Shrimad Rajchandra
Shrimad Rajchandra, also known as Param Krupalu Dev, was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar, and a major reformer from India. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he attained recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed Avadhāna, a memory retention and recollection test that gained him popularity, but he later discouraged it in favour of his spiritual pursuits. He wrote much philosophical poetry including Ātma-Siddhi-Śāśtra. He also wrote many letters and commentaries and translated some religious texts. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi.
Early life
Shrimad Rajchandra was born on 9 November 1867, in Vavaniya, a port near Morbi. His mother, Devbai, was Śvetāmbara Sthanakvasi Jain and his father, Ravjibhai Mehta and paternal grandfather, Panchan Mehta, were Vaishnava Hindu. Hence he was introduced to both Jainism and Hinduism from early life. He was initiated in Vaishnavism by a Sadhu named Ramadasji, following which he also studied Vedanta. He continued to study other Indian religions and was attracted to Ahiṃsā and bheda-vijñāna doctrine of Jainism. Later, he chose Jainism because he considered that it provides "best path to salvation". In one of the letters to Mahatma Gandhi, Shrimad stated that the great souls like the Tirthankars have revealed knowledge of a thousand times deeper import than what the Vedas contain. Therefore, since something imperfect cannot be the origin of a perfect thing, it is not justified in asserting that all religions had originated from the Vedas.Shrimad, highlighting works of Anandghanji Maharaj, maintained that Jain philosophy held supreme place because it consisted the partial truths expressed by other schools into a complete perspective grounded in the vision of the omniscient Lords. He explained that while individual Indian philosophies emphasized in limited capacity over topics such as creation, karma, the soul, or liberation, Jainism addressed and harmoniously incorporated all these concepts and viewpoints without exclusion. To illustrate this, he re-affirmed the 'ocean and river' analogy that just as all rivers eventually flow into the ocean, the insights of various single sighted traditions ultimately converge within Jainism, which is regarded as reflecting the all encompassing knowledge of the Tirthankars. In this way, Shrimad stated that Jain philosophy resolved the questions and doubts left unanswered by other schools, presenting the most comprehensive path towards liberation. He preached that the path of liberation is open to all, regardless of caste, creed, or gender, sect and whether one lives as a monk or as a pious layperson, as mentioned in the sacred Sthānāṅga Sūtra.
His birth name was Lakshminandan Mehta. He was renamed Raichand by his parents when he was four years old. Later, his name changed to its Sanskrit form, Rajchandra. Shrimad, an honorific, was added by his disciples posthumously. His disciples also refer to him as Param Krupalu Dev.
Recollection of previous lives
Shrimad said that he first attained jāti-smaraṇa jñāna at the age of seven, in 1874. In an 1890 reply to a question from Padamshibhai, his friend in Bhuleshwar, Bombay, he described the incident:When I was seven years old, an elderly man named Amichand, well-built, stout and sturdy, a neighbor in my village, suddenly died of a snake bite. I did not know what was death. I asked my grandfather as to what was the meaning of death. He tried to evade the reply and advised me to finish my meals. I insisted on a reply. At last he said: "To die means the separation of the soul from the body. A dead body has no movement, it contaminates and decays. Such a dead body will be burnt to ashes near a river-bank as it has ceased to function." Then I went secretly to the cremation ground and climbing a Babul tree I saw the whole process of cremation of the dead man's body and I felt that those who burnt him were cruel. A train of thoughts started on the nature of the death and as a result I could recollect my previous lives.
This incident played a pivotal role in his perception of the world. He described his spiritual journey in one of his poems. He wrote that he advanced on the path of spirituality he had already attained in his previous life. He claimed that he developed complete resignation and detachment to his mortal body and the rest of the world in 1897. He thanked the day of the experience in one of his poems written at the age of 30. The tree he climbed no longer exists, but a monument temple with a model of the event was erected on the site.
He experienced the same when he visited the fort in Junagadh. His experiences influenced him to live a religious life.
Prodigy
Shrimad had atypical memory retentiveness and recollection. He joined the school at the age of seven and half but mastered the preliminaries in calculation in just a month. In two years, he completed the study of seven grades.At the age of eight, he started composing poems. He composed verse synopses on Ramayana and Mahabharata at the age of nine. He gained maturity in thinking and reasoning and by the age of 10 started public speaking. At the age of 11 he started writing articles in newspapers and magazines, such as in Buddhiprakash and won several prizes in essay writing competitions. He wrote a 300-stanza poem on 'a watch' at the age of 12. In 1880, he went to Rajkot to study English, but very little is known about his education there. By 1882, he had studied and mastered several subjects. He became known as a young poet and was referred to as Kavi due to it. He occasionally visited the residence of the ruler of Kutch as a writer and was praised for his penmanship. He started attending his father's shop aged 13. He composed many poems on the lives of Rama and Krishna while managing the shop.
Later life
''Avadhāna''
is a difficult test of attention and recollection in which a person attends multiple objects and activities at a time. In 1884, Rajchandra came from Vavania to Morbi where he saw Shastri Shankarlal M. Bhatt performing eight Avadhāna at a time. Gattulalji Maharaj was performing the same in Bombay. He saw the performance and quickly picked it up. Just two days after the performance, he performed it in front of his friends and later in public. Initially he performed 12 Avadhāna in public in Morbi but later he performed 16 Avadhāna in audience of two thousand in Wadhwan Camp, which was praised in newspapers. He performed 52 Avadhāna in Botad in a private meeting with his friend Harilal Shivalal Sheth which included playing Chopat game with three players; playing cards with three players; playing chess; keeping count of the sound of a small gong; mentally computing arithmetic sums involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division ; keeping count of the movement of beads along a thread; solving eight new problems; composing verses on eight diverse topics selected at the time and in the specific metre chosen by various members of the audience ; rearranging 400 words of various languages spoken in random order including Greek, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Latin, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Maru, Jadeji, in the right order of subject, predicate ; teaching a student; contemplating various figures of speech ; all at one time.He performed śatāvadhāna at Sir Framji Cowasji Institute in Bombay on 22 January 1887, which gained him praise and publicity. He was awarded gold medals by institutes and public for his performances as well as title of 'Sakshat Saraswati'. Rajchandra believed that the publicity gained by such Avadhānas may become an obstacle in spiritual pursuits, so he gradually discouraged the performances and stopped it completely by age of 20. The performances attracted wide coverage in national newspapers. In September 1893, when in Chicago, Virchand Gandhi mentioned this feat at the Parliament of the World's Religions.
Later years
In 1887, Rajchandra married Jhabakben, daughter of Popatlal, the elder brother of Revashankar Jagjivandas Mehta, a Zaveri merchant family. He then engaged in the pearl and diamond business. They had two sons and two daughters. His in-laws wanted him to move to Bombay and establish business there, but he was interested in his spiritual pursuits.In 1890, he experienced self-realization in Bombay. In His letter describing His state at the time, Shrimad wrote “Day and night, reflection upon the supreme reality alone prevails, that alone is the food, that alone is the sleep, that alone is the bed, that alone is the dream, that alone is the fear, that alone is the pleasure, that alone is the possession, that alone is the walking, that alone is the sitting. What more do I say? Bones, flesh and their marrow are only coloured in the colour of that alone." He continued his householder life for more six years and was successful in his business.
File:Shrimad and Gandhi Portrait.jpg|thumb|A portrait depicting Shrimad Rajchandra and Mahatma Gandhi being unveiled at The Consulate General of India in Guangzhou, China.
He is known as a spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi. They were introduced in Mumbai in 1891 and had various conversations through letters while Gandhi was in South Africa. Gandhi noted his impression of Shrimad Rajchandra in his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, calling him his "guide and helper" and his "refuge in moments of spiritual crisis". He advised Gandhi to be patient and to study Hinduism deeply. His teaching directly influenced Gandhi's non-violence philosophy.
He stayed in Gujarat with his disciples and avoided moving to Bombay. He retired from householder life and business when he was thirty. He spent three months in Idar where he instructed seven monks in religious discourses sitting on a stone, pudhvi śila. A memorial temple and a prayer hall was later built there.
During his final years, he suffered from colitis. No specific cause of death was identified except extreme weakness. In 1900, he lost a large amount of weight. He was under medical supervision, and doctors advised him to move to coastal region of Gujarat for the benefit of his health. He contracted the illness during his stay in Dharampur, Gujarat, from which he never recovered. In 1901, he, his mother and wife stayed at Aga Khan's bungalow in Ahmedabad before moving to Wadhwan Camp. He died on 9 April 1901 in Rajkot surrounded by his family, friends and disciples. A small photograph taken after his death is displayed in a library in Khambhat established by him. The room where he died is now a prayer hall dedicated to his memory.