Sant Dnyaneshwar
Dnyaneshwar (IAST: Jñāneśvar), also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli (1275–1296) was a 13th-century Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition. In his short life of 21 years, he authored Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) and Amrutanubhav. These are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, under the patronage of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, and these are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. Dnyaneshwar's ideas reflect the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy and an emphasis on Yoga and oneness of Vishnu and Shiva. His legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram, and he has been one of the foundations of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra.
Background
Dnyaneshwar was born in 1275 (on the auspicious day of Krishna Janmashtami) in a Marathi-speaking Deshastha Brahmin family in Apegaon village on the bank of Godavari river near Paithan in Maharashtra during the reign of the Yadava king Ramadevarava. The kingdom with its capital Devagiri enjoyed relative peace and stability, the king was a patron of literature and arts.Biographical details of Dnyaneshwar's life are preserved in the writings of his contemporary Namdev and his disciples Satyamalanath and Sachchidanand. The various traditions give conflicting accounts of details of Dnyaneshwar's life. The date of composition of his work Dnyaneshwari (1290 CE), however is undisputed. According to the more accepted tradition on Dnyaneshwar's life, he was born in 1275 CE and he attained Sanjeewan (alive) samadhi in 1296 CE. Other sources state he was born in 1271 CE.
Life
The biographical details of Dnyaneshwar's short life of about 21 years are contested and its authenticity is in doubt. The available accounts are filled with hagiographic legends and miracles he performed, such as his ability to make a buffalo sing the Vedas and humble a yogi by riding a moving wall.According to the accounts that have survived, Dnyaneshwar's father Vitthalapant was the kulkarni (hereditary accountant, usually Brahmin, who maintained land and tax records in villages) of a village called Apegaon on the banks of the Godavari River in Maharashtra, a profession he had inherited from his ancestors. He married Rakhumabai, the daughter of the Kulkarni of Alandi. Even as a householder, Vitthalapant longed for spiritual learning. His disillusionment with life grew as a result of the death of his father and because he had no children from his marriage. Eventually, with his wife's consent, he renounced worldly life and left for Varanasi to become a sannyasin (renunciate). According to another version of these events,
The ancestors of Vitthalpant (according to the narration in "Bhaktamal " published by Geeta Press Gorakhpur ) were native of Mithila. The Great-Grandfather of Shri Dnyaneshwar, Shri Harinath Mishraji was a devotee of Bhagwan Pundariknath, hence he settled in Alandi, near Pandharpur. The Grandfather of Dnyaneshwar Shri Raghunath Mishraji was also a spiritual and devotee of Bhagwaan. Shri Vitthalpantji son of Shri Raghunath Mishraji, later on, married Rukminibai, daughter Shri Shiddhopantji.
Once a saint came to the house of Vitthalpant, and informed him that he is proceeding to Kashi, to take Darshan of Great Sant Shri Ramanandacharya. Shri Vitthal pant accompanied him. On the way, he realized that the Sant accompanying him none but Vishwamitraji. Ultimately he reached Kashi in the Ashram of the Great Sant Shri Ramanandacharyaji where he took Diksha from him and he was renamed as " Bhavanandji"
Swami Shri Ramanandcharyaji while on the way to Rameshvaram stayed for some time at Alandi, where Rukminibai met him. Swamiji on learning that his disciple Shri Bhavanandji is the husband of Rukminibai, he by his Yogi Sadhana ordered Shri Bhavanandji to return to Grihasth Ashram. In obedience of orders of his Guru, Shri Bhavanandji returned and continued his family life. According to another version of these events,
Dnyaneshwar's father Vitthalapant came from a long line of teachers of the Nath yogi sect and being deeply religious, he went on a pilgrimage to Varanasi. There he met a guru (spiritual teacher), decided to renounce without his wife's consent.
Vitthalapant was initiated as a sannyasin by his spiritual teacher, Rama Sharma, who is also called Ramananda, Nrisimhashrama, Ramadvaya and Shripad in various sources. (He was not Ramananda, the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya.) When Ramashrama discovered that Vitthalapant had left his family behind to become a monk, he instructed Vitthalapant to go back to his wife and perform his duties as a householder. After Vitthalapant returned to his wife and settled down in Alandi, Rakhumabai gave birth to four children—Nivruttinath (1273 CE), Dnyaneshwar (1275 CE), Sopan (1277 CE) and Muktabai (1279 CE).
Orthodox Brahmins of the day saw a renunciate returning to his life as a householder as heresy.Dnyaneshwar and his brothers were denied the right to have the sacred thread ceremony for the full admission to the Brahmin caste. According to Pawar, this meant excommunication from the Brahmin caste.
Vitthalapant eventually left the town for Nashik with his family. One day while performing his daily rituals, Vitthalapant came face to face with a tiger. Vitthalapant and three of his four children escaped, but Nivruttinath became separated from the family and hid in a cave. While hiding in the cave he met Gahaninath, who initiated Nivruttinath into the wisdom of the Nath yogis. Later, Vitthalapant returned to Alandi and asked the Brahmins to suggest a means of atonement for his sins; they suggested giving up his life as penance. Vitthalapant and his wife gave up their lives, within a year of each other by jumping into the Indrayani in the hope their children might be able to lead lives free of persecution. Other sources and local folk tradition claim that the parents committed suicide by jumping in the Indrayani River. Another version of the legend states that Vitthalapant, the father threw himself into Ganges River to expiate his sin.
Dnyaneshwar and his siblings were accepted by and initiated into the Nath Hindu live tradition to which their parents already belonged, where the three brothers and the sister Muktabai all became celebrated yogis and Bhakti poets.
Travel and Samadhi
After Dnyaneshwar had written Amrutanubhav, the siblings visited Pandharpur where they met Namdev, who became a close friend of Dnyaneshwar. Dnyaneshwar and Namadev embarked on a pilgrimage to various holy centers across India where they initiated many people into the Varkari sect; Dnyaneshwar's devotional compositions called Abhangas are believed to have been formulated during this period. On their return to Pandharpur, Dnyaneshwar and Namadev were honored with a feast in which, according to Bahirat, many contemporary saints such as "Goroba the potter, Sanvata the gardener, Chokhoba the untouchable and Parisa Bhagwat the Brahmin" participated. Some scholars accept the traditional view that Namdev and Dnyaneshwar were contemporaries; however, others such as W. B. Patwardhan, R. G. Bhandarkar and R. Bharadvaj disagree with this view and date Namdev to the late 14th century instead.After the feast, Dnyaneshwar desired to go into sanjeevan samadhi, a practice to voluntarily die after entering into a deep meditative state. Preparations for the Sanjeevan Samadhi were made by Namdev's sons. Regarding Sanjeevan Samadhi, Dnyaneshwar himself has emphatically talked about the relationship between higher awareness and light or pure energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. On the 13th day of the dark half of the Kartik month of the Hindu Calendar, in Alandi, Dnyaneshwar, then was twenty one year old entered into Sanjeevan samadhi. His samadhi lies in the Siddhesvara Temple complex in Alandi. Namdev and other bystanders grieved his passing. According to tradition, Dnyaneshwar was brought back to life to meet Namdev when the latter prayed to Vithoba for his return. Dallmayr writes that this testifies to "the immortality of genuine friendship and companionship of noble and loving hearts". Many Varkari devotees believe that Dnyaneshwar is still alive.
Miracles
In another miracle, Dnyaneshwar was challenged by Changdev, an accomplished yogi who rode on a tiger with his magical powers, to replicate this feat. Dnyaneshwar humbled Changdev by riding on a moving wall. Dnyaneshwar's advice to Changdev was given in 65 verses called the Changdev Pasasthi. Changdev became a disciple of Dnyaneshwar's sister Muktabai.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnyaneshwar
