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in the village of Takhtagadh in Rajputana, famous as the land of chivalry. Thus this man of peace was born in a land which is famous for producing great fighters. But something of his ancestors' blood had entered his soul as revealed in his exploits as a fiery youth—but of that later. His name was Rup Rajendra. When Rup was nine months old, the family shifted to the market town of Tumkur in Mysore State in South India. His father was a fairly prosperous businessman and the child was given all the material comforts of life. However, emotionally he was soon to suffer heavy blows. When he was four years old his mother died and Rup, who had been very close to her was badly shaken by this first encounter with death. To make up for this his father indulged him even more, so that he became rather pampered and self-willed.
For those who are fond of seeking signs of future greatness in the child, there is an interesting incident which took place when Rup was a schoolboy. One evening, while working on his home-work, he fell asleep. When he woke up an hour later he found that he had been actually reading while asleep. He was too young and too normal a boy to think much of this strange phenomenon though he did become aware of the soul as separate from the body, and that the one can be awake and active while the other is slumbering.
When he was a little older he was sent to Bangalore for his education. The beautiful natural scenery of Bangalore and of the nearby city of Mysore appealed strongly to the romantic element in his nature. But there was also another element in his nature, the full-blooded, fiery element which could not be assuaged by the serenity of natural beauty or
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