Mangalore,
Feb 17, 2009
It was the curiosity to know about the life and teachings of Swami Nityananda, whose black and white portraits I often used to see in Udupi restaurants, and who is being revered by many, Indian and foreign devotees, as the saint of modern times, prompted me to do a bit of research on the life and teachings of this great seer and visit Ganeshpuri, the village that was sanctified by his abode and the nearby legendary and historic temple of Vajreshwari.
Information about the birth and early childhood of Swami Nityananda is scant and unreliable. According to a legend he was found as an infant in the Guruvan forest by a harijan woman who sold him to Unniamma, a childless woman who worked in the house of Ishwar Iyer, a prominent solicitor at Calicut. The child was named as ‘Ram’ by Unniamma. Following her death, Ishwar Iyer took care of Ram.
Ram, in his early teens, accompanied Ishwar Iyer to the holy city of Varanasi. From Varanasi, he is said to have spent considerable time in the Himalayas and many holy places in north India. At the age of sixteen, Ram returned to the home of his foster father, Ishwar Iyer and took him for a visit to the Anantheshwar temple in Udupi. Later, Ishwar Iyer became seriously ill and was said to have been granted a divine vision by Ram and kept repeating the phrase ‘Nityananda, Nityananda’ (Endless Bliss). Henceforth, Ram came to be known as ‘Nityananda’.
Following the death of Ishwar Iyer, Nityananda spent time at Guruvan forest in contemplation and quest of spiritual bliss. For a time he stayed nearer to the sea at Kanhangad. In 1910s young Nityananda was believed to have been travelling to different places in South Canara such as Dharmasthala, Bantwal, Mangalore, Padubidri, Kaup, Udupi and later to Ankola and Gokarna. In 1918, Nityananda was discovered in Udupi by two men who remained his life-long devotees.
In 1920s Nityananda spent time in Mangalore and attracted a number of followers who would gather in the evenings and sit around him in silence. Many a times he would speak from a trans-like state. His discourses were noted down by his devotees and were compiled in Kannada language and later translated into English.
In 1936, Swami Nityananda settled in a jungle at a place known as Ganeshpuri in Thane district, around 80 kilometers from Mumbai, where he remained till his death on August 8, 1961. In the beginning, he stayed at a very old Shiva temple called Bhimeshwar temple, believed to have been built in the sixth or seventh century. During his stay at Ganeshpuri, Swami Nityananda transformed the dense forestland inhabited by a few adivasis into a spiritual centre for all those seeking enlightenment
Swami Nityananda’s spirituality attracted a number of devotees to the forest of Ganeshpuri. He was born and brought up in austerity and lived a simple life. He neither developed a philosophy nor prescribed a lifestyle to his devotees. He did not establish and organization around him. He spiritually touched all those people who came to seek his blessings and brought tremendous peace and betterment to the simple people. The poor and destitute were drawn to his simplicity and spiritualism. With the passage of time thousands of people made their way to his abode in the forest of Ganeshpuri which became the destination for spiritual quest for countless people of all castes.
Swami Nityananda always taught his disciples to listen to their heart. He said, "The heart is the hub of all sacred places; go there and roam". Every individual must strive towards self-realization and to achieve that purpose, he should look within himself. God resides within each and every living being and we can find Him only when we search for Him inside ourselves.
Swami Muktananda (1908-1982) from Mangalore, whose birth name was Krishna, who himself was in search of spirituality, visited Swami Nityananda in 1947 and became his trusted disciple. Swami Nityananda asked Swami Muktananda to build an ashram at Ganeshpuri. Swami Muktananda fulfilled the wish of his guru and built an ashram between Ganeshpuri and Vajreshwari and began to reside there from 1956 and called it as Sri Gurudev Ashram. This ashram was renamed in 1978 as Gurudev Siddha Yoga Peeth, which has been the center of full-time spiritual retreat for people from India and abroad who want to pursue Siddha Yoga.
Swami Muktananda wrote many books on spirituality and Siddha Yoga and established more than 600 meditation centers in India and abroad, thus popularizing Swami Nityananda’s spirituality and Siddha Yoga. A number of Indians and foreigners have been undertaking transcendental meditation and Siddha Yoga courses at the Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri.
The sprawling ashram covering an area of nearly 75 acres, provides an excellent ambience for the meditation and spiritual practice. It is surrounded by lush green trees and landscape gardens with variety of flowers and natural beauty which provides a sublime and peaceful atmosphere to the devotees.
In addition to spiritual practice, the ashram provides charitable services to the tribal people inhabiting the surrounding villages including medical services and housing facilities.
Before his death in 1982, Swami Muktananda had nominated two of his close disciples, brother-sister duo-Subhash Shetty (Swami Mahamandaleshwar Nityananda) and Malti Shetty (Gurumayi Chidvilasananda) as the co-gurus of the Gurudev Siddha Peeth. However, three years later Swami Mahamandaleshwara Nityananda stepped down from his post leaving Gurumayi Chidvilasananda as the sole successor of Swami Muktananda continuing to share his spiritual legacy with the world through her travels and teachings.
The Samadhi of Swami Nityananda is situated in the compound of the Bhimeshwar temple. There are three hot-water springs in the courtyard of the temple in which the devotees wash themselves. The original residence of Swami Nityananda known as Shri Kailash Niwas is close to the Samadhi. The spots and objects associated with the Swami are still maintained in good order. The walls of the outer hall are adorned with pictures of Swami Nityananda.
The legendary and historic Vajreshwari temple is 3 to 4 kilometers from Gurudev Siddha Peeth which can be reached by an auto-rickshaw or even by ST buses. In 1739, Chimaji Appa, the younger brother and military commander of Peshwa Baji Rao I, on his way to conquer the Portuguese fort at Vasai had taken an oath before goddess Vajreshwari that if he succeeded in vanquishing the Portuguese and capturing the fort of Vasai, he would build a temple in her honour, a promise which he fulfilled following the defeat of the Portuguese.
The temple stands atop a hillock by the road. It offers a commanding view of surrounding area from the temple. According to the legend Parshurama had performed a ‘mahayajna’ at Vajreshwari. A flight of 52 steps leads up to the temple. Though the temple is dedicated to goddess Vajreshwari, there are idols of goddess Renuka and goddess Kalika on either side of the main Vajreshwari idol.
Other than those who make special arrangements through their own or hired vehicles to visit Ganeshpuri and Vajreshwari, can avail the services of the local trains and State Transport buses to reach these destinations. Those who take the Western Railway can alight at either Vasai or Virar station and take ST buses proceeding to Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi or Wada and alight at Ganeshpuri. Those who travel by Central Railway can get down either at Thane or Kalyan and take ST buses proceeding to Ganeshpuri, Virar, Vasai or Arnala. Accommodation is available near Vajreshwari temple at reasonable rates.
As i returned from Ganeshpuri-Vajreshwari my thoughts veered to Ramana Maharshi, a contemporary of Swami Nityananda, who after having attained liberation at the age of 16, left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus, at Tiruvannamalai in Tamilnadu, and lived there for the rest of his life and attracted thousands of devotees. These modern saints like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Bengal, lived a simple and austere life and attained spiritual enlightenment that became a beacon to millions of devotees.
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