Rakesh Jhaveri | |
---|---|
Born | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | 26 September 1966
Nationality | Indian |
Other names | Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai |
Education | MA, PhD |
Alma mater | Osmania University, University of Mumbai |
Organisation(s) | Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur |
Parents |
|
Website | www |
Rakesh Jhaveri, also known as Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, [upper-alpha 1] (born 26 September 1966) is a spiritual leader, mystic, scholar of Jainism, author and orator from India. Spiritually inclined from a young age, he is a follower of Shrimad Rajchandra, a Jain spiritual teacher. He completed doctoral studies on Shrimad's work Atmasiddhi . He founded Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur which supports spiritual and social activities.
Rakesh Jhaveri was born in Mumbai, India on 26 September 1966 to Dilip and Rekha Jhaveri, who followed the Shwetambara Murtipujaka tradition of Jainism. [1] In 1968, Sahaj Anandji, a monk from Rajasthan who had established Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram at Hampi, was at Palitana. Rakesh's parents were influenced by Sahaj Anandji who died in 1970 and was succeeded by Mataji. [2]
In 1972, Rakesh began his academic studies at Activity High School in Mumbai. From an early age, he was spiritually inclined. From the age of four he began speaking on Jain philosophy. He first encountered Shrimad Rajchandra when a copy of Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrit fell and he saw the photograph of Shrimad Rajchandra. He recounted that he went into deep meditation for 72 hours after this incident, which led to jāti smaraṇa gnān (recounting of previous lives). [3]
In 1978, Rakesh visited Hampi and stayed for eighteen months. [4] A satsang-mandal (devotional group) was formed by 1978 and some followers had already started to call him guru by 1980. [5] During his visit to his aunt in Jaipur, he decided to devote rest of his life to spiritual activities. [5] In 1983, he visited Hampi again and stayed there for two years. There he was nominated as Mataji's successor. [4] In 1985, he returned to Mumbai upon his parents' request and started studying religious texts, practicing yoga and learning Indian classical music. He observed silence for twelve hours a day and traveled extensively between 1985 and 1990. [6] [7] During this period, the number of followers around him continued to grow. [8] During his holidays in Nepal, he decided to pursue the college studies. [6]
He completed B. A. from Osmania University, Hyderabad, in 1988. [1] In 1989, he visited Antwerp for his father's treatment where his discourses were attended by increasing number of followers. [9] He completed M. A. in Philosophy in 1991 from the University of Mumbai. [7] He started his doctoral studies on Atmasiddhi , a spiritual work composed by Shrimad Rajchandra, in January 1994 under Ramanlal Shah. He was awarded PhD on 2 December 1998 by the University of Mumbai. [10] [7] [1] He had vowed not to give a public discourse until his PhD was completed. He gave his first public discourse in Rajkot on 13 April 2001. [10]
Rakesh Jhaveri, known as Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji established Shrimad Rajchandra Adhyatmik Satsang Sadhana Kendra in 1994 to organise his followers which was later succeeded by the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur. On 13 May 1999, the construction of an ashram spread across 223 acres (90 ha) at Dharampur was started [11] [1] and was opened in April 2001. The ashram is located on the hillock of Mohangadh which was an estate of the last ruler of the erstwhile Dharampur State. [12] In 2002, he started initiating followers, Atmarpits, who give up worldly possessions and commit to celibacy. [7] He gives the series of discourses to his followers at the ashram throughout the year. He gives discourses in Mumbai once a month on Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrit, a compilation of Shrimad Rajchandra's letters, personal diaries and transcriptions of his spiritual discourses. [13] [14] He also prescribes an annual scriptural study schedule to his followers. [15]
He established Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care (SRLC); a non-governmental organisation that provides medical, educational and humanitarian services; in 2003. [16] The NGO received a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2020 due to its projects that work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. [17]
In November 2016, the Mission produced a play, Yugpurush: Mahatma na Mahatma depicting spiritual relationship between Shrimad Rajchandra and Mahatma Gandhi. [18] The Mission opened a science college in Dharampur, Shrimad Rajchandra Vidyapeeth, the same month. [19] In November 2017, the 34-feet tall statue of Shrimad Rajchandra was unveiled at the ashram. [20] By 2017, the Mission had 102 Satsang centres, 39 Youth Group Centres and 227 Divine Touch Centres worldwide. [21] In 2019, the Mission and the Sangeet Natak Akademi co-produced a play Bharat Bhagya Vidhata focused on how Mahatma Gandhi cultivated the values of truth and non-violence. [22] The Mission gifted statue of Mahatma Gandhi to the city of Manchester to serve as a "symbol of love and compassion" following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. It was unveiled in November 2019. [23] [24] [25] On April 25, 2021, Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital established a 150-bed COVID Care Centre in Dharampur during COVID-19 pandemic in India. [26] [27]
Though he follows several principles of Jain monasticism, such as observing mahavrata s (major vows), he does not consider himself a monk. He resides with his followers at the ashram in Dharampur and with his family when in Mumbai. [7]
He was awarded the Gandhi Seva Medal by the Gandhi Global Family, an NGO, in 2017. [28]
Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipal Corporation. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir, the historic Swaminarayan temple built in 1824, and the Anand and Hari Om Ashram. Nadiad is the place where Shrimad Rajchandra composed Shri Atmasiddhi Shatra, a 142 verse spiritual treatise in 1895. Nadiad is located 90 kilometres (56 mi) away from Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. It has a major railway junction and is a main station on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route. It is the birthplace of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. Nadiad Municipality was Founded in 1866.
Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows on the northern, western and southern boundaries of the district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an important centre for cotton trade. Wardha was an important part of the Gandhian era.
Shrimad Rajchandra, also known as Param Krupalu Dev, was an enlightened master, Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar, and reformer. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he claimed to have 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 Atma Siddhi Shastra. 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.
Dharampur is a town and a municipality in Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India. There are more than 100 villages associated with Dharampur (Revenue) office. Ramsingh of the Sesodia clan, the second son of Ram Raja of Udaipur, defeated the local tribal chief in the 13th century and became the ruler of Dharampur State in South Gujarat.
Dada Bhagwan, also known as Dadashri, born Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, was an Indian spiritual leader from Gujarat who founded the Akram Vignan Movement. He was spiritually inclined from an early age. He worked as a contractor for a company maintaining dry docks in Bombay before attaining "self-realization" in 1958. He left business and focused on his spiritual goals. The movement around his teaching grew into the Akram Vignan movement gaining followers in western India and abroad. Ahimsa (non-violence) and vegetarianism are an important part of Dada's teachings.
The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain, with a population of about 25,000.
Jagdish Chandra Jain was a scholar, indologist, educationist, writer, and freedom fighter during the freedom struggle of India. He authored over 80 books on a variety of subjects, including Jain philosophy, Prakrit literature, and Hindi textbooks for children. Jain was the chief prosecution witness in Gandhi's murder trial. He repeatedly tried to warn the government of the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, which became to known to him after Madan Lal Pahwa, a Punjabi refugee and one of the conspirators of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, confided to him of their plan. Jain's attempts to warn the government met deaf ears. He recounted his personal experiences in two books: I Could Not Save Bapu and The Forgotten Mahatma. He died from cardiac arrest in July 1993 in Bombay at the age of 84.
Atma Siddhi Shastra is a spiritual treatise in verse, composed in Gujarati by the nineteenth century Jain saint, philosopher poet Shrimad Rajchandra (1867–1901). Atma according to Jainism means "soul" or the "self" and "siddhi" means "attainment". Hence, Atma Siddhi is translated as self attainment or self realization. It is a composition of 142 verses in Gujarati, explaining the fundamental philosophical truths about the soul and its liberation. It propounds six fundamental truths on soul which are also known as satapada.
The Gandhi Global Family medals and awards are awards offered by the Gandhi Global Family for contributions to society.
Deepakbhai Desai, referred as Pujya Deepakbhai Desai by his followers, is Indian spiritual leader from Gujarat, India. He heads Dada Bhagwan Foundation. He teaches the Akram Vignan philosophy developed by Dada Bhagwan.
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The Akram Vignan movement, also spelled Akram Vijnan, is a new religious movement originated in 1960s in Gujarat, India. It was founded by Dada Bhagwan and later spread to Maharashtra and Gujarati diaspora communities around the world. After death of Dada Bhagwan, the movement split in two factions: one led by Niruben Amin and the other led by Kanubhai Patel.
Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital is a charitable, multi-bed hospital located in the city of Dharampur in the Valsad district of Gujarat, India. The hospital currently operates under the administration of Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which runs the hospital and other charitable activities. Established in 2003, it provides medical care at nominal rates or completely free of cost. Hospital records show that over 125,000 patients were treated in 2016, and over 1 million patients have been treated since the inception of the hospital in 2004.
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Vananiya is a small village located 40 km from the town of Morbi in the state of Gujarat, India.