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Gondavale is a small town in Satara district,
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, from Satara.The town is mainly known for the shrine (Sansthan) and other places associated with
Brahmachaitanya Brahmachaitanya (also popularly known as Gondavalekar Maharaj) (19 February 1845 – 22 December 1913) was an Indian Hindu saint and spiritual master. Brahmachaitanya was a devotee of the Hindu deity Rama and signed his name as "Brahmachaitanya ...
, a Hindu saint who died in early part of the 20th century.


Shri Samartha Sansthan Gondavale (Sansthan)

The temple or Sansthan of Brahmachaitanya, who devoted his entire life toward propagating Naamasmaran ( Ram Naam Mantra - Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram) . Over the last 100+ years, after its formation in 1913, the Sansthan has grown significantly. The Sansthan is managed by four elected trustees and Brahmachaitanya as the permanent first trustee. There are hundreds of volunteers and monks who carry out several tasks under the guidance of the trustees. The trustees have been ensuring that Brahmachaitanya's teachings are carried out to the letter and that there is warmth among the devotees and the whole ambience of the Sansthan is one of piety and contentment. Over its existence, the Sansthan has faced many difficult periods such as food rationing, water shortages, financial issues, and political pressure. The two pillars - Ram Naam and Annadan (Food donation) - are the culture and religion of the Sansthan. Thousands of devotees visit the Sansthan every year.


History

In 1912 - one year before his death - Brahmachaitanya created a Will in which he bequeathed all his wealth and estate including land, cattle & livestock to a Trust. The Trust is dedicated to spreading Ram Naam, Annadan (food donation), Gorakshan (cow protection), and maintenance of various temples. Brahmachaitanya appointed four trustees to administer the Trust after his death - Brahmananda, as the head trustee, and Appasaheb Bhadgaokar, Bapusaheb Sathye and Tatya Chapalgaonkar as the executive trustees. Accordingly, the trustees took charge after Brahmachaitanya's death in December 1913. They named Brahmachaitanya as the first and permanent trustee and began their work. Brahmananda named this Trust as "Shri Samartha Sansthan Gondavale". Ever since its formation in 1913 to date, the Sansthan has been fortunate to receive services from several trustees and sevekari sadhaks (volunteers). They come from all walks of life - rich / poor, farmers, doctors, engineers, business executives etc. "Generation after generation of devotees have served as trustees / sevekaris.


Shrines and monuments


Brahmachaitanya Maharaj's Samadhi

A day prior to his death, Sri Brahmachaitanya Maharaj visited his cattle house and said he wanted to live at that site permanently. Brahmananda, Dr. Kurtakoti, and other disciples took this as a hint and decided to build his samadhi at that site after Brahmachaitanya maharaj's death. Brahmachaitanya's samadhi is modeled after the samadhi of Samaratha Ramdas Swami,
Sajjangad Sajjangad, meaning "Fort of Good People", is located near the city of Satara (city), Satara, India. It is the final resting place of Samarth Ramdas, Sant Ramdas in 18th century India (born 1608). His teachings and works written in books such a ...
h. Accordingly, a Gopal Krishna temple is built above the samadhi. The samadhi is decorated with only one ornament - flowers from the Sansthan's nursery. Brahmananda personally supervised and guided the construction until its completion in 1918. He also established best practices for sadhana and daily pooja Ever since then, the samadhi is the central point of all the activities of the Sansthan. " Aaisaheb Samadhi Aairsaheb's samadhi is located toward the north side of Brahmachaitanya's samadhi. Its construction was completed in 1935. Kothi The Kothi, also known as Brahmananda's Kothi, is the pantry used for storing food and grocery items for prasad. Brahmananda has blessed the Kothi with an Akshay Pishavi and a silver one rupee coin. He told the trustees to perform pooja of the Akshay Pishavi before every celebration so that the Sansthan would not run out of food to feed any number of visitors. Battasha Samadhi "Battasha" was Brahmachaitanya's horse. He would allow only Brahmachaitanya to ride on him and not anyone else. According to the trustees" a few days after Aaisaheb died, Battasha walked in front of Brahmachaitanya's samadhi and breathed his last." His Samadhi is constructed at that location. Ramanand Maharaj Samadhi Ramananda Maharaj was also a known Pandurangbua. His samadhi is located toward the north side of Brahmachaitnya's samadhi. Naam Mandir This is one place in the Sansthan where sadhak can seek solitude for Naamasmaran. This mandir is located near Ramanand Maharaj's samadhi. Prasad Mandap Annadan is the main activity of the Sansthan. There are five prasad mandaps where "thousands of devotees enjoy the prasad with Brahmachaitanya's krupa every day" according to the trustees. As an example, around 38,000 devotees enjoyed the prasad on the centenary day in 2013. The kitchen is equipped with facilities such as boilers, cold storage to cook prasad for 3,000 devotees in one shot. Brahmananda Hall Brahmananda Hall is a hall where the devotees chant Ram Naam as well as enjoy discourses/kirtans. A number of kirtankars, musicians, and artists have performed their seva toward Brahmachaitanya in this hall.


Other Temples in Gondavale

The Sansthan is responsible for the pooja and maintenance of the temples founded by Brahmachaitanya in Gondavale. In addition to the two Ram temples, the temples include: The
Vitthal Vithoba (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Translite ...
temple, and the Datta temple (it also contains
Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
devi and
Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...
temples) and
Shani Shani (, ), or Shanaishchara (, ), is the divine personification of the planet Saturn in Hinduism, and is one of the nine heavenly objects ( Navagraha) in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male Hindu deity in the Puranas, whose iconography cons ...
temple.


Museum

Brahmachaitanya's ancestral home is now converted into a museum to display various artifacts, documents, photos, clothing, and furniture that provide insights into Brahmachaitanya's life and teachings. Sadhak Nivas Sadhak Nivas is a residential facility, available free of cost, to anyone who wants to stay in Gondavale and perform Ram Naam Sadhana. It is equipped with essential facilities for physically challenged devotees as well. It can host over 1,000 sadhak families.


Community projects


Chaitanya Hospital

Sansthan commenced a hospital in the premises of the Samadhi Mandir in the year 1983 under the supervision of Dr. Appa Aathavale. On 1 May 1994, Dr. Ghanekar, who was managing trustee of Sansthan at that time, expanded the facility further. The new hospital is well-equipped with 69 operation theatres and is now known as "Chaitanya Hospital". There are multiple facilities offered at the hospital. The medical treatment offered at Chaitanya Hospital is "Free of Cost".


Goshala

Brahmachaitanya had great affection for cows and was well known to protect them and take care of them during his time. The tradition is continued till date b
Sansthan
Earlier Goshala had 6-7 Cows, but a new modern goshala is built behind the Kurtakoti building and has more than 50 cows.The practice of showing 'Gogras' (feeding first bite of food to cows) by performing Gomata Aarti during Kakad Aarti in the morning and evening was started by Brahmachaitanya continues till today. Next to it is a new state-of-the-art garbage dump, bio-gas plant. It is best used to heat milk over a slow fire.


Water management

Gondavale has always experienced water scarcity due to its geographical location. Devotees of Brahmachaitanya have undertaken various projects to see that Gondavale and adjacent areas get enough supply of water throughout the year. Two water reservoirs are built which have a capacity to hold up to 3 crore liters of water. A very innovative water distribution system is implemented without using a single water pump.


Service during COVID-19 pandemic

Gondavale Sansthan has been actively contributing to various health and social causes during the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
situation. These include: *Donation of 50 Lac Rupees to the
Prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
relief fund. *Donation 25 Lac Rupees to the Sasoon hospital, Pune for the treatment of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...
s. *Contribution of 25 Lac Rupees to the
Chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
relief fund to help health care workers and
first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include Law enforcement, law enforcement officers (co ...
s. *During the
COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...
, the sansthan provided food packets worth 50 lac rupees to more than 9000 underprivileged families for 3 months with the help of local government officials. *When
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...
s started increasing in Satara District
Sansthan
local villagers and various local organizations quickly started
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
treatment center with 30 oxygen beds and quarantine facility for 100 patients.


References

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