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saddened to see the body of Amichand being cremated on the pyre. This incident put Rajchandra in a deep reflective mood. The veil of ignorance suddenly lifted from his inner sight and he was able to see his previous births and eventual death in this life. This was an eye opening experience for a boy at the tender age of seven.
He studied in a Gujarati school where he surprised everyone through his brilliance and extremely high capacity to learn the lessons quickly. He completed his junior level classes (first four grades) within two years. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to Rajkot to study in an English medium school, but was called back to help his father in his business.
Rajchandra's spiritual inclinations/interests started very early in his life. His mother was a deeply religious Jain votary. A large number of Jain families constituted his neighbourhood. A number of Jain monks visiting the area and their Chaturmas (rainy season halts) added a lot to his knowledge and practice of Jain way of life. As a result, he developed a strong conviction that no religion other than Jainism advocated the ideals of Ahimsa, love, detachment, harmony, tolerance, forgiveness, selfrealization and renunciation so scientifically and in details.
Highlights of Rajchandra's life
i. A Born Poet and was known as Kavi (Poet) later on At the tender age of eight, Rajchandra started composing poetry in Gujarati language. He composed the entire texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata in verse form within a year's time. He composed a book of 180 pages called 'Mokshamala' having 108 discourses in just three days at the age of sixteen years and five months. He composed his most popular text ‘Atmasiddhi' with 142 verses within 1.5 hours at the age of 29. In his life, starting
Pg.272 Gandhi & Jainism
