A SHORT LIFE HISTORY OF SHREE SAMARTHA RAMDAS
India is a rich land endowed with sages and saints who have spent their lives transferring spiritual knowledge to the common man. Samartha Ramdas is one of those saints of high renown from the state of Maharashtra and has a vast amount literature to his credit. Dasbodh is the crown jewel of the writings of Shri Samartha Ramdas.
Samartha Ramdas was born in a small village called Jaamb in Maharashtra in the year 1608, on the auspicious day of Ramnavmi (celebrated as the Birthday of Lord Shri Ram). His parents were very pious with a family tradition of Lord’s worship for 12 generations. As a boy he showed immense strength, comparable to Hanuman, whom he worshipped all his life. Once his mother found him sitting all by himself in a room with his eyes closed. When she asked, "what are you doing?" his reply was, "I am worrying about the world!" At the young age of twelve, he ran away from the wedding stage upon hearing the word “savadhan” which means “be alert.”
From there, afterwards he did spiritual practice on the banks of river Krishna. He chanted the name of Lord Rama for 13 Crore ( 1 Crore is 10,000,000) times, and meditated on the potent Gayatri Mantra for twelve years. He lay for 21 days fasting at the doorsteps of Lord Rama’s temple to get his blessings. Seeing his yearning for God, the Lord himself opend the doors and initiated him with Knowledge (Jnana). He is one of those rare saints who got his initiation directly from Lord Rama without any Guru in human form. Following that, Samartha Ramdas traveled far and wide throughout the country to understand and explore the social life of common people, and to teach them the devotional path. He also constructed many temples of Hanuman who is the idol of strength, devotion, and intellect.
At the time that Samartha Ramdas lived, Maharashtra was under attack from a Muslim enemy and there was a great need of able leadership. Samartha gave guidance to King Shivaji who was known for his valor and courage. There are some chapters in Dasbodh that gave teachings to this king for the able administration of his kingdom. The great king offered his kingdom at the feet of Samartha Ramdas whose teachings had developed in him a tremendous detachment in his mind for worldly possessions. However, Ramdas refused to accept it, and only retained Sajjangad as the place for a monastery. He instructed the King to resume his duties as the administrator of the kingdom as that was the need of the day.
Samartha Ramdas retired in solitude at Shivthar Ghal, to a small cave where he wrote his great teachings in the form of the text named Dasbodh. The great text is comprised of 20 chapters, with each chapter containing 10 sub-chapters. The teachings are based on the self experience, and the saint assures us that by studying the text one can arrive at the “Knowledge of Brahman.” In other words, One Will Be Brahman Oneself. This is the fulfilment of the purpose, quest, and seeking in human life, and is the answer to the question; “Who am I?”
The teachings of Dasbodh are very deep, revealing the path of devotion as well as the great treasure of Knowledge of non-duality. Dasbodh is a multi-dimensional text, and as a result spiritual aspirants of all categories and from different walks of life can gain knowledge according to their capacity. He has given message to both householders as well as the renunciates. It’s a rare text that blends the teachings of how to be successful in worldly life as well as on the spiritual path.
At the core of his teachings are the principles of Viveka, which means “Discrimination” and Vairagya which means “Detachment.” Unless these two are used together, it is difficult to gain the knowledge of the Self. The verses composed by him in a text called ‘Manache Shlok’ comprise a deep study of human mind that is applicable even in the modern times. Much can be written about this great saint. This great saint called himself Ramdas, which means servant of God. He moved like a beggar asking for alms but rose to the height of Samartha, which means “the greatest among the great ones.”
Freely giving knowledge to the people, he left his body in 1681. He still continues to live through the teachings of Dasbodh.
Jai Jai Raghuveer Samartha!