Narayan Maharaj is revered as a great saint in the country and he was devout worshipper of Lord Dattatreya and Lord Shiva.
Profile
NarayanMaharaj was born on 3rd September 1885 in Nargund, Karnataka to a Brahmin couple. Some date it to 20th May 1885. His father died when he was fourteen months old and his mother died when he was four. His grandmother took care of him and planned to make him the heir to her property. This created a lot of problems amongst the relations and this young boy of nine walked away from all of them. That night he rested in a Shiva temple and he understood that no one came to enquire about him and even at the young age he realised that world and relations were ephemeral. He took refuge in Lord Dattatreya and outgrew his fears in life. His unflinching devotion to the Lord resulted in him being saved from near-death situations many times. Once a saint advised him to go Gangapur and serve Lord Dattatreya there. It is believed that he got his enlightenment in Gangapur. He travelled to many places all over the country and finally when he reached Kedgaon, Maharashtra, he is said to have got a divine call and settled there. He got four hectares of land and built an ashram. He lived in opulence but he rendered so much service to humanity. Thousands of people had food from his ashram. As his health began to fail, he moved to Ooty in Tamilnadu. He was an excellent organizer and would conduct ceremonies to perfection. Narayan Maharaj wanted to conduct ‘AtiRudraSwahakar’ to Lord Mallikarjun in Bangalore. With the help of the state of Mysore he conducted this pooja very well. He addressed the thousands who had gathered there, gave them a mantra for chanting and then went into his chambers and rested. The rest of the pooja was done as per the tradition but Narayan Maharaj was not present physically at the venue. When all the poojas were successfully completed, he was informed about it. He sat in Padmasan, a yoga pose, took a long breath and left the body. This was on 3rd September 1945.
Philosophy Propounded
Narayan Maharaj’s philosophy was simple ‘Treat every being as god’.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
Narayan Maharaj’s ashram is his biggest contribution to mankind. So many charitable services are going on there. State of Mysore planned to fly his body to Kedgaon but the devotees of Bangalore insisted that his samadhi be in Bangalore and it is on two acres of land near Kempambudi Lake in Bangalore. His devotees vouch that he still creates miracles in their lives and many say that he is still present in Kedgaon. Meher Baba, another saint has said that Narayan Maharaj was one of the Five Perfect Masters who lived during his life time.
