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exchanging beetle leaves (paan) and making love all these constitute 'love in unity'.
This was a picture of his interest in literary criticism. We shall not raise a controversy as to whether he was a poet or not, but on the basis of his letters we can certainly say he was poetic-minded a poet at heart. Once Bhagwandasbhai sent him a line of poetry, which was to be used as the last line of a verse, the first three lines to be composed by the reader. The given line said, 'I find that as sweet as sugar'. What 'that' was, would be described by the reader. Virchandbhai interpreted the 'that' in six ways. What 'that' was to a Jain Muni, to someone with reference to moonlight, in the eyes of an acquitted criminal, to one who receives a letter, to a devotee and to a poet. It was remarkable that at the young age of 23, Virchandbhai could instantaneously write such a variety of verses and put himself in the place of even a Jain Muni. This shows how deep the roots of religious impact were in his mind. Is it not more than likely that these very imprints played an important role in his later development?
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Even in the western countries, he lived the life of a devout Jain. He was a strict vegetarian according to the special Jain tenets. In adhering to vegetarianism of the Jain variety, he had to undergo quite a few difficulties. He had to obtain a special permission to get his meal cooked on a separate stove on board the ship. He had to get a certificate from the captain of the ship regarding this special arrangement so that he may not find it difficult to make similar arrangements elsewhere. To get such certificates and such letters of recommendation must have been quite difficult, as any one in today's society can well appreciate (See Appendix 3 for a copy of the concerned letter). He has written these
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