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Jagdish N. Sheth, PhD,

Recipient of 2020 Padma Bhushan Award

It is indeed my joy and privilege to write the foreword for Gandhi and Rajchandra: The Making of Mahatma. This is for at least three reasons.

First, very few books on Mahatma Gandhi have put a spotlight on the influence of Jainism in shaping Gandhi’s values and character. And it was Rajchandra Mehta who introduced Jainism and its philosophy to Gandhi to achieve self-realization. Rajchandra was a businessman but also a renaissance person. He was a poet, a philosopher, and a scholar of Jainism. Among the Jain scholars, Rajchandra is revered as much as Vivekananda is revered among scholars of Hinduism.

In many ways, Rajchandra Mehta adopted young Gandhi when Gandhi returned from England after completing his law degree (LLM). They became good friends and Gandhi learnt from Rajchandra the three tenets of Jainism to achieve self-realization. They are: the right vision, the right path, and the right conduct. Jainism also advocated that truth prevails and should be the guiding principle in what one thinks, says, and does.

Gandhi was also influenced by the three pillars of Jainism: absolute nonviolence (ahimsa), tolerance of other perspectives (anekantwad), and non-possession of material goods (aparigraha). Gandhi’s values and character were shaped by the philosophy and practice of Jainism. Gandhi learnt the power of passive resistance and nonviolence and he used it for social activism both in South Africa and in India. Gandhi transformed himself from Mohandas Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi. Historically, Jainism has been a footnote religion in the study of Indus cultures and religions. Today, it is becoming a more mainstream religion for research and scholarship.

My second reason for accepting to write the foreword is that the book puts a spotlight on many conflicts and dilemmas we all go through in life. Gandhi was no exception. In his journey of philosophy, spirituality, and frugal living, he was in constant conflict between self-realization and family obligations as a husband and father. This is most vividly articulated in Rajchandra’s advice to Gandhi to practice Brahmacharya (celibacy) in marriage. Should one renounce family life and become a monk in search of truth and self-realization? Ancient history in India is full of these clashes of conflicts and they are embedded in epics such as Ramayna and Mahabharata. What the book does so well is to humanize Gandhi as an ordinary human being on his journey toward becoming extraordinary. Indeed, Gandhi became a great soul.

Finally, my dear friend and colleague, Uma Ben Majmudar is not only a gifted storyteller but also a painstaking researcher. She has done a ton of archival research like a good historian does. It was a pure joy to read the manuscript. In fact, once I started reading, it was hard to put down. I truly believe the book has the potential to be adapted as a screenplay for a movie titled, The Making of the Mahatma.

I want to congratulate Professor Uma Majmudar for writing an extraordinary book.

Professor Jagdish N. Sheth

Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business

Goizueta Business School, Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia

Recipient of 2020 Padma Bhushan Award

jag@jagsheth.com