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Debuji
was the only child of Zingraji and Sakhubai. After the death of
Zingraji he and his mother went to live with his maternal uncle.
Within years he became an excellent farmer, herdsman, singer and
swimmer.
He was married to Kuntabai and had four children. A lover of
animals, he opposed animal sacrifice since childhood. Even when
his friends, relatives and the people of his caste forced him to
sacrifice animals, he preferred to face their anger rather than
kill the animals.
Debuji was a very courageous man. Once a Saukar came with his
guards to take hold of Debuji’s farm. Despite the fear
expressed by his family and the villagers he single handedly
fought them all.
Fed up with the material world, one day he left his home. He
kept wandering from village to village. He worked for alms. Took
up cleaning villages. He also started building Ghats on the
river Purna. Slowly people started joining him in his cleaning
activity. He preached the villagers on the importance of
hygiene.
He found many followers. Among them were people like Dr. B R
Ambedkar, Acharya Atre. Money started pouring in the form of
donations. This was used for building activities.
Realizing the plight of Harijans, he built a dharmashala for
them in Pandharpur, Nasik, Pune, Alandi and Dehu. To stop the
slaughter of cows he built a Gorakhan center in Vidarbha. He
started food donation centers for the handicapped, and poor. He
built homes for the old who had no place to go. He also worked
for the upliftment of the people suffering from leprosy.
Source:
'Sri Gadage Maharaj' by Go. Ni. Dandekar
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