Ramdas is believed to be one of the greatest spiritual poet and supreme sages in India. Samarth Ramdas was an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman. He was known as Narayan Suryajipant Kulkarni Thosar during his early days. His parents were Rānu-Bāi Thosar and Suryāji and he belonged to the Deshastha Rugvedi Brahman family. He was born on Ram Navami day in 1530 in Maharashtra’s Jalna District. He was given the name Nārāyan by his followers.

Ramdas displayed strong fondness towards spirituality and metaphysical deliberations. His father died when he was eight years old and his marriage was arranged when he turned twelve. But he was keen on living the life of a saint. Ramdas could not express interest in marriage and escaped in the middle of the ceremony before the completion of rituals.

The last word during the Hindu marriage ceremony is “Savdhan” which means 'be careful'. Swami Ramdas explained the word in his context by stating that he did not want to become intertwined in the shackles of Maya and must try to find self-realization.

Residences of Samartha Ramdas

Ramdas was a great traveler, he visited almost all parts of the country and during his travelling he used to take shelter in small caves called Ghal which were utilized by him for meditation. Some of the popular ones are:

• Ramghal, on Sajjangad
• Morghal, at Morbag village near Sajjangad
• Tondoshi Ghal, North of Chaphal
• TaakLi, near Nashik
• Chandragiri, opposite Vasantgad, near Karad
• Helwak, near Helwak village
• Shiganwadi, near Chandragiri
• Shivthar Ghal, near Mahad

Writings of Samartha Ramdas

Ramdas was an excellent composer and his literary works in the form of verses are very popular in Marathi language. Among the various literary works produced by him, two of the most outstanding ones are the Dasbodh (Literary advice on practical and spiritual life) and Shri Manāche Shlok (Literary advice on love for God and principled behavior). Ramdas is also revered for his other literary creations like Shri Maruti Stotra which is a literary composition in praise of Lord Hanuman, Ramayan, AatmaaRaam and 11-Laghu Kavita in Marathi language.

Apart from his compositions on Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman, his Ganesh Aarti “Sukhkartā Dukhhartā Vārtā Vighnāchi” is also very popular. The other literary compositions of Ramdas include Panchanan haivahan surabhushan Lila dedicated to Lord Khandoba and Satrane Uddane Hunkaar Vadani dedicated to Lord Hanuman. However, his all time popular literary composition is "DASBODH" which has been translated in almost all the Indian Languages for easy availability to all readers across the world. DASBODH written by the disciple of Ramdas is still preserved in Thanjavur Big Mutt. Ramdas built the Thanjavur Mutt when he visited the city as part of the”Sethu Himachal padayathra”. Thanjavur Mutt was the first mutt built by Ramdas in south India. This Mutt has a picture of Ramdas which was seen by him during his lifetime and there are also several other stories related to his life in the mutt.

Preaching of Life

Ramdas had a very strange style of preaching. His appearance made him look like a mad man and he used to store a number of stones near him which were used for pelting any objects which he saw. He also had a small bow with him.  For people who were attracted towards his preaching’s, he would simply ask to recite the “Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram” Mantra.

Ramdas had an excellent disciple following and the number of disciple he had was 1100. Out of these, 300 were women. Women disciples offered spiritual discourse and were extremely righteous. Ramdas wanted his disciples to awaken the masses and spread the importance of Hindu religion and its scriptures; hence he sent them to various parts of the country. The enormous strength of his disciples and the number of Mutts established by him helped the great Maratha ruler Shivaji in carrying his rule. Similarly, the organizations headed by Ramdas in the south (in Thanjavur) helped Shivaji's son Rajaram to wage a 20 year War with Aurangzeb. Shivaji’s step brother Venkoji became an ardent disciple of Ramdas upon his visit to Thanjavur. In Thanjavur Ramdas made his beloved disciple Bhimaswami, the Mahant of the Thanjavur Mutt.

Spiritual Development

Ramdas spent his next 12 years at Takli in Nashik district on the banks of river Nandini. He studied Indian spiritual scriptures, practiced Vedic studies and meditation. After renouncing all the pleasures and quitting his home at the age of twelve, he changed his name to "Ramdas", which means "Lord Ram’s servant”.

Ramdas also had excellent command over meditation and physical yoga exercises. He preferred to carry out Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskara as this Yogic exercise involved exercise of every part of the body. It is believed that Ramdas used to perform twelve hundred Surya Namaskara every day. He was a firm believer of the fact that a healthy body provides healthy mind.

Ramdas also worshiped Lord Hanuman the most obedient, strong and divine servant of Lord Ram. Ramdas built eleven Hanuman temples across various parts of Maharashtra. He also encouraged people to undertake physical exercise to maintain healthy body as he believed it helps in maintaining healthy society.