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He was initiated as 'Yati' in 1903 by Sri Mahendrasuri and was made a pupil of Sri Rupacandji himself a pupil of Sri Mahendrasuri and became a Samvegi (Reformist) Sadhu in 1931. In those times Bombay was not considered sufficiently holy for visit or stay of Sadhus. Sadhus used to come only upto Daman and never proceeded southwards beyond Daman. Sri Mohanlalji considered it his duty to preach Jain doctrines to the Bombayites also and make them follow the path of religion. As a Samvegi Sadhu he visited Bombay for the first time in 1947 then again in 1951, 1952 and 1957. When in Bombay he so much impressed Jains as well as non-Jains by his simple holy life that he earned great respect and regard of all Bombayites without distinction of caste and creed whether rich or poor whether literate or illiterate. What impressed the people most was his pure and simple ascetic life. His unassuming nature and his preachings founded on the basic principles of all religions appealed to the heart of every one of his hearers. His speech seemed more to be the speech of a saintly soul rather than of a mere scholar. His hearers were impressed and convinced because his discourse appeared to be specially meant for every one of his hearers and suit them inspite of their divergent tastes. It always appeared to be a heart-to-heart talk. His manners were charming by their very simplicity. He seemed always to be frankly disclosing whatever passed in his mind. Although religiousminded he had sympathy and love for the worldly-minded and used always to guide them to better ways and simpler but higher sphere of life. By his holy life and saintly thoughts directed towards the welfare of every creature and his concentration on the ideal of Ahimsa he had so to say created a very holy and peaceful atmosphere around him and whosoever came in contact with his hallowed personlity enjoyed real peace of mind and many times such occasion became the turning point of his life. The writer though then very young had the privilege of hearing his very impressive discourses and he still retains the highest regard for his simple unassuming but truly humane, holy and ideally ascetic life.
INTRODUCTION
