Santh Jnaneshwar : The Sanyasa of Vitthalpant

Om Jai Sai Ram! Verily by the grace of Sadguru alone can one cross the ocean of misery and reach the abode of brahman. The chanting of the Sadguru's name and the placing of the ego at his feet are the only means to this. I am but a mere dullard who has tasted a little of the ocean of nectar called the lives of Saints. It is only by the grace of the Sadguru that I have come across this ocean. I humbly beseech my Sadguru to help me sing his glory. I now go on to describe the life of Santh Jnaneshwar, the crest jewel of Saints and an incarnation of Panduranga. He is verily Sainath and Sainath is verily him. I now go on to describe how his father, Vitthalpant came to take Sanyasa.

Siddhopant, the patil of Alandi was stunned by the sight near the Indrani river. For there he saw a boy of about 20, with austere features sitting deep in meditation. Siddhopant thought thus "Such devotion! Such austerity at such a young age! I must find out who this boy is!". Thus he waited patiently until the boy opened his eyes. When the boy opened his eyes, Siddhopant asked him "My boy! Who are you? Where do you come from? Who are the blessed parents who have given birth to you?". The boy calmly replied "I am Vitthalpant from Apegaon. I am the son of Govindpant and Nirabai. I just returned from Pandharpur after the darshan of my beloved Vitthala and Rukmai". Siddhopant replied "Blessed am I to have met such a great devotee of Panduranga. Won't you come with me to my house and allow me to serve you by giving you food and shelter. Please be my guest". After much persuasion Vitthalpant accepted Siddhopant's offer.

At Siddhopant's house, his daughter Rukmini served food to Vitthalpant and Siddhopant. That night Siddhopant slept peacefully. Suddenly as the sun removes darkness in the morning, his slumber was removed by a vision of Panduranga. Panduranga, had the Kaustuba mani, the crocodile shaped ear rings, was of the color of the sky and appeared bright as a thousand suns. He held the conch, the Sudharshana discuss, the lotus and the mace in his hands. In a deep and resonant voice, he addressed Siddhopant "Oh Siddhopant, give your daughter Rukmini to my devotee Vitthalpant in marriage. The children born to them will be great teachers of mankind! If you do so, you will do a great service to mankind. For I myself will be born onto Rukmini along with Brahma, Maheswara, and Saraswathi". Thus saying Panduranga vanished and Vitthalpant awoke from his slumber feeling very happy indeed.

The next day Siddhopant told Vitthalpant of his dream vision. Vitthalpant however was not convinced. He was dispassionate towards all things materialistic and was hankering after Panduranga only. He said so to Siddhopant "Oh reverend sir, I believe your every word. But I do not myself like to get into bondages like marriage. If it be the wish of Vitthala, may he also give me such a vision as yours. Then alone, will I consent to marry your daughter". So saying Vitthalpant went to Indrani river to bathe and meditate. That night as he slept, he got a similar vision, where his beloved Panduranga told him to marry Rukmini. Since it was the will of Panduranga, Vitthalpant consented to marry Rukmini and took her to Apegaon to the house of his beloved parents. The parents were overjoyed to see their son and their pius daughter in law.

For a while the family lived happily, but then tragedy struck. Both Vitthalpant's parents died in quick succession. This upset Vitthalpant very much. He bemoaned thus "Oh my beloved parents, have now been reduced to a handful of ashes! What am I to do? Where am I to go? Vitthala, what kind of life is this?". Rukmini and Siddhopant tried to pacify him, but in vain. Siddhopant thought that, a change in place can bring about a change in his son in law. Hence he took his son and daughter in law to Alandi. However, Vitthalpant seemed to have acquired a dispassion for life. He felt married life was a burden and an entanglement. He thought, he ought to take sanyasa and find the true meaning of life. Thus he often used to plead to Rukmini to give him permission to take up Sanyasa. Rukmini used to tell him, "It is not right for a man to desert his duties in life to take up sanysa. One must live life with a detatched mind and must perform the duties according to one's station. Only when one's duties in this world are fulfilled, then only can he take sanyasa". However Vitthalpant was insisting again and again that Rukmini give him permission. Rukmini, who often bore this with patience, one day became irritated, when Vitthalpant was eating lunch, and said thus "Please eat your lunch first. Then do whatever you want!" Then Vitthalpant silently finished his lunch and went out to wash his hands. He however did not return home as he often used to. Rukmini feared the worst and thought thus "Oh god! Did he take my words seriously?" . And indeed he had. For he did not return for days. Rukmini thought thus "My place is next to my husband. What am I to do without him? I shall circumambulate around the holy Ashwatta tree a thousand times a day and eat a sigle meal per day until he returns". Thus Rukmini led an austere life at Alandi.

Thus ends the story of how the noble father of Santh Jnaneswar, Shri Vitthalpant, took sanyasa. In the next post I shall describe how Vitthala by his miraculous leela made Vitthalpant go back to Rukmini and the birth of Santh Jnaneshwar.

I humbly prostrate myself before the almighty Vitthala, Shri Vitthalpant and Rukmini the noble parents of Santh Jnaneshwar and Santh Jnaneshwar Mauli himself who is none other than an incarnation of Pandurange.

Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari!

Bow to Shri Sai! Peace be to all!