Fwd: [Abhinavagupta] Shrimad Rajchandra, Jain Avadhānis and the popular (vernacular) creativity of classical (Sanskritic) tradition
Nagaraj Paturi
From: 'Sunthar Visuvalingam' sunt...@yahoo.com [Abhinavagupta] <Abhina...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 19, 2018, 1:30 AM
Subject: [Abhinavagupta] Shrimad Rajchandra, Jain Avadhānis and the popular (vernacular) creativity of classical (Sanskritic) tradition
To: <Abhina...@yahoogroups.com>, Dia-Gnosis <dia-g...@yahoogroups.com>, Chicagoland Desis <Chicagol...@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: MeccaBenares (egroup) <MeccaB...@yahoogroups.com>, Hindu-Buddhist <Hindu-B...@yahoogroups.com>
Shrimad Rajchandra (11 November 1867 – 9 April 1901) was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar and reformer. Born near Morbi, he was a prodigy and claimed to have 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 a large number of philosophical poetry including Atma Siddhi. He also wrote a large number of letters and commentaries and translated some religious texts. He is best known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi. […]
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, 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 (4); 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 (16); 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 (16); teaching a student; contemplating various figures of speech (2); all at one time. He performed śatāvadhāna (100 Avadhāna) 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’ (Incarnation of the Goddess of Knowledge). Rajchandra believed that the publicity gained by such Avadhānas may became 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.
Shrimad Rajchandra, Wikipedia
Several Jain Avadhanis displayed the art of Avadhanam in front of Mughal emperors and their Subahdars (governors). Nandivijay, a disciple of the monk Vijayasen Suri, performed the Ashtavadhana in front of Akbar. Akbar was very impressed with the art and conferred the title of Khushfahm (one of a brilliant intellect) on Nandivijay. Siddhichandra, a disciple of the monk Hiravijaya Suri, performed the Shatavadhana in front of Akbar where he performed 108 simultaneous tasks testing his miraculous memory. Akbar conferred the title of Khushfahm on Siddhichandra as well. Siddhichandra stayed in the Mughal court till the last days of Jahangir. Yashovijay Suri, the author of the work Jain Tarka Bhasha, performed several Avadhanams at Ahmedabad in the 17th century, including 18 Avadhanams in the presence of Mohabat Khan, who was the Subahdar of Gujarat under Aurangzeb. […]
Avadhānam, Wikipedia
- Muni Manak Maharaj - He was born in Sujangarh in Rajasthan and is a disciple of Acharya Tulsi. He is fluent in nine languages and has in-depth knowledge of Buddhism, Vedas and Indian philosophical schools in addition to Jainism. He knows astrology, palmistry and numerology. He has displayed Shatavadhan many times in Indian cities and also in other countries like the UK, the US and Canada.
- Muni Rajkaran - He was born in Gangashahar, Bikaner (Rajasthan, India) on 15 March 1927. He was initiated into monkhood in 1942 at the minor age of 15 and became the disciple of great Jain saint Acharya Tulsi. After initiation he studied various Jain aagamas, Sanskrit and prakrit languages, philosophy and logic. He had a powerful memory and grip on mathematics. So he started to learn avadhanam he did more than 500 avadhan in a single day and made a record. He has travelled on foot to Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh in India, and to Bhutan and Nepal abroad.
- Muni Mahendra Kumar - He was born in 1937. He was initiated into monkhood in 1957 and was an associate of Acharya Tulsi and his successor Acharya Mahaprajna. Muni Mahendra Kumar is a professor at Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, Rajasthan, serving in the departments of Science of Living and Preksha Meditation. He is a versatile scholar across diverse disciplines like Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Indian and Western Philosophy, Psychology, Parapsychology, Ancient History, Meditation, and Spirituality. He knows many languages including Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, English, German, Hindi, Gujarati and Rajasthani. He has authored, translated and edited more than 60 books. He is a practitioner and instructor of Preksha Meditation. His work "The Enigma of the Universe" and "Vishva Prahelika" (Hindi Version) is a research in the field of cosmology of modern science and ancient Jain philosophy. He has demonstrated Shatavadhana at various universities and international conferences and is sometimes referred to as the "Human Computer".
- Muni Ajitchandra Sagar - Born in 1988, Ajitchandra Sagar is a self-taught Shatavadhani under the guidance and Blessings of Acharya Shree Naychandrasagarji Mharaj. He has performed several Samyukta Avadhana and Mahashatavadhana where he has subjected him to up to 200 questioners. He performs the "Netravadhana" (Avadhana using eyes) and "Ganitavadhana" (mathematics) also. He demonstrated the Shatavadhana at a conference of Jain Doctors' Federation in Ahmedabad in 2009. He demonstrated the Dvishatavadhana in March 2012 in Mumbai where he first heard with closed eyes 200 questions including puzzles, names of objects, places and persons, Sanskrit shlokas, factual and philosophical questions, foreign language words and complex mathematical problems. He then opened his eyes and answered all of them in addition to reciting the questions and answers in ascending, descending and random orders. Ajitchandra Sagar holds a Guinness record for being the world's second-fastest speaker.
Friends,
Though the influence of Jainism on Mahatma Gandhi’s advocacy of ‘non-violence’ (ahiṁsā) in mass political movements is well known, few are aware that had it not been for the epistolary advice of his trusted counselor Shrimad Rajchandra, the Hindu Gandhi-ji would have converted to either Christianity or Islam while in South Africa. I make it a point to take visitors to Chicago, sometimes directly from O’Hare airport, to the Jain temple (which is also the organizational center of their North American diaspora) and show them the large basement shrine to jeweler Rajchandra. What I have only just learned about, however, is the strong tradition of Jain avadhānis to which he too belonged. What better way to convince those skeptical of the powers (siddhi) conferred by the ascetic practice of yoga, than a public display of such ‘superhuman’ feats of concentrated intellectual retention and agility. Note that these Indic religious savants were hosted and patronized by Muslim rulers even under Aurangzeb!
As I have shown in my work on the ‘great brahmin’ jester of the classical theater, the genre of the ‘riddle play’ (vīthī) that had its ritual roots in the Vedic enigma-combats (brahmodya) was transposed onto the vernacular (prākṛt) for entertainment. Though this Sanskrit literary cuture pervaded and inspired all of India’s regional traditions based on their distinct languages (including Gujarati, etc.), it has, for sociohistorical circumstances that remain to be fully clarified, blossomed especially in Telugu. Virtuosos, such as Medasani Mohan, to whom we had the privilege of listening yesterday, draw upon their oral mastery of traditional (religious) lore to improvise spontaneously in (humorous) response even to contemporary (trick) questions relating to the most profane trivia. What better proof could we ask for (pace TM Krishna) that the classical Indian arts were never divorced from popular culture, nor hemmed in by religious sectarianism or linguistic register, but constituted a perennial unifying backbone.
Enjoy!
Sunthar
[Rest of this thread at Sunthar’s post (16 November 2018) at
Avadhani Dr. Medasani Mohan “Spirituality – Spirit of Service” (Sat. Nov. 17, 1:30 - 4:00 pm)]
From: Sunthar V.
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2018 9:25 PM
To: 'Chicagoland Desis' <Chicagol...@yahoogroups.com>; 'Abhinavagupta egroup' <Abhina...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [Abhinavagupta] Avadhani Dr. Medasani Mohan “Spirituality – Spirit of Service” (Sat. Nov. 17, 1:30 - 4:00 pm)
https://syedakbarindia.blogspot.com/2007/03/medasani-mohan-avadhani-par-excellence.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avadhanam
Looking forward to seeing some of you there tomorrow.
Sunthar
From: Prakasam Tata
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2018 7:20 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Greetings
Dear all:
I apologize for sending the attached invitation at such a short notice. However, the lecture is by Sahasra Avadhani Dr. Medasani Mohan could only be arranged within the last four days. On behalf of Bharathi Theertha, I request you, who live in the Chicago area and do not have previous commitments for tomorrow afternoon, to attend this lecture entitled, "Spirituality-Spirit of Service." Dr. Medasani Mohan is a man of letters and an erudite scholar on various aspects of Sanathana Dharma. After he retired from active service at Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam, he continues to work for the same organization as a special officer.
Best wishes,
Prakash
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