Balumama Maharaj, (born Ballappa, 3 October 1892 – 4 September 1966) was an Indian saint, guru, mystic, and a

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

Life and miracles

Early life

Balumama was born on 3 October 1892 in a village called Akkol in

Chikkodi Chikkodi is a town, taluka and one of three Subdivisional headquarter, in the Belagavi district of Karnataka, India. Chikodi, Athani, Hukkeri, Raybag, Nipani and Kagwad are the taluks that come under Chikodi Subdivision. It is 75 kilometers ...

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

district in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

in a Hindu

dhangar The Dhangars are caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh . They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region) and the forested hill tracts of India's We ...

(

Shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

) family. His father was a shepherd named Mayappa and his mother's name was Sundara. He spent his childhood with his parents but was always lost in

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. He later went on to live some time after do marriage The marriage did not last long. He was given about 15 sheep by his in-laws which he started to tend.

Temple

Balumama attained

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

at the age of 73 in 1966 in a village called Adamapur in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

district of Maharashtra. A temple was built in his memory in Adamapur which lies between

Nipani Nippani (ನಿಪ್ಪಾಣಿ) is the third largest city, taluka in the Belagavi district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is an important agricultural and commercial trade and education centre in the district. Nippani and its surround ...

in Karnataka and Radhanagari in Maharashtra. The Temple is managed by ''Shri Balumama Sansthana''. The small flock have now grown to 40,000 sheep, which are looked after by his devotees and still considered sacred.

Books

* 'Shri Sant Sadguru Devavtari Balumama Charitra Granth' By Mr. C. S. Kulkarni (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

) * 'Bhav-Bhakticha Bhandara' By Mr. S. Killedar (Marathi) * 'Shri Balumama Vijaygranth' By Dr. Shrikrishna D. Deshmukh (Marathi) * 'Shri Sant Sadguru Balumama Arati Sangraha' By Mr. B. B. Aidmale (Marathi) * 'Sri Sant Sadguru Balumama Namanstotra' By Madhav Joshi (Marathi) * 'Sri Sant Balumama Stavan' By Mr. C. G. Patil (Marathi)

Movies and TV show

* 'Sant Balumama (VCD Marathi)' by Fountain, directed by Rajesh Limkar, produced by Shailesh Limkar. * 'Sant Balumama (संत बाळू मामा) Full Movie' Bhakti Movie (Hindi Devotional Movie, Indian Movie, Hindi Movie), written and directed by Raju Fulkar. *

Balumama Chya Navan Chang Bhala ''Balumamachya Navan Changbhala'' () is an Indian Marathi language TV series airing on Colors Marathi. The show premiered from 13 August 2018 by replacing '' Tu Majha Saangaati''. It stars Sumeet Pusavale in title role. Summary Saint " Balum ...

Colors Marathi Colors Marathi (previously known as ETV Marathi) is an Indian Marathi language general entertainment channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecasts programs such as serials, reality shows and ...

. *ಪವಾಡ ಪುರುಷ in Kannada by

Colors Kannada Colors Kannada (previously known as ETV Kannada), is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment channel, owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecasts programs such as serials, reality sho ...

Desi oon
Stopmotion film, written by

Swanand Kirkire Swanand Kirkire (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, who works in Marathi and Hindi film and television. Kirkire won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: f ...

References

{{Authority control 1892 births 1967 deaths Marathi people Kannada people Herding castes Indian Hindu yogis 20th-century Hindu religious leaders People considered avatars by their followers 20th-century Indian philosophers