A Banyan tree in old Shegao. Two youngsters noticed a peculiar personality strongly built. Fair in complexion. Young in age. Peculiar calmness and satisfaction on face. Searching rice particles on the patrawalis.  No effect on face of scorching heat of summer noon time.  The personality was so impressive that the two youngsters, Bankatlal and Damodar were attracted to the charm, And then began the legendary life; his legendary charisma!

Soon, that young man became popular as ‘Shree Gajanan Maharaj’. He always repeated the words “Gana, gana ganantha bote, gana gana ganantha bote.” Hence people called him “Gajanan Maharaj”. In fact nobody know who he was, when and where he was born and what actually his name was.

People treated him a lunatic for a very long time. One day a Haridas (servant of God or who sings in praise of God) after melodious singing of several bhajans recited some stanzas from ‘Hamsageetha’, a spiritual text. To the amazement of the people the next following stanza was heard in mellifluous voice from outside the temple. Pleased with clean accent and correctly spelt recitation, the singer came outside, where he saw Gajanan – the mad. He invited Gajanan inside. “Inside or outside! What difference does it make? You have just read the stanza which says God is everywhere”, said Gajanan. His words transformed Haridas. He began to sing the story of God with love and not for money.

In the scorching heat of May, Shree Gajanan was wandering on the roads when he felt thirsty. He asked Bhaskar, a rich man, for water. “It is a great sin to help lazy fellows like you who depend upon others for food. Go away! Beg at some other place”, he rebuked. Shree Gajanan did not say anything and looked for water in a well but that too had dried up. Looking at him Bhaskar said, “You stupid! You will not get water anywhere”. Shree Gajanan silently sat near the well and was absorbed in deep meditation. After some time the well was brimming with water. Bhaskar was awe struck and sought apologies for his stupidity. He at once decided to spend his rest of his life in the service of Shree Gajanan.

In another instance, Bankatlal,  invited Shree Gajanan Maharaj alongwith other devotees to a spiritual get together, arranged in his garden. All were assembled there. A fire was lit to fry corns. The flames rose high and touched a beehive, which disturbed the honeybees, and they began to sting the devotees, who ran helter skelter. But Shree Gajanan Maharaj was unmoved though the bees were stinging his body with vengeance. Seeing this, Bankatlal trembling with grief ran to him. The honeybees silently departed as if they were obeying the order of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. People tried many medicines but in vain. At last the stings came out themselves when Gajanan sat in a particular yogic posture and his body reached normalcy. All the devotees assembled around him ate the corns happily. 

One day Shree Gajanan Maharaj asked Bankatlal to fetch some fire to light his pipe. As no fire was available nearby, he went to a blacksmith and asked for fire from the furnace. Having understood the purpose the blacksmith ridiculed Gajanan Maharaj saying that he was a burden to society and was of no use and refused to give the fire. Bankatlal returned. Shree Gajanan Maharaj asked Bankatlal to keep a burnt matchstick on the Pipe. He did so; Gajanan inhaled the chillum and smoke started coming from the matchstick and the pipe. On the same day, the blacksmith arranged a feast for his relatives. The food prepared smelt terrible. The relatives blamed the blacksmith and went away in anger without taking food. The blacksmith thought that it was all due to his stupid behavior towards a great man like Gajanan Maharaj. He went to Gajanan Maharaj and sought apologies. Shree Gajanan Maharaj asked him to bring the stinking food and when he looked at it for a while, the food emanated sweet smells. The blacksmith went home with the food and served it to the guests who ate it to their hearts’ content and hailed the greatness of Gajanan Maharaj.

One day Gajanan Maharaj sat in stillness with his eyes closed. The sons of Patil of that village, a mischievous gang, tried several ways to disturb his meditation. Finally, they restored to beating him up with the sugar canes brought from a nearby field. They did so for nearly half an hour. But Shree Gajanan Maharaj was unperturbed. Despite severe beating, they did not notice even a single sign of blows on his uncovered body, which scared them and they fell at his feet asking forgiveness. He slowly opened his eyes and said in a gentle voice, “My dear boys! Your are too tired. Come! Come! Take this”. He squeezed the sugarcanes with his hands and gave them each a bowl of juice to drink. He proved that true non-violence is a weapon only of the strong. True love treats 

Shree Narasing a devotee of Lord Vithal and a earnest seeker, went to a nearby jungle for a severe yogic practice. While he was deep in meditation, he suddenly visualized Shree Gajanan Maharaj. Later he saw a divine light. When he opened his eyes, Lord Vithal of Pandharpur stood before him. He prostrated before him and when he stood up he saw Shree Gajanan Maharaj again standing before him, smiling. He said to Narasing. “You have grown completely dispassionate. Live like a lotus, which floats in the pond untouched by water and mud. Lord Vithal sent me to bestow wisdom on you.”

Once a group of ascetics came to the temple of Lord Shiva where Shree Gajanan Maharaj was seated. In the evening, the elder of the group, Brahmagiri while explaining the ‘Saankhya yoga’ of Bhagavad Geeta said that the body was an illusion and it did not have any importance. The devotees of Maharaj having heard this thought, “Body is the chief tool for spiritual practice. Why does he speak on the contrary.” In the meanwhile the cot on which Brahmagiri and Shree Gajanan Maharaj were seated, caught fire, and everybody ran away. Brahmagiri stood and was about run, when he was stopped by Gajanan Maharaj, who sat on the cot in stillness and said, “Body is an illusion! The soul is eternal! Why do you run?” The frightened ascetic said, “Swamy kindly forgive me for speaking things unknown to me. Save me please!” As he begged, Shree Gajanan Maharaj left his hand. But Gajanan did not move an inch from the place until his devotees shifted him to another place. After the fire was extinguished, it was noticed that the part on which Shree Gajanan Maharaj was seated did not burn at all! Brahmagiri feeling ashamed left the place. 

The divinity of Shree Gajanan Maharaj had an influence even on animals, which remind us of some incidents in the lives of Shree Saibaba and Akkalkot Swamy. Taklikar, a devotee, had a wild horse. It kicked and bit people. It has become so unpopular that nobody came forward to buy it. It was a beast that had become a burden. The irritated Taklikar brought it to Gajanan Maharaj. As it became night he slept, fastening the horse with iron chains. Suddenly he woke up in the midnight and looked for the horse. He found it at a distance standing still, with the chains torn. Shree Gajanan Maharaj was sleeping between the legs of the horse. At dawn, Gajanan Maharaj woke up and left. The horse devoid of wildness gently followed its master. 

Nuklal Agarwal had an unyielding cow, which gored people. Dragged by four people be brought it before Gajanan Maharaj. Infuriated by the scene, he shouted, “How dare you bind a sacred cow with chains! First set it free.” When they let it free, it moved swiftly towards Gajanan Maharaj and stood before him, keeping its head on his feet. Astonished Agarwal submitted the cow to Shree Gajanan Maharaj. The cattle now seen at Shegao sansthan are to progeny of that cow. 

Pitambar renounced everything and dedicated himself to the service of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. One day Gajanan Maharaj gave him cloths made of silk and said, “Do not mind other’s comments. You are the fit person to serve me”. But the envious fellow devotees wounded him by their words. One day Shree Gajanan Maharaj called him and said, “Everyone here is blaming you. Leaving Shegao at once! This is my order.” Though saddened very much to leave his Guru, Pitambar set out on a journey. He reached a village ‘Kondoli’ where he slept under a tree. Next morning the villagers came to him and challenged him, “If you are a real disciple of Shree Gajanan Maharaj, you should make this dried up tree alive with new sprouts.” Pitambar prayed to his Guru in his heart and the next morning the tree sprouted, tender leaves. The villagers fell at his feet. They hailed him as Pitambar Maharaj and took him in a precession to their village and arranged a house for him. 

Raja Ram of Kalgaon had an abscess on his body, which could not be cured by any medicine. Rajaram’s brother prayed to his Guru, Gajanan Maharaj to save Rajaram. That night a Brahmin came by bullock cart, gave them sacred water and ashes telling them that they were sent by Shree Gajanan Maharaj. As soon as he consumed them the abscess burst, puss gushed out and Rajaram was relieved of his pain. After months of agony he slept peacefully. The members in the family fell remorse as they forgot to honor the Brahmin properly. Later when all of them visited Shree Gajanan Maharaj, he said, “When I came to your house you did not feed my cattle.” 

Once Shree Gajanan Maharaj went to Pandharpur and sat in the doorway of a house. All the devotees went to the temple. Bapu, a devotee, unable to get the darshan of  Lord Vithal in the crowded temple came back to Shree Gajanan and lamented that he could not see Lord Vithal. Consoling him, Shree Gajanan Maharaj said, “Do not think that Vithal resides only in the temple. Look at me carefully.” Bapu visualized Lord Vithal in the place of his Guru. That is why ‘Gurugeetha’ repeatedly tells that Guru is the manifestation of all gods. 

Beckoned by an invitation of his inner voice, Mehatab Shah, a Muslim belonging to Kurum village, near Murtizapur came to Shree Gajanan when he was staying at Akola. Shree Gajanan Maharaj swiftly walked to him and said, “Take care! Do not instigate communal violence. Though religions are different all humans are equal. All are children of god.” Slapping on his cheek, “Being a saint, be saintly and love all, learn to be gentle”, Shree Gajanan Maharaj shouted at him in anger. At the same time Batchulal, a devotee sent a carriage for Gajanan Maharaj inviting him to his house. Gajanan Maharaj got into the vehicle but refused to get down at Batchulal’s house. Batchulal realizing his mistake invited Mehatab Shah also. But as he was a Muslim, Batchulal asked him to take his meal a masjid nearby. Immediately Shree Gajanan stood up along with his platter and sat beside the Fakir and ate with him. While eating they looked at each other with much affection. Later Mehatab Shah told his servants, “I am going to Lahore. I am not interested to build a masjid at ‘Kurum’. I cannot transgress the orders of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. You can go now.” Having said this he sent his servants away and left for Lahore. It was interesting to note that Shree Gajanan Maharaj himself built a masjid later at the said village. What does it mean? Is God a Hindu or a Muslim? It is left to our understanding. 

A Brahmin obsessed with purity and external religious observances came to Maharaj. He felt loathsome, as Maharaj did not give much importance to external cleanliness. Though a corpse of a black dog was lying on the way opposite to the Math for so many days, neither Maharaj nor his devotees bothered to remove it, which annoyed the Brahmin. Further he thought that a ganja smoking, untidy and degenerate lunatic has been revered and called as a Maharaj. The brahmis’s fury was aggravated by his thoughts. Maharaj read the thoughts reeling in his mind and said, “That dog did not die, take water in vessel and come with me.” The grumbling Brahmin followed. As Maharaj touched the corpse of the dog, it woke up and ran. The haughty Brahmin understood the power of Maharaj and realized that he was ever pure and prayed for asylum. On the same day he organized a ceremonial feast in the presence of Maharaj. 

When Vasudevananda Saraswathi – a man of wisdom and strict religious observance came to see Gajanan Maharaj, he  honoured him so much. The omniscient Gajanan Maharaj knowing that Vasudevananda Saraswathi would be visiting him the next day, told his devotees, “A very pious and a most religious person, a close relative of our Guru family will be coming tomorrow to see me. See that the way through which he comes is cleaned and cleared off any rags. He is a very pure, clean and knowledgeable person, hence we have to honor him with due respect.” Next day Shree Vasudevananda Saraswathi came to the Math. They glanced at each other and smiled. The meeting was such a great joy to both of them. One was strictly religious person and another was a master of all mysteries. One was jasmine and the other was a rose. If one was river Ganges the other was river Godavari. If one was Siva the other was Narayana. After a little while, Shree Vasudevananda Saraswathi silently took leave and went away. Later the devotees asked Maharaj, “There is an obvious difference between both of your ways but you say that he is closely related to Guru family, which is so confusing.” Maharaja replied, “Action, devotion and meditation, all the three lead to the same wisdom. It is not the means, but the goal, gives rise to pride. Those who reached the goal (wisdom) do not differentiate the means.” He gave a profound teaching of equanimity. 

Balakrishna, a resident of Balapur was a devotee of Samarth Ramadas – the Guru of Shivaji. Balakrishna went to Sajjangad every year on Dasa Navami day – the anniversary of Maha Samadhi of Ramdas. As he became old and his age did not permit him to go anywhere, he prayed to his Guru with tears in his eyes to give darshan in his house. In the middle of the prayer he went into slumber. In his dream he saw Samarth Ramdas who said, “Do not worry, I will come to your house”. The day that followed the incident was ‘Dasa Navami’. Balakrishna was eagerly waiting for his Guru with his eyes wide open. In the afternoon he heard from the doorway “Jaya Raghuveer Samarth”. He ran to the door and there, he saw Shree Gajanan. He invited Gajanan Maharaj into his house and with all honors revered him. But still, in his mind he felt deficient. In his dream Samarth Ramdas appeared and convinced him that there was no difference between him and Shree Gajanan. Since then Balakrishna worshiped Shree Gajanan as the incarnation of his Guru. 

In 1909, the health of Shree Gajanan Maharaj  deteriorated. He told his devotees to do pooja with devotion since that day was Vinayaka Chathurthi and later to immerse the idol in water. “You are our ‘Ganesh’, we offer our pooja to you” was the unanimous voice of the devotees, and they performed pooja to Maharaj. Next morning Gajanan Maharaj assembled all the devotees and said, “My journey has come to an end. None of you should grieve. I will always be with you”, saying these few words he sat in lotus posture. Soon the body turned cold and heavy. The sun had gone down. His body was led in a procession and kept in Samadhi at a place decided earlier. Nobody was ever known his name, but he remains still as nameless and formless nature. Today Shegao is a great Sansthan, a holy place of sincere devotion ,service to   humanity and discipline , with thousands of devotees visiting every day.