Shri Samartha Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Shri Sadguru Samartha Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a contemporary of Sri Ramana Maharshi, is one of the greatest unknown saints of the age. He was born in August 1888 A.D. in a small village called Pathri in the district of Sholapur, India.

On the sixth day after his birth, his grandmother had a dream in which the great Saint Siddheshwar appeared before her and told her that the boy who had been born was his incarnation. He asked her to name him Siddheshwar and also said that one day the boy would become a great saint. Accordingly, he was named Siddharamappa. Later, he became known as Siddharameshwar Maharaj.

Even in childhood, he was very sharp and active and had the capacity to imbibe things very quickly. He did not study much at the school level, but he was highly intelligent, clever and smart in his behaviour. He was always straightforward and spoke thoughtfully. His answers to questions were meaningful and direct.

At the age of sixteen, although still very young to work, he took up a job as an accountant in a Marwadi firm at Bijapur. He performed his work earnestly and settled down there. It was in Bijapur that he met his Master, Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, who had established a monastery in the small village of Inchgiri in Karnataka State, India, in the year 1885.

Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, understanding the mental capacity and lifestyle of the people of that period, began teaching meditation to his disciples at this monastery. The main aim of this meditation was to attain Final Reality. The method he taught was known as Pipilika Marg, or the “ant’s way,” a gradual process of attaining Final Reality.

After the passing of his Master, Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, in 1914, Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj continued meditating upon the teachings of his Master. In 1918, he renounced worldly life and joined four of his brother disciples in spreading his Master’s teachings.

In 1920, while travelling and popularising these teachings, Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj conceived the idea that one should go beyond meditation, because meditation itself was only an initial stage in attaining Final Reality. His brother disciples disagreed with him, saying that their Master, Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, had not taught them this. Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj agreed that this was so, but asked, “Okay! Can one not go beyond that?”

He decided to explore this path independently. Leaving his brother disciples, he returned to his home in Bijapur. There, he began an intense period of meditation on a raised platform resembling a minaret, known as the upli buruj, sitting over an old gun. He meditated there for nine months without a break.

Since his Master had taught him meditation alone, there appeared to be no alternative path available to him for discovering how to attain Final Reality, or Enlightenment, beyond meditation. He therefore made ceaseless efforts toward this goal. He declared, “I will attain the Final Reality even at the cost of my life.” By the grace of his Master, Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, he attained the goal of Final Reality.

His efforts were finally rewarded when total and complete Realization dawned upon him. Thereafter, he explained that Final Reality could be attained through Vihangam Marg, the “bird’s way.” According to this approach, ignorance has arisen through hearing false ideas repeatedly over generations. In the same way, by repeatedly hearing the Truth from the teachings of the Master and reflecting deeply upon it, one can attain Final Reality rapidly, just as a bird flies directly from one tree to another. He regarded this as the shortest way to attain Final Reality.

In conjunction with this, he taught that progress toward Final Reality involves passing through the state of Laya, or absorption. Laya is an important indication of progress, but there is a danger in mistaking it for the final goal of spiritual practice. Ignorance and thoughts are closely connected. When thoughts are absorbed in Reality, one can proceed toward Ultimate Reality.

Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj thereafter began teaching his disciples to attain Final Reality through Vihangam Marg. First, he gave them the Knowledge of Final Reality. He then asked them to renounce, and subsequently asked them to renounce even the act of renunciation itself. Finally, he imparted the knowledge of Vignana — the Thoughtless Reality.

He preached in very simple, lucid and sane language, frequently using examples from daily life. He was of the view that Parmarth, the understanding of Final Reality, should be taught in simple language without the use of high-sounding or bombastic words, so that ordinary people could understand the Ultimate Reality. He carried out this teaching work from approximately 1925 until 1936.

It has also been written that sometime during the first half of the mid-to-late 1920s, a nearly disguised young American traveller on a spiritual quest toward Enlightenment visited Siddharameshwar Maharaj. This traveller later gained anonymous fame through W. Somerset Maugham’s novel The Razor’s Edge. He was reportedly one of the first Americans to visit Siddharameshwar Maharaj, and it has been said that he gained peace of mind during his stay in India.

Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj passed away on 9 November 1936 in Bombay. By then, he had imparted a full understanding of Final Reality to his disciples, particularly to two of his most accomplished followers, Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Shri Ranjit Maharaj.

Siddharameshwar Maharaj’s book Master Key to Final Realisation explains one of the ways of attaining Final Reality. It teaches that one is apart from the four bodies, and that there remains the ego of knowledge, which itself must finally dissolve into Final Reality. This dissolution is called Laya, or absorption.

Shri Dattatray Dharmayya Poredi, one of the able disciples of Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj who lived in Solapur, expanded upon one of Maharaj’s lectures known as Master Key of Self Realisation (Atmagyanachi Gurukilly). He also wrote many poems on Vignana, or Final Reality, as taught by Shri Sadguru Siddharameshwar Maharaj.

The Master Key to Self-Realisation, originally written in Marathi, was translated into English by Dr. Mrs. Damayanti Dungaji.

From approximately 1925 to 1936, Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj taught step by step, in very simple language, how Final Reality could be attained. These teachings were published in Marathi under the title Amrut Laya. These lectures were also intended to be translated into English for the benefit of those who do not understand Marathi.