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The Inchagiri Sampradaya, also known as Nimbargi Sampradaya, is a lineage of Hindu Navnath and Lingayat teachers from Maharashtra and Karnataka, which was started by Bhausaheb Maharaj. [web 1] It is inspired by Sant Mat teachers as Namdev, Raidas and Kabir. The Inchagiri Sampradaya has become well known throughout the western world due to the popularity of Nisargadatta Maharaj.
The mythological origins of the Inchagiri Sampradaya are ascribed to Adiguru Shri Dattatreya. He initiated the Navanaths, the Holy Nine Gurus, [1] and the Navanath Sampraday. [web 2] [1]
One of those Navnaths was Revanath, the 7th [1] or 8th [2] Navnath. Revanath settled on the Siddhgiri hill for ascetic practice, living on whatever the jungle, gave him. He became famous as Kaadhsiddheshwar, [note 1] "the one who attained supreme realization in a forest". [web 3]
Revananath is considered to have established the Kaadsiddheshwar temple and math, [web 3] also called Kaadsiddheshwar Peeth. [web 4] in the 7th century CE. [web 3] Other accounts mention a history of "more than 1300 years", [web 5] and the 14th century CE, when a Lingayat Priest established a Shivling at the hill, which became Kaneri Math, nowadays called Siddhagiri Math, [web 6] [web 7] It is located on Siddhagiri hill [web 8] in Kanheri village, Karveer tehsil, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra state, India. [web 6]
The Siddhagiri Math was established around the Moola-Kaadsiddheswar Shiva temple in the Shaiva-Lingayat tradition. [web 3] It is a vast campus with the central Shiva temple. [web 3]
In the 12th century the Math came under the influence of Basaveshwar, who established the Lingayat tradition of south India. [web 3] It is the main Kuldaivat [note 2] of the Lingayat Shaiva community, [web 4] its influence exceeding to most of the districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, and also to some places in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. [web 3]
Part of Siddhagiri Math is the "Siddhagiri Gramjivan Museum", a wax museum dedicated to Gandhi's ideal of rural life. It was established by the 27th Mathadhipati, Adrushya Kadsiddheshwar Swami Ji. [web 6]
Revanath initiated Sant Dnyaneshwar [web 9] (1275–1296), also known as Sant Jñāneshwar or Jñanadeva [web 9] and as Kadasiddha [1] or Kad-Siddheshwar Maharaj. [2]
Dnyaneshwar was a 13th-century Maharashtrian Hindu saint ( Sant – a title by which he is often referred), poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition whose works Bhavartha Deepika (a commentary on Bhagavad Gita, popularly known as "Dnyaneshwari"), and Amrutanubhav are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature.
According to Shirvaikar, Dnyaneshwar was initiated into the Nath by his elder brother Nivrutti, who was born in 1273. [web 10]
In a state of extreme distress Vithalpant went to Triambakeshwar (near Nasik) with his family for performing worship at the Shiva temple. Triambakeshwar is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas or luminary lingas of Lord Shiva. While they had gone for performing pradakshina (circumambulation) of the temple one night they encountered a ferocious tiger (in thirteenth century the area was a deep forest) The members of the family ran helter skelter and were dispersed. Nivrutti wandered into a cave in the Anjani mountain where Gahininath, one of the nine Naths was staying for some time. He was attracted towards Nivrutti and in spite of his young age initiated him into Nath sect by initiation of nath panthi 'soham sadhana' which is combination of yoga, bhakti and also dnyana, instructing him to propagate devotion to Shri Krishna. That is how Nivrutti became Nivruttinath. The matter of excommunication did not affect this because the Nath sect does not bother about caste system and though socially it may be observed it is ignored in spiritual matters. [web 10]
In 1287 Nivrutti initiated his younger brother:
Nivrutinath initiated Dnyanadeo into the Nath sect and instructed him to write a commentary on Gita. Thus we have a unique situation of a fourteen-year-old Guru instructing his twelve-year-old disciple to write something which has become the hope of humanity. [web 10]
Dnyaneshwar died at the young age of 21. [web 10]
Different accounts of the founding of the Nimbargi Sampradaya by Nimbargi Maharaj, the alternate name of the Inchegeri Sampradaya, are to be found.
Nimbargi belonged to a Nellawai sub-caste of the Lingayat caste. [3] [2] According to Boucher,
It is significant that some of the founders of the Navnath Sampradaya are Lingayat or Virasaiva because this was a revolutionary movement, allowing people of all walks of life, and both sexes to find Shiva immanent within themselves. Part of this democratizing movement, I believe, is a reaction of Western India's contact with Islam, which embraces people of all class, creed and gender. The iconoclasm, which is at the heart of Virasaivism actually comes down to us in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as something we can easily relate to. The breaking down of taboos, of certain parts of India's spiritual structure makes it possible for us as modern people to partake of these teachings. We do not even have to be practicing Hindus, in the traditional sense, in order to hear it. This attitude was most evident in the Satsang room of Sri Nisargaddatta Maharaj. [2]
Nimbargi practiced for 36 years, meanwhile living as a householder, and was finally awakened when he was 67. Until his death, at the age of 95, he "initiated people and lived the life of a Jivanmukta". [2]
According to Kotnis, Bhausaheb Maharj was looked upon as the reincarnation of Sant Tukaram [4] (1577–1650), a prominent Varkari Sant and spiritual poet of the Bhakti, who had taken birth again in the Neelwani Lingayat community to finish his work of spreading the knowledge of Self-realization. [4] Bhausaheb Maharaj belonged to the Deshastha Brahmin caste. [2] the same caste to which the thirteenth century Varkari saint and philosopher Dnyaneshwar belonged, the 16th century sant Eknath, and the 17th century saint and spiritual poet Samarth Ramdas. [5]
At the request of Nimbargi, [2] [web 14] Bhausaheb Maharaj Deshpande (1843 Umdi – 1914 Inchgiri) [web 14] received mantra initiation [2] from Shri Raghunathpriya Sadhu Maharaj, [2] [web 14] who was an ardent follower and a devoted disciple of Shri Gurulingajangam Maharaj. [6] [web 14] Bhausaheb Maharaj became a disciple of Nimbargi Maharaj. [web 14]
Bhausaheb Maharaj teachings were collected in a book called Nama-Yoga, a term coined by the compilers and translators of the book, whereas Bhausaheb Maharaj himself called it Jnana Marga, just like Nimbargi Maharaj did. [2] Bhausaheb Maharaj's teachings, and those of his student Gurudeo Ranade, have been called Pipilika Marg , [web 15] "the Ant's way", [web 15] the way of meditation, [web 16] while the teachings of Siddharameshwar Maharaj and his disciples Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ranjit Maharaj have been called Vihangam Marg, [web 15] "the Bird's Way", the direct path to Self-discovery. [web 16] [note 6] [note 7]
After his awakening he was authorized by Nimbargi to carry on the lineage, [2] and established the Inchegeri Sampraday. [1] Sri Bhausaheb Maharaj had many students, among which were:
Ramachandra Dattatreya Ranade (1886–1957) was a scholar with an academic career. He taught at Willindon College, Sangli, on a regular basis before being invited to join Allahabad University as Head of Department of Philosophy where he rose to be the Vice-Chancellor. After retirement in 1946 he lived in an ashrama in a small village, Nimbal, near Solapur where he died on 6 June 1957. [web 20]
Siddharameshwar Maharaj was born in 1888. In 1906 [web 11] he was initiated by his guru Bhausaheb Maharaj in Inchegeri in Bijapur district, Karnataka India, who taught mantra-meditation as the way to reach Final Reality. [web 15] In 1920 Siddharameshwar Maharaj started to set out on "the Bird's Path", the fast way to attain realisation, six years after Bhauhaseb maharaj had died. [web 15] His fellow-students opposed, but eventually he succeeded by himself. [web 15]
Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj initiated several well-known teachers:
Siddharameshwar Maharaje used four books to give sermons on: Dasbodh of Saint Shri Samarth Ramdas; the Yoga Vasistha; "Sadachara" of Shri Shankaracharya; and the "Eknathi Bhagwat" of Sant Eknath. [web 22]
Nisargadatta started to give initiations in 1951, after a personal revelation from his guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj: [web 23]
Ever since his return to Bombay in 1938, Nisargadatta had been sought out by those desiring his counsel on spiritual matters. Many wanted to become his disciples and get formal mantra-initiation from him, reverentially calling him "Maharaj," "Great (Spiritual) King." Yet he was reluctant to have disciples and serve as a guru. Finally, in 1951, after receiving an inner revelation from Siddharamesvar, he began to initiate students into discipleship. [web 23]
Nisargadatta Maharaj attracted a broad following in the western world. He never appointed any successor, because
[...] he wasn't allowed to appoint a successor. You have to remember that Nisargadatta wasn't realized himself when Siddharameshwar passed away. [web 24]
Only a few persons were acknowledged as jnani by Sri Nisargadatta. [web 24] [note 8] Nevertheless, several western teachers regard Sri Nisargadatta to be their guru. [web 25] Shri Ramakant Maharaj says to be "the only Indian direct disciple of Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj" who offers initiation into this lineage. [web 26] He received the Naam mantra in 1962 from Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and spent the next 19 years with him. [web 27]
Sri Ranjit Maharaj (1913–2000) met Siddharameshwar Maharaj in 1924. The following year he was initiated by Siddharameshwar Maharaj. In 1934, at the age of 24, he took initiation to monkhood. Only in 1983, at the age of 70, initiated his first disciple, Shri Siddharameshwar Maharajs granddaughter in law. [web 28]
Shri Samartha Sadaguru Ganapatrao Maharaj Kannur (1909–2004) was initiated by Siddharameshwar Maharaj when he was thirteen. After graduation he attained liberation at age 24. Later in life he founded the Shanti Kuteer Ashram. [web 29]
Shri Muppin Kaadsiddheshwar Maharaj was formally adopted by the 25th Virupaksha Kaadeshwar of the Kaneri Math, Lingayat Parampara, and invested as the 26th Mathadheepati of the (Siddhagiri) Kaneri Math, Lingayat Parampara, in 1922 at the age of 17. [web 30] He met Siddharameshwar Maharaj in 1935, who became his guru. [web 30]
| Rishi Dattatreya [lower-alpha 1] | |||||||||
| Navnath, the nine founders of the Nath Sampradaya, [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] | |||||||||
| Gahininath, [lower-alpha 4] the 5th Navnath [lower-alpha 5] | Revananath, the 7th [lower-alpha 6] or 8th [lower-alpha 7] Navnath, also known as Kada Siddha [lower-alpha 8] | Siddhagiri Math [lower-alpha 9] [lower-alpha 10] c.q. Kaneri Math (est. 7th [lower-alpha 11] or 14th century [lower-alpha 12] ; Lingayat Parampara [lower-alpha 13] c.q. Kaadasiddheshwar Parampara [lower-alpha 14] | |||||||
| Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar's brother [lower-alpha 15] | |||||||||
| Dnyaneshwar [lower-alpha 16] (1275–1296) also known as Sant Jñāneshwar or Jñanadeva [lower-alpha 17] and as Kadasiddha [lower-alpha 18] or Kad-Siddheshwar Maharaj [lower-alpha 19] | |||||||||
Different accounts: | |||||||||
| 1 | Nimbargi Maharaj (1789–1875) also known as Guru Lingam-Jangam Maharaj [lower-alpha 27] [lower-alpha 28] [lower-alpha 29] | 23rd Shri Samarth Muppin Kaadsiddheswar Maharaj[ citation needed ] | |||||||
| 2 | Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj Umdikar [lower-alpha 30] [lower-alpha 31] (1843 Umdi – 1914 Inchgiri [lower-alpha 32] ) | 24th Shri Samarth Muppin Kaadsiddheswar Maharaj[ citation needed ] | |||||||
| 3 | Shri Amburao Maharaj of Jigjivani (1857 Jigajevani – 1933 Inchgiri) [lower-alpha 33] [lower-alpha 34] | Shivalingavva Akka (1867–1930) [lower-alpha 35] | Girimalleshwar Maharaj [lower-alpha 36] [lower-alpha 37] | Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1875–1936) [lower-alpha 38] [lower-alpha 39] | 25th Shri Samarth Muppin Kaadsiddheswar Maharaj[ citation needed ] | ||||
| 4 | Shri Gurudev Ranade of Nimbal (1886–1957) [lower-alpha 40] [lower-alpha 41] [lower-alpha 42] [lower-alpha 43] [lower-alpha 44] | Balkrishna Maharaj [lower-alpha 45] | Shri Aujekar Laxman Maharaj [lower-alpha 46] | Madhavananda Prabhuji (d. 25th May, 1980) [lower-alpha 47] | Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) [lower-alpha 48] |
| 26th Shri Muppin Kaadsiddheshwar Maharaj (1905–2001) Student of Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj [lower-alpha 54] | ||
| 5 | Shri Gurudev Chandra Bhanu Pathak [lower-alpha 55] | Bhausaheb Maharaj (Nandeshwar) [lower-alpha 56] | Shri Nagnath Alli Maharaj [lower-alpha 57] |
| 27th head: Adrushya Kadsiddheshwar Swamiji [lower-alpha 75] | Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Shree Swami Narendracharyaji Maharaj [lower-alpha 76] | |||
Notes for table Notes
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Nisargadatta narrates the following about the succession of teachers of the Inchagiri Sampradaya:
I sit here every day answering your questions, but this is not the way that the teachers of my lineage used to do their work. A few hundred years ago there were no questions and answers at all. Ours is a householder lineage, which means everyone had to go out and earn his living. There were no meetings like this where disciples met in large numbers with the Guru and asked him questions. Travel was difficult. There were no buses, trains and planes. In the old days the Guru did the traveling on foot, while the disciples stayed at home and looked after their families. The Guru walked from village to village to meet the disciples. If he met someone he thought was ready to be included in the sampradaya, he would initiate him with mantra of the lineage. That was the only teaching given out. The disciple would repeat the mantra and periodically the Guru would come to the village to see what progress was being made. When the Guru knew that he was about to pass away, he would appoint one of the householder-devotees to be the new Guru, and that new Guru would then take on the teaching duties: walking from village to village, initiating new devotees and supervising the progress of the old ones. [web 24]
Nisargadatta also told:
There is a succession of Gurus and their disciples, who in turn train more disciples and thus the line is maintained. But the continuity of tradition is informal and voluntary. It is like a family name, but here the family is spiritual. [8]
Nisargadatta also explained:
Q:How does one become a Navnath? By initiation or by succession?
M:Neither. The 'Nine Masters' tradition, Navnath Parampara, is like a river -- it flows into the ocean of reality and whoever enters it is carried along.
Q:Does it imply acceptance by a living master belonging to the same tradition?
M:Those who practice the sadhana of focusing their minds on 'I am' may feel related to others who have followed the same sadhana succeeded. They may decide to verbalise their sense of kinship by calling themselves Navnaths. It gives them the pleasure of belonging to an established tradition. [8]
Nisargadatta further explains:
Q:Do you have to realise to join the Sampradaya?
M:The Navnath Sampradayais is only a tradition, a way of teaching and practice. It does not denote a level of consciousness. If you accept a Navnath Sampradayateacher as your Guru, you join his Sampradaya. Usually you receive a token of his grace – a look, a touch, or a word, sometimes a vivid dream or a strong remembrance. Sometimes the only sign of grace is a significant and rapid change in character and behavior.
Q:I know you now for some years and I meet you regularly. The thought of you is never far from my mind. Does it make me belong to your Sampradaya?
M:Your belonging is a matter of your own feeling and conviction. After all, it is all verbal and formal. In reality there is neither Guru nor disciple, neither theory nor practice, neither ignorance nor realization. It all depends on what you take yourself to be. Know yourself correctly. There is no substitute to self-knowledge.
Q:What proof will I have that I know myself correctly?
M:You need no proofs. The experience is unique and unmistakable. It will dawn on you suddenly, when the obstacles are removed to some extent. It is like a frayed rope snapping. [8]
Nisargadatta started to give initiations in 1951, after a "personal revelation" from his guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, [web 23] while Ranjit Maharaj started to give initiations in 1983, almost half a century after his awakening, on request of Siddharameshwar Maharaj granddaughter-in-law: [web 22]
In 1936, when he passed away, I was living my simple life because I never wanted to become a Master [laughs]. I started to teach in 1983 because my Master's granddaughter-in-law wanted me to give her a mantra. She said to me, "I want a mantra from you." If I didn't give her a mantra, then I'd be faithless to Siddharameshwar Maharaj. So by my Master's order and grace I started to teach, and at this moment I teach you. [laughs]. [web 22]
Sant Dnyaneshwar, also referred to as Dnyaneshwar, Dnyanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath and Varkari tradition. In his short life of 21 years, he authored Dnyaneshwari and Amrutanubhav. These are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, and considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. Sant Dnyaneshwar's ideas reflect the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy and an emphasis on Yoga and bhakti towards Vithoba, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. His legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram, and he is one of the founders of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra. Dnyaneshwar undertook samadhi at Alandi in 1296 by entombing himself in an underground chamber.
Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya.
Natha, also called Nath, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider Shiva as their first lord or guru, with varying lists of additional gurus. Of these, the 9th or 10th century Matsyendranatha and the ideas and organization mainly developed by Gorakhnath are particularly important. Gorakhnath is considered the originator of the Nath Panth.
Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar.
Dāsbodh, loosely meaning "advice to the disciple" in Marathi, is a 17th-century bhakti (devotion) and jnana (insight) spiritual text. It was orally narrated by the saint Samarth Ramdas to his disciple, Kalyan Swami. The Dāsbodh provides readers with spiritual guidance on matters such as devotion and acquiring knowledge. Besides this, it also helps in answering queries related to day-to-day life and how to find solutions to it.
Narayan Maharaj was a Hindu Indian spiritual master considered by his followers to be a sadguru. He lived in the village of Kedgaon, east of the Indian city of Pune.
Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1888–1936) was a guru in the Inchagiri Sampradaya founded by his guru Bhausaheb Maharaj, a branch of the Navnath Sampradaya, the 'Nine Masters' tradition in India. His disciples included Nath teachers Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ranjit Maharaj, Kaadsiddheshwar, and Ganapatrao Maharaj Kannur.
The Navanatha, also spelt as Navnath in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based. They are worshipped collectively as well as individually.
Siddhagiri Gramjivan Museum (Kaneri Math) at Kaneri, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, is a sculpture museum. The full name is Siddhagiri Gramjivan (Village life) Museum. It is situated at Shri Kshetra Siddhagiri Math, a campus built around the Moola-Kaadsiddheswar Shiva temple.
Shri Samartha Sadaguru Ganapatrao Maharaj Kannur (1909–2004) was an Indian guru in the Inchegeri Sampradaya.
Shri Samarth Muppin Kaadsiddheswar Maharaj was a guru in the Navnath tradition of Hindu philosophy. He was a disciple of Shri Samarth Siddharameshwar Maharaj, disciple of Shri Samarth Bhausaheb Maharaj, disciple of Shri Gurulingajangam Maharaj, disciple of the 22nd Shri Samarth Muppin Kaadsiddheswar Maharaj.
Nivruttinath was a 13th-century Marathi Bhakti saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Vaishnava Nath tradition. He was the elder brother and the mentor (guru) of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint.
Swami Nigamananda Paramahansa was an Indian yogi, guru and mystic in Eastern India. He is associated with the Shakta tradition and a spiritual master of vedanta, tantra, yoga and prema or bhakti. His followers referred him as Thakura.
The Advaita Guru-Paramparā is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine, Vedic and historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta. It begins with the Daiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by the Ṛṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then the Mānava-paramparā, with the historical teachers Gaudapada and Adi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils. Of the five contemporary acharyas, the heads of the five Advaita mathas, four acharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one to Adi Shankara himself.
Ramchandra Dattatrey Ranade (1886–1957) was an Indian scholar-philosopher-saint of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
I Am That is a compilation of talks on Shiva Advaita (Nondualism) philosophy by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a Hindu spiritual teacher who lived in Mumbai. The English translation of the book from the original Marathi recordings was done by Maurice Frydman, edited by Sudhakar S. Dixit and first published in 1973 by Chetana Publications. The book was revised and reedited in July 1981. These publications led to the spread of Nisargadatta's teachings to the West, especially North America and Europe. Excerpts of the book were published in Yoga Journal in September 1981, the month Nisargadatta died at age 84.
Shri Revan Natha, also known as Revan Siddh, Kada Siddha, and, Kaadhsiddheshwar Siddharaj was the 7th or 8th Navnath. He is especially worshipped in western India, where several temples are dedicated to him, and several sampradayas trace their origin to him, the best-known being the Inchegeri Sampradaya.
Sri Ranjit Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher in the Navnath Inchegeri Sampradaya tradition, and disciple of Siddharameshwar Maharaj.
Bhausaheb Maharaj was the founder of the Inchegeri Sampradaya, to which the well-known Indian guru Nisargadatta Maharaj belonged.
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