Spiritual leader Dada JP Vaswani passes away

Dada JP Vaswani, spiritual leader and head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, passed away in Pune on Thursday morning, three weeks ahead of his 100th birthday.

Dada Vaswani, whom the Mission described as “ever-loving and ever-giving”, died on the mission’s premises at 9.01 am, following a brief age-related ailment.  He was discharged from a city-based hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for the past few days.

He was 99. The mission had planned a grand celebration to mark Dada’s 100th birthday that falls on August 2.

Dada Vaswani took over the charge of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission in 1965 after the death of his mentor and uncle Sadhu T L Vaswani.

The Vaswani Mission runs several schools and colleges and has offices across the world.

Born in Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan) on August 2, 1918, Vaswani was known for promoting vegetarianism and animal rights.

Credited with having written over 150 self-help books, the spiritual leader had delivered lectures at numerous venues including the British House of Commons in London, the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders in Oxford, the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, and the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations in New York.

He was the recipient of the 1998 U Thant Peace Award, given by the United Nations.

When he turned 99 last year, PM Narendra Modi had wished him with a video link. Modi had visited the mission for the first time in 2013, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Senior BJP leader LK  Advani  also paid regular visits to the mission to seek  Dada’s blessings.  President Ram Nath Kovind had recently visited the mission where he inaugurated the Sadhu Vaswani international school.

Dada Vaswani had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leader LK Advani during his visit to New Delhi in September 2016.