Gulabrao Maharaj

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Gulab Gondoji Mohod (पांडूरंगनाथ महाराज)
Gulabrao Maharaj on a 2018 stamp of India
Personal life
Born	Gulab Gondoji Mohod 6 July 1881 Amravati, Maharashtra, India
Died	20 September 1915 (aged 34) Pune, India
Honors	Sant (Saint), Dev
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Adwaita, Varkari, Hinduism
Religious career
Guru	Dnyaneshwar

Gulabrao Maharaj (6 July 1881 – 27 September 1915) was a Hindu saint from Maharashtra, India.^[1] A blind person, he was credited with giving a vision of life to the people.^[2] He wrote 139 books on various subjects containing more than 6000 pages, 130 commentaries and about 25,000 stanza in poetry in his life of 34 years.

On 6 July 1881, Gulabrao Maharaj was born in a Maharashtrian Maratha-Kunbi family to Gonduji Mohod and Sou.^[3] His full name was Gulabrao Gundoji Mohod. Alokabai Mohod from the village of Madhan near Amravati. At the age of nine months, he lost his eyesight due to wrong medication. He was four years old, when his mother died, he then stayed with his maternal grandmother at the place known as Loni Takli for about six years.

There was a community well in front of the house where he stayed and the women from the village would come to fetch water. Gulabrao would call them all by their names, and the women were surprised that the blind boy knew their individual names. He was found in Samadhi stage in the night. Initially, his grand mother and others were frightened to see Gulabrao sitting in a yoga position with his respiration stopped completely. However, some elderly and wise men understood the conditions of Gulabrao and asked his relatives to refrain from disturbing him during samadhi. He liked holy songs (Bhajans), holy verses (Shlokas) and reading occult books. He would ask his friends to read the books and would repeat the contents immediately. At the age of ten years, he knew the Vedas and Shastras.

The Mohod family of Madhan near Amravati migrated from a place near the Gujarat and Rajasthan state border, in the 11th century. At that time, the family was known by the surname 'Mohite' which later changed to 'Mohod'.

Sant Dnyaneshwar gave him Drushant when he was 19 years of age and a mantra of his own name. After that Drushtant, the first photo (picture) of Sant Dnyaneshwar was drawn by an artist based on the directions of Maharaj and one can see this photo at the Samadhi temple in Alandi, Maharashtra. Gulabrao was also known as "Pradnyachakshu Madhuradwaitacharya Gulabrao Maharaj". He was called "Pradnyachakshu", though he was blind, he was a master of Vedanta philosophy and many occult and physical sciences. 'Pradnya' means intelligence and "chakshu" means eyes (in Sanskrit). He had divine powers which included the 'intellectual eyesight'. His mind could read and grasp any book in the world, and in any language, that he decided to learn. His mind did not need the body-organ like 'eyes' to see the world.

"Madhuradvait" was the new school of thought introduced by him. The people well versed in Vedanta know that Advaita (non-dualism) philosophy of Vedanta does not accept any name and form visible or non-visible that could be different from God (soul, Atma or Brahma).

Vedanta proclaims, "When everything has become one-soul, where is any other thing to smell? Who will see whom? Who will listen to whom? who will talk to whom? Where is any other thing to think about? Who will know whom? How to know him, who knows everything?" "What exists is only one thing i.e. Brahma and what we see and experience as world is illusionary" is the teachings of Advaita. Madhurya Bhakti is the devotional love for lord Krishna. In Vedanta all the three words, that is devotee, devotion and deity are not different from each other where as in Madhurya Bhakti one has to be a deity and other a devotee. The saint who possessed eternal knowledge since childhood by dint of providence due to his past karma, had advocated Madhurya bhakti for the "after-attaining-knowledge" stage to his disciple Gulabrao.

In 1896, he married Mankarnika, daughter of Ganaji Bhuyar a farmer from a nearby village.^[1]

Though he had lost his eyesight at an early age, he wrote about 133 books on various subjects containing more than 6000 pages, 130 commentaries, and 25,000 stanzas in poetry.

From 1897, he started writing essays and poetry on religious philosophy (from the age of sixteen). He would visit the nearby cities, villages, and towns, and meet people to discuss various topics of religion. In 1901, the saint of the 12th century Sant Dnyneshwar Maharaj met Gulabrao and accepted him as his disciple. Sant Gulabrao would call himself to be the wife of Lord Krishna and the daughter of Sant Dnyneshwara. He married lord Krishna in the year 1905. He used to dress and wear ornaments like a woman. He would lay kumkum (a red spot) on his forehead and put on a Mangala sutra (a gold chain with black beads) around his neck which is worn by the Hindu married women.

In the year 1902, at the age of 21, he wrote a commentary on the theories of Darwin and Spencer. He had written books on various subjects like dhyan, yoga, and bhakti and commentaries on ancient treatises. He wrote "Manas Ayurveda" (psychological part in the Ayurveda). He had given guidelines to those who wanted to attain salvation and eternal knowledge. As a blind man, he could write on subjects like Yoga, Upanishads and Brahmasutras and occult sciences which are difficult subjects to understand even by educated and intelligent people. His writing style was of his own and he put forth his views, keeping the Vedic discipline. He revealed many secrets of the Hindu religious sciences that the saints did not generally make public.

Though he was from the Kunbi caste,^[3] most of his disciples were Brahmins. He knew Vedas without studying them due to "Atmadnyan" (knowledge of self-realization), and he was not bound by old rules. He used to respect Vedas, Brahmanas, and the guidance received from the wealth of old Indian religious treatises. He was upfront and would defeat many pundits and intelligent people in the debate on the Shastras (sciences).

He died at the age of 34. It is found in India that the great persons who really had lived only for the cause of welfare of mankind were recognized by the people after their death only. Saint Gulabrao Maharaj became popular after his death, on 20 September 1915. Many of his disciples attained the knowledge of self-realization and are also known as saints. His main disciple, Baba Maharaj Pandit (death 1964) who wrote many books was recognized, as an intellectual and a saint. His commentary on "Bhavartha Deepika" written by Dnyaneshwara Maharaj is published by Geeta press, Gorakhpur.

Sant Gulabrao Maharaj was none other than Swami Becharanand Maharaj in his earlier life/avatar (गुलाबराव महाराजांचे चरित्र) from Zinzuwada Gujarat, (1765-1880), 8 miles from Sidhapur. He had done penance for 12 years in a jungle near to Naleshwar temple, by having lemons as a food intake. He spent his further life at Rajasbai Mataji temple, Zinzuwada, Gujarat.

Balavantrao Marathe based in Maharashtra was posted in Zhinzuwada from 1864 to 1867 as a post master. He used to visit Becharanand maharaj for seeking his blessings with his wife. Post retirement, he returned to his home in Amravati, Maharashtra and one day when he went to the Amba Devi temple there, touched the bells and chanted "Jai Jagdamb", he heard someone referring him by his name "Who's there, Balvantrao Marathe?". Balavantrao looked amazed and went near to the person who had called his name, he was none other than Gulabrao Maharaj. Maharaj said "Balavantrao, Looks like you have forgotten me" and told him "Some of the people from there (Zinzuwada) have also accompanied me today (In this life)".

Since then, Balavantrao regularly visited Gulabrao's place. Many times devotees insisted Balavantrao to reveal story about how he learned of Maharaj, but he used to avoid it and later agreed to explain the details about Becharanand Maharaj.

• Kopardekar, Sharad D. (1985). Gulabrao Maharaj: a biography. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. OCLC 14187040.