Time and again great souls take birth on this earth to safeguard the humanity from the evils existing in the society. They show us the path to spirituality and to be good human beings. One of such divine personalities was our beloved Sindhi saint Dada J.P. Vaswani. A humanitarian, philosopher, educator, orator and non-sectarian leader, Dada Vaswani influenced millions pf people around the world to adopt vegetarianism.
His Early Life
Dada Vaswani was born on 2nd August 1918 in Hyderabad, Sindh in a Sindhi household. Intelligent right from the childhood, he got double promotions and cleared matriculation at the age 13. He was a scientist and spent hours in the laboratory conducting experiments. He got his M.Sc. in Physics degree at the age 21 and published a thesis on ‘The Scattering of X-Rays by Solids’, which was examined by Nobel Laureate C V Raman.
Despite being financially challenged, Dada Vaswani taught his fellow students and poor students free of cost. He lost his father at a young age and had to become a lecturer to earn for the family. But being spiritually inclined, he was not interested in family life and spent his time with his uncle, Sadhu T. L. Vaswani and made him his Guru. Sadhu Vaswani had dedicated his life to the service of others and believed in providing education to the needy. He was a proponent of love and compassion to all. Sadhu Vaswani urged Jashan to make his family his priority, so he went to his mother to look after her.
The Beginning of His Spiritual Path
His mother saw his disinterest towards regular social engagements and encouraged him to pursue the spiritual path. He went back to his Guru, who instructed him to spread the message of love towards fellow humans and animals in the society. Sadhu Vaswani reckoned Dada J. P. Vaswani to be a powerful force who could bring about a change in the society. Soon after, Sadhu Vaswani left for his heavenly abode in 1966, leaving Dada Vaswani in charge of Sadhu Vaswani Mission. This is a non-profit charity organistion headquartered at Pune, and has centers around the world which are engaged in social welfare activities .
His Teachings
Dada’s message was of universal brotherhood, love and forgiveness. He believed that if you forgive others of their sins, your heart becomes pure and light. He started the global peace movement called The Moment of Calm. People observe two minutes of silence on 2nd August (his birthday) at 2 pm to forgive and seek forgiveness from one and all. Spiritual leaders like Dalai Lama have also spread this initiative.
Dada preached love and compassion to all, even animals. He therefore insisted on practising vegetarianism and promoted animal rights. He declared November 25, Sadhu Vaswani’s birthday, as the International Meatless Day.
He empahsised the importance of speaking in one’s mother tongue and encouraged Sindhis to speak in Sindhi to maintain the culture and traditions of the community.
His Work
‘Dada’ means ‘an elder brother’ in Sindhi, and like one, Dada Vaswani looked after the poor and needy. He opened free schools and colleges to those who could not afford to pay for good education of their children. Through the mission, he launched ‘Sight for Sightless’ scheme in 2005 to provide ophthalmic services to the needy. He wrote around 150 self-help books and articles in Sindhi and English to guide people to face their challenges in their lives.
He addressed forums like World Hindu Conference at Columbo, Sri Lanka, the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders and Parliamentarians, House of Commons, London and other prominent platforms.
In 1984, the Mayor of Chicago, Mr. Harold Washington proclaimed June 5th to June 11th as Dada J. P. Vaswani Week’. Dada was also conferred the title of Honorary Citizenship of the state of Georgia in 1996. He was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship (rotary Club) in 1989 and the U Thant Peace award in 1998.
Sadly, Dada is no longer among us. His health began to decline since 2010 . His great soul left us on 12th July 2018, three weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Today he is revered as the symbol of humility, compassion and love.
Om Shanti, Dada Jashan!
Here are a few quotes by Dada Vaswani:
“Men of few words know the value of words as well as the worth of silence.”
“The only person we can change is ourselves. To be able to change ourselves, we need to spend some time in silence and consider where we stand, what is our goal and what we may do to reach it.”
“Your life is a manifestation of the thoughts that go on in your head.”
“Keep yourself active all the time. The best of the noblest of actions is to bring comfort to the comfortless.”
“The secret of relaxation is in these three words: Let it go!”
By Mrs. Priyanti Ramwani
Koti Koti Parnam to Rev. Dada J.P.Vaswani.
I find no words how to express my gratitude to our beloved Dada for being so kind and loving.