________________
Ätmasiddhi
PROLOGUE Shrimad was the Self-realized entity and is known as a spiritual philosopher of very high caliber. He was born with a high level of Kshayopasham, meaning, he had very few deluding and obscuring Karmas. Consequently, he was able to gain the knowledge of his previous births at the tender age of seven.
His memory was very sharp and he could recollect whatever he read or otherwise came across. He became known for his mnemonic capability during his teens. That capacity increased and at the age of 19 he displayed the extraordinary feat of remaining mindful of 100 activities simultaneously. Thereby he came to be known as Shatavadhäni. Even the British rulers of that time were highly impressed by his performance and offered to make necessary arrangements for him, if he were willing to go to Europe for displaying his capabilities. However, he declined that offer, because he felt that he would not be able to live in Europe according to his religious standards. He also realized that the worldly accomplishments, such as performing the memory feat, were not helpful in spiritual pursuit and therefore he gave them up soon after the above performance.
Shrimad gained right perception at the age of 23 and since then he mainly stayed attuned to spiritual awakening, despite being occupied in the jewelry business. His moral character was very high. His regard for truth, adherence to high moral values in the business and firm determination to do what he saw right inspired those who came in contact with him. Mahätmä Gändhi was highly impressed by his spiritual level and accepted him as his spiritual Guide. When Gändhiji was in South Africa, he came under pressure from his Christian and Muslim friends to adopt their faith. At that time he sought guidance from Shrimad. That guidance showed him that he could reach the highest level of spiritual elevation by continuing in his own faith and need not change his religion. He has reverently written about Shrimad in his autobiography and has paid glorious tributes to him on several occasions.
A high level of enlightenment is evident in the writings of
al Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
wwwjan library.org
