1.  DNYANESHWARI: An English translation of only the Philosophical parts.Dnyaneshwari is  a comentary on Bhagvadgita written by Saint Dnyaneshwar in contemporary Marathi language more than 7 centuries years ago.  Its original name was Bhavarthadeepika i.e. a guide to the meaning. It brought the philosophy of Bhagvadgita, which  until then was accessible only to Sanskrit knowing Brahmins, to common man.  The composition is in verse using the ovi style.  Dnyaneshwar Maharaj makes an abundant use of similes and examples from common life to explain the philosophy.  This makes the Dnyaneshwari a great poetry.

Dnyaneshwari is read in many homes in Maharashtra both by the pious and those who wish to understand the philosophy.  However, for a modern educated intelligent reader, interested  only in the philosophical aspects, most of the similes and examples are superfluous and likely to distract his attention from the main theme of philosophical arguments. This is the main reason why only the philosophical part has been presented.

Pages giving a  Prologue and a background to the Mahabharata War have also been provided.

This work is the first step towards making a short summary of Dnyaneshwari as instructed by Shri Shankar Maharaj.  The short summary is detailed below.

2.  TEACHINGS OF DNYANESHWARI:  This gives a detailed summary of the philosophical teachings in Dnyaneshwari. It is actually an abridged version of the above, in which all the repetitions have been omitted  without omitting any of the philosophical parts. For readers who would like to have a quick matter-of-fact understanding of Dnyaneshwari, this is an ideal composition.

3. YOGIRAJ SHRI SHANKAR MAHARAJ: This is a biography of the great yogi saint who blessed Pune and the surrounding regions in Maharshtra. He took samadhi at the age of about 150 years on 28th April 1947 in Pune. The place of his Samadhi is now like a temple visited by   hundreds of devotees every day to receive his blessings even  several decades after the samadhi.  This biography is based upon personal interviews with his disciples and devotees. Extracts from published information on Maharaj is also included for the sake of completeness.

4. AMARVANI  by  Upadhyaya Amarmuniji:   This is the English translation of a book in Hindi by Upadhyaya Amarmuniji a great Jain saint and founder of Veerayatan, an institution striving to serve the poor and needy better in India’s poorest state of Bihar.

In this book Amarmuniji has placed before us a complete all-round analysis of human life, be it spirituality, religion, society, nation, culture or ethics. Amarvani advises the reader not to waste time in ritualistic worship of idols but to clean the inner temple of his heart and worship the deity in that inner temple. It advises you not to idle away your time in spiritual/religious rituals but perform your personal and social duties, without bothering about the fruits thereof and with an attitude of public welfare. It clearly states that to march ahead is to live and to stop is death.  It advises you to introspect whether you have done your role of a father, mother, brother, son, neighbour and even of an official and a shopkeeper properly.

Amarvani is not  quite a religious text but a guide to the Art of Living for persons from any religion, though the background of the book is naturally Jain.

This translation was done on the instructions of Acharya Shree Chandanaji, a disciple of Amarmuniji. She is the first woman to  ever receive this title in the Jain tradition and a founder of  Veerayatan in the hostile and inaccessible environment in Bihar. Veerayatan is the first Jain institution where the concept of service is not only preached by monks and nuns, but also practiced by them. Through Veerayatan, she started a spiritual and cultural movement and introduced a new chapter in the history of the Jain religion. Veerayatan is doing a great service of rehabilitation and education to hundreds of  children orphaned or made destitute in the great earthquake at Bhuj. Veerayatan also has a branch near Pune.

*  German translations of all the above, made by Mr. D. Platthaus are also available.  See the links in individual pages.

                                                 - V. V. Shirvaikar

DNYANESHWARI          

TEACHINGS OF DNYANESHWARI

SHRI SHANKAR MAHARAJ

AMARVANI

All rights with

Dr V. V. Shirvaikar, A-23 Yashodhan Soc., Chintamaninagar 2, Pune 411037 India     OR      2912 Hagen Dr,  Plano, TX 75025, USA

email: vshirvaikar@yahoo.com

For German translation:

D. Platthaus, Rustermark 58, D45134 Essen , Germany