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Chapter 1 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
While rising from the sleep if one notices the signs of burglary, he would feel upset and stir to action. Similarly a decade after the disturbing period of 1857 mutiny, India was busy sowing the seeds of social reforms, freedom, education, religious revival etc. During that period of resurgence the efforts of Shri Ramkrishna and Swami Vivekanand were taking roots in the East; the North was getting ready for Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Shri Ramtirth; and Lokmänya Tilak and Gokhle were growing in the southern peninsula under the refreshed memories of Peshwai. That time Shrimad Räjchandra was born to a Bania (a trading community) family in a pretty village named Vavänia in the State of Gujarat on Sunday November 9 1867, i.e. about two years before the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. According to Indian calendar this great man was born on the full moon day of the month of Kärtik, which is also the birthday of Hemchandrächärya known as the omniscient of the present age. The Self-realized saint Chidanandji also seems to have given up his body in the year 1867.
Shrimad's father's name was Ravjibhai and mother's name was Devbai. His grandfather was a devotee of Lord Krishna. The fountain of devotion was thus continuously flowing in that family. As the hues of evening twilight or those of rainbow beautifully radiate their reflection in the calm water of a lake, Shrimad's mother Devbäi brought Jain culture in that devoted family of Vavania. Other Bania families of the place were also followers of Jainism. The mixture of those cultures was miraculously flowing in the heart of our hero like the confluence of Ganga and Yamunä. It is worth quoting here the description of this period given by the great man himself in November 1889 at the age of 22 under the title' The Early Age in Retrospect'.
"Since I was born in November 1867, I am now 22 years old. During these 22 years I have gone through a variety of thoughts pertaining to soul, mind, speech, body and wealth. I have thought of various aspects of the universe, worldly life, root cause of the infinite unhappiness etc. During that early age I have thought of all the concepts put forth by the great philosophers as well as by the atheists. I have conceived of the ambitions of great sovereigns as well as of detachment of the detached personalities. I have thought at length of the evidences of immortality as well as of evanescence. Many concepts have been thought over and many strange situations have been gone through. When I seriously look at that, I realize that there is a world of difference between my thinking and spirituality of that time and my present state. It seems that there is no meeting point.
One may ask whether that has been put in writing anywhere. The reply is that everything is simply in the memory. No effort has been made to show it to the world by using pen. Though the description of that age would, no doubt, be useful and worth thinking over again and again for the people at large and that would turn out to be beneficial to me, yet my inner spirit has plainly refused to undertake that task. Being thus helpless in the matter, I want to be forgiven for that. If it becomes possible to control my mind, I would convince the internal spirit about the resultant benefit and gradually put that matter on paper. Meanwhile, however, let me have a bird-eye view of that age.
Up to seven years of age I had solely indulged in playful games. I remember that very strange concepts were occurring to my mind without making out the nature or the purpose thereof. While playing the games, I was aspiring to win and to obtain a high position comparable to an emperor. I was not particular about the clothes, cleanliness, food and drinks, sleeping or sitting etc. but I was delicate at heart. I remember that very much. Had I got the present discernment at that age, I would not have much concern for liberation. That state being so innocent, I recollect it again and again.
The period from 7th to 11th year was spent in education. My memorizing capability has now been affected on account of the publicity that it gets, but that time it was faultless. I could memorize the texts merely by looking at once. That time there was no concept of publicity and hence there was no problem. Very few people at present and in this land would have the sharp memory that I had.
