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Jainism : The Cosmic Vision Who gave the mantra of non-violence to Mohandas K. Gandhi, the barrister, who had just returned from England ? How did he come to place so much trust in non-violence and who instilled in him love for truth, sense of spirituality and a strong belief in anekant philosophy ? It was none other than the spiritual guru Shrimad Rajchandra who was born in a small village Vavania in Saurashtra. In Vikram Samvat 1947 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India from England trained as a barrister. He arrived at the house of Dr. Pranjivan Mehta, a relative of Shrimad Rajchandra. He also arrived there at the same time and both met for the first time. Dr. Mehta and Gandhiji had met earlier in England and they both managed to hit off well. Gandhiji was greatly impressed by Rajchandra's nobility of nature and his deep knowledge. What a coincidence that Shrimad Rajchandra imbibed the essence of non-violence from Mahavira and it got implanted from him into Mahatma Gandhi ! Gandhi experimented with truth, non-violence and the philosophy of anekant and this saw the dawn of a new era in world history.
Gandhi, under the influence of Rajchandra, brought about a sort political, social and spiritual revolution in the country. He admitted that during a spiritual crisis, he sought guidance from Shrimad. He said : “I met many religious leaders, but the impression that Shrimad Rajchandra left on me, no other leader had been able to leave. Whatever he said had a lasting effect on me." He called him his spiritual Guru. He further said : "I admire his intellect and honesty. I know he would not mislead me and would put me on the right path. Hence my submission to him." Some doubts arose in Gandhi's mind about Hindu religion. It was at that time he met Rajchandra and he dispelled
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