did not want to leave the hall, thinking of other devotees in the queue, we moved towards the staircase and came to see Lord Sri Ram. We prayed to Lord Ganesh, Lord Ramachandra, Lord Laxman and Mother Sita. No one was allowed to seat in the hall due to the renovation work. We moved on for a pradakshina, collected some Tirtha and Angara, and offered prayers to Lord Hanuman For free circulation only Page 19

20 before proceeding to the Parayan hall to see the Lord Panduranga. Along the way, we also distributed some Prasadam. AGAIN, there was a long queue in the hall upstairs. One needs to climb down to come to the Deh Visarjan Sthal. We finished our darshan at the parayan hall in about 40 minutes time, distributed some Prasadam to the devotees in there and reached the small donation counter located in the same hall. We were told that if we offer a donation of Rs51, a priest will perform a Satyanarayan Puja for us. Having wanted to do so, we paid the donation. We were told to be back by 1pm with necessary paraphernalia for puja and wait for the priest at the same place. IT was about 10:15am by then, and was still drizzling outside. We decided not to wait and go to the Bankat Sadan, where Nitinda and other devotees were performing parayan. The roads to the Bankat Sadan had become slightly muddy and slippery due to the rain, but we managed to reach safely with all the elders and kids. Upon entering the hall, we offered our prayers to Shri Mauli and then met with our friends. IT was a delightful and warm union. Nitinda not only gave a warm welcome, but also offered us Tirtha and Prasadam. We all chatted about half an hour and thought of going around the Bankat Sadan, part of which was still in its old condition. Nitinda, being more familiar with the place, led us to the outside of the house. He also requested one of the ancestors of Shri Bankatlal seth to open the part, where the original stone on which Maharaj was seated and given a bath as described in Gajanan Vijay pothi. UPON seeing our sincerity and curiosity, uncle opened that part of the house, which is almost inhabitable now. It only has their ancestral deities and photographs in the front room with the bathing place preserved with the original bathing stone in the backyard room. We were all excited and overwhelmed with the sight of the bathing place. It was definitely difficult to go near the stone, but were just imagining and trying to relate to the story narrated in the Pothi. For free circulation only Page 20

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22 MEANWHILE, the younger ones among us could not resist and jumped in to reach the bathing place. They managed to touch the bathing stone, which was used and blessed by Shri Gajanan Maharaj Himself. In the meantime, we took the photographs of the photos kept there in. One of them was the original photo of Shri Gajanan Maharaj after He was bathed and dressed up. AFTER spending some more time with our friends, we walked back to the temple, cleaned our feet and went to the Prasadam Hall. As it was around 11:15am, the prasad distribution had started and the queue was slowly building up. ALTHOUGH, it was getting hot, everyone was absorbed in devotional mood and was quite accommodative to each other. After about 40 minutes, we could enter the hall. Being a Guru Purnima, special sweets were being served along with the regular Veggie-Daal-Chapaati meal. As usual, the taste was awesome and divinely. Everything was so orderly in the hall; volunteers were going around serving the people what they wanted without speaking a word. I always feel the presence of our Maharaj and His greatness in there whenever I look at the very scale of the operation. IMMEDITELY after the Prasad, we went to the main donation counter. Upon making the donations, we collected the return gifts, Angara and Prasad. We also purchased a new pothi and then went to make arrangements for the Satyanarayan Puja. The puja started at around 1:10pm. The younger ones performed the puja while we observed and prayed with them. It was quite satisfying to be able to offer this puja in Shegaon in the presence of our Guru Mauli on the Guru Purnima day! Jai Gajanan! SOME of us were slightly tired physically, but still were in a good spirit. I desired to perform Gajanan Vijay Parayan and was contemplating on the time. It was still raining outside and we had little chance of going out or visiting Anand Sagar. Taking this as a blessing-in-disguise, I expressed my wish to everyone. All of them were very supportive of the idea. They prompted me to leave for the parayan hall immediately. They went back to the rooms promising to come back for the evening Aaarti. THAT day, the mood was so different. Although the others went back to the room, most of them read some stotras and chanted. By 6pm they got ready and came back to the temple. Somehow, younger ones realized that the queue for the darshan was much shorter than was in the morning. They simply ran and stood in the queue. The elders came to the parayan hall and joined me. MEANWHILE, we could also observe the evening Aarti ceremony that was performed in the front near the Lord Panduranga and Maharaj s Paduka. I completed the parayan by 8pm. For free circulation only Page 22

23 When we came out, youngsters ran to us and told that there is very little crowd for darshan and we should not miss this opportunity. We quickly ran and were able to have a beautiful evening darshan of Shri Maharaj. SINCE the rain hadn t stopped completely, we decided to have evening meals nearby. When looked around, we saw people going into the Prasadam Hall. We decided to go and enquire. We were told that they serve night Prasadam at the token cost of Rs 20 per plate. We happily queued in, had a nice dinner, and then thanked Maharaj for organizing such a wonderful itinerary for us, which we had wished for but never planned for. WHEN we went back to our rooms, Shri Pandeji was waiting for us. We briefed each other on the day s activities. We informed him of our plan to leave Shegaon next day morning by 9am or so, so that we could reach back home before sunset. Given the rainy conditions, we wanted to be safe. The following day NEXT day morning, everyone got up early, got ready and walked to the Mote s Shiv Mandir. After taking darshan of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishu, we went to the Gajanan Maharaj temple and joined the darshan queue again, which wasn t that long. By 8am, we had come out after having the darshan. With some spare time at hand, we decided to look at some shops, did small shopping, purchased two photographs of Maharaj and went on to take breakfast. WE really hadn t missed anything except the Gajrani; didn t have any opportunity to be there outside the temple, when she came for the morning Aarti on the previous day. When we were about to head back to our rooms, suddenly we saw her. Coincidently, the Gajrani was being taken to towards the temple premises. How lucky we were! We offered some Bananas to her in the breakfast. All our wishes were thus fulfilled by our, the most merciful, Sadguru Mauli. WHEN we reached back and started packing up, Shri Pandeji came over and invited us for a tea, and also, to meet his father. It was such a delight to talk to his father, who had been an ardent and selfless devotee of Maharaj. He used to play Mrudangam for Maharaj for many years. He shared some of his experiences. He eyes were sparkling when narrated about his service and Maharaj s pastimes. He also told us about the old Math that was just opposite the Mote s Shiv Mandir, from where Maharaj went to the new (current) place, on a bullock cart, as mentioned in the Pothi. We took his blessings, enjoyed Shri Pandeji and his family s hospitality, moved our bag and baggage to the car and thanked all of them for the wonderful arrangement. WITH great satisfaction and heavy hearts, we left Shegaon and headed back home. Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 23

24 Food Offerings (Recipes for Prasadam) By Sharada Joshi (a) Milk Cake (Milk Burfi) Fast & Easy Ingredients 1 Tin sweetened condensed milk, Pure cream 1 measure (about the size of condensed milk tin), 3.5 to 4 measures full cream milk powder (use the tin of condensed milk as the measure), 1tea spoon cardamom powder, 3-4 teaspoons of almond and pista powder and a pinch of saffron, 1-2 spoons of milk for mixing. Procedure Mix all the milk products to form a thick batter. Do not add too much milk while mixing the batter. Pour contents in a microwavable tray (a glass container preferred). The size of the container should be big (double or more) enough so that when you are cooking in a Microwave (MW), the batter would not come out of the container. Cook for 4 minutes first on the MW and then stir the contents evenly. After this, do not mix the content or stir it. MW further for minutes. The batter rises and then settles down. Stop MW once the mix dries on top and you start seeing a light brown shade along the sides. Additional MW may be necessary depending on the moisture content in the milk cake. If you feel the cake is moist, try a minute more in the MW. Remove the glass pan from the MW after you feel the cake is done. Invert pan and pour the contents on a plate. Wait for 1 minute and then cut the cake into small pieces. Immediately separate the pieces so that the milk cake cools down fast. (If you have silver foil, varkha, you can apply it as a layer before cutting) Offer the Milk Cake to Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Jay Gajanan! (b) Mixed Vegetable with gravy This is a two-fold preparation that consists of veggies and a special gravy. Veggies to be used One may use any vegetables available such as carrots, beans, snow peas, baby corns, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, pumpkin and many more. The beauty lies into the cutting of the vegetables. Cut them vertically to form pieces that are about 1 inch long. Ingredients for wet gravy Chopped tomatoes, grated ginger, kasuri methi (dried and hand crushed), cashew powder, cumin and cumin powder, mustard seeds coriander powder, garam masala, asafetida powder, turmeric powder, oil for seasoning, cinnamon powder, chilli powder, green chilli paste fresh yogurt that is not sour, salt to taste. Procedure for wet gravy Take a sizable pan. Heat about 1 tablespoon oil, add one tea spoon mustard seeds and one tea spoon cumin seeds to the hot oil and wait until the seeds start to crackle. Add asafetida and turmeric powder. Then add 1 tea spoon of green chili paste (more or less according to taste), and 1 inch long grated ginger. Stir it for a few minutes and add the chopped tomatoes. When the ingredients are partially cooked, start adding the remaining ingredients. For free circulation only Page 24

25 Add one tea spoon each of cumin powder, cinnamon powder, red chili powder, and corriander powder. Also, add 2-3 spoons of cashew nut powder and garam masala. When the ingredients are cooked, add 2 hands full of kasuri methi that was crushed into a powder by hand. Finally add 3-4 spoons of fresh yogurt. Cook on a mild flame till the tomatoes are fully cooked. Transfer the mixture to a blender and make it into a nice and homogenous puree. This would be the wet gravy required. Final few steps Steam or stir fry the cut vegetables. Once they are partially cooked, add the puree and salt to taste. Cook all the vegetables fully in that puree. Tofu or paneer may also be added while the veggies are still cooking. When the vegetables turn soft, the preparation is ready to be served. Offer the dish with phulka, chapatti or paratha to Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 25

26 Youth Section Shree Gajanan Maharaj and the Saga of the Patil clan By Sharada Joshi Shri Gajanan Maharaj as sturdy as Mountain THE Patil s were well respected and a highly revered family in Shegaon. From the very beginning this Patil family was very dedicated and considered service to saints as their principle duty. This family was extremely wealthy with lots of agricultural land in their possession along with many other businesses. Shri Gomaji Maharaj of Nagzari near Shegaon was their family guru. Shri Khanderao Patil had two sons - Kadtaji Patil and Kukaji Patil. While Kadtaji Patil was blessed with six sons, Kukaji Patil was bereft of any child. After the death of Kadtaji Patil at a relatively young age, Kukaji Patil looked after the sons of his brother and brought them up as his own children. Under the supervision of Kukaji, the family business flourished and the family was wealthier than before. KHANDU Patil, who was the eldest son of Kadtaji Patil, used to help his uncle Kukaji, in managing family business and under the guidance of his uncle he was able to achieve a lot of success. He had five younger brothers by the names, Ganapati, Narayan, Maruti, Hari and Krishnaji. These brothers were quite strong and would exercise every day at the gymnasium to become good wrestlers. They, being quite strong and proud of their material possessions, would often show a very bullish attitude towards other people, and thus managed to keep their control and stronghold on the people living in Shegaon. REGULARLY they would practice to fight with sticks and leather belts. Collectively they were able to maintain an upper hand in the village. They were forever ready for fights and quarrels just to show their strength and supremacy. They would abuse anybody and everybody who crossed their way. The saints too were not spared. They would very often sneer and behave belligerently towards to Shri Gajanan Maharaj, who had started staying at the Maruti Temple (Temple of Lord Hanuman). They could not bear to see Maharaj rising to fame and wanted to curb His sudden rise to glory. They would make fun of Him. They even challenged Maharaj to wrestling in order to prove His worth. In case He was not successful they would batter Him. SHRI Gajanan Maharaj would just laugh at their impudence but was never angry at their bullish attitude towards Him. Shri Bhaskar Patil, who was an ardent devotee of Maharaj and was staying at the temple with Him, could not bear to see this offensive attitude of the Patil clan towards Maharaj. He even suggested that Maharaj leave the temple and go to Akoli (a nearby place). MAHARAJ, however, assured Bhaskar that the Patil brothers were actually His devotees, but unfortunately lacked the sense of humility. As a matter of fact, they had a lot of awe and reverence for Him and He considered them like His own children as they had the blessings of great saints in their family (Shi Gomaji Maharaj was their family guru). MAHARAJ told Bhaskar that just like a tiger could never assume the behavior of a meek cow, a sword would be virtually useless if it was made from some soft material, and a fire would not be of any use if it were cold, similarly this impudent behavior was due the enormous wealth in their possession. Just like a very heavy downpour makes all the water turbid and muddy momentarily, in the same way, the attitude of the Patil brothers was pugnacious, but very soon they would start behaving responsibly, once they understand their mistakes of abusing the saintly people. ONE day Hari Patil came to the Maruti Mandir (Temple of Hanuman). He held Maharaj s hand and challenged Him to a wrestling bout. He told Maharaj to accompany him to the gym, where they could have the bout instead of his chanting Gan Gan Ganaat Bote (the hymn that Maharaj used to chant regularly on His fingers). Maharaj agreed to Hari Patil s proposal and followed him to the gym. ONCE inside the gym, Maharaj sat down in one place and asked Hari Patil to try and move Him from that position. Maharaj asked from Hari Patil a promise that in case Hari was not able to move Him, he would have to give whatever Maharaj wanted. For free circulation only Page 26

27 Youth Section THE bout started and Hari Patil tried with all his might to move Shri Gajanan Maharaj from His seating position. Maharaj did not move even by an inch. Hari kept on trying and very soon started perspiring. He was eventually fully drenched in his own sweat. He was unsuccessful in moving Maharaj from that position even a little. This made Hari Patil to understand how strong Shri Gajanan Maharaj was. He said to himself that even though Maharaj was so very lean and skinny, He was extremely strong like a mountain. Maharaj was as strong as an elephant, and even though Patil brothers had been behaving mischievously, Maharaj tolerated their insolent behavior by not paying much heed. Just like elephants ignore the cry of the jackals, the tiger ignores the barking of the dogs; similarly Maharaj had ignored their mischievous attitude. Unfortunately, they were not in a position to understand Him till that day. MAHARAJ then asked Hari Patil to give Him that which he had promised. Maharaj said, Lord Shri Krishna and Lord Balaram too were found of wrestling. Due their strength, they were able to defeat Mustik and Chanur, the bodyguards of King Kamsa. Just like Krishna and Balaram had taught wrestling to all the boys in Gokul and made them strong, you should train all the boys in Shegaon at wrestling and make everyone of them strong and sturdy. HARI Patil fell at the feet of Shri Gajanan Maharaj and asked for forgiveness. He promised to teach wrestling to the boys in Shegaon provided Shri Gajanan Maharaj blesses him. FROM that day onwards, Hari Patil changed his attitude. He stopped his abusive utterances towards Maharaj. He would not make fun of Maharaj or ridicule Him. This sudden change in the behavior of their brother towards Maharaj was quite queer some for his brothers to understand. They kept advising him not to bow down at the feet of the naked man. They reminded him of his duty as a Patil. In the interest of the public, it was their duty to caution the people of Shegaon from going astray. HOWEVER, Hari Patil, having realized the real nature of Shri Maharaj, did not heed his brother s advice. Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 27

28 Youth Section Canning left no impressions on Maharaj s body THE other Patil brothers were quite surprised seeing the submissive behavior of Hari towards Shri Gajanan Maharaj. They kept warning him about not bowing down at the feet of the naked man, who pretends Himself as a saintly person. The man was gaining popularity unnecessarily and that they must be taking all the precautions necessary to curb this rise to fame of this pretentious (in their view) mendicant. They thought it to be their foremost duty to caution the people from falling prey and becoming devotees of this, so called, Maharaj. THE purity of gold however can be established only after withstanding an acid test. The greatness of Sant Gynaneshwar was established when he made the buffalo recite the Vedas and Sant Tukaram showed his steadfastness when whipped by sugarcane. Similarly the Patil brothers (except the Hari Patil) decided to put Maharaj through a test in order to determine whether He was truly a saint. ONE day, they brought with them a bundle of sugarcanes to the Maruti temple where Maharaj was staying. While Hari Patil remained quiet, the other four brothers challenged Maharaj. The challenge put forward was that they would start canning Maharaj with the sugarcane sticks and Maharaj should not exhibit any canning marks on His body after the canning. They told Him that it was possible only for a true saint to accomplish. If Shri Gajanan Maharaj were indeed a true saint, then He would be able to withstand this test quite comfortably. Shri Gajanan Maharaj just smiled at the Patil brothers, but did not speak even a word. MAHARAJ chose to ignore whatever was being said to Him as a childish talk and did not pay much heed to it. Maruti, one of the brothers, even went on to say that because Maharaj was feeling scared of getting hurt by the sugarcanes, he was not responding. Then the other brother, Ganapati, said that Maharaj s silence itself is His consent for this test and we should go ahead. For free circulation only Page 28

29 Youth Section THE four brothers then took sugarcane sticks in their hands and started canning Shri Gajanan Maharaj. Upon seeing this, all the people who had come to the temple, started running helter-skelter. Shri Bhaskar Patil, who was a devotee of Maharaj, stayed around pleading with the Patil brothers to stop the canning. He told them to be at least compassionate towards the weak. Even though they did not consider Shri Maharaj to be a saint, they should not hurt him because he was bodily so thin and weak. MAHARAJ just kept smiling at the boys, but did not speak even a single word. Patil brothers continued the canning. Bhaskar used his mind and presented the arguments in order to convince the Patil brothers. He pleaded that true hunters would never use a gun to kill grasshoppers. Lord Hanuman had once set the entire Sri Lanka on fire but the huts that belonged to the poor and the helpless were spared and the devotees of the lord were unscathed. THE Patil brothers then replied that the people of Shegaon had started considering this Man to be Yoga-yogeshwar or the Lord of the Lords. Hence it was necessary that they had put Him to test to verify His greatness. They asked Bhaskar not to interfere and again started canning Maharaj. JUST like the farmers pound the husks to separate the grains, in the same way, the Patil brothers with all their might kept canning Shri Gajanan Maharaj incessantly with the sugarcane. Shri Gajanan Maharaj did not react to the canning in any way. As a matter of fact, the canning did not bother Him at all. Neither were there any canning marks on His body. Maharaj just kept smiling at the boys. THE Patil Brothers were getting tired. They also realized that there were absolutely no marks on the body of Shri Gajanan Maharaj. In fact, seeing Maharaj laughing at them, they felt scared and finally fell at His feet asking for forgiveness. They had finally realized that Maharaj was truly a Yogayogeshwar as He was able to tolerate the onslaught of such severe canning. SEEING their submissive behavior Maharaj asked them whether their hands were aching after the canning. In order to relieve them of the discomfort, He asked them to bring the remaining bundle of the sugarcanes to Him. He said that He would squeeze with His own hands the sugarcane juice for them to drink. HE then took the sugarcane sticks in His hand and squeezed them with so much of force that all the juice in the sugarcane sticks came out. After collecting the juice in a pot, He offered it to the boys. THE boys then deliberated on what had just happened. They thought that good strength could be had upon eating good and nutritious food, however, that strength would not remain permanently and wither away. But for a person to demonstrate such a strength as Maharaj had displayed, was only possible if the person possessed some form of supernatural strength. Hence, in all probability, Shri Gajanan Maharaj was a true Yogi and a great saint. THEY bowed down at His feet and went home. At home, they narrated the incident to their elder brother Khandu Patil. When Khandu Patil heard about all that had happened in the temple, He was overwhelmed with servitude towards Shri Gajanan Maharaj. He came rushing to the temple to offer his obeisances. SHRI Gajanan Maharaj thus won the hearts of the members of the Patil family. Then on, Patils started looking upon Maharaj with a lot of respect, awe and reverence, and worshipped Him as a true saint and Guru. IN their family, it was a practice to refer to each other using the first name. Hence, they too started calling Maharaj, Ganya or Gajya. They, however, did not mean to be disrespectful, and hence, Shri Gajanan Maharaj did not mind being referred that way. Jay Gajanan! Khandu Patil blessed with a Son FROM then onwards, the Patil family revered Shri Gajanan Maharaj and considered Him to be the Lord, who was staying among them. KUKAJI Patil was growing old and frail. He was quite concerned that Khandu Patil did not have any children. The family was very wealthy and prosperous, but an heir was what it lacked. Kukaji wished to see his grandson before he would breathe his last. He therefore told Khandu Patil to approach Shri Gajanan Maharaj and ask Him to bless the family with a son. Kukaji told Khandu that since Maharaj was a true saint, he would be able to fulfill the wish of a devotee. In fact, it was not at all impossible for the saints to grant such a wish. For free circulation only Page 29

30 Youth Section HE told Khandu not to delay and ask Maharaj to bless him with a child. Khandu Patil then approached Shri Gajanan Maharaj and expressed his desire for a child. MAHARAJ said to him that since he had so much wealth, farmlands, grinding mills, shops and other businesses, he should be asking Lord Brahma directly for an heir to all their family wealth. Maharaj tried to convey that rich people always think that nothing is impossible for them. Why had he not thought of doing this then? KHANDU Patil then philosophized that the crops only grow well when the soil receives sufficient water, which comes only from good rains. When there is a drought, the farmlands go completely barren and become totally useless. Only after it rained, the people could show their skills and make the crops grow. They were totally dependent on the rain, and only if god wished, there would be rainfall. His was in a similar situation. He was childless and wished to have a child of his own, and this could only happen, if and only if, God would intervene and bless his family with a child. WHEN Khandu Patil replied thus, Maharaj started laughing and said, You are asking me to give you a son, but this is a form of begging. Since you are asking for a son, so be it. You will soon have a son. Even though it is not in my hands, I can definitely pray for you and ask the Lord to grant you a son. Since you are begging for the son, you should name him Bhikya (Bhikya, is one who was begged) and every year you should give a sumptuous feast of aamaras (squeezed mango pulp) and puris to the people of the village. KHANDU Patil became very happy for having got His word. After a few days, his wife Gangabai conceived and soon a very beautiful son was born to them. As suggested by Maharaj, they named the child Bhikya. The poor were donated with plenty of wheat and jaggery. Sweets were distributed to all the people living in the village and many Brahmans were given a sumptuous feast of aamaras and puris. The tradition of the feast is prevalent in Shegaon even today. Shubham Bhavatu! Let there be Peace and Prosperity for all! Jay Gajanan! For free circulation only Page 30

31 Closure Concluding Words DEAR devotee brothers and sisters, IT is our greatest pleasure to bring you this special issue of our e-magazine, Gajanan-Gunjan on this very auspicious occasion of celebrating the centenary year of Shri Samadhi. We are extremely happy to present to you this literary offering made at the lotus feet of our Sadguru Mauli Shri Gajanan Maharaj. WE are proud to see that this e-magazine is now three years old. Many times doubts arose in mind whether or not devotees liking the content. At all those times, however, Shri Gajanan Maharaj some or other way assured and encouraged us to continue. Here we are now - with the tenth issue, which is a special issue, containing 31 pages as against our regular offering of 21 pages in total. We wish to extend our thanks to all contributors. 9) Food offerings (recipes for Prasadam) 10) Various seva ideas 11) Articles, bhajans, prayers on Lord Rama, Mother Sita and their pastimes PLEASE encourage children to complete various activities included in different issues of Gajanan-Gunjan and send them back to us for publication in future issues. FINALLY, we wish to gratefully acknowledge the original sources of some of the pictures and the works used in this magazine. Jai Gajanan! As you may know, we generally plan four issues a year, which is only possible with ample literary contributions from almost each one of you. This, being the centenary year, we wished many more contributions. However, understandably, devotees had planned for many different and special sevas and thus, could not contribute. THERE will be many more occasions in future. Please send in your - small or big - contributions as quickly as you can so that we can plan the issues in advance. PLEASE keep sending in your contributions as well as suggestions for improvement, if any, by to gajanangunjan@gmail.com. The idea is to improve, expand and enrich. YOUR contribution may encompass one or more of, but not limited to, the following topics: 1) Stories or articles related to Maharaj's life, Leelas and worship 2) Devotee's experiences 3) Thanksgiving for Mauli's help 4) Poems/ Songs/ Bhajans/ Prayers 5) Paintings/ Sketches/ Photos/ Rangoli pictures 6) Memorable Shegaon yatras 7) Devotees guide on Parayan, Shegaon visits, Japa, day-to-day dealings etc. 8) Memoirs on great devotees of Maharaj For free circulation only Page 31