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SANT EKNATH

SANT EKNATH is like a bridge between his predecessors Dnyaneshwar and Naamdev and successors Tukaram and Ramdas. His philosophy is a synthesis of the quest for the immanent and living with the imminent. This great saint of Maharashtra was born sometime around 1530 AD in an illustrious Brahmin family of Pratisthan (present Paithan). Sant Bhanudas, who brought back the sacred image of Lord Pandurang, from Vijaynagar to Pandharpur, was Eknath’s great grandfather. 
Eknath was born under the star sign of ‘Mula’ in sagittarius constellation, traditionally considered a bad omen for the parents of the child. In reality also, Eknath’s father Suryanarayan and mother Rukmini died shortly after his birth and Eknath was brought up by his grandparents, Chakrapani and Saraswatibai. Due to this Eknath had to suffer taunts from other children. As a result, Eknath avoided their company and devoted his time in devotional practices.
When about twelve years old, Eknath heard about.
Janardanswamy. This great scholar lived in Devgiri renamed as Daulatabad by the Muslim rulers of the time. Eager to become his disciple, Eknath trudged all the way to Devgiri. Janardaswamy was amazed by this extra-ordinarily gifted boy and readily accepted him as his disciple. He taught Eknath Vedanta, Nyaya, Meemansa, Yoga etc. and most importantly, Sant Dnyaneshwar’s works.
Janardanswamy was a devotee of Lord Dattatreya, the son of Atrimuni and his wife Anasuya. ‘A-tri’ signifies ‘atmabodh’, which transcends the "trigunas", viz., sattwaraja and tamah. ‘An-asuya’ means devoid of ‘asuya’, i.e., ill feelings of the mind.
"Dattatreya" thus symbolizes ‘atmabodh’ and purity of mind. with the guidance of the Guru as well as his own untiring efforts, very soon Eknath also accomplished his "Dattadarshan", i.e.,the realization of "atmabodh" and purity of mind.
The Guru then asked Eknath to proceed on pilgrimage. He himself accompanied Eknath upto Nasik-Tryambakeshwar.here, Eknath wrote his famous treatise on Chatushloki Bhagavat. He explained the significance of these four sacred shlokas of the holy "Bhagavat" in 1036 specially metered verses known as "ovee"s.
After completing hispilgrimage of various holy places of west and north India, Eknath returned to Paithan. His grandparents were extremely delighted to see him again and implored him to marry.
Eknath and his wife Girija were truly made for each other and established an ideal examples of ethical living. In time, the couple was blessed with two daughters, Godavari and Ganga and a son Hari.
During the intervening period of about 250 years between Dnyaneshwar and Eknath, various invaders ravaged Maharashtra. Defeats after defeats had completely demoralized people. The great legacy of Dnaneshwar was nearly forgotten. Eknath devoted himself to change this situation. His first task was to locate the "samadhi" of Dnyaneshwar and trace the undistorted version of "Dnyaneshwari". In fact, without Eknath’s all-out efforts, the legacy of Dnyaneshwar could well have been lost to the succeeding generations. He also devoted him self in fighting against cartelism and other ills, which were rotting the society.
Eknath’s teachings may be summarized as "Vichar, Uchchar and Achar" – i.e., purity of thought, speech and practices.
Exemplifying the way of ethical living, he practiced what he preached. His works, verses and preaching kindled hope among the people at a time when they needed it most. At last following the example of his idol, Dnyaneshwar, he left for his heavenly abode by embracing "jalsamadhi" in sacred Godavari on the Krishna Shasthi day of Phalguna in the year Shaka 1521 (1599AD).