Dada J.P. Vaswani

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Universally acclaimed as a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader, Dada J.P. Vaswani has captivated the hearts of millions worldwide. In the eyes of many, Dada J.P. Vaswani is a man who symbolizes the true spirit of the India of the rishis as a harbinger of love, peace and hope.

Today, Dada J.P. Vaswani is the spiritual head of The Sadhu Vaswani Mission, and also the moving, inspiring, life-giving and life-sustaining force behind its multifarious activities. Holding aloft in his hands, the torch bequeathed to him by his Master, Dada carries across the globe the message of India's deathless culture. Through him, the joy of faith and peace flows out to many. In him, thousands of faithful devotees behold the image of their Beloved.

Thousands upon thousands of avid readers who have read his best-selling books regard him as a great inspirational writer. Distinguished audiences who have heard him address eminent forums like the World Parliament of Religions, the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders, and the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit hail him as a brilliant and captivating orator. Animal lovers revere and admire him as an apostle of non-violence who strives tirelessly for the cause of reverence for all life. And, to the thousands spread all over the globe, Dada J.P. Vaswani is an unquestioned spiritual leader.

Dada J.P. Vaswani was a brilliant student who obtained his B.S. degree at the young age of 17. He was awarded a fellowship at the D.J Sind College for standing first in his class.

His M.Sc. Thesis on “The scattering of X-Rays by Solids” Was examined by Nobel-Laureate, Dr. C.V Raman. Although Dada's conclusions were in divergence with those of Dr. Raman, the originality of his views impressed the eminent scientist.

Dada gave up a career in academics to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious uncle and Guru, Sadhu T.L Vaswani.

In order to propagate the Masters ideals, he edited three monthly journals – the Excelsior, the India Digest and the East and West series.

The Excelsior, a youth journal, became so popular that its circulation surpassed that of the daily newspaper, the Sind Observer!

Another task given to Dadaji by the Master was to serve as the Principal of St. Mira's College for Girls. Dada set a living example before teachers and students and was dearly loved by them.

Dada is the author of over 50 books in English and many more in the Sindhi language. Dada's writing reveals practical tips on happy, successful, spiritual and non-violent living. Many of his books have run into several editions and several have been translated into the Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Papio Mento, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, and Indonesian languages.

In 1966, when Sadhu T.L Vaswani shed his physical body, he passed on the baton to Dada J.P Vaswani.

Dada has spoken form many prestigious platforms including the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, The World Hindu Conference in Colombo, the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders and Parliamentarians at Kyoto – the U.N and the House of Commons in London.

WHAT IS DADA J.P VASWANI'S PHILOSOPHY AND TEACHING?

The following is a reproduction of a section of Dada's article in East and West series, May 2000 titled “What life has taught me.”

1. In the endless adventure of existence, God and man are comrades. God is our one unfailing companion. He will never leave us. We may try to run away from him. But he will continue to follow us as our own shadow. In the words of Thompson, he is the “Heavenly Hound.”

2. There is a meaning of mercy in everything that happens to us. For God is All-love. He is All-wisdom. He is too loving to punish, too wise to make a mistake. Whatever happens in the Divine Providence happens for our own good. Nothing happens a moment too early or too late…..therefore wherever God takes us, let us go, wherever he keeps us, let us remain. Let us never forget that all is well, all was well, all will be well both tomorrow and a hundred years hence.

3. When man surrenders himself to God, He takes upon Himself his entire responsibility. All we need to do is to hand ourselves over, in childlike trust to the Lord. And the angels of God will go ahead of us to clear the way.

4. Thought is a tremendous force in the life of any individual. Thoughts shape our attitudes. Attitudes mould our character. Character influences our life. By changing our thought pattern, we can change our life.

5. Problems and challenges are not a dead end; they are only a bend in the road. Problems are not stumbling blocks; they are stepping stones to a better, richer, more radiant life. Not unoften, problems become the door through which God enters our life. We have surrounded ourselves with hard shells which keep God away from us. Problems crack the shell and God easily enters our lives.

6. Neither rites nor rituals, neither creeds nor ceremonies are needed to improve the condition of the world. All that is needed is to love one another.

7. Are you anxious to love God? Then you must be prepared to lose yourself.

8. Do you want God to be yours? Then you must first become his!

9. How may we know that we are drawing closer to God? The closer we draw to God, the more tender and compassionate become our hearts to the needs of those around us.

10. What is the best exercise for the heart? Reach down and lift up as many as you can.

11. Misfortunes are blessings if we handle them well. They are like knives which hurt or help as we hold them by the blade or handle.

12. Life is too short to be spent in fault-finding, holding grudges, or keeping memory of wrongs done to us. Forgive even before forgiveness is asked. Forgive and forget.

13. The worst thing that can happen to a man is that he has a hot head and a cold heart.

14. If a person has moved in the wrong direction, he can always take a U-turn. The angels of God will be with him. The past does not – cannot – bind us!

15. You who are looking for miracles, open your eyes and see! All around us are the miracles of God.

16. A tiny seed grows into a huge banyan tree. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

17. Open thine heart and let love enter in – and all things in the universe will gravitate to thee. For love is the power that pulls!

18. Give, give, give – until it hurts to give! This will release you from bondage to the ego - and to things.

19. I must never forget that every thought I think, every word I utter, every action I perform, every feeling, every emotion that wakes up in me, is recorded in the memory of nature. I might be able to deceive those around me, I may even succeed in deceiving myself. But I cannot deceive nature.

20. When a particular problem has vexed you for sometime and you are unable to do anything about it, hand it over to God. Breathe out the aspiration “ “Thy will be done, O Lord!” Soon a way will be shown to you.

21. Does God want our work? Or does he want our love? He wants that we should work for Him in love.

22. If you wish to know God and understand him, you must love Him more and more! The more you love him, the more you will know him. The key to knowledge is – LOVE.

23. The aim of life is to realize that we are immortal spirit – not the bodies we wear!

24. An infinite potential lies hid within us. We are unaware of it, because we think of ourselves as limited, restricted creatures. We have identified ourselves with a biochemical mental organism. Our true self is the atman. Tat twamasi! That art thou! There can be no limit to what we can do – and achieve!

25. When all around us the storms blow and the tempests roar, let us close our eyes, think of God and repeat the words “God is with me-and He is in control.” Those are words of power and can quell the fiercest storm.

26. No man can attain to enlightenment by his own efforts. Enlightenment cometh to man by the grace of God. Strive for enlightenment – yes. But like the peasant who tills the soil and sows the seed – then turns to the heaven for chandi ka gola (the silver drops of rain)

27. The greatest illusion which man suffers from is perhaps the illusion of death. In reality, there is no death. Death is very much like the sunset. When the sun sets here, it has already risen elsewhere. Likewise, death here is birth elsewhere. For life is eternal.

28. The greatest intoxication is that of the ego. The worst madness is that of anger. The person who is free from arrogance and anger finds goodness and beauty wherever he goes.

29. Has someone offended you or insulted you? Insults are like bad coins. You cannot avoid them, but you can refuse to accept them.

30. The test of a man is – how much he can bear and how much he can share and how soon he confesses a mistake and makes amends for it.

31. If while praying we can think of worldly matters, why can we not, when doing worldly things, think of God?

32. Think positively. Eat sparingly. Exercise regularly. Walk as much as you can. Be careful to see that your thoughts and actions are clean. A guilty mind breeds many diseases. There is the way to live a happy, healthy, harmonious life.

33. I have met many who will go to any length to prove the superiority of their religion over those of others. They will hold endless discussions and debates. They will even fight for it – and die for it. But I have met very few who live for their religion – who bear witness to the great teaching in deeds of daily living. Religion is life!

Chronology of events: Dada J.P Vaswani

AUG 2
1918
A first son Jashan—was born to Krishnadevi and Pahlajrai Vaswani in Hyderabad Sind (now in Pakistan)
1921 Commenced primary school
1932 Matriculated at the age of 13, joined D.J.Sind College (Karachi)
1936 Graduated with BSC degree in Physics, standing first in the university, granted fellowships in D.J. Sind College, Karachi.
1937 Passed first LLB examination (University of Bombay)
1939 Dada asked & obtained permission from his mother Krishna Devi to follow Sadhu Vaswani to the exclusion of all other pursuits, submitted his thesis on “Scattering of X-rays by solids” for the M.SC. The thesis was very favorably assessed by Dr. C.V. Raman. Dada started the Excelsior Magazine single handedly. The “Excelsior” soon outdid the leading newspaper ‘The Sind Observer' in circulation.
1940 Passed M.S.C.
NOV 12
1948
Dada Jashan flew out of Karachi for Bombay with his master, Sadhu Vaswani, seeking sanctuary in India.
FEB
1949
Sadhu Vaswani & his followers moved to Pune. Dada started editing “India Digest” (monthly magazine)
1950 St. Mira's High School established in Pune.
1954 Dada started “East & West” series (monthly magazine) as editor.
JUNE
1962
St. Mira's College for girls was established in Pune. Dadaji was appointed as principal of the college (1962-1976)
JAN 16
1966
Sadhu Vaswani left his physical body and Dada was requested by Sangat to be the Sole Life Trustee of the Brotherhood Association.
MAY 16
1971
Nuri Granth Prakashan
1976 Dada relinquished post of principal at St. Mira's College.
FEB 21
1978
Brotherhood Association was renamed as Sadhu Vaswani Mission.
JAN 17
1980
Enshrined the Holy Ashes of Sadhu Vaswani at the Sacred Samadhi Pune
JAN 31
1982
Dada's first overseas Yatra
APR
1982
Addressed the World Hindu Conference at Colombo, Sri Lanka
MAR 11
1984
Laid the Foundation Stone of the Sadhu Vaswani International School for Girls, Delhi
APR 18
1984
Spoke at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium of the U.N.O on “World Peace”
JUN 5-11
1984
Mayor of Chicago, Mr. Harold Washington proclaimed from June 5th to June 11th, 1984 as “Dada J.P Vaswani Week”
JUL 8
1984
Addressed the 10th Hindu Conference in New York at Madison Square organized by the Vishva Hindu Parishad of America
JUL 20
1984
Dadaji spoke on “World without War” at House of Commons, London
NOV 25
1986
Launched the Meatless Day Campaign
APR
1988
Attended the Global Forum of Spiritual leaders and Parliamentarians on Human Survival at Oxford, UK
DEC
1988
Addressed the “Festival of Life” Congress and spoke on “Life Death and Religions” at Bombay.
JAN 9
1989
INLAKS and Budhrani Hospital Inaugurated in Pune. Mother Teresa Presided.
FEB 3
1989
Awarded Paul Harris Fellowship (Rotary Club)
JAN 6
1991
Handed over to Mother Teresa keys of “Shanti Daan”, Home for the dying sick, Bombay built by the Chainrai Family.
JAN 9
1992
Addressed the All-India Bishop's Meet and Peace Rally
OCT 16
1992
Inaugurated International Seminar on “Vedanta and Sufisim” at Bombay
FEB 20
1993
Inaugurated the fellowship of Religions on the occasion of the inauguration of St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church, Kirkee Pune.
APR
1993
Addressed the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders and Parliamentarians on Human Survival at Kyoto, Japan
AUG 7
1993
Addressed Word Vision 2000 at Washington and spoke on “Inspiration from Swani Vivekananda's Life and Philosophy”
DEC 4
1993
Inauguration of Smt Morbai and Nariandas Budhrani Healer's Home (staff quarters for Doctors & Nurses) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
MAR 10
1994
Laid the Foundation Stone of the Cancer Hospital, Sadhu Vaswani Medical Complex
JUL 7
1994
Delivered keynote Address at the conference on World Religions, New York, on the “Vision and Legacy of Swami Vivekananda”
NOV
1994
Government of India (Films Divison) released a documentary firm on Dada J.P. Vaswani, entitled “The Man With A Singing Heart”.
APR 30
1995
Dada handed over 91 newly built houses to earth-quake victims at Latur, Maharashtra
JUNE 8
1995
Spoke at the House of Commons, U.K on “World's Greatest Need: Love in Action.”
NOV 24
1995
Dada consecrated and commissioned the Morbai Naraindas Cancer Institute in Pune.
JAN 24
1996
Delivered the keynote Address at the Rotary International South Asia conference of Cooperation and Development at Kathmandu, Nepal.
MAY 18
1996
Honorary Citizenship of the state of Georgia, USA conferred on Dada.
APR 25
1997
Dada felicitated the Secretary General of the United Nations at an international gathering at St. Bartholomew's Church, New York.
FEB 18
1998
Dada has successful quadruple by-pass surgery at Washington Medical Center in Washington USA.
AUG 2
1998
80th Birthday Celebrations at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, Pune, in the august presence of Home Minister L K Advani and Maharashtra Governor Dr. P C Alexander
JAN 23
1999
Yatra to the East and West
FEB 18-24
1999
First Thanksgiving Week celebrated by Sadhu Vaswani Mission Centres worldwide
MAY 6
1999
Addressed the Inter Faith Centre at the UN on “The Way to Peace: Rights for All”
AUG 2
1999
Laid the foundation stone for Kripalani and Kundnani Eye Institute and Baba Gangaram Escorts Heart Institute.
AUG 12
1999
Restoration work on the Sadhu Vaswani Mission Campus begins. Satsang shifted to Naam Nagar, Runwal Regency
DEC 1-8
1999
Attended the 1999 Parliament of World Religions in Cape Town, South Africa. Addressed a symposium on “How to Meet the Challenges of Life”
DEC 13
1999
Addressed a public function at the Hindu Monastery, Accra, Ghana
DEC 30
1999
Millenium Sadhana Camp at Benares
APRIL 3
2000
Yatra to Singapore, Australia and South East Asia
April 8
2000
First visit to Australia
JUNE 1 – 2
2000
First Youth Convention for Girls at Lonavla
JUNE 24-25
2000
Sadhu Vaswani Teachers' Camp at Lonavla
AUG 15
2000
Yatra to the Middle East, Europe and Americas
AUG 28-31
2000
Participated in the Millennium World Peace Summit, UN
SEPT 9
2000
Addressed VHP gathering to felicitate Indian PM Vajpaye at Staten Island, New York
JAN 30
2001
Visited Gandhidham in Gujarat to initiate and personally supervise the Mission's quake- relief activities
FEB 1
2001
Yatra to the US
FEB 7
2001
Underwent surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital, Chicago
OCT 14
2001
Delivered Keynote Address at the First Asian Vegetarian Congress at Dona Sylvia, Goa
NOV 5
2001
Inaugurated Sadhu Vaswani Kunj – a housing project for quake victims at Adipur in the august presence of Home Minister, L K Advani
JUNE 1
2002
Yatra to the East
JUNE 12
2002
Addressed the Millennium World Peace Summit (MWPS) in Bangkok at the launching of the World Council of Religious Leaders