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5. A New Direction
hrimad Rajchandra was originally named Laxminandan. At the age of four, his name was changed to Raichand. This was stylized into Shrimad Rajchandra later in life.
While his family was traditionally from the Sthanakwasi sect of Jainism, Shrimad's paternal grandfather was very drawn to Shri Krishna. His devotion of the vedic religion had a major impact on the young boy. Shrimad would often hear from various monks the many stories in the Mahabharata, a great Hindu classic text which delineates one of the epic tales of ancient India.
One specific part of this classic, the Bhagavad Gita, tells the tale of how Shri Krishna gives guidance to his cousin Arjuna, and is a profound spiritual discourse. One of the monks present at the time, Ramdas, tied a necklace of beads, known as a Kanthi, initiating him into the Vaishnav faith.
Shrimad's mother, who was a devout Jain, through her daily practice and firm faith, naturally influenced Shrimad and it is thus that his interest in Jain teachings and the Jain way of life gradually grew.
The young Shrimad began to study the Jain scriptures. His life took on a whole new direction, and many of the influences with which he had come into the world, now came into Shrimad's thoughts and actions.
His father also became more and more drawn towards Jainism. The young Shrimad's gentle heart was greatly touched by the compassion and friendliness towards all living beings, which is something that Jainism advocates. His love for Jainism grew.
Even though he was young in age, his thoughts were profound. In his past lives he had achieved so much spiritually and this made his thought process even more powerful. On one hand he was full of devotion, and on the other, his accumulated knowledge resulted in deep introspection.
When these two streams of religious tradition met, there was a tremendous inner turmoil. Just as when we churn butter milk to make cream or butter, Shrimad's inner turmoil resulted in a beautiful synthesis.
