Bhausaheb Maharaj ( - c. 1914) was the founder of the Inchegeri Sampradaya, to which the well-known Indian

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Nisargadatta Maharaj Nisargadatta Maharaj (born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli; 17 April 1897 – 8 September 1981) was an Indian guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and Lingayat Shaivism. ...

belonged.

Biography

Background

Bhausaheb Maharaj was born in 1843 as Venkatesh Khanderao Deshpande. Bhausaheb Maharaj belonged to the Deshastha Brahmin caste, the same caste to which the thirteenth century

Varkari Warkari ( Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: �aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the In ...

saint and philosopher

Dnyaneshwar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi ...

belonged, the 16th century sant

Eknath Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi pronunciation: knath (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movement ...

, and the 17th century saint and spiritual poet

Samarth Ramdas Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman. Early life Ramdas or previously N ...

. Dnyaneshwar was universally acclaimed for his commentary on the

Bhagvad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic '' Mahabharata'' (c ...

. Eknath published an extensive poem called the ''Eknathi Bhagwat'' in the 16th century. Other works of Eknath include the ''Bhavartha Ramayana'', the ''Rukmini Swayamwara'' and the ''Swatma Sukha''.

, who was also the spiritual adviser to Shivaji, wrote the ''

Dasbodh ''Dāsbodh'', loosely meaning "advice to the disciple" in Marathi, is a 17th-century bhakti (devotion) and jnana (insight) spiritual text. It was orally narrated by the saint Samarth Ramdas to his disciple, Kalyan Swami. The ''Dāsbodh'' prov ...

''.

Spiritual life

According to Kotnis, Bhausaheb Maharj was looked upon as the reincarnation of

Sant Tukaram Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...

(1577–1650), a prominent

Sant and spiritual poet of the Bhakti, who had taken birth again in the Neelwani Lingayat community to finish his work of spreading the knowledge of Self-realisation. He met his guru Sri Nimbargi at the age of fourteen. At the request of Nimbargi, Bhausaheb Maharaj Deshpande (1843 Umdi - 1914 Inchgiri)Gurudev R.D. Ranade, ''Sadguru Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj Umdikar''
/ref> received mantra initiation from Shri Raghunathpriya Sadhu Maharaj, who was an ardent follower and a devoted disciple of Shri Gurulingajangam Maharaj.R.D. Ranade (1982), ''Mysticism In Maharashtra'' Bhausaheb Maharaj became a disciple of Nimbargi Maharaj.

Teachings

The Ant's Way

Bhausaheb Maharaj's teachings, and those of his student Gurudeo Ranade, have been called ''Pipilika Marg '',
/ref> "the Ant's way", the way of meditation, while the teachings of his student Siddharameshwar Maharaj, and Siddharameshwar Maharaj's disciples Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ranjit Maharaj have been called ''Vihangam Marg'', "the Bird's Way", the direct path to Self-discovery. Ranjit Maharaj comments:

Nama-Yoga

Bhausaheb Maharaj teachings were collected in a book called ''Nama-Yoga'', a term coined by the compilers and translators of the book, whereas Bhausaheb Maharaj himself called it Jnana Marga, just like Nimbargi Maharaj did. The editors wrote:

Lineage

After his awakening he was authorized by Nimbargi to carry on the lineage, and established the Inchegeri Sampraday. Sri Bhausaheb Maharaj had many students, among which were: * Sri Amburao Maharaj of Jigjivani (1857 Jigajevani - 1933 Inchgiri)Gurudev R.D. Ranade, ''Sadguru Shri Amburao Maharaj''
/ref> * Sri Gurudev Ranade of NimbalGurudev R.D. Ranade, ''Shri Gurudev R. D. Ranade''
/ref>
/ref> * Girimalleshwar Maharaj * Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1875-1936)

Notes

References

Sources

Published sources

* * * * * * * *

Web-sources

External links

* ttp://www.shantikuteer.org/page.php?pi=21 ShantiKuteer Ashram, ''Bhausaheb Maharaj''
balkrushnamauli.com, ''Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj (Nandeshwar)''
{{Hindudharma Inchegeri Sampradaya Marathi Hindu saints