श्रीमद् राजचन्द्र (Shrimad Rajchandra)

Jain poet and philosopher, and Gandhi's spiritual mentor. · 1867–1901

Shrimad Rajchandra was a Jain poet, philosopher and jeweller of Gujarat whose writings on the nature of the soul had a decisive influence on Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi met him in 1891, corresponded with him from South Africa, and wrote that he had not met his equal in religious matters anywhere in India — a tribute reproduced in the front matter of this very edition. Rajchandra's best known work is the Atmasiddhi Shastra, 142 verses composed in a single sitting in 1896.