Yogiraj Shri Shankar Maharaj was undoubtedly one of the greatest saints of Maharashtra in the modern age. He was an Auliya or Avadhut, a term used for yogis who have reached perfection and have achieved Siddhis (occult powers). He belonged to the Nath Panth (Sect), though he did not follow its their dress or mannerisms. He took samadhi in Pune at the age of about 150 years on April 28th 1947, an event which he had postponed for seventeen years at the request of his disciple Dr Nagesh Dhaneshwar. His Samadhi Mandir which houses his physical body is in Pune on the Pune-Satara road about 10 Km from Pune Railway station. Hundreds of devotees visit the Mandir every day to pay their respects and receive blessings. It is strongly believed and experienced by his devotees that even though Maharaj is no longer in his physical body, he still looks after the welfare of his devotees. There are many instances reported by his devotees and disciples of his having appeared before them either in his own form or through the bodies of others in the time of crisis.

Leading people towards God Maharaj did not have any fixed headquarters, no Math. He was his own headquarters. Neither did he have any possessions. He did not stay in one place for long. His disciples' homes were his own. He moved mainly between Bombay, Pune, Ahmednagar (Nagar), Solapur, Nashik and Akluj (Malinagar Sugar factory) where he had numerous disciples and devotees. Maharaj travelled widely to visit his devotees who considered themselves to be privileged to have Maharaj visit and live with them.

Wherever Maharaj went, he organised through his devotees, festivals or programs of Bhajans, discourses (Kirtan) and reading of religious philosophical texts (Parayan) like Dnyaneshwari (the famous commentary in Marathi on Gita written by Dnyaneshwar Maharaj seven hundred years ago), Dasbodh (the spiritual and practical guide by Samarth Ramdas), Gurucharitra (the chronicle of the two avatars of Shri Dattatreya, Shripad Shrivallabh and Shri Narasimha Saraswarti) and Bhagwat (a Purana depicting the glory of Lord Vishnu), thus turning peoples' minds towards God. He used to ask worthy persons to give discourses and used to sit quietly and listen to Kirtans etc. Maharaj particularly loved Dnyaneshwari which he fondly called Dnyani. Maharaj did not give discourses himself because of his lisped speech. But he motivated his disciples to give discourses on Dnyaneshwari. In Pune, Taisaheb Mehendale, wife of Raosaheb Mehendale, a well known barrister, was one such disciple who regularly gave not only discourses on Dnyneshwari but arranged celebration of other festivals like Gokulashtami and Shivaratri which hundreds of people attended.

He had Muslim devotees too. One of his disciples in Pune was Khansaheb who owned a Watch Company in Pune. Another was Mr Nuri from Bombay, a friend of Raosahb Mehendale. Many other Muslims took advice from Maharaj. He used to answer to their difficulties by quoting extracts from the holy Koran. He used to say that Islam means peace. Prophet Mohammed preached peace, advised not to kill, not to steal, not to tell lies, not to spend time idly in luxury, not to charge interest on loan etc. He told the Muslim devotees that real mosque lies in a pure heart. The true teaching of Islam is to keep infinite faith in God and love is God.

Birth and early age Actually very little definite information is available about the birth and early life of Maharaj. Whatever little is known is from what his devotees claim he had told them but unfortunately these accounts differ in details. For example there are three different stories about his birth, two of them saying that Maharaj was found in a jungle by his childless foster-parents who were instructed in a vision to search for him. But the most reliable is probably what Maharaj himself told his disciple Dr. Nagesh Dhaneshwar. According to this, he was born in about year 1800 at Mangalwedhe (near Pandharpur) in a brahmin family named Upasani. This was during the rule of the last Peshwa at Pune from whose hands Maharaj, as a brahmin boy, had received Dakshina. When he was a boy, events led to his meeting Swami Samarth of Akkalkot who gave him sparshdiksha i.e. initiation by touch. Later he travelled to Himalayas for hard Tapas

Return from the Himalayas On returning from Himalayas he spent time with Siddha-yogis in and around Vriddheshwar (near Nagar) which is known as the centre for meditation of many Nath Siddhas. During the early British rule in Pune, a British collector developed faith in Maharaj and considered him as his Guru. Maharaj went with him to England and returned ten years later after his disciple reached perfection in the yoga path. It is not clear when exactly these events occurred but it must have been much after 1814, the year when the British took over Pune after defeating Peshwas and established a civil administration.

There is a puzzling aspect in the accounts of his activities from the time he left Himalayas and returned to Maharashtra. For example, Maharaj is said to have told that he was known by other names elsewhere. In Gwalior region he was known as Gourishankar and took samadhi there. He once told that he had been at Raver in Khandesh region where he was known as Kunwarswami and that his samadhi temple is at a place called Waghoda where he took samadhi in 1878. (This is the also the year when his Guru Shri Swami Samarth of Akkalkot also took samadhi). The puzzling thing is that Maharaj left samadhis in these places and appeared in body as Shankar Maharaj in Maharashtra. Yet one must also remember that he was a Siddha-yogi and such feats would not have been impossible for him. Nevertheless it does present a puzzling account to the common man who would be happier with a materially rational account. Another piece of information received from Maharaj himself was that he spent some time with famous singers and Pakhavaj (a two sided percussion instrument) players and became a talented singer and Pakhavaj player, but gave up these activities after Shri Swami Samarth told him not to waste his time in such pursuits. Shri Swami Samarth taught him various aspects of yoga and tantra system and then authorised him to have his own disciples. But again chronology of these events is lacking.

Return to Maharashtra Some sixty to seventy years must have passed between his leaving for Himalayas and appearing in Maharashtra. He first came to Solapur and stayed in the Shubharai Math with Janardanbua, the chief of the Math. Janardanbua became one of the main disciples of Maharaj. In later years also, whenever Maharaj came to Solapur he used to stay in the Shubharai Math. From there he visited the Samadhi of his Guru at Akkalkot about 30Km distant. His Solapur visit must have been around the year 1900 or a little earlier.<P>

From Solapur, Maharaj went to Triambakeshwar near Nashik, where one of the twelve Jyotirlingas is located. Here he stayed with Mr Rambhau Akolkar, a lawyer. Akolkar family had a cow which was not giving milk. Maharaj asked to milk her and the cow started giving milk. From Nashik, Maharaj came to Pune. It is not clear when exactly he came or whom he first met in Pune. Earliest written memories about him date back from the early twentieth century. In about 1908, at Nagar 120 Km from Pune, he appeared mysteriously in the garb of a tall fakir before Dr Dhaneshwar, when the latter was a boy and yet to become his favoured disciple. Even earlier, in around 1900 he had saved Dr Dhaneshwar's would-be father-in-law from serious illness in Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh. In 1927 he again met Dr Dhaneshwar at Daund, a town close to Pune. Dr Dhaneshwar was on his way back to his home-town nagar. Maharaj this time was in his usual bent appearance. Maharaj followed him to Nagar. He had many disciples in Nagar, well known among them being Dr Dhaneshwar and his father, and Major Ganesh Abhyankar and his son Dattatreya Abhyankar.

The earliest memories about Maharaj from Pune proper are from 1938 onwards, written by Yogi Dnyananath (Mr Bapu Ranade) who met Maharaj in that year. Maharaj at that time already had many devotees and disciples in Pune, well-known among them being barrister Raosaheb Mehendale and his wife Taisaheb Mehendale, Mama Dhekne, the singer Yellubai Mane, Baburao Rudra, Mr Vasudeo M. Pandit, Yogi Dnyananath and Mr S. B. Patwardhan. (The last three are still living). Maharaj chose Pune for his samadhi. Maharaj had many disciles in Solapur and at the Malinagar Sugar Factory at Akluj near Solapur also. Mr G.K. Pradhan, Mr Keshavbhai Asher and his wife Maniben from Akluj/Mumbai. Shri Janardanbua of the Shubharaya Math of Solapur, Mr Omkarnath Bhasme from Solapur. Mr V. K. Kulkarni from Akluj, now living in Kolhapur. His disciples came from all strata of society.

He blessed many families and individuals during this period guiding them in the spiritual path. People came to Maharaj both for material as well as spiritual blessings. Those of the latter category were few but it was those that Maharaj loved best.

His appearance and habits Though Maharaj belonged to Nath Panth, he never followed the dress or other mannerisms of the sect. In fact, looking at Maharaj, one would not have believed he was a yogi of the highest calibre. The external appearance of Maharaj has been described as that of Ashtavakra or bent in eight places. Maharaj had a short stature, but was ajanubahu i.e. having long hands reaching below his knees. Most noticeable were his large and bright eyes and a childlike expression on his face. The traditional photograph of Maharaj depicts him with a beard, but towards later years he was clean shaven. Many photographs and pictures of Maharaj with clean shaven face wearing different types of garments may be seen at the Samadhi in Pune. He often had brandy bottle in his hand and a hunter whip with him. He often used to address people by the swear words, but without malice. Actually it was believed that when Maharaj abused somebody it got rid of that person's past Karmas or misfortunes. His immense kindness and compassion were consistent with his being a Nath Panthi.

Some yogis behave normally in society and live, at least externally, as per social norms but some of those who have reached perfection are beyond all social bonds and rules and may behave abnormally. Some behave like a child (Balavritti or childlike tendency), some may behave eccentrically like madmen (Unmattavritti or excited tendency) while some may behave in very strange way living like a ghost in odd places (Pishacchavritti or Ghost tendency). As they enjoy internal bliss of the experience of the Brahman they are not much bothered about the external world except that they continue guiding and helping people in their own way. In this state he may not even bother if he eats or sleeps or wears clothes or whether it is hot, cold or humid. Many Avadhuts remain in one of the above three states. Maharaj was known to exhibit a mixture of the three tendencies.

Maharaj was fond of smoking Honeydew (popularly known as Pila Hathi) cigarettes. He was also fond of drinking brandy and appeared to be often intoxicated. He used to like the scent (attar) of Hina and loved music. Wherever he went his disciples would welcome him and he stayed with whomever he pleased to stay, rich or poor. Maharaj used to drink with a purpose. His drunk appearance helped keeping unwanted people away. Only those people who saw Maharaj beyond the external looks could come to him. There are incidents when Maharaj drank and another person nearby got drunk. Some people to whom Maharaj gave a glass of brandy and asked them to drink it told later that it was not liquor but a nice testing sherbet or coconut water.

Maharaj knew many other saints well. He and J. Krishnamurthi knew each other and had met briefly at Pune Railway station when the latter was in transit. There was a female fakir named Hazarat Babajan and a male fakir called Fakirbaba in Pune whom Maharaj visited often. Like his Guru Shri Swami Samarth, Maharaj was not an orthodox person. He never bothered about the external formalities like caste barriers, untouchability and external cleanliness about which the orthodox yogis are so particular. In fact there is no record of Maharaj ever having met the orthodox yogis in Pune or elsewhere.

All saints have miracles happening around them and Maharaj is no exception. Maharaj used his powers to help his devotees. What looks to us as miracles is however not a very unusual feat for an yogi. The miracles include knowledge of past and future events, creation of matter, going from one place to another instantly, being in several places at the same time, feeding a large multitude from a small quantity of food and so on. Maharaj did these miracles to draw people to spiritual path, teach them basic philosophy of spiritual life and to benefit them in general.

SAMADHISeventeen years had passed since the time Maharaj had postponed his samadhi at the request of Dr Dhaneshwar. Maharaj decided to take samadhi on Shukla Ashtami of month Vaishakh by Hindu lunar calender, when the planetary positions were proper. This fell on Monday 28^th April 1947, Ten days before the event Maharaj broke all outside contacts. Only the usual group used to visit him at Mama Dhekne's house where he was staying. Not a word was spoken. On the Saptami day, that is the day before the samadhi, he told Mami (wife of Mama Dhekne) , "Give me just a cup of tea. No cigarettes also. Inside the shelf spread a small mattress and keep a cushion. I am going to take bath and sit there. I don't want to speak a word nor meet anyone. The door should not be opened." And he did accordingly. Mama and Mami were sitting the whole night in front of the shelf keeping watch. At four o'clock in the morning voice came from inside the shelf, "Make further arrangements. Take care of this material body. This flame of Dnyanadeo is now leaving it."

Word spread. It was April 28th. People gathered to have a last sight of the body. Next day around noon the body was taken in procession to the place selected earlier by Maharaj and by the route also indicated by him. In the background of sounds of "Bm Bm Bholenath" in praise of lord Shiva the body was kept in the ground at about five o'clock in the evening and in no time only a mound of earth covered with garlands was all that could be seen. Everybody returned from that lonely jungle except Mr Baburao Rudra who tended to the samadhi and the daily service there for several years.

APPEARANCES AFTER SAMADHI Even after samadhi on 28th April 1947, Maharaj continues to meet his disciples, guide and help them. This is not unusual for yogi saints who continue to shower their benevolence even after taking samadhi. Whenever their assistance is prayed for by a devotee (or even without it), they are known to appear before them physically or in dreams. Shri Narasimha Saraswati, Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, Gajanan Maharaj, Shri Saibaba of Shirdi are a few well-known examples of such Yogi saints besides Shri Shankar Maharaj.

His physical appearances after samadhi may look strange to a materialistic person even though there is a large number of instances where, in the western world, Jesus Christ and his mother Virgin Mary are said to have appeared before many people in vision either to help or to strengthen their faith. The best example is that of Bernadette whose vision of Virgin Mary on 11th February 1858 gave the western world the gift of the famous curative waters of Lourdes in France. Those familiar with yogic powers take these things for granted.

Mr V.M.Pandit, one of the disciples of Maharaj still living, recounts how Maharaj appeared through the medium of the bodies of his sister-in-law and of Dr Dhaneshwar to save him from personal problems. Late Mr Datta Abhyankar also has recounted to me how Maharaj visited him and saved his two year old daughter from a serious illness nearly eighteen years after samadhi. It is a confirmed belief of his devotees that Maharaj had been using the body of Dinesh Kulkarni as a medium until recently and many people consider him no different from Shri Shankar Maharaj. I have met half a dozen persons who have been saved by Maharaj from personal crisis when they had even not heard about maharaj. Now they are sincere devotees of Maharaj.

 What Maharaj taught Maharaj did not give discourses himself but as mentioned earlier, used other disciples like Taisaheb Mehendale to teach the principles of Dnyaneshwari which he loved. Many of his teachings are well brought out in the two novels by Mr G. K. Pradhan. He used his disciples to help mankind. He was very particular for example that Dr Dhaneshwar did not use his medical practice to amass wealth but to serve the sick.

Maharaj never encouraged anybody to take up spiritual path at the cost of one's worldly duties. For example he never allowed Dr Dhaneshwar to participate in the group during his consultancy hours. He said, "Duty first". He encouraged to carry out your worldly duties and simultaneously progress spiritually through proper attitude to life as described in Dnyaneshwari. He also said, "You must not give up efforts. If you have to appear for an exam then it is you who have to prepare for it." What he meant was that even if a Guru gives guidance and strength it is your own efforts that make your spiritual progress.

Some people asked him once about which Guru they should follow. His reply was : If you want to find truth then be your own Guru. Do not run about searching for a Guru. When Sattva attribute of your mind has grown sufficiently then your Guru will automatically come to you. Do not expect your Guru to solve your material problems.

He also told, "Serve your parents who have given you birth and taken care of you since childhood. That will guide you in your life and make you happy. Also serve the family deity. The family deity takes care of your family. Worship regularly. This will bring regularity in your life. Your nature will change and the Guru designated for you will come to you."

He also said, "Everyone in this world is after happiness. But nobody bothers to think about what really is happiness. Unfulfilled desires, jealousy, greed, ambition etc. create sorrow in our life. Eliminating them can alone create happiness in our life. It is a mistake to think that happiness can be obtained by external things without getting rid of our internal shortcomings. Reading various kinds philosophies can only create ego. We have lost the ability to think independently. We have forgotten that happiness and peace are to be obtained through one’s own efforts."

"I never feel I want this and that. Therefore I do not know what is pleasure and what is sorrow. There is ceaseless bliss in me. There is nothing left for me to gain and I have nothing that can be lost. I never feel that I should preach some definite dogma. There is no veil between what God has created and me."

He warned, "Do not go after Tantric practices. Such people waste their life and finally resort to cheating. It is much better to achieve success through your own efforts than through the Tantric techniques." This must be considered as a warning from an authority since maharaj himself was well versed in Tantras.

Some people asked Maharaj about the fear which they felt about many things like body, death etc. Maharaj said, consistent with Dnyaneshwari, that everything in this world is destructible therefore there should not be any fear about that. One should realise that you are not the body but the soul and the soul is indestructible. Once this is realised bliss will replace fear. One should also be confident that God is your great saviour.

Maharaj loved Dnyaneshwari, which he fondly called by the name Dnyani. An advice Maharaj gave to almost all was to study Dnyaneshwari in depth. It is said that one should experience (what is said in) one at least ovi of this great work. Dnyaneshwar Maharaj was a great yogi, second in the line of Gahininath with whom Maharaj, according to what he once told Dr Dhaneshwar ar Vridheshwar, was closely connected in earlier lives.

,Motto of Maharaj may be summarised in the words of Dr Dhaneshwar "The aim of a Nath Panthi is to help people without bothering about his own personal liberation. Because of the compassion for all living, he takes birth again and again all over the earth in all communities and not necessarily a ordained a Nath Panthi during that birth. It is because of such selfless liberated souls that the fabric of human society is maintained."

Late Sheikh Abdul Razakshah Biyabani. a retired police officer and a spiritually elevated person. who had studied in depth not only Koran as a Muslim but Gita and Dnyaneshwari as well gave in 1979 or may be 1980, a discourse in the Samadhi premises in which he said,

"Do you think that Shri Shankar Maharaj is not present here? He is everywhere. But this Samadhi is the symbol of his eternal spirit. Do not disfigure this statue here....".

This is then Yogiraj Shri Shankar Maharaj who was and still is a guiding light for all those who need it. You may search for him and may not find him but he will surely find you if you are receptive.