The Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansthan office inside the temple at Dehu is bustling with final preparations for the upcoming Ashadi wari pilgrimage that will begin with the Palkhi journey to Pandharpur on June 24.
Sambhaji Maharaj More (70) is one of the elders overseeing the preparations of the temple such as cleaning, retrofitting of roofs, getting the courtyard ready for lakhs of devotees who will soon be making their way to the temple, to be a part of the month-long wari.
“We belong to the warkari (pilgrims or followers of Lord Vithoba) Sampradaya (following religious movement), where all we have been taught are the ways of spirituality in the name of Vithoba,” said the 10th generation More, a direct descendant of Sant Tukaram. Sant Tukaram was a 17th-century Hindu poet and sant of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.
Sambhaji, the descendant of Sant Tukaram’s son Mahadev, is a kirtankar (kirtan singers) and pravachankar (orators).
“Sant Tukaram had three sons, Mahadev, Vithal and Narayan and a daughter Bhagirathi. It was Narayan who started the palkhi sohala (function) in 1645, marking this year as the 334th year of following the tradition,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Sant Tukaram had three sons, Mahadev, Vithal and Narayan and a daughter Bhagirathi. It was Narayan who started the palkhi sohala (function) in 1645, marking this year as the 334th year of following the tradition,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}His cousin brother Manik More, a farmer who completed his education until Class 11, said, “The total number of Mores in Dehugaon are at least 450 to 500. Each one has a duty towards taking the tradition of warkari sampradaya ahead and reaching out to the world.”
Being a More, or a direct descendent of Sant Tukaram, the males of the family have a duty to continue the tradition and, if needed, also use technology. “Our family also gives a lot of importance to education. Although earlier generations only studied to a certain point, we have IT engineers, doctors, scientists as well as ministers like Ramkrishna More or literary figures like Sadanand More in the family. As long as we remember the teachings of our forefathers, we will lead a simple life,” said Sanjay More, a 11th generation businessman, whose daughters are studying law and computers.
Ajit More is working at Shivaji Maratha high school, but continues to do his seva during the wari. “The office is very understanding. Some of the people I worked with got into the habit of calling me ‘Maharaj’ for when I am part of the wari, I also do kirtans. It feels good that people respect you for where we came from,” said Ajit, who is also a full-time trustee of the temple.
“Growing up in the More household, warkari is simply a part of our upbringing and tradition. We never felt it was something different or out of the ordinary and our children follow us,” said Prashant More, who works with Bharat Forge. His five-year-old son Aarush (12th generation) already knows the importance of the basil seed necklace that he wears and that the ‘temple’ belongs to them.
“Living in a world that is steadily changing, spirituality teaches us to accept the changes, but not divert from what we are chosen to do,” said Vikram More, an IT engineer who feels spiritualism also helps him relax and work better under pressure. “The simple life led by my ancestors comes in handy to understand life better,” said Vikram.
The 12th generation brings with it new and improved ideas with the backing of technology. “We have two annual meetings where a minimum of 350 members are present. Each idea proposed is heard, irrespective of who puts it forward. As long as the working of an idea is justified, elders also appreciate and welcome modern technology. So far they have agreed on retrofitting temple boundaries, installation of solar panels to save electricity, and have installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in and outside the temple, believe in seva and keeping the Indrayani ghat and the surroundings clean during the wari and also welcomed online Dindi and live streaming of the entire celebration,” said Swapnil More.