Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

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

Page 34

Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
writes:25 "One rare feature of his (Rajchandra's) writings is that he always set down what he had felt in his own experience. There is in them no trace of unreality. I have never read any line by him which was written to produce an effect on others... The poem about the "supreme state"?" must have been written in that manner." Gandhi also found great solace in Rajchandra's writings and letters and he wrote:28 "I have always felt that Rajchandra's writings breathe the spirit of truth. He did not write a single word in order to show off his knowledge. His aim in the writings was to share his inward bliss with his readers. I am sure that anyone who wishes to free himself from inner conflicts and is eager to know his duty in life will gain much from Rajchandra's writings, whether such a reader is a Hindu or belongs to another faith."
Rajchandra was a person of sound principles and some of the cornerstones of his life were a detached attitude, selfreflection, following of ahimsa in all walks of life, and constant search for Truth.?About Rajchandra's ahimsa, Gandhi writes:0 "His (Rajchandra's) ahimsa was not of the crude type we witness today among its so-called votaries who confine their attention merely to the saving of aged cattle and insect life. His ahimsa, if it included the tiniest insect, also covered the whole humanity." Gandhi was in close contact with Rajchandra for two years after his return from England and he visited him frequently at home, at the place of business. He found Rajchandra always in a detached mood in the spirit of vairagya.!! Whatever Rajchandra was doing, whether eating, resting, lying in bed, or conducting his business, he was not interested in the things around and particularly was not tempted by pleasure objects or material luxuries of the world. Gandhi watched his life from close quarters and saw that Rajchandra accepted whatever he was served for the meals, his dress was a simple dhoti, 12 a kurta, 33 an angarakhun, 34 and a turban of cotton yarn and mixed silk. These garments were not even strikingly clean or ironed carefully. It was the same for Rajchandra whether he squatted