"Highly Self Realized And Enlightened..."

Fortunately, in every recorded history of different religions, great seers and saints take birth at a time when there is too much doubt and confusion about the teaching of Lord. 

In Jain religion, we have been most obliged to such a great seer born in our modern times. 


A highly self realized and enlightened seer was born about 130 years ago in a small town in Saurashtra called Vavania who is known to Jains of all faiths today as Shrimad Rajchandraji.


Shrimad Rajchandraji attained Jatismaran (knowledge of previous births) at age of seven and was able to clearly see and describe His past life. 


In later stage of His life, when Shrimadji was visiting mount Idar, He told the king of Idar that on this mountain, He could see and recall clearly the instances where Lord Mahavira and other Tirthankaras were present here. 


He further stated: Gautam Swami and other disciples of Lord Mahavira attained Moksha at that time, and one of Lord's disciple has taken birth in this time as Shrimad Rajchandra. 


Shrimadji had studied all the Jain and Hindu scriptures before age thirteen and composed His first text, Mokshmala in 3 days, which can be used a text to study Jainism at any level. 


He attained Samyakdarsan at age 23. 


We find numerous examples of His writing that remind us of the original Agam Sutras. 


Shrimadji was able to recall the teachings of Lord Mahavira that He had heard from the Lord and was able to write them in the original words of Lord Mahavira in a very authentic way similar to the one found in the Agam Sutras.

" A Sheltering Tree To Which Many Come In Their Hour Of Need..."

The end of Shrimadji’s earthly life came in April 1901. 


The doctors had not diagnosed any specific illness. 


The only symptom of the approaching end, in clinical terms, was extreme weakness. 


It was about a year ago,  while Shrimadji was in Dharampur, that His health had started deteriorating. 


These phases of comforts (shaata) and discomforts (ashaata) arise in obedience to a certain law as Shrimadji himself mentions that all mortals are subject to them according to their respective ‘karma’s’. 


He saw life as a consuming flame, burning us up from within and outside. 


He called this state as ‘inner burning’ (antar-daya). Shrimadji, having once felt the burst of this all-consuming, would search the right path, so that in the end He would be able to disengage himself completely from all negative states and attain that ultimate omniscience which is the true state of the soul.


In the final days of Shrimadji’s life one found him moving towards His goal and attaining it almost before one’s very eyes. 


The only difference that His illness made to His routine was that His correspondence grew thinner.


Shrimadji passed away on Tuesday, 9 April 1901; He was in Rajkot during His last illness. 


The stream of visitors had continued unabated almost all the time, and Shrimadji had not slacked in His effort at responding with the same degree of warmth to all those who came, which was much against the advice of His doctors. 


The letters written during the last days were addressed to Ambalalbhai, to Tribhovandasbhai, and to Laghuraj swami.


Revashankarbhai and Mansukhbhai, Shrimadji’s younger brother, were with Him when the end came. 


On the evening of the day previous to the last, He appeared to give an indication of the approaching end to Mansukhbhai. 


The time was now past when He could impart to others some of that immortal lore which it was His mission to communicate. 


Yet there was no need for His intimates to be in any perturbed. They should feel themselves fortified in the knowledge that His, "Shrimadji’s soul was for sure to gain, on His death, the direction that was proper to it, i.e. the attachment of salvation. 


On the eve of His death, Shrimadji enjoined those near Him to be steadfast in their spiritual efforts. 


And so this rare soul departed from this, His earthly stay . . . "There was no trace of anguish, and none of those physical symptoms, which mark the termination of life. 


His face was lit up by strange effulgence as He lay on the couch to which He was shifted a few hours before the end came. 


He lay there in the posture of one who had risen above the material plane, and who was now completely restored to that principle of consciousness which will remain its true state forever.


In one of the age-old metaphors in the Indian tradition, the body is described as an outer garment, which the soul wears for a time, only to lay it aside when the moment comest. 


In Shrimadji's life we find the truth of this metaphor illustrated.


That seed of soul-knowledge (atma-jnana), with which He was born, went on growing until that moment arrived when Shrimadji thought it proper to divest himself of that outer shell (body), and with it the whole web of circumstances one binds around oneself because of the body.


Shrimadji’s one aim throughout his life was the attainment of the state of complete detachment. 


One of His associates is reported to have observed when Shrimadji told him of this, that the infinite compassion which moves the truly righteous would bring him too out of his seclusion, at least for the sake of others. 


Shrimadji, in reply, said that even this tie has ultimately to be discarded.


Shrimadji allowed the seed of spiritual knowledge to grow in Him until it became a tree, and it is in the same terms that one of His associates, Ambalalbhai, speaks of his sense of loss. 

He said " Shrimadji’s presence was like a sheltering tree to which many come in their hour of need. 

To be deprived of His presence was like having the tree suddenly consumed in flames to the utter bewilderment of all the birds nesting in it . . .  "

"I Could Recollect My Previous Lives."

Shrimad Rajchandraji possessed the knowledge of His previous births. 


It is called Jati Smarana Gnan.

In reply to a question from Padamshibhai, His friend in Bombay, as to, whether Shrimadji possessed the mysterious knowledge of His past lives, He replied: "Yes" and then He explained as to when and how He obtained it. It is a picturesque description. 


Shrimadji said: "When I was seven years old, an elderly man named Amichand, well-built, stout and sturdy, a neighbor in my village, suddenly expired of a serpent 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.

Thereupon I went stealthily to the cremation ground and climbing a Babul tree I saw the whole process of burning 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."

Such knowledge of one's previous lives is called Jati Smarana Gnan.

It is but natural that death and disease are the great humanizing forces in individual and social life of thinking men. It is by being conscious of them that we develop modesty and humility in our behavior and we reduce our attachment to worldly life.

By meditation on death we realize the supreme and sole importance of knowing and experiencing the Atma. Therefore Jati Smarana Gnan is very helpful in developing detachment from the world, and a spiritual affection for eternal imperishable ever-living soul.

Shrimadji obtained this exceptional knowledge of His previous lives at very young age of seven, a rare phenomenon. 

In 1897 A. D. at the age of 30 years, He wrote His famous poem in which He thanked the day when He realized unique peace. He has described in the poem the order of His spiritual development as under:

"In 1874 A. D. I obtained the Jati Smarana Gnan. In 1875 A. D. I began to advance on the spiritual path from the point I had already reached in my previous life. In 1886 A. D. I developed a spirit of complete resignation and detachment to the mortal body and the rest of the world."

In 1889 A. D. at the age of 22 years, He wrote in a poem that the only friend of unqualified happiness is lonely indifference which in turn is the mother of spirituality.

He also says therein: "In my very young age I knew the nature of the final reality and this suggested to me that henceforth I had no future birth nor will I have to fall back from what I had already gained in spiritual life. 

I easily reached the state of the soul which would require long study and spiritual practice for others."

In a letter He says: "I realized that when in infinite stretch of time in the series of my past lives I felt that I could not live without my dearest and nearest; but I could live without them in those lives too. This proves that my affections and attachments were based on ignorance." 

He pithily declares that without the right insight, the scriptures are of no help; that without the true spiritual contact, even meditation degenerates into wild imagination; without the active guidance of a Self-realized Guru, the final truth cannot be realized; that by following the normal path of the worldly people, one cannot be their leader and savior; that without resigning the world and its myopic calculations, a life of extreme non-attachment is very difficult to be obtained.

He salutes the great Tirthankara who realized His soul and described it for the benefit of the world. 

It is only by the teachings of the Tirthankaras that one can easily know his soul. 

Shrimadji's Last Spiritual Stature...

 In Vikram Samvat 1957, Shrimad Rajchandraji with His Mother & Wife stayed at Agakhan's Bungalow in Ahmedabad. 


One day Shri Devkaranji Muni asked the reason for reduction of His body to which He replied: "I am on a war with my body as it took unwholesome food during my stay in Dharampur.

One day prior to going to Wadhwan Camp He called Shri Lalluji & Shri Devkaranji to His residence in Agakhan's Bungalow at Ahmedabad & advised them to see no difference in Him & in Shri Mahavirswami.

On the day prior to His death at Rajkot, Shrimadji said to Shri Mansukhbhai, Shri Revashankarbhai, Shri Narbherambhai & others around Him: "Be sure this soul is eternal, it is reaching increasingly higher stages, it has a very bright future. You remain quiet & behave with calmness & peace. I may not in future tell you with my tongue nor there is now the time for it. I only advise you to continue your efforts towards Self-realization.

At 8:45 a. m. on Chaitra Vad 5th Vikram Samvat 1957 He said to Shri Mansukhbhai: "Mansukh, do not be afflicted, take care of mother, I retire to my soul's true nature." From 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p. m. He lay on his death bed quiet as a machine, in deep meditation, and He left His body for ever.

Shri Lalluji Maharaj  heard in Kavitha the sad news of his Guru's expiry and he retired to the fields in solitude & passed His day in dedication to the departed Guru. 

According to English calendar Shrimadji left HIS body for good on 9th April 1901 at Rajkot after a little over one year's sickness.

In brief, Shrimadji lived & died as a Self-Realized Soul, though in body, completely independent of it.

He had in His mind an aspiration to re-establish the pure religion of Shri Mahavirswami which had been distorted in the institutional sectarianism which cut at the very root of Jainism. To some extent this purpose has been fulfilled by His great disciples in recent years.

Shrimad Rajchandraji was a universal man practicing the universal religion of Atma, the only reality & He defined a person as Jain if he followed an enlightened Guru's advice & practiced the religion of Atma.

Infinite salutations to the Great Shrimadji Rajchandraji.

                                                (From Jain Data Base)

"Raichandbhai Was Heading Towards Liberation With a Tremendous Speed..."

& Gandhiji Said...

"Shrimadji's living was simple. 


He was satisfied with whatever food was offered to Him. 


He put on simple but clean clothes. He used to wear Dhoti, Peharan, Khesa and a turban. 


He used to sit on a Gaadi on the floor in His shop or at home.

Shrimadji was slow in His walk and He used to think while walking. 


There was a spark in His eyes, they were full of luster and steadiness. They declared the single-mindedness of His purpose. 


His face was round, His lips thin, nose not pointed nor flat, body single, height average, colour darkish white and general appearance that of an Idol In Peace. 


His tone was so sweet that one would love to hear Him more and more. 


His face was smiling and in full bloom and joy. It clearly declared the internal joy and peace. 


His language was so effective and measured that He was never found to be searching for words. Language was His maidservant. He was described by some as an incarnation of the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati. He never changed a word while writing a letter. He expressed His thoughts and meditations in fine and appropriate language.

This description befits only a self-controlled person. By renunciation the external forms one cannot be self-controlled. The real self-control is not an imposition, it is an inspiration and an internal illumination.

Complete non-attachment and renunciation is the gift of the soul. It should be spontaneous and from within and not sporadic or externally imposed. Very rare souls by virtue of their high spiritual attainments in their previous births possess these qualities in them. Only those , who actively try to keep away from all attachments from them, know how difficult it is to attain. 

Such a difficult achievement was easily found in Shri Raichandbhai. 

The first step to Self-realization is a cultivation of a spirit of complete non-attachment and it was natural in Raichandbhai.

People normally believe that truth-telling and successful business never go together. Shri Raichandbhai on the other hand firmly believed and advised that truth and honesty were not only useful but essential to all good business. Morality is not packed within a prayer book, it is to be practiced and lived in all stations of life. Religion and morality sustain both good life and good business. 

Though Raichandbhai never played tricks with others, He used to find them out quite easily when they were played by others, and He used to snub the persons using the tricks and force them to leave them.

While we are worldly souls, Shrimadji was quite other worldly or liberated from the worldly life. 

While we may have to take many further births, for Raichandbhai His present life may be the last. 

While we perhaps are running away from liberation, Raichandbhai was heading towards liberation with a tremendous speed. 

This speaks volume of Raichandbhai's self-effort.

Whoever will read his teachings and follow them may speed up his march to Self-liberation. 

From this is evident that Raichandbhai has written for the advanced and the initiate in religion and not for all and sundry.

While many Christian Missionary friends considered their religious duty to convert me to Christianity on the ground of its wonderful vows of charity, chastity, faith and hope, I made up my mind that I should first find out whether the religion of my birth namely Hinduism, gave me the message that I needed,

and I asked a few fundamental questions on Hinduism to Shri Raichandbhai by post and His replies were so logical, so appealing and convincing that I regained my faith in Hinduism and I was saved from conversion of religion. 


From that moment onwards, my respect and admiration for Raichandbhai increased with leaps & bounds and I considered Him to be my religious guide till he lived." 

An Introduction to the Life and Works of Shrimad Rajchandraji