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Biography - Gurudev Chitrabhanuji
In 1970 Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu became the first Jain Master in 2,500 years to leave India and come to the West. In those days, such an act was very risky because of the ancient Jain injunction against monks crossing water or traveling by vehicle, or by any other means except barefoot.
At the time, Gurudev was spiritual leader to hundreds of thousands, in fact, millions of Jains around India. To understand why such a man might leave such a position of authoity and security, one must understand his life and his message.
The Jain philosophy is one of India's most ancient schools of thought, scholars often tracing its history to prehistory times. For the many Jains in both East and West who have benefited from the teaching, it is an eternal philosophy of Reverence for all Life and Relativity in Thinking. Gurudev's life has been an eventful one, yet always guided by a quest for the spiritual truth. He studied psychology in Bangalore and was involved in Gandhiji's Satyagraha.
At the age of twenty, he became a Jain monk. During his twenty-eight years of monkhood, he spent five years in silence and meditation, speaking only to his guru. During this time, he went far down the path of purifying his consciousness. He studied Sanskrit and the various philosophies of India, as well as the rest of the world. He also founded the Divine Knowledge Society of Bombay, which produces humanitarian and educational assistance to the poor and needy.
His discourses were very popular, often drawing crowds in the tens of thousands to hear his words of wisdom. As a result, he was invited to attend the Second and Third Spiritual Conferences, held respectively in Geneva in 1970 and Harvard Divinity School in 1971. It was at this time Gurudev realized that it was time to take this opportunity of sharing the ancient message of Reverence for All Life and Relativity in Thinking, and so accepted the invitations. This would certainly put his authority and security at risk. (Remember, after the Original World Parliament of Religions a century ago, Swami Vivekananda and Shree Virchand Raghavchand Gandhi were greeted in India with garlands of shoes.) Nonetheless, it was time to share a secret too well kept from a world desperately in need of a more compassionate direction for mankind.
On the Wings of Light and Love - Volume Two - 7
