Shri Swami Samartha
Akkalkot Niwasi Shri Swami Samartha also known as
Swami Samartha Maharaj,
Swami
Maharaj is a household word in Maharashtra,karnataka and
Andra Pradesh.He is believed to be from the tradition of several
sages in the
Dattatreya sampradaya.
His Tradition
Shri Swami Smaratha comes from the age-old guru tradition of the
Dattatreya sampradaya.Also a different
form of famous
Nath Sampradaya. The
main chanting mantra of this tradition is :
गुरुर्ब्रम्हा गुरुर्विष्णु गुरुर्देवो महेश्वराः |गुरुः
साक्षात्परब्रम्ह तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ||
Shri Swami Samartha is believed to be the incarnation of Shri
Narasimha Saraswati, who in turn
is the believed incarnation of Shri
Shripad Shrivallabha. Although not much
is known about Shri
Shripad
Shrivallabha, the life story of Shri
Narasimha Saraswati is well
documented.
The biography of Shrimad
Nrusimha
Saraswati in "Shree
Gurucharitra",
gives us the details of his work in guiding the devotees and the
various miracles he performed to help the devotees. He stayed at
Ganagapur (Karnataka State, Southern India) for a long time and
then gave his "Nirguna Padukas" to his disciples and devotees,
before leaving for the Kardali forests to perform Tapas
[penance].
Early Life of Swami Maharaj
The early life of Swami Samarth like that of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba
is shrouded with mystery. For that matter, even Shri Shirdi Sai
Baba's advent and early life has not been established. Yet it does
not really matter for those who have faith in them.
Shri
Narasimha Saraswati, about
four centuries before the advent of Swami Samarth is believed to be
the earlier incarnation of Shri
Dattatreya. The
'Guru
Charitra' one of the most famous books gives lot of information
about Him. As per the most popular belief, Shri Narasimha Swami,
after helping and spiritually uplifting a large number of people
over a few decades, went away to the Himalayas for penance and went
into Samadhi. In the Samadhi state He remained for about three
hundred years. With the passage of time a huge anthill grew over
him and he was lost to the outside world. One day accidentally a
woodcutter’s axe fell on the bushes grown around the ant hill. He
was shocked to find blood stains on the blade of the axe. He
cleared the anthill and Lo, he found a Yogi in meditation. The Yogi
slowly opened his eyes and consoled the dumbfounded woodcutter
saying that it was the Divine Will for Him to re-appear in the
world to resume His mission.
This Yogi, in his new role came to be known as Swami Samarth.
Prior to his settlement at Akkalkot, Swami Samarth seems to have
visited far and wide. While moving in the Himalayan region he
visited places like Puri, Benaras, Hardwar, Girnar, Kathiawad and
Rameswaram in the South. He also stayed at Mangalvedha, a town near
Pandharpur in Solapur district Maharashtra, which had been
inhabited earlier by famous saints like Domojipant and Chokhamela.
He came to Akkalkot in 1856 where he continued his physical
existence for 22 years.
He came to Akkalkot on the invitation of one Chintopant Tol and
stayed at a place on the outskirts of the town.
His Disciples
Here he enlightened many disciples, such as Shree Dev Mamledar,
Shree Balappa Maharaj, Shree Cholappa Maharaj, Shree Nrusimha
Saraswati Maharaj of Alandi, Shree Ramanand Beedkar Maharaj of Pune
etc.
Japa and Namasmaran
Following japa / namasmaran (repetition/chanting) is done:
॥अवधूतचिंतन श्री गुरुदेव दत्त॥ (Avadhootachintan Shri Gurudeva
Datta)
॥श्री स्वामी समर्थ, जय जय स्वामी समर्थ॥ (Shri Swami Samartha, Jai
Jai Swami Samartha)
गुरु ब्रम्हा गुरुर विष्णु गुरुर देवो महेश्वरागुरु साक्षात् परब्रह्म
तस्मैश्री गुरुवेनमहा//श्री गुरु दत्तात्रय स्वामी समर्थाय नमःनि शंक
हो,निर्भय हो मन रे...प्रचंड स्वामी बळ पाठीशी रे ...अतर्क्य अवधूत हे
स्मरण गामी...अशक्य ही शाक्य करतील स्वामी...जिथे स्वामी पाय तिथे
न्यून काय....स्वये भक्त प्रारब्ध घडवी ही माय....अद्नयेविना काळ ना
नेई त्याना ...परलोकिही ना भीती त्याला....उगास भितोसी भय हे पालू
दे...जवळी उभा स्वामी शक्ति कलू दे...जगी जन्ममृत्यु असे खेळ
ज्यांचा...नको घाबरू तू असे बाळ त्यांचा .....खरा होई जागा श्रधे
सहित.....कसा होशील त्याविन तू स्वामी भक्त...कितीसा दिला बोल त्यानीच
हाथ....डगमगु नको स्वामी देतील साथ....विभूति नमन नाम ध्यानादि तीर्थ
....स्वमिच या पञ्च प्रनाम्रुतात ....हे तीर्थ आथाविरे प्रचिती ....न
सोडी स्वामी जे घेई हाथी!!....
Mahasamaadhi
Shree Swami Samarth one day suddenly announced that the time had
come for him to go out of his physical existence. By Hindu calendar
it was Chaitra Vadya Trayodashi of Hindu year 1800, i.e. April 30,
1878 AD, Tuesday at 4 PM. At this time he seated himself in
Padmasana (Lotus Posture) and uttered his last words - "no one
should weep I shall always be present at all places and I shall
respond to every call of the devotees." The great sage adopted
MahaSamadhi [the last conscious communion with God] under his
favourite Banyan tree.
The divine game (leela) of Shree Swami Samarth did not end with his
Maha Samadhi (shedding his mortal coil). His devotees continue to
experience the miracles of his visible and invisible help even till
today.
He says, "Surrender your ego and offer your unconditional love and
I will fill you with immortal bliss"..
Devotee Beliefs
- It is believed by his devotees that Shri Narasimha Saraswati performed rigorous
tapasya [penance] on the Shree Shail mountain in the Kardali
forests for nearly 150 years. After this he took an extensive
pilgrimage, covering even places, now known as Jawa, Sumatra,
Indonesia, China, Japan, Australia etc., relieved many people from
their miseries, and guided them on the spiritual path. Finally, he
came to the ranges of Himalayas where he enlightened many devotees.
Later he sat under a Deodar tree for tapasya [penance]. This
Tapasya [penance] in the Himalayas lasted for nearly 250 years, but
a woodcutter unknowingly axed the anthill enveloping the body of
Shrimad Nrusimha Saraswati. This
resulted in the break in Tapasya [penance] and Shrimad Nrusimha Saraswati then left for an
extensive travel throughout the Indian sub-continent guiding the
devotees. During this travel, he became popular by various names at
various places. Thus at one place he was known as Chanchal Bharati
and at another place he would be called Digambar Swami.
As he
travelled and stayed at various places, he became the Guru
(preceptor) of many great souls like Shree Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Shree
Sai Baba of Shirdi,
Shree Shankar Maharaj, Shree Gajajan Maharaj of Shegaon etc.
Finally he settled down at Akkalkot
(Maharashtra
State) and stayed there for 24 years from 1854 A.D. to 1878 A.D.
and thus came to be known as the Akkalkot Niwasi Shree Swami
Samarth Maharaj (the great sage of Akkalkot).
- Devotees believe that he is an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya the name of this spiritual master,
popularly called Swami Samarth. He is revered as the teacher of all
spiritual teachers (gurunam guruh) i.e. guru of gurus. He is a
direct incarnation of Supreme Consciousness or Para-brahma. Shri
Swami Samarth has adorned a human garment merely to grant
benedictions and blessings on all who come in contact with him. He
is measureless compassion and limitless ananda (bliss). He radiates
unalloyed love and his heart melts at the faintest trace of
unconditional devotion for God. Shri Swami Samartha can instantly
grant incessant supreme divine joy on whomever he chooses. Devotees
still experience his divine presence and feel reassured because of
his quote "I have not gone, I am still present" (Hindi: हम गया नही, जींदा
है)."If you want to experience it just keep
swami's photo in mind and start enchanting 108 times daily and you
will experience it within few days"
References
Publications of All India Shri Swami Samarth Seva & spiritual
Development Merg (Dindori Pranit)
S
http://www.swamisamarth.com/http://www.shreeswami.org/http://www.swamikrupakendra.com/
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