Is this Gajanan Maharaj( Shegaon)

IS THIS SHREE GAJANAN MAHARAJ (SHEGAON)

   By  Nitin G Gokarn ( Mumbai, India) 

This photo has surfaced 15 May 2020, a good over 110 years after Gajanan Maharaj attained Mahasamadhi. Everyone is curious to know if this “person” in the black and white picture is really Gajanan Maharaj? The curiosity is very much understandable and justified as there is a very close resemblance with Gajanan Maharaj pictures officially available and confirmed.

Today there is no single person alive who can confirm whether the “person” in the picture is Gajanan Maharaj or is a look alike and or whether it is a still from some movie.

However, a very pertinent question that comes to mind is-  where was this photo for over 110 years (2020-1910), with whom and the source. Is it not the responsibility of the source to come out in the open and officially write to the Gajanan Maharaj sansthan about how this photo was found and other details such as place, year etc ?

Hence, no one can be cent percent certain that this is our Gajanan Maharaj. Even the sansthan or books published by Sansthan (the Charitrakosh) authored by Shri Das Bhargava or M/s Nimonkar(1933), Nagalkar(1957), Datar, Malpathak(1977), Kher(1960/1978),Sumanbandhu  (1962),Madhavrao Deshpande(1964) , K R Kulkarni(1969), Mahabaleshwarkar ,  Vasudev maharaj( 1968)  or Vadalkar(1978) do not carry or have this photo in their records.

So it is a case of “May be, may be not” as of now at least.

On the other hand, however, Maharaj was known for His leelas. Even this picture can surface from some old trunk when some family may be clearing old items. We can’t say. But the source should have provided this photo to sansthan officially giving details of place and year to put the doubts to rest.

There is a probability, that this “person” could be Maharaj as this person in the picture is in the nude. Possibilities can’t be ruled out. However, even actors who portray can hold chilim as in this picture, but nudity is a big probability

In bhakti marg, faith is of utmost importance. In the case of Gajanan Maharaj, there are many references where the question whether to believe or not believe is a matter of personal choice. The examples are so many which do not find any mention in HBP Das Ganu Maharaj’s biography (Shree Gajanan Vijay) which is worshipped by millions and accepted as absolute truth. For instance, Maharaj being in Akkalkot, or in Baggi or his meeting Brahmachari Maharaj, or his training under Shastri of Lad Karanja or Dev Maletdar. His frequent visits to Mhaisang village. Even there is no mention of Dattopant Ghodegaonkar of Amravati who was very close to Maharaj.

Nagalkar, Nimonkar in their writings mentioned that Gajanan Maharaj was first seen in Shegaon in 1888 while information provided to Das Ganu Maharaj ( 1939) was that Maharaj appeared in 1878. Some say Maharaj belonged to Latkar or Gokhale family, some say he was a Tailingi Brahmin, and some even say he was born in Thal village as Gana Sable and ran away from home at a young age.

With no living person available to confirm or deny, all that devotees need to do is go by their own gut feel. There are already so many original photos of Gajanan Maharaj already available. 

In summary, it is very difficult for any person to state categorically whether the person in this picture is of  Gajanan Maharaj.