Sant Gyaneshwar Jayanti: Sant Dnyaneshwar History, Celebration

4to40.com August 23, 2024 Indian Festivals 14,358 Views

Sant Gyaneshwar Jayanti is celebrated in honour of the legendary North Indian Sant Gyaneshwar who is best known for his intellectual qualities. Regarded as one of the best social reformers that India has ever produced, Gyaneshwar was highly influential in giving knowledge to people so that they could understand the difference between the good and bad. According to the historical records available, it is believed that the saint was born in 1271 who went on to become one of the iconic figures in the Indian religion system. People offer respectful prayers and remember his deeds without foregoing the actual philosophies and feelings on his birthday.

Full Name:	Sant Gyaneshwar / Sant Dnyaneshwar, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli; Dnyaneshwar Vitthalpant Kulkarni
Born:	Utpatti Ekadashi, 1275 CE Apegaon, Sevuna Samrajyam (present-day Paithan Taluka, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India)
Died:	1296 CE (age 21) Alandi, Yadava kingdom (Pune District, Maharashtra, India)
Philosophy:	Advaita, Varkari
Literary works:	Dnyaneshwari, Amrutanubhav, Changdev Paasashti, Haripath, abhang devotional poetry
Honors:	Sant (Saint), Dev (God) and Mauli (Mother)

History and Life:

Saint Gyaneshwar was born in a hamlet located close to River Godavari. During his childhood, Gyaneshwar was like any other kid leading life in a playful manner. However, he started taking a religious route due to the immense influence he got upon him through his own brother. Imagine the kind of academic prowess he used to display due to which he was able to attract more number of people towards him who later became his followers. He enriched his learning further after he joined his brother to attend various religious meetings without fail.

Saint Gyaneshwar acquired immense knowledge because he attended several religious gatherings. These attendances had a great impact upon him and he began to understand Hinduism better. The most famous literary works done by the much revered Indian saint are known as Gyaneshwari and Amritanumbhava. Gyaneshwari is a book based on Bhagwat Gita that reveals the truth of life while providing extreme virtue of knowledge. The other book, Amritanumbhava, could be considered as a combined biography of various saints for whom he is regarded as the spiritual leader.

Gyaneshwari is considered as the literary masterpiece since the philosophy of life has been dealt in it with great detail. The book is popular because of the intellectual ways through which every concept has been included. Perhaps, the book is held in high esteem by the entire Hindu community as they find it very close to their lives and could associate themselves in day to day activities. Learning about good features and personality development is best possible when one goes through the book in detail. There are some people who believe to the extent that Gyaneshwar was capable of waking up even a dead person because of his immense literal knowledge and immaculate power.

Sant Gyaneshwar Jayanti / Birthday Celebrations:

Several centuries have passed since Gyaneshwar ji died. However, the kind of aura that the great saint has generated remains still the same. He has especially been at his influential best as far as his books are considered. Reforming the society was high on his agenda due to which he has been able to acquire maximum number of followers in comparison to others. People in Madhya Pradesh celebrate the birthday of Saint Gyaneshwar by taking a head bath on the day and offering their prayers to him. A satsang is organized followed by bhajan and kirtan.