Noted spiritual leader and educationist Dada J.P. Vaswani — the moral force behind the Sadhu Vaswani Mission and a tireless promoter of vegetarianism and animal rights — passed away Thursday morning aged 99, days short of his centenary.
Sources at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission said, the spiritual leader has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city for the past a few days and was discharged on Wednesday. However, Dada Vaswani died in the mission premises on Thursday morning.
Born Jashan Pahlajrai Vaswani on August 2, 1918 in the city of Hyderabad in Sindh province (present-day Pakistan), he was a brilliant student in his youth. His M.Sc. thesis examined by Nobel Laureate, Dr. C.V Raman.
Acclaimed as a humanitarian and non-sectarian leader, he later gave up a promising academic career to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Sadhu T.L Vaswani — the legendary educationist who started the Mira Movement.
In order to propagate Sadhu Vaswani’s ideas and vision, he edited three monthly journals – the Excelsior (which became a popular journal), the India Digest and the East and West series.
He also served as one of the earliest Principals of the St. Mira’s College for Girls. On the death of Sadhu Vaswani in 1966, Dada J. P. Vaswani succeeded him as the head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission.
Regarded as a philosopher and a modern-day saint by the Sindhi diaspora, Dada Vaswani was a familiar face on a number of spiritual television channels.
Inspiring orator
An inspiring orator who often exchanged ideas with world spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama, Dada Vaswani’s addresses and lectures were marked by his witty parables and aphorisms that advocated practical routes to happiness in a materialistic world.
He was also a prolific author, composing several hundred books on spirituality and communal harmony which have seen translations in a number of world languages including French, Spanish, German, Mandarin and Arabic.
In May this year, President Ram Nath Kovind, along with a host of dignitaries include veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, had inaugurated the Sadhu Vaswani International School which is to come up in the city’s Pradhikaran area.
“He [Dada J.P. Vaswani] has dedicated every moment to the cause of humanity. He has been an ambassador of Indian tradition and culture on countless platforms, within the country and abroad, including at the United Nations,” the President had said, speaking on the occasion.
In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wished the spiritual leader on his 99th birthday via a video conference.
A recipient of the U Thant Peace Award in April 1998, for his dedicated service to the cause of world peace, he spoke from a number of global podiums including the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders and Parliamentarians at Kyoto, the U.N. and the British House of Commons in London.
His mortal remains have been kept at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission for people to pay their last respects.
