________________ 144 Memoirs about Shrimad by Gandhiji Many possess powerful memory but that should not be a reason to be dazzled. One comes across many persons who possess profound knowledge too, but if such people are devoid of virtuousness then their knowledge and memory are worthless. However, these qualities assume significance only when a virtuous person possesses them. Raichandbhai was both learned and virtuous. [3] અપૂર્વ અવસર એવો ક્યારે આવશે, ક્યારે થઈશું બાહ્યાાર નિરગ્રંથ જો; સર્વ સંબંધનું બંધન તીણ છેદીને, વિચરશું કવ મહપુરુષને પંથ જો? સર્વ ભાવથી ઔદાસીન્ય વૃત્તિ કરી, માત્ર દેહ તે સંયમ હેતુ હોય જો; અન્ય કારણે અન્ય કશું કહ્યું નહીં, દેહે પણ કિંચિત મૂછ નવ હોય જો. અપૂર્વ * "When shall that unprecedented opportunity arise, When shall I be free of all inner and outer bondages, When having absolutely severed the bondages of all associations, shall I follow in the footsteps of the great souls? Having risen above all worldly inclinations, This body remains solely for the purpose of practising austerity, Not a single thought about anything else at all arises within, Not a single desire remains for this body. When shall that unprecedented opportunity arrive? *This poem was written in VS 1953 in Vavaniya, when Shrimad Rajchandra was twenty-nine years old.