Shree Swami Samarth Maharaj

A Short Biography of Shree Swami Samarth 211
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Shree Sadguru Digambardas Maharaj
Shree Sadguru Digambardas Maharaj worked
extremely hard for the upliftment of the masses, which
earned him a distinguished place in the family of
modern-age saints of Maharashtra. His was deeply
inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for his
ambitions on the awakening of this country and by
Shree Samarth Ramdas Swami for his strong beliefs in
the Hindu religion.
On October 17, 1912 (Ashwin Shukla
Ashtami Shake 1834 as per Hindu calendar), in a small
village called Pomendi (Budruk) in the coastal province
of Konkan (12 Kms from Ratnagiri), a son was born to
the devout and deeply religious couple, Shri Ganesh
Vishnu Joshi and Smt. Janakibai. The parents named
the child as ‘Vitthal’ with great love. His father was a
landlord and ran a business of renting farms. He was born in a flourishing home.
Since early childhood, Vitthal Ganesh Joshi was a devotee of God and completely
detached from worldly matters. At a tender age of 12, he lost his mother and at the age
of 18, he lost his father. He then developed a strong desire to seek a Sadguru. So he
left home and went in search of a Sadguru. Coincidently, he went to the Muth of Shree
Beedkar Maharaj at Pune, where by his great fortune he got the blessings of Shree
Sadguru Baba Maharaj Sahasrabuddhe alias Shree Vasudevanant Saraswati. It’s almost
as if the Guru and his disciple were mutually awaiting each other. Shree Baba Maharaj
manifested himself in the form of Akkalkotnivasi Sri Swami Samarth - the incarnation of
Lord Dattatreya. He blessed and initiated young Vitthal (later known as Sadguru
Digambardas Maharaj or Shree Maharaj) with graciousness in the Swaroop Sampradaya
and made him the apostle of this sect. With this blessing from his Sadguru, Shree
Digambardas Maharaj got a protector for life.
Later Shree Digambardas Maharaj worked as medical representative in Dr.
Bose’s laboratory for a short while. He faired extremely well at work, but the ardent
desire for the divine knowledge did not let him focus on his career. Hence in 1946, he
finally quit the job & returned to Ratnagiri to perform rigorous ‘tapasya’ (penance).
On July 24, 1953, Shree Baba Maharaj took his gold ring with serpent-headed
pattern along with another silver ring and placed them on the right index finger of
Shree Maharaj. Graciously blessing him with all favours, Shree Baba Maharaj said, “The
ring from the preceptor’s finger is finally back with the preceptor. Vithoba, from this
very moment, I have taken your entire ego. Henceforth, you will not do anything of
your own will; rather I will perform my role on your behalf”.
Copyright © 2006 Shree Vitthalrao Joshi Charities Trust