Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

Author(s): Satish Sharma
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

Page 26

Gandhi's Teachers: Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
about hidden things of the spirit could hardly be a business man. Rather, such a feat could only be accomplished by one who was a "seeker of Truth." Gandhi saw Rajchandra absorbed in spiritual pursuits, not once or twice, but numerous times,30
8
Rajchandra, indeed, lived the life of a karamyogi." He was equipoised and on his lips were often the following lines of Muktanand:32
"I shall think myself blessed,
only when I see Him in every one of my daily acts: verily he is the thread,
which supports Muktanand's life."
Rajchandra's influences on Gandhi have been described in a later chapter. He sincerely tried to guide Gandhi through the knotty problems and in his spiritual pursuits.
Notes and References
1. See: Preface, footnote 4.
2. Gandhi, M. K., An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1927, p. x.
3. Simply put, ahimsa is nonviolence, brahmacharya is celibacy, non-possession is voluntary poverty, nonstealing is using only what belongs to self, bread labor is earning a living through own hard work, and swadeshi is that which belongs to self or is present in the region or nation. These are, however, simple translations of the terms. The meanings of the concepts are much deep in the Indian tradition and references are to physical, mental, and spiritual goals as well as to word, action, and thought processes.
4. Gandhi, An Autobiography...... op. cit., 1927, p. xi. 5. Ibid.
6. These requirements of a guru are found in several writings and speeches of Gandhi. Gandhi had read Carlyle's Heroes and Hero Worship and therefore also referred to