Early life

Brahmachaitanya Maharaj was born on 19 February 1845^[1] to Raoji and Gitabai Ghugardare (Kulkarni), a Deshastha Brahmin couple from Gondavale Budruk, a village in present-day Satara district, Maharashtra, India. His birth name was Ganpati Raoji Ghugardare (Kulkarni). His family were devotees to Lord Vitthala, a Hindu deity considered an incarnation of Krishna. His grandfather, Lingopant held the title of Kulkarni (rural record-keeper) of Gondavale during the Maratha Empire regime, which later also became the family name.^[1]

During childhood, Ganpati was said to have memorized the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita. He was bestowed the title of "Brahmachaitanya" by his master Tukamai. He is believed to have attained enlightenment at a very young age of 5.^[2]

Initiation

Thorle Ram Mandir

He arrived in Yehalegaon, a village near Nanded, and met Tukamai, who was considered a living synthesis of the three paths to self realization i.e., Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Karma Yoga. Ganpati stayed with Tukamai for nine months and would obediently follow the latter's instructions. On the occasion of Ram Navami, Tukamai initiated Ganapati with the mantra "Śrī Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām" ("श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम"),^[1] and bestowed upon him the title of "Brahmachaitanya."

Brahmachaitanya later traveled across India to Ujjain, the Himalayan , Ayodhya, Kashi, Calcutta, Indore and Nasik. During March 1866, Brahmachaitanya returned to Gondavale and accepted gṛhasthi or a material lifestyle.^[1] His first wife Saraswati and his son passed away prematurely, and he remarried a daughter of the Deshpande (district record-keeper) of Atpadi. His second wife was blind from birth and later became known as Aaisaheb. After given up all their belongings, Brahmachaitanya took his mother, Gitabai, on a pilgrimage to Varanasi and then Ayodhya. Gitabai is believed to have died in Kashi.

Return to Gondavale

During later years, Brahmachaitanya continued to expound spiritual methods revolving around devotion to Rama. Initially, he had a Rama temple built as an extension to his residence.^[1]

Ram Mandir in Gondavale

With time, the number of his disciples and followers increased. To cater to an increasing number of devotees, he arranged for the construction of Rama, Dattatreya, and Shani temples with an accommodation facility at Gondavale. He also had Rama temples built in other rural regions of Maharashtra.

Final years

Brahmachaitanya breathed his last on 22 December 1913, in Gondavale.^[2][3]

Shri K. V. Belsare

Shri K. V. Belsare, affectionately known as "Baba" (father), was born in a highly educated family in Hyderabad in 1909. He mastered the scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Dasbodh and Dnyaneshwari, at an early age and is believed to have memorized all of the 700 shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita in one week. He later became a professor of philosophy at Siddhartha college in Mumbai. His lectures were so popular that students from other disciplines used to line up and the classrooms were often overflowing due to his extraordinary clarity and ability to teach complex subjects in an easy-to-understand manner. He was initiated by Brahmachaitanya in 1931. On Brahmachaitanya's orders, Baba became the cornerstone of propagating Maharaj's teachings to a vast population over 60 years through many discourses on topics ranging from meditation to lectures on the Dnyaneshwari and Dasbodh. He authored more than 50 books in Marathi. His notable books include the biography of Brahmachaitanya, Upanishdacha Abhyas (studies on Upanishads) and Bhavarthgatha.^[8]

D.R. Bendre

D.R. Bendre (1896 – 1981) was a Kannada poet and recipient of the Jnanpith Award. Bendre credited Brahmachaitanya for bestowing on him the gift of poetry.^[9]

Temples

Samadhi Mandir Gondavle

Brahmachaitanya and his followers built and consecrated many temples around India. There are also temples dedicated to Brahmachaitanya in Maharashtra as well as in other places in India such as Bangalore (Srinivasanagar), and Hebbali in Dharwad district. The Ram Nam Japa ritual is held on a daily basis in these temples.