Tejo Murti Bhagini

Here's a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, "Tejo Murti Bhagini" by Sukhlal Sanghavi:

This introductory piece, titled "Tejo Murti Bhagini" (The Radiant Sister), is a preface written by Sukhlal Sanghavi for a Gujarati translation of Helen Keller's life story by Maganbhai. Sanghavi begins by explaining his long-standing fascination with Helen Keller, dating back over twenty years to when he first read a brief but inspiring account of her life and achievements in the Hindi magazine "Saraswati." His curiosity about her life remained piqued due to his limited time and scope of work.

The opportunity to write for the Gujarati translation arose when he was approached by Shri Gopaldasbhai, conveying a request from Maganbhai in Wardha. Maganbhai wished to dedicate his Gujarati translation of Helen Keller's autobiography to Sanghavi and requested him to write an introductory note. Sanghavi agreed to read the translation first and assured them he would write something if he felt he had the right to do so after reading it.

Upon receiving the translation, Sanghavi's long-held attraction and curiosity for Helen Keller were reawakened with intense vigor, overwhelming his current writing and contemplation. He notes that hearing even a partially similar life story brought forth many thoughts, but he intends to keep his preface brief according to the constraints. He also expresses a desire to write about his father's scholarly life at some point.

Sanghavi elaborates on the two epithets he has chosen for Helen Keller: "Tejomurti" (Radiant Embodiment) and "Bhagini" (Sister). He justifies "Tejomurti" by stating that her life story consistently showcases only the brilliance of effort and talent. The sheer volume of her effort and talent makes her physical form seem secondary.

He explains the epithet "Bhagini" by highlighting the similarities in age and temperament, despite many differences, which makes the term appropriate for expressing their affinity.

A significant portion of the preface is dedicated to a comparative analysis of Helen Keller's life and his own, particularly in the context of their sensory impairments and the circumstances they faced. Helen lost all three senses – sight, hearing, and speech – from a very young age. Sanghavi lost only his sight around the age of fifteen, after completing his elementary education in his mother tongue and gaining practical experience with visual objects and their associated language.

He acknowledges that in terms of sensory deprivation and the age at which it occurred, Helen was far more helpless and bound than he was. However, he emphasizes that in terms of country, family, and other circumstances, her situation was significantly more resourceful and independent. He contrasts America, where she was born without the constraints of nation, society, economy, and religion, with India, where such constraints are an inherent experience. He further contrasts their familial circumstances: Helen's parents dedicated their all to intelligently pave her path, while his well-meaning elders, being unlettered themselves, were incapable of understanding or guiding his development.

Sanghavi then extols the educational institutions in America for the disabled, describing them as hermitages graced by patient, ascetic teachers who nurture disabled individuals. He contrasts this with India, referred to as a land of hardship, where some considered the disabled unfit and offered pity and donations without truly understanding their potential for utility and development.

He observes that in one country, a disabled woman, lacking three senses, is given full opportunity to manifest her dormant abilities, thereby gaining recognition worldwide. In the other, not only disabled women but even physically fit men struggle to transcend animalistic tendencies and manifest humanity, indicating a limited opportunity for such transformation. The difference between America and India, not in a spiritual sense but in terms of country and circumstances, is reflected in the manifestation of the various powers in Helen's and his life. He marvels at Helen's ability, even at such a young age and with multiple sensory impairments, to envision her academic future at the age of twenty-one, something he could barely imagine at that age.

Sanghavi then delves into a philosophical discussion of the three divisions of the world and the senses that perceive them: the visible, gross world (perceived by external senses like sight), the visible subtle world (perceived by internal senses like the mind), and the invisible spiritual world (perceived by the intelligence-sense or spiritual sense). He posits that every human possesses these triple sensory capabilities to varying degrees. A person with fully developed external senses relies on them for sustenance and then uses internal senses for emotional understanding. He argues that most people, tied to the material world by their external senses, develop their internal senses less. Conversely, individuals with a deficiency in one or more external senses, despite facing practical difficulties, tend to develop their internal senses more due to intense effort. This compensatory mechanism leads to two results: the functions of the missing senses are transferred to the remaining or other faculties, and the power of the internal senses manifests in a unique and more attractive way.

He asserts that Helen Keller's development story is proof of this principle. Her strong desire and effort to engage with the external world, despite the closure of three vital sensory gateways, led her to rely heavily on her internal senses. Consequently, through her senses of smell and touch, she transcended her limitations. The magic in her olfactory and tactile senses was so potent that she utilized them to perform the functions of all five senses. Furthermore, because she had to perform these tasks by emphasizing her internal senses, their power is highly developed. He notes that when she describes visible or audible objects or emotions, the reader forgets her sensory impairment. Additionally, her intelligence-sense has developed so much that when she depicts timeless, eternal emotions, her use of metaphors and similes is reminiscent of the poet Kalidasa. He concludes that Helen, the embodiment of effort, ultimately overcame the limitation of speech through this development.

He further elaborates on the interplay of senses, stating that the dominant sense can hinder the full development of others. The sense of sight is the strongest, with a vast range of operation. If a person has sight, they will rely on it, not bothering to use touch or smell. However, when sight is lost, the burden falls on touch and smell, revealing their hidden powers and allowing them to perform miraculous feats beyond the imagination of a sighted person. He cites Helen's sense of touch as evidence of this, noting her ability to not only recognize a few coins by touch but also to "hear" them through touch. He is astounded by her skin's ability to discern the lines on another person's hand or face. He is particularly astonished by her tactile ability to decipher words by placing her finger on the speaker's lips. He recounts his own attempts to differentiate subtle sound variations in Gujarati words like "paani" (water), "chala" (walk), "chaali" (walked), "haathi" (elephant), and "haath" (hand) by placing his finger on his own lips, experiencing only emptiness. In contrast, Helen's abilities in this regard appear divine.

Sanghavi stresses that the fundamental basis for Helen's astonishing development is not solely her soul, however powerful it might be. Without the resources and conveniences available in America, her potential might have been extinguished at birth.

He then draws a parallel with their shared experiences of difficulty and disappointment when pursuing their studies or wanting to be with unimpaired companions and even surpass them. He briefly touches upon Helen's decision to prepare for college, facing strong opposition from her well-wishers due to her disabled state, but her indomitable spirit prevailed. Similarly, he had an unexpected urge to go to Kashi, facing overwhelming opposition, but the strong momentum of this desire eventually took him there.

He compares their examination experiences. When Helen first sat for an examination, she had all the conveniences: a skilled person to explain the questions, adequate time to write, and an examiner to correct errors in the saved time. However, in a subsequent examination, these conveniences transformed into difficulties, and she directly experienced the terror of the examination. Sanghavi shares a similar experience in Kashi. When he first took an exam at Queen's College, he benefited from a kind Bengali Bhattacharya examiner who compensated for the writer's shortcomings. However, in earlier years, he had witnessed the carelessness and inefficiency of administrators and examiners, which made him realize the value of examinations. After navigating the path to an examination, he vowed in the same examination hall never again to enter that thoughtless enclosure or slaughterhouse as a slave or an animal. He recalls that about twenty years later, he returned to Queen's College to discuss the curriculum at the registrar's invitation, but this time as a professor from Hindu University, not as an examinee.

Sanghavi notes that when Helen quenches her thirst for knowledge in the academic environment of school and college, she forgets her father's disability and experiences the unparalleled joy of mental power, serving sweet fruits like life stories. He states his own situation has been similar. Amidst adversities that threatened to extinguish his life, the study of various scriptures, contemplation, and writing have saved him and placed him on a plane of self-realized, transcendental joy. He observes that Helen criticizes the dry, mechanical teaching of college professors due to her father's condition. However, even she encounters rare professors, like sweet springs in the desert, who immerse her in engaging education. Similarly, he, too, faced scholars who presented meaningless jargon from rote learning as scripture, from which one extracted straw instead of milk, claiming it to be milk. However, he also found rare, milk-like professors, like the mythical Kamadugha cow, who provided pure milk, albeit late in life, and still does. He mentions that just as Helen's mind takes interest in interdisciplinary education, so does his. While their chosen languages differ, their essence is the same. Excluding differences in methods and means, their interests in nature walks, water sports, mountain excursions, sea voyages, and acquaintance with birds and animals are similar. He admits he never had the inclination for cycling, but he presumes it was a fleeting whim for her. Her innovative methods for playing chess, both with others and alone, still captivate his mind. Books and teachers are their common friends. As Helen concludes, "My life story was shaped by my friends," a statement he finds entirely true for his own life as well. His list of friends is vast and adorned with attractive, luminous names and qualities. The extensive list of consulted, reviewed, and practiced books reveals both diligent effort and a degree of one-sided rigidity.

Sanghavi notes that among the religious gurus Helen encountered, he found none with a narrow mind. The bishops and others she met always guided her towards the path of non-sectarian truth. He sadly observes that his own experience has not been the same. From a very young age until much later, he encountered many religious leaders in his country with very narrow minds, who considered darkness as light and a well as the ocean. However, he also acknowledges the presence of deeply religious individuals in his life who, by sitting at their feet and reflecting on the Dharma they imparted, were compelled to rethink and thereby transform his entire outlook. Many of these profound men, he notes, are no longer alive.

He concludes by acknowledging the similarities between them, yet points out a crucial difference despite Helen being only twenty-one. He quotes Helen: "There are moments when I feel that such beings as Shakuntala and Niobe, and even Satan, are broken spokes of the great wheel of goodness, which is revolving in the world, and they will be re-joined in their proper time." Sanghavi states that at his more mature age, he does not naturally experience the same inherent faith and intuitive stirrings of the intelligence-sense towards Mahavir, Buddha, Christ, and Gandhiji as implied in Helen's statement. While he has never forgotten the peaceful, all-pervading, and wise spirit beyond the complex, convoluted, and intricate debates of various Indian philosophies, the awakening of his intelligence-sense in that direction is still a personal aspiration.

Finally, Sanghavi mentions that he might not have kept his preface so brief if he hadn't heard that Shri Kakasaheb was also writing something. Nevertheless, he feels it is appropriate to share two important impressions from reading Shri Maganbhai's translation. He praises the translation, stating it reads like an original work, with no linguistic complexities hindering comprehension. He highlights the translator's notes, explaining the original meaning and his own newly coined words, as crucial for making the translation so meaningful. He commends the translator's exemplary ability to create new words with emotion, considering it a significant indicator of the rich progress of the Gujarati language. Overall, he describes the translation as an irrefutable answer to those advocating for English as the medium of higher education, demonstrating the power of the mother tongue. He expresses a request to Shri Maganbhai to translate Helen Keller's subsequent, more mature, and profound thoughts and experiences from her later books, as readers can gain much life-sustaining wisdom from them. He believes even Helen will learn much from this translation, prompting her to consider: if a young child, confined by three barriers, resolutely breaks free and, forgetting herself in continuous effort as expressed in her words "not a moment of mine has been spent in inertness," finally manifests her father's soul beyond the natural bond of disability, then what cannot a sister without such barriers achieve through determination and effort? He strongly recommends this book for reading, if not as a textbook, then at least as essential reading in various secondary educational institutions.

The preface is signed by Sukhlal.