Care Taker of Vidarbha, Shree Gajanan Maharaj! The Second Chapter.

 II Om Shree Ganeshaya Namaha II

II Om Gajanan Jai Gajanan II

Dear readers, thank you to all of you, who have taken time to read the first part. May Lord Gajanan's blessings be always on you and may he guide you on the right path. Now, I really need to apologise to both of you! Yes one is to Lord Gajanan Maharaj for taking a such long time to write the second part and to all you devotees and readers. Please forgive me. Without wasting a single moment let me get to the job. Dear Friends, I will not harp about my job, rather I will take your attention to the temple of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. Ad mist the hustle bustle in and around the temple, once you reach inside the temple, what you feel and experience is pure calmness...and yes other than that, what you will notice is utter cleanliness!  Yes you heard it right again, Shree Gajanan Maharaj's temple is one of the few temple of whom, we can boast to be one of the cleanest. The front yard is huge and has majestic entrance, it is here that all the major activities take place on auspicious days. In the evening it is all the more beautiful to see the congregation of humanity..from all walks of life. It is indeed a treat for eyes to see people form all walks of life assemble at this one place. One can see a big family sitting together, smiling, chatting and sharing the prasad on one side and then you have kids who have a gala time running and chasing each other a little further you would see a group old men & women sitting and chatting about various topics. One could also see some village folks singing melodious hymns which really soothe the ears to add to this musical note one can also hear many birds chirping around the temple returning home in the evening. Yes friends this how a typical evening looks and like I said before its indeed a congregation of humanity and gives an impression as if Saint Gajanan Maharaj is holding his children on his lap..the courtyard.

In the courtyard or front yard there are adequate arrangements made to place your footwear and as you walk further one can see the majestic temple dome. It is said that in case one is genuinely in a hurry and is not able to take darshan of the Saint, he or she can just have glimpse of the dome or 'kalash' as we call in Hindi and Marathi and that shall be equivalent to have taken  holy darshan of  the Saint itself. I myself have done it many a times and trust me you can feel his blessings. The light shining above the kalash is indeed divine.

The entry to samadhi of the Saint has two paths, one which is near to the main gate and it is used on days when there is less rush and then you have one more entry upstairs which is used during peak hours especially during Thursdays, Ekadashi and on Pragat Diwas. The beauty is that, however large the crowd may be, efficient management by the temple authorities ensures that one can have darshan within two hours! And the best part is that, there is no VIP culture which otherwise deprives certain privileges to normal devotees. Hence, any person however significant he may be, has to join the queue. This denotes or sends an important message that all are equal in front of God. Our Saint, Shree Gajanan Maharaj, the Care Taker of Vidarbha  treats his devotees as his own children and does not differentiate between them.

The temple courtyard also places many charitable institutions like Handicap Rehabilitation Center, Ayurvedic Treatment Center, which gives a good impression to devotees that the temple not only is for the devotees it also works towards up liftment and development of people around. This is very important and relevant considering the fact that devotion, spirituality and religion should go hand in hand with humanity and charity, only then these are truly worth. This is something that the older generation should teach to the younger generation.

Once you enter through main entrance, you are guided into a ventilated labyrinth and this labyrinth follows down into a chamber which seats the Samadhi of The Saint. The Samadhi again is majestic with just the bust of Saint Gajanan Maharaj and his Foot imprint. One glance of the Saint's Samadhi is sure to get you blessings that you always yearned for! Ask any devotee..he may have his own version of the same. One can offer their prasad here and there after one has to climb the stairs which takes us to the temple of Shree Ram with his beloved wife Sita and his loyal brother Shree Lakshmanan along with his most ardent devotee Shree Pawanputra Hanuman. Yes you have guessed it right, below is the Saint's Samadhi and above the samadhi is this temple. In this temple's hall on all four sides of the pillar are paintings which depict life of Saint Shree Gajanan Maharaj and his works towards up liftment of people as well his well documented miracles. I urge the devotees and visitors to go through it so as to understand the significance and great of Shree Saint Gajanan which  will definitely benefit them. There is the pradikshana  path outside the temple  and a large stambh or pillar at the back side of the Samadhi or the temple. The pradikshana path also has a counter where the devotees can have few sips of Saint's holy water or Thirth, which is so potent that it has saved a devotee Janrao from deathbed and this has been documented in Shree Gajanan Maharaj's Pothi or Book on the Saint's life. One can also carry a small bottle to collect the tirth, which the devotees can distribute to near and dear ones for the benefit of all. Along with thirth one can get the Bhasma or Vibuthi (Holy Ash) which also has auspicious value.

Many important yagnas are conducted in the pradihskana area and also in the evening the place becomes even more vibrant, with recitation by many holy saints and many devotional music programs pleasing the ears with intermittent chimes by the Sevaks. Trust me you would really immerse yourself here. Now after this if any devotees want to give any Dakshina or Abhishek or offer a donation then they can visit the counters which are well equipped and the staff very cordial. One you are done they will give the slip with which one can collect the holy prasad for oneself and his near and dear ones.

I need to specially mention one place which  eventually the devotee is guided to, it is the place where Shree Gajanan Maharaj used to seat and rest and meet his devotees. This place is just opposite to the samadhi. and it is very special because of its serenity and yes the holy Padukas of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. One is not allowed to speak and maintain pin drop silence. This place is huge and as we enter, we would find devotees silently reading the Saint's pothi or meditating. On going little farther we first take darshan of Lord Vithoba and Rukmini Devi's  and then we enter the chamber where Shree Gajanan Maharaj used sit and rest. The huge beautiful portrait of Shree Gajanan Maharaj looks at all his devotees with love and affection and this where the holy Padukas are kept, beautifully decorated with various colorful fragrant flowers. And this where devotees seek his Holiness' blessings. The touch of Shree Gajanan Maharaj's Paduka's by a devotees removes all their worries and obstacles and blesses them with happiness, good health, love and affection and success. But for this one has to have really strong faith in Lord Gajanan Maharaj.

Friends, I hope you enjoyed reading the second part and those who have never been to Shegaon may be 'googling' to find out more about Lord Gajanan Maharaj and about Shegaon. I humbly request you all  to put your valuable comments here and share your experiences. 

May Lord Gajanan's blessings be always with us! 

Gan Gan Ganat Bote! Om Gajanan Jai Gajanan!