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11. Yognishtha Acharya Shri BuddhiSagar Unending efforts to get knowledge, continuous practices in meditation and creation of spiritual literature-these three meet together like three holy rivers of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati in Shri BuddhiSagar Sooriji. He is the great saint and mendicant of this century. He is universally accepted great man of Gujarat.
Birth and Childhood: A religious minded couple strongly believing in non-violence and purely vegetarian was residing at Vijapur town of Mahesana District in Gujarat. Their names were Shivabhai and Ambaben. The couple was well known for their co-operative nature in the whole town. Shivabhai had agricultural land and the family was happy in all respects. A son was born to this couple in 1874, the day of Shivratri on which Lord Shiva is worshipped. He was known as saint BuddhiSagarji in his later life, but his childhood name was Bahechar. He started his learning at the age of six years in a dusty village-school. He maintained first position upto standard six and was very much loved by his teachers.
Sounds of the Future: Every human being is born with deep impressions of his previous births. Bahechar was kind, thoughtful, preferring to stay alone and always ready to serve others. This was his nature since his childhood. At the age of 15 he had saved some Jain mendicants when buffaloes ran after them. At this time he heard the preaching from these Jain mendicants that the beasts also experience pain like human beings if they are beaten and it was a sinful act. He was atonce attracted towards Jainism. He used to go to Jain very often to hear the preachings and religious discourses and saints and mendicants. He easily turned to non-violence, forgiveness, broad-heartedness, penance renunciation and study of scriptures. He was attracted by high ideas of Jainism. He used to think and meditate. He studied Hindi, English and Sanskrit languages by his own intuition. After sometime he accepted the work of religious teacher at village Ajol. While teaching others, he himself also studied well in religion, history, logic, Yoga and other subjects. He marched on the path of thinking about the absolute and adopted total truth, non-violence. He thought that he would not be able to proceed in studies in this small village and hence he came to Mahesana with the help of Shri Venichandbhai. It was possible here to read and study special books on Sanskrit, Religious-logic and philosophy in large libraries and thereby expand knowledge on all sides.
Acceptance of Renunciation: After sometime, he heard the news of sad demise of his parents and soon he decided to adopt Dixa. At last, he took Dixa in 1901 at Palanpur in the presence of and with the blessings of Shri Sukh Sagarji Maharaj who was the disciple of Shri Ravi Sagarji. Now he became Mooni BuddhiSagar from Bahecharbhai.
Ardent Practitioner of Yoga: From the very beginning of his life he had knowledgeable detachment towards worldly affairs. He strongly believed that spiritual path and practices are the only steps to proceed to the Absolute Truth or Salvation and hence this young mendicant strengthened his practices in meditation. He did not mind to the trifling and unimportant differences in Jainism. He was devoted to high values of very wide Indian culture. He kept himself in loneliness for deeper meditation so that all living beings may get peace on earth and created very simple but high-leveled spiritual literature for common people, which can be read and understood by them very easily. He has, thus, obliged us all very much. He has tried to remove blind faith and unfruitful activities followed out of ignorance in villages and showed
