ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 168

1.5
Jaina Thinkers: r mad R jacandra, K nji Sw mi, Pt. Todarmala Dr. Kamini Gogri
1.0 Introduction
The Indian situation in the 19th century was different from the situation at the time of the two reformers discussed earlier i.e. Dokansaha and Bhikku. India was now under the British rule. Christian missionaries have started their preaching. The British introduced formal education system, science and technology and started criticizing classical Indian religious traditions on the ground that there was no acceptance of GOD, GRACE, FAITH, LOVE AND HOPE.
Against this background we have to understand the works of the three main reformers
r mad R jacandra (1867-1901 A.D.),
K nji Sw mi (1889-1980 A.D.), and
1.
2.
3. Sant B la (1904-1982 A.D.).
None of them preached the traditional ascetic oriented religion. They unified spirituality and the dayto-day activities of life. Sr mad introduced BHAKTI M RGA (or the path of devotion) in Jaina religion, which is discussed by him in his poems and correspondence with various individuals who had spiritual quest. K nji sw mi, emphasized JN NA M RGA (or the path of acquiring knowledge), that is, one should know that one is uddh tma (pure soul). r mad never took initiation but was a householder. K nji sw mi was a Sth nakav si muni but after reading 'Samayas ra' the Digambara text, became a Digambara lay follower.
2.0 SR MAD R JACANDRA (1867 A.D- 1901 A.D.)
Raichand was born in 1867 A.D. to Ravjibhai and Devabai of Vavania in Morbi. His grandfather was a devout Krs a worshipper and his mother came from a Jaina family. This blend of two religions in his life played an important role. He had four sisters and one bother. His paternal grandfather was a major influence on him. In autobiography 'Samutchaya Vaya-carya', which he wrote at the age of twenty-two he says that he was "deeply dyed in the more colorful mode of worship of Krs a cult"1. He listened eagerly to the verses consecrating the image of lord Krs a as also to the lore of various adventures and miracles attributed to him in the different incarnations. This had a profound effect on young Raichand. He even mentions his having been formally initiated while he was yet a boy of less than ten, by a monk named Ramad saji. In Samutchaya Vay c rya, however he mentions this only as a phase which he later was to outgrow.
He is said to have astonishing powers of intelligence and memory. At the age of seven he started going to school and it barely took him a month to master the numerals. At the age of 7, when he saw his neighbor being cremated, he obtained j ti smara a jñ na (knowledge recollecting his past births) When he was eight years old he is known to have composed some five thousand lines of verse.
In this youth he earned the reputation of being a at vadh ni (one who could attend to a hundred different things simultaneously. He even gave public performance of these rare feet in Bombay in 1886-87. Times of India dated 24th January 1887 have published an article on it. In this 20th year he renounced these powers, as he considered them to be obstructions to his spiritual progress.
He never ran away from any of his responsibilities and duties. On the contrary, he took the uttermost care in performing them. Even in business he could have attained the highest position but he declined any such opportunities.
He was married at the age of sixteen and had five children. He advocated performing marriage and other social functions in a simple and economical way. This shows that a person can live like a householder and even live and aspire for a life of spiritual development. He holds that religion should be followed in every act of life. Whatever he was doing, whether eating, sitting, sleeping, he was firmly detached from every act. He was never attracted to any worldly matters. He lived simple
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0