by Suma Varughese

Eyes sparkling and face lit like a lantern, he approached me and bowed deeply: "It's a real honor to meet you."

Who, me? Feeling rather as if the tables were turned, I stammered out a feeble response.

Then he turned to greet his followers. The lower they bowed before him, the lower still he bowed, till they backed away good-naturedly, leaving Dada the undisputed winner of the round. His blithe demeanor makes no betrayal of his heart condition, later successfully redressed by a bypass.

At the end of the interview, Dada was up once again, stealing my lines. "Thank you, I've learnt a lot from you."

I was baulked, not to mention baffled. What does such exaggerated humility mean? I remembered reading somewhere that when devotees crowd around him for darshan, a sight of him, Dada habitually begs them: "Bless me, bless me!"

I was moved by his exaltation of others over himself. Studying him, one saw a man whose sense of self was so minimal that he could really afford to dispense with dignity. A man who honestly experienced no barrier between himself and others. He is, perhaps, that rarest of seers who reveres every sentient being, from flower to animal to human, under the living conviction that they are forms of the Divine. He appears to be not so much a human personality with characteristic foibles and mannerisms, as a container of commitment, joy and selflessness.

None of this is surprising, for when he talks about his mentor and uncle, the founder of the Mission, Sadhu Vaswani, Dada invokes him in words that are uncannily suited to his own self:
"To be drenched in love, to lose oneself in love is to walk, in Sadhu Vaswani's meaningful words, the 'little way'. And to walk the little way is to become as humble as dust.
"To an age which worships at the altar of greatness, Sadhu Vaswani, in his quiet way, showed what it was to be a 'little one'."

At another point, he says of Sadhu Vaswani: "If I were asked to express the secret of his life, I would sum it up in two words: humility and love."

Perhaps no master could have so apt a pupil as Sadhu Vaswani has in Dada J.P. Vaswani. Where one ends and the other begins is hard to say, but there's little doubt that the inspiration for the Mission's manifold activities emerges from those two words, love and humility. This and an unfaltering focus on the larger good is the essence of the Mission's philosophy.

"The teachings are simplicity itself," says Sultani, 74, who has been associated with the movement for over 30 years. "They boil down to two things: simran (meditation) and seva (service). Satsangs(communion) thrice a day, an emphasis on silence, prayer and nama japa as well as meditation, these address what Dada calls man's noblest task—to know himself."

But it is seva which stands out, reflected as it is in every facet of the Mission's work. Every morning, the ashram plays host to a snaking queue of some hundred indigents—the ill, the wounded, the unemployed—to whom they serve food. The ashram also sends out food on a rotational basis to a number of charitable organizations within the city.

At one corner of the ashram pigeons peck at a sea of golden grain, reflecting the Mission's philosophy of reverence for life. "Birds and animals are man's younger brothers and sisters in the one family of life," says Dada.

The Mission's unfaltering commitment to the sanctity of all life is its best-known value. Since 1986, it has been celebrating Sadhu Vaswani's birthday on November 25 as International Meatless Day. The annals of the Mission are legion with tales of Sadhu Vaswani and Dada buying goats and chickens to prevent them from reaching the slaughterhouse. "No price is too great to save a single life," said Sadhu Vaswani, who was averse to plucking even flowers, for they too had their families and must not be separated from each other.

This same spirit of seva has created a network of schools and hospitals. Sadhu Vaswani started the first of the schools, which fall under the broad umbrella of Mira Movement, in 1933, while he was still in Sind, Pakistan, primarily for the girl-child. They reflect his conviction that transformation can only begin with the education of the child, particularly the girl, for it is she who will lead society. Within the ashram's premises is a secondary and primary St Mira's School, while St Mira's College for Girls is located in the city. Residential schools for boys are also being planned.

Education is based on what Dada calls "a triple training of the head, hand and heart". Says he: "It is essential to develop intellect and to acquire manual skills. But most important is the training of the heart."

Children are initiated into the spirit of service. Each morning begins with students giving breakfast to leprosy patients who gather by the school grounds. Once a month, they cook and serve a meal for the blind. And no school celebration is complete without an act of service, such as serving breakfast to the children of laborers.

Character-building and developing a moral outlook is an integral part of the St Mira approach. A common feature from the primary to the college level is the Sanctuary period, when students are encouraged to sing devotional songs, recite verses from the world's holy books, and quote the teachings of the world's great religious leaders. Typically, both Sadhu Vaswani and his spiritual heir believe in the validity of all religions, and teach respect for all of them. Said Sadhu Vaswani: "I am so made as to rejoice in the many and behold the beauty of the One in the many."

Says the dynamic principal of the school, Meena Kirpalani: "No child is beaten or punished. The moment a teacher punishes a child, he leaves the school."

As for St Mira's College, says Principal Aruna Jetwani: "Boys want to marry St Mira's girls because of our emphasis on discipline, hardwork, compassion and love through social service". Says Jyoti Baxani, a student of St Mira's school: "The Sanctuary classes inspire me. This is my second home."

The Mission has also opened a number of hospitals, including the Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital, built in 1989 at Koregaon Park in Pune, India. Emphasizing the spirit of service here is a large portrait of Sadhu Vaswani on the imposing foyer, with the legend: "Every patient is a picture of God."