The 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia killed more than 200,000 people, and changed the lives of its survivors forever, with their worst nightmare haunting them for the rest of their lives.
It changed the life of Fulchand Shastri, a Jain spiritual motivator from Gujarat as well, but in a very positive way.
On that fateful day Shashtri was at one of the beaches in Indonesia, preparing to go to one of the smaller islands in Sabang off the northern tip of Sumatra, when he was caught by the Tsumani.
It was a miracle that he survived which inspired him to spread the message of his guru, Srimad Raj Chandra, author of AtmaSiddhi Shastra, or the science of the soul, which he had written in 1896 at the age of 29, and whom Mahatma Gandhi is said to have counted as one of his spiritual mentors and friends.
“When realized that I was alive in midst of death and destruction, I decided that my life has been saved by my guru so I can spread his message and popularize it across the world. That was his dream, and I took the oath that day to work for that,” Shashtri, who visited New York, last week, said.
According to him, atma siddhi shastra is a scripture consisting of 142 stanzas, each with two lines that talks about humanity, spirituality, positive thinking, art of living and self realizations. It is written like a poem in Gujarati language.
Ten years after the tsunami Shashtri embarked on a mission to travel the countries around the world and to get translations of the scripture in as many foreign languages as possible.
So far, he claimed, the shastra has been translated in 415 languages in 142 countries, and more are in the offing.
“My guru never made any distinction between people because of their birth, sex, religion, race or caste. Raj Chandra, who was born in Bhavania, in Gujarat, propagated compassion for all living beings. His teachings are relevant and important today for all humanity,” Shashtri said.
During his New York visit coinciding with the Aug. 29-Sept. 5 Jain festival of Paryushan, he gave lectures at several venues, including in Jain Center of America at Ithaca Street, in Elmhurst, Queens.
Hundreds of people from the community attended his discourses, including in New York and New Jersey.
“Although people call me a Jain spiritual master, I consider myself simply as a human being and a spiritual motivator,” Shastri, who lives in Mumbai, said.
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