Changdev

Changdev is situated in Muktainagar Taluka (earlier known as Edailabad) of Jalgaon District in Maharashtra, India.His surname was Prabhune. It is situated at a distance of 5 km from National Highway no. 6 from "Hartala Fata". The place is known after the great saint, Changdev Maharaj, who is said to have lived in this place and meditated for 1400 years.The place has an ancient temple and it has been declared as a protected monument and is being maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The temple is situated at the junction of Tapi and Purna rivers. The story of Muktabai is chiefly bound up with that of dnyanadev, one of her brothers. The other two brothers being Nivritti and Sopan. They were the four children of Vitthalpant and Rukmabai Kulkarni of Apegaon, who lived on the banks of the river Godavari near Pai then in Alandi. Muktabai was the youngest child and has been regarded as the incarnation of Devi Saraswati or Adi-Shakti. Nivritti is regarded as the incarnation of Lord Shiva, Jnanadev as the incarnation of Sri Krishna, and Sopan as the incarnation of Brahma.

Vitthalpant even from his tender age was very religious minded. He left his house for Varanasi and took up Sanyasa. Swami Ramananda initiated him into the order of anchorites and named him Chaitanyananda thinking he was unmarried.

Rukmabai at Alandi spent her days praying to God for the return of her husband. Twelve years later, Ramananda was on his way Rameshwar when he happened to meet Rukmabai at Alandi, who told him that Chaitanyananda, was her husband. Ramananda returned to Varanasi and send for Chaitanyananda. He orders him to return to Alandi immediately and lead his earlier householder’s life. Vitthalpant obeys, returns to his wife and resumes the Grishasta’s (householder) duty.

In due course of time four children were born to them. As mentioned above they were Nivritti, Jnanadev, Sopan and Muktabai. Vitthalpant taught his children all that was necessary for a Brahmin to know and they become quite learned in scriptures. But the people of Alandi ostracized them saying that a monk could not become a householder again, and, as such the children could not be invested with the sacred thread. Extremely disheartened, Vitthalpant and his wife gave up their lives by throwing themselves into the Ganges at [Prayag] .

The four children were left as orphans and had to live on alms. Muktabai was taken great care by her brothers. They tried to persuade the Brahmins to invest them with the sacred thread but were outrightly refused. Jnanadev challenged the Brahmins by making a buffalo recite the Vedas. He proved that true Brahmanism consisted in having a pure heart and conduct, and not in rituals and plain dogmas which made the Pandit Brahmins of Paithan admit that to the superiority and greatness of the brothers that they did not need to do any penance or needed initiation.

Jnanadev became a great scholar and wrote his famous Jnaneshwari, an exposition of the Bhagavad Gita in the Marathi language. He held religious discourses and spend his time with Namdev and other great saints at Pandharpur during festivals. Muktabai too having undergone sufferings since childhood with her brothers was influenced by her brothers’ endurance, knowledge and philosophy. Like her brothers, she was also revered and honoured. By now she had attained sainthood, and was even initiating others into spirituality. There are many legendary stories related to her supernatural powers and ability as a spiritual guide.

One of these anecdotes tells us that once Jnanadev with his brothers and sister had gone to the Pandharpur temple. Saint Namdev, who always lived there, was also sitting near the image of the deity. He thought he was dearer to Lord Vithoba since he was always near Him. Jnanadev and his brothers prostrated before the deity as also di Namdev. Muktabai, however, who could read the innermost thoughts of others, saluted the Lord but did not do so to Namdev saying ``Mere staying in the company of God does not make a man worthy of salute. Namdev does not deserve any since he has had no spiritual guide as yet’’. A discussion took place and finally it was decided to go to Gora Kumbhar, the potter, the well known saint, to judge whether Namdev was a perfect saint or not.

Namdev, accordingly, goes with Jnandev and others to Gora Kumbhar at the temple of Pandharpur, where other great saints like Changdev, Rohidas, Chokamela, Savta and many other saints had assembled for a kirtan. Muktabai wanted to put Namdev on the right path of knowledge and so asked the potter, Gor Kumbhar, to test all the saints assembled there whether they were perfect. Th potter’s test was always to tap the pots in order to find out if they were well baked. Gora Kumbhar taps the heads of all, but when he came to Namdev and tapped his head he exclaimed ``This pot is not well baked.’’

Namdev ran to Lord Krishna and narrated the whole thing. Sri Krishna told him that it was true and that he was kachcha (raw), ill-baked and had not attained the highest realisation. Lord Krishna tells him to go to Kecharswami, a disciple of Jnanadev for initiation. Vinoba proves to Namdev that there was not a place devoid of God’s presence in ths world. It was, therefore, foolish on his part to consider himself superior to other saints who could not be at Pandharpur. After this enlightenment of Namdev, Gora, Muktabai acknowledged him a great saint and Muktabai made her obeisance to him.

Another legend tells us about Muktabai being the spiritual guide of Changdev Vateshwar, a yogi living on the bank of the river Tapi. Once Muktabai and her brothers were sitting in the Ashram when Changdev happened to pass by. Muktabai was, of course fully clad, but she appeared to Changdev as unclad and at once turned away. Muktabai then told him that he was not perfect as he still had a complex of sex and shame and did not see God in every being. These words of Muktabai had great effect on him and he eradicated this weakness through intense sadhana. Changdev wished to make Jnanadev his Guru, but Jnanadev said that Muktabai was the right spiritual Guru instead of himself. Changdev has made many references to Muktabai in his Abhangs.

Muktabai had the gift of composing verses. She tells us that she was awakened to spiritual consciousness by the grace of Nivritti. In her Abhang, she compares the grace of Nivritti to the bank of a river, across which she was able to reach by the grace of Nivritti. Many of her preachings to Changdev in the form of Abhangs became very famous. But her most popular Abhanga is the Tatiche Abhanga (The song of the Door).

What inspired Muktabai to compose the Abhang Tatiche Abhanga was an incident related to Jnanadev, who was once annoyed with the people around him and locked himself up in his hut. When Muktabai heard this, she composed some Abhangs advising him that it does not befit a saint to be upset over follies of the world. In this Abhang she says ``An ascetic is pure in mind and forgives the offences of people. If the world is hot as fire owing to exasperation, a sage should with pleasure be cool as water. If people hurt them with weapons of words, saints should treat those remarks as pieces of advice. This universe is a single piece of cloth woven with the one thread of Brahman, so please open the door, O Jnaneshwar.’’

Muktaba’s life was brief but she enlightened thousands of people by her striking personality, which helped to enhance the greatness of her brothers too. She was struck by lightening and reached the abode of God when she was barely eighteen. Muktabai is honoured to this day and regarded as one of the pioneers of the Varakari cult. The couplet ``Nivritti, Jnanadev, Sopan, Muktabai, Eknath, Tukaram’’ is still recited by the devotees of the Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur in their bhajans or devotional songs.

References

# Muktainagar
# [http://samachar.com/features/17024-literature.html Legends about Saint Changdev]
# [http://bhusawal.com/bsl_changdev.html Deity of Changdev temple]