Great Warrior Of Ahimsa

Author(s): Pratap J Tolia
Publisher: Vardhaman Bharati International Foundation

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APRENDIX - A
SRIMAD RAJCHANDRAJI
MAHATMA GANDHIJI'S SPIRITUAL GUIDE There in the solitary caves of ancient seekers' abode Idar. in Gujarat, remained deeply absorbed in his Meditations and Self-Realisation, forgetting his Physical entity, a very great but much hidden, very much unassuming and very much publicity-evading soul, just a century before. He used to run his practical business of Jewellery at Bombay just to fulfill his worldly obligations and duties, but most of his time passed in solitudes at Idar and other lonely places. He transformed his realisations and the spirit of Ahimsa and Anekanta into every inch of his living practice. He was the great and unique modern Jain Seer of this age SRIMAD RAJCHANDRAJI, the spiritual Guide of MAHATMA GANDHIJI, the unequalled present path-seeker of salvation, who was living only for Self-Realisation as Gandhiji himself wrote about him in his Autobiography : "He was a man of great character and learning. He was also known as a 'SHATAVADHANI.... The thing that did cast its spell over me I came to know afterwards. This was his wide knowledge of scriptures, his spotless character and his burning passion for Self-Realisation. I saw later that this was the only thing for which he lived."
(--"The Story of my Experiments with Truth"; Part II, chapter 1, pp. 112-13] Gandhiji was so much impressed by him that as he himself said, he did not find any religious person of Srimad Rajchandra's status in the current times in India. He himself learnt the first lesson of Ahimsa, Compassion & Mercy from him. On one occasion of Srimad Rājchandaji's Jayanti at Ahmedabad, Gandhiji pubically paid tribute to Srimadji's greatness in these words: "For several years, I have been in search of a religious man in India, but I have so far not come across any person who could compete with Srimad Rajchandrabhai. He mostly used to say that he did not belong to any sect or tradition or fragment; nor did he intend to limit himself to them. These are all sub-religions, the "limited" ones, while religion is 'Infinite' or 'limitless', which cannot be defined at all !". Srimad Rajchandraji played a very great role in guiding and stablilizing Gandhiji, the then Barrister M.K. Gandhi, in his early days in East Africa, into his own fold and faith of Hinduism. Influenced and encircled by the Clergymen in Africa, the Barrister's foundation of his own faith was shaken, he had become weavering and was even going to be converted into Christianity. He wrote at length to Srimad Rajchandraji at Bombay. The Postal Discussions went on. Srimadji sent him not the books of Jainism but Gandhiji's own Hinduism such as BHAGVADGITA, YOGVASISTHA MAHA RAMAYANA, PANCHADASHI, etc. and replied with analytic depth and logic, Gandhiji's important questions and doubts. These have come out in a booklet form in Gujarati and now in English. It was again the impartial greatness of Srimadji that he did not advise or even indicate Gandhiji to convert into Jainism, but Gandhiji himself got influenced at his hands into the main spirit of AHIMSA--the heart of Jainism. Impartial Srimadji wrote to Gandhiji :