In the busy corner of Bhuleshwar, an area in the townside of Mumbai, in the divine presence of Lord Laxmi Narayan of Madhavbaug, there stands today, Shreemad Bhagwadgeeta Pathshaala, basking in the glory of 100 years of selfless service. A monument propagating intellectual love towards God based on the principles of Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta and the thoughts of, Padmavibhushan, Pujaniya Pandurang Shahstriji Athavale (Dada elder brother) to his followers). The founder of this Pathshaala and father of Dadaji, Pujaniya Vaijnath Shahstriji Athavale hailed from Roha, had settled down in Mumbai and was looking for a place to teach Sanskrit and deliver discourses on Vedic literature. After a brief search, he reached the place where Pathshaala stands today and saw a peacock dancing in the hall. Taking it as a divine sign from the Goddess of learning, Maa Saraswati, thus, on 16th October, 1926, on the auspicious day of Dushara, the Shreemad Bhagwadgeeta Pathshaala was enshrined. Pujaniya Vaijnathji started his discourses and slowly people coming to the Pathshaala increased in number. A day arrived in 1942, when Vaijanthji had to give over the reins of the Pathshaala to his elder son, Param Pujaniya Pandurang Shahstrij, due to his physical health and thus was laid the foundation of Swadhayay Parivaar as we know and call it today. Dadaji himself was not only well read (he has read all the nonfictional books in the Asiatic Society, Mumbai) but also well versed in Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati and English along with his own mother tongue, Marathi. Dadaji asked his father about the topics he should speak on. And the inherently dedicated father replied to his son to speak on topics which would help inculcate a character in human being.
The 25th year of Pathshaala was another turning point. The elders who came to listen to Dadaji now realised the importance of the thoughts and the place and requested Dadaji to form a trust for the smooth day to day running of the place. Dadaji responded in negative. So they all turned to Vaijnathji for help. At that time, Dadaji confidently replied that there be one institution in this world which has trust in God and does not need a worldly trust to run it. The elders were stunned at this response but had to bring the topic to a close. Dadaji’s conviction always won and even today we see the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta Pathshaala runs on the same principle. Later the 50th year of Pathshaala was celebrated as Bhavmilan Samaroh. The Pathshaala had now grown up and so had her family. Those were the days of emergencies in India. The samaroh had its own importance as Dadaji’s daughter, Shrimati Jayshree Shreeniwas Talwalkar (Didi – elder sister) also gave her maiden welcome speech. Now the work progressed geometrically. The Speaker (Dadaji himself) from the Vyaspeeth of Shreemad Bhagwadgeeta Pathshaala now was recognised in India and world over through recognitions and awards. Yet he humbly accepted them on behalf of the Swadhyay Parivaar as a love letter from God. The momentum increased and today Pathshaala’s thoughts have reached more than 14 states of India and many countries of the World, including the Gulf countries, countries of Africa, USA and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The journey is silent yet singing.
Under the able guidance of Didiji, (current head of Swadhyay Parivaar) Pathshaala has completely breached the differences of caste, creed and religion.This year, from Dushara day (2nd October, 2025), the Shreemad Bhagwadgeeta Pathshaala enters her 100th year. She proudly tells the world today that She survived all odds because of Dadaji’s unending trust in God.