JAINA Convention 1999 07 Philadelphia

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 87

10th Biennial JAINA Convention
SADGURUDEV SHRIMAD RAJCHANDRA
Jyotindra Doshi
Shrimad Rajchandra was born in 1867 in a village called Vavania which rests on the northern coast of Kathiawar otherwise known as Saurashtra. He was extraordinary in every sense.
From his early childhood, he was gifted with unique grasping power and extraordinary sharp intelligence. His miraculous mental qualities began to manifest themselves when he was barely five years old. Some of the incidents in his early life had a tremendous impact on his extremely sensitive mind. He was famous as a great poet. He started writing articles at the age of eleven and they were published in highly renowned periodicals like "Buddhiprakash" and others. At the age of twelve, he had his first contact with Jain literature which influenced his sensitive mind deeply by its principles of non-violence and forgiveness. By the age of fourteen, he had mastered most of the serious treatises on philosophy. The principles crystallized in his mind by reading and contemplating Jain literature. It was at the young age of sixteen that he wrote "Mokshamala" which brought him recognition from scholars of his days. He wrote:
"Moksha means freedom from suffering of this world. It means achieving a unique state of knowledge and insight in which reside the highest unending happiness and bliss where there is absence of all the limitations of birth and death, sorrow and suffering of life. It is, therefore, our duty to take shelter in the words of the
passionless ( vitaraga)"
As the years rolled by, the spiritual powers of Rajchandra began to unfold and light of his knowledge and intellect began to spread like the rising sun. At the age of nineteen, he astonished the people of Bombay by his miraculous feat of Shatavdhan in which he demonstrated his unique capacity of attending simultaneously to a hundred things in a single act of attention. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mahatma Gandhi, who had met Rajchandra and constantly sought his advice, has written in high praise of this great personality. Gandhi writes: " This man has conquered my heart by his religious zeal. Up to this time no man has influenced me so deeply. I have said elsewhere that besides Shri Raichandra, Ruskin and Tolstoy have played a major role in shaping my inner life, but Rajchandra's influence is still deeper. In so many ways, Shri Rajchandra's decisions have influenced my conscience and moral feeling. He (Rajchandra ) does not only preach the truth which he has discovered, but he actually lives it in his life."
In conclusion, Shrimad Rajchandra was truly great spiritual soul.
(English Translation at AGAS in 1972 by Dr. Jagdishchandra Jain and Professor M.B.Ghorpade)
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