"He Would Sit Peacefully Still As a Statue.."

 "RAICHAND(Shrimadji) was a typical child. While most toddlers are fidgety, He would sit peacefully still as a statue, for an hour or more, when He accompanied his mum to her friends. 

Once when asked to chop some vegetables He had tears in his eyes, not because He was being deprived from playing outside, but because He saw the life-force even in vegetation. 


Thus He exhibited sensitivity and mindful awareness even as a child. 

His spiritual leaning was accompanied by a great appeal for bhakti, accompanying His dad to bhajan sessions and He had even bound a Kanthi, a symbol of the devotion to Lord Krishna. 


Initially He was put off by the ‘atheism’ of Jain teachings but gradually as He came into contact with Jain scriptures such as the works of Kund Kund Acharya and the Pratikraman Sutra, which details analysis of compassion towards all life and the avoidance of violence, His affection for Jain teachings grew.

When He was only seven, an elder and fond friend, Amichandbhai, died of a snake bite. Being inquisitive, Raichand (Shrimadji) inquired into the death and was told that the ‘life’ had passed out of Amichandbhai, and that, as he would no longer speak or do anything, he would be cremated. 


The 7-year-old clambered up a tree near the cremation ground and watched the proceedings. 


As He pondered deeply about what He saw, and wondered why someone would cruelly burn a man, suddenly He felt as though a veil had been removed. 


It is at this point He experienced ‘Jati Smaran Gnaan’ i.e. knowledge of past lives. 


Re-incarnation had now become a direct experience for Him! 

Though He started school late at the age of seven, He mastered the preliminaries of Calculation in a month. 


Commanding great respect from fellow students and teachers, He was even allowed to conduct a class under the teacher’s supervision. 


He used His photographic memory extensively, remembering the lessons at one reading. Even at this early age He showed great determination and commitment, completing the curriculum of seven standards in just two years. 

He started his poet’s career early at the age of eight, writing about a thousand stanzas in the first year and composed the classics ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharat’ in verse when He was only nine. 


Already contributing articles to Newspapers and Magazines from the age of eight, He wrote 300 stanzas on ‘A Watch’ at twelve. Being the recipient of numerous prizes for writing essays and poetry, He was well regarded as a great poet and scholar. One of His very early poems of a patriotic nature is sung in schools in Gujarat even today. 

Having demonstrated a clear comprehension of his goal in life Shrimadji’s formal education ended at age of twelve when He started attending his father’s shop..."