Shankar Maharaj
Shankar Maharaj(19th century) was a great yogi and a saint who has got spiritual powers through deep meditation on the god. He was born in a village near Pandharpur, and was a great devotee of Lord Vittal (A form of Lord Krishna).
Shankar Maharaj’s main disciple was Dhaneshwar of Pune, Maharashtra, who was a doctor by profession. He got spiritual initiation from the golden hands of Swami Samarth of Akkalkot. He stayed with him for some time and got great spiritual knowledge and went on religious pilgrimages as per his guru’s instructions.
He went to the Himalayan mountain ranges and done severe meditation, and also interacted with several other saints and discussed about spiritual matters. He went to foreign countries and developed the bhakti spirit among the people by conducting religious lectures on Hinduism.
He was proficient in all the languages and also able to understand the language of birds and animals and frequently listens to their speech.He has got good proficiency in English similar to the British people. It is believed that he has lived for more than 100 years and attained Mahasamadhi at his ashram in the year 1947. Even after his death, he is protecting his sincere devotees from the problems, and those who are calling his name and seeking for help, he would immediately appear in that place, and gives his helping hands, and removes them from their difficulties and sufferings.
He has performed lot of miracles in the life of his devotees. He cured them from their diseases, provided sufficient food to the poor, and helped the mentally challenged people, and slowly relieved them from their mental problems, and made them to become normal and blessed them for leading a good life. His love and affection with the people can be compared to that of an affectionate mother showing her love to her child.
DISCIPLES
1. Abhyankar
2. Dattareya
3. Raobahadur Navale
4. G.K Pradhan
5. Keshavbhai Asher
6. Raosaheb Mehendale
7. Taisaheb
8. Vasudev Pandit
9. Yellubahi
Let us worship the great saint and be blessed.
“OM SRI SHANKAR MAHARAJ SWAMIYE NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR