Sadhu Vaswani

Sadhu Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani (Sindhi: साधू थांवरदास लीलाराम वास्वाणी; Sādhū Thāṃvaradās Līlārām Vāsvāṇī) (25 November 1879 – 16 January 1966) was an Indian educationist who started the Mira Movement In Education and set up St. Mira's School in Hyderabad, Sindh, and later moved to Pune after 1949. A museum, Darshan Museum dedicated to his life and teaching was opened in Pune, in 2011.

Early life and education

Sadhu Vaswani was born Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani(Sindhi family), in Hyderabad Sindh. He then asked his mother for permission to devote his life to the service of God and man. His mother desired that her son have success in life and would not agree. As a result, Vaswani agreed to take a teaching job at his alma mater, Union Academy. His mother sought to arrange a marriage for her son but Vaswani vowed to remain a brahmachari and never to marry. He soon accepted a position as Professor of History and Philosophy at Metropolitan College in Calcutta. There in Calcutta Vaswani found his guru, Sri Promotholal Sen, called Naluda.

He was 40 years old when his mother died. He fulfilled his promise to her to work and make an income during her lifetime, but after her funeral he resigned his employment. In 1948, Vaswani reluctantly migrated to India from Sindh, which lay in the newly formed state of Pakistan. Prior to his exile, he and his followers had stirred controversy after prasad was distributed as usual at his weekly meeting that took place two days after the death of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Legacy Annually, the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, which exists to take forward the life and mission of Sadhu T. L. Vaswani, celebrates the International Meatless Day on Vaswani's birthday, 25 November, because he had strongly advocated universal practice of vegetarian living. This is celebrated widely wherever Vaswani's heritage is recalled.

Awards and recognition

The Government of India issued a postage stamp in his honour. Darshan Museum Pune is a biographical museum that is based on his life.