Maaze maher Pandhari

 

Yesterday October 9th there was no OPD at the hospital for me. I seized the free day and planned a trip to Pandharpur. Started from Pune by 4:45 am and made it to there by 8:30 am.

I had prepared myself for just kalash darshan because the plan had been made with a short notice. My nephew Niraj is always full of surprises. Right upon arrival he greeted us at the entrance of his home and we proceeded on foot for Pandurang darshan. Since we were short on time, he had school and I had to be back in Pune the same day, we did not push for paad-darshan. Mukh-Darshan was more than enough given the circumstances. There wasn’t much crowd for the mukh-darshan so we were able to take our time and soak in the “meeting” with Pandurang until heart’s content. Likewise for darshan of Rakhumai or Rukmini. Her darshan was particularly poignant in the midst of the auspicious period of navratri. 

The entire town center around the Vithoba Mandir vibes with the devotional powers of the saints of the past centuries. Taking in the “presence” of Sant Namdev at Namdev Payari and Sant Chokha Mela Samadhi just outside the temple was just the beginning of the glorious day. From the temple Niraj led me through narrow lanes to Sant Namdev’ Muth. This is the birthplace of this great saint poet. Here to this day stands a beautiful idol of Vitthal that is believed to be swayambhu ( appeared by itself) when Namdev invited Vitthala for lunch. There is an indoor courtyard facing this shrine where daily keertans take place. Overlooking the keertan hall are two storeys of viewing galleries. 

Further on we walked to another wada( old time stone walled building) where there are manuscripts of several holy books including the Bhavarth Deepika ( Dnyaaneshwari) , Dasbodh, Valmiki Ramayan, Tukaram Gatha etc. These handwritten ancient texts do not have the names of the individuals who painstakingly wrote such huge works by hand in the spirit of service to God. “ God knows and I know this was done”( the world doesn’t need to know my name) was the selfless attitude. The current caretakers live with the same humble spirit. They are wary of people who come with ulterior motives other than pure devotion and love for the saints. The elderly patriarch of the family readily opened the meticulously packed writings and showed us a few of these priceless texts simply because we were Niraj’s guests. Out of respect for his call for privacy I will not share any photos about these texts here. All I can say is it was a blessing of Vithoba and the great saints to let us see these priceless treasures that date back centuries and are really immortal. 

Having completed this once-in-a- lifetime tour of Pandharpur we took a break to spend some time with Niraj’s mother, mama and mami at their home before getting back on the road. 

This time we took a slightly off route to visit Gondavalekar Maharaj Ashram in Gondavale. Here too there was that vibe of divine presence and benevolence as in Pandharpur. 

Earlier in the day upon waking up there was a realization that what stands between achieving my pure self is the burden of the “impressions” of mortal living thus far on the mind. Visiting Vithoba and the saints, my request to them was to help me throw off these impressions for good. What else could I want ? What else would be more precious to receive? 

Saree is a mixed fabric with printed design, a gift of love from a dear friend. It was so comfortable to wear all day long during the travel of almost 500 kms. At the end of the day it appeared like it was ready to be worn for another long day.