Sapta Bhashi Atmasiddhi

SR No.: 002593
Original Sutra Author: Shrimad Rajchandra
Author: Pratapkumar J Toliiya, Sumitra Tolia
Publisher: Jina Bharati Bangalore
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 226
Language: Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati,
Classification: Book_Devnagari, Spiritual, & Rajchandra
File Size: 21 MB

Page 211

(७) सप्तभाषी आत्मसिद्धि
169
SAPTABHASHI ATMASIDDHI
GANDHIJI ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS ABOUT RAJCHANDRAJI
[only a few extracts out of many] * IN ONE OF HIS LETTERS ABOUT BODY & SOUL :
"The body should not be dearer than the soul. He who knows the soul, and also knows that it is different from the body, will not try to protect his body by committing violence. All this is very difficult indeed; but he who has imbibed very noble ideas easily understands it and acts accordingly. The belief that the soul can do good or evil only when it is encased in a body is quite mistaken and terrible sins have been and are being committed owing to it. There is no such law that the soul can be known only at an advanced age. Many old men pass away without knowing the soul, while PERSONS LIKE THE LATE RAICHANDBHAI HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REALIZE THE SELF EVEN AT THE AGE OF 8 (EIGHT !)............"
(The COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI Vol.IX.p.418, 17-9-1908)
*AT RAJCHANDRA JAYANTI, WADHWAN, SAURASHTRA-GUJARAT:
"Srimad Rajchandra's impact has mainly influenced my life. Srimad Rajchandra has left deeper impressions on me even more than Mahatma Tolstoy and Ruskin."
disposal, you read the writings of life of this Great man. HE MOSTLY USED TO SAY THAT HE DID NOT BELONG TO ANY SECT OR TRADITION OR FRAGMENT, NOR DID HE INTEND TO LIMIT HIMSELF TO THEM. THESE ARE ALL SUB-RELIGIONS, THE 'LIMITED ONES, WHILE RELIGION IS 'INFINITE OR 'LIMITLESS', WHICH CANNOT BE DEFINED AT ALL! He will immediately pick up a book on completing his Jewellery Business transaction. He had such a strength in him that he could have become a good Barrister, bright Judge or even Viceroy, had he desired to be so. This is no exaggeration, but his impression on my mind. His sharp intelligence left his everlasting impression on others."
(Translated from Gujarati:IBID) GANDHIJI'S OVERALL IMPRESSION IN HIS OWN WORDS...
"Kavi Rajchandra was born in a place called Vavania in Kathiawar (Saurashtra). I came in touch with him in 1891, the day of my return from London, at P. J. Mehta's residence in Bombay. Kavi, as I used to call him, was closely related to Dr. Mehta. He was introduced to me as Shatavadhani, i.e. one who can remember a hundred things at a time. Kavi was quite young at the time, not much older than I was then, i.e. 21 years. He had however given up all public exhibition of his powers and was given to purely religious pursuits. I was much struck by his simplicity and independence of judgement. He was free from all touch of blind orthodoxy. What struck me perhaps more was his combining business with religion in practice. A student of the philosophy of religion, he tried to practice what he believed. Himself a Jain, his tolerance of other creeds was remarkable. He had a chance of going to England for studies, but he would not go. He would not learn English. His schooling was quite elementary, but he was a genius. He knew Sanskrit, Magadhi and I believe Pali also. He was a voracious reader of religious literature and had acquired through Gujarati sources a knowledge, enough for his purpose, of Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism."
"Such was the man who captivated my heart in religious matters as no other man has till now. I have said elsewhere that in molding my inner life Tolstoy and Ruskin contend with Kavi. But Kavi's influence was undoubtedly deeper, only because I had come in close personal touch with him. His judgement appealed to my moral sense in the vast majority of cases. The bedrock of his faith was unquestionably Ahinsa. His Ahinsa was not the crude type we witness today among its so called votaries who confine their attention merely to the saving of aged cattle and insect life. His Ahinsa, if it included the tiniest insect, also covered the whole of humanity."
"Yet I never could regard Kavi as a perfect man. But of all the men I knew, he appeared to me to be nearer perfection
(Translated from the opening pages of "CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MAHATMA GANDHI & SRIMAD RAJCHANDRA" in Gujarati, Published by Srimad Rajchandra Gyan Pracharak Trust, Raj Bhuvan, Near Hathibhai's Wadi, Delhi Gate, Ahmedabad.)
* AT RAJCHANDRA JAYANTI, AMHEDABAD, GUJARAT:
"I cannot describe the everlasting impact of Srimad Rajchandra Bhai that has been established on my life. I have deeper thoughts about him. FOR SEVERAL YEARS, I HAVE BEEN IN SEARCH OF A RELIGIOUS MAN IN INDIA, BUT I HAVE SO FAR NOT COME ACROSS ANY PERSON WHO COULD COMPETE WITH SRIMAD RAJCHANDRA BHAI. There were knowledge, detachment and devotion in him and not the hypocracy, partiality or attachment-hatred. He had such a greatly unusual power in him through which he was able to derive perfect benefits out of the available opportunity. His writings are much more intelligible, emotional and Self-illuminating even than those of the British Philosophers. I place Tolstoy in the first category and Ruskin in the second amongst the European Philosophers. But far more than these two was the state of Experience of Srimad Rajchandra Bhai. You will have very good impact on your life, if, during your free time at your
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