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character was very high; his regard for truth, adherence to high moral values in the business and firmness to do what he saw right, inspired those who came in contact with him. Mahatma Gandhi was highly impressed by his spiritual level and accepted him as his spiritual guide. When Mahatma Gandhi was in South Africa, he came under pressure from his Christian and Muslim friends to adopt their faith. At that time he sought the guidance from Shrimad. That guidance convinced him that he could reach the highest level of spiritual elevation by continuing in his own faith and he need not change his religion. He has reverently written about Shrimad in his autobiography and has paid glorious tributes to him on several other occasions.
A high level of enlightenment is evident in the writings of Shrimad that mostly consist of the letters addressed to his devotees. 954 of them that could be procured have been published in a volume titled 'Shrimad Rajchandra'. Their significance may not be clear to a casual reader. If, however, one dwells deep into them, he would find that they contain the rare jewels of spiritual wealth.
Ätmasiddhi Shästra is the prime jewel of his writings. Revered Ambälälbhäi, Revered Saubhägyabhäi and Reverend Laghuräjswämi were instrumental in bringing it out from him. All those three happened to come in contact with Shrimad in 1890. They could see that Shrimad was self-realized and they made out that their spiritual well-being was in surrendering to him. As such, they gained right perception during the lifetime of Shrimad. About half of 954 of his writings published in “Shrimad Rajchandra’, have been addressed to them; 245 have been addressed to Saubhägyabhäi, 126 to Ambälälbhäi and 92 to Laghuräjswämi. It is therefore pertinent to say a few
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