Guruvarya
Param Pujya Dadasaheb Hate
14 Aug 1904 - 17 June 1991
Shri Guruvarya Dadasaheb Hate was born in a small village in Vasai, Maharashtra. He was brought up in a family that purely believed in the Hindu religion. He learnt Astrology and Palmistry in his early life in Gangapur, a small village in Karnataka where Shree Gurudev Dutta has the sthan one of nirgun pith. His forefather had migrated to Vasai with Shree Chimaji Appa, brother of Bajirao Peshwa I to fight war against Portuguese.
Guruvarya used to travel on a bullock cart from Vasai to his farms which was a few kilometers away from the present temple. The distance between Vasai to Hedavde where the temple is located is around 25 km. He used to take a couple of halts on his way to feed his bullocks with food and water and rest for some time. One of his halts was at his Uncle’s Place (Mama) before proceeding to the next lap. One fine noon, after a long and tiring journey he was taking rest under the Tamarind tree. Incidentally, that auspicious day was a Friday during the month of Chaitra Krishna paksha Dwadashi. Lo! To his surprise, a charming lady with a divine aura, adorned with beautiful jewelry, draped in a white saree appeared from nowhere in front of him. She pointed Guruvarya to a spot and commanded him to take her idol out of the ground and construct a temple. She blessed Guruvarya with Her divine grace and then disappeared.
Following this enlightenment, excavation was carried out immediately at the exact site pointed out by the divine beautiful lady. To his astonishment, he found a statue of Goddess Lakshmi that was covered in mud and Sindur. After this Guruvarya wrote to his guru Narayan Swami based in Gangapur for instructions on Moorti Sthapna. His guru Narayan Swami advised him to remove all the mud and sindoor that was smeared on the idol with the aid of the sacred Chandan stick and to wash the idol with Ganga Jal and rose water before doing the sthapna.
A small temple was built measuring 10x10 feet using local bamboo called Karvis and using Kaul roofing. As per the original plan, the idol was placed against the wall. Later the idol was restructured when Hedavde Mahalakshmi Mata appeared before Sadguru directing him to place the idol in the center of the mandir as “Maa wants to play Garba” and the position of the idol towards the wall was obstructing her path. The base of 10x10 was retained during the temple renewal and can be still seen in the present temple.
Hedavde Mahalakshmi Maa appeared on various occasions guiding Guruvarya towards the path of Salvation. Eventually, Mata’s miracle was experienced far and wide. People frequently visited the temple to seek Hedavde Mahalakshmi Mata’s divine blessings and gradually the small temple grew into a massive one.
Param Pujya Babasaheb Hate
(8th April 1941 - 16 Dec 2008)
Guruvarya Babasaheb Hate was born on 8th April 1941 on an extremely auspicious day of Ram Navami. He completed his primary education at Vasai in New English school and later intermediate in Ruparel college. He graduated from Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute in Textile Engineering. Since childhood, he was a sportsperson and expert in boxing and slow cycling. He had acquired various medals and certificates during his schooling days. He was extremely talented, had a dynamic personality, was a leader of masses, and an eloquent speaker with strong vocabulary skills.
After Guruvarya Dadasaheb’s death in the nineties, the mantle of valuable legacy of the temple was in the hands of Param Pujya Babasaheb. His dedication and insight for the temple and goddess was inspiring. He worked day and night for the betterment of the temple, ignoring his health. His power to rise to any given challenges and radiate positivity was due to the sheer blessings of Hedavde Mahalakshmi Mata. He gave away material path and adopted the path of Salvation. Being a quick learner, he grasped the knowledge of Astrology within no time and used that knowledge to help and guide people towards the right path. He was instrumental in starting lot of activities within the temple and in establishing the best practices that the Mandir Trust follows today. On 16th December 2007, he merged with the mother goddess. Many devotees still see his presence at the temple. In many shastras, it is clearly mentioned that those who sacrifice and render selfless service towards God and remembers God verily becomes one with Her.
Guru Maa Shrimati Neela Tai Hate
Guru Maa Neela Tai Hate, wife of Guruvarya Babasaheb Hate, was born on 16th February 1942 in Girgaum, Mumbai. People address her by different names at the temple, AAee or Mother, Mai, Amma lovingly. She played a key role by rendering her unflinching support and helped Guruvarya Babasaheb Hate in managing day to day affairs of the temple. Her mantra is very simple - “Give the world the best you have and best will come to you “. She is a source of inspiration and guidance to many.