Birth
On the auspicious
day of 21st November 1963, Pujyashree Bhupendrabhai Pandya was born in
Mumbai to Purushottambhai and Gomatiben. According to the Indian calendar,
it was Margshirsh Shukla Panchami, the holy day on which Lord Rama married
Sita. Belonging to a religious Brahmin family, culture and values were
an integral part of his upbringing. Pujyashree Bhupendrabhai Pandya's
grandfather, Ishwarbhai was a well-known religious preacher and a royal
astrologer to various princely states.
Childhood
At the tender age of two, even before he grasped his mother tongue,
Gujarati, he fluently recited various Sanskrut shlokas. He spent two
years of his primary schooling in his native place Sundhia, Gujarat,
under the loving care of his grandmother, Devkorba. It was she who built
a strong and sound foundation by narrating religious stories from Shreemad
Bhagavat, Ramayan, Geeta, Mahabharat, Shiv Puran, Devi Bhagavat and
various other scriptures of Sanatan Vedic Culture. The seeds of love
and passion for our religion were thus sown here. He is indeed indebted
to his grandmother and his village, which he so often remembers in most
of his discourses. If not for this, he would have been deprived of both,
his grandmother's fond affection and his experiences of a rural life
since the rest of his education continued in Mumbai.
Education
As a student, Pujyashree Bhai was brilliant and a regular first ranker.
All his teachers were very fond of him and his popularity amongst the
students was amazing. Being a voracious reader right since childhood,
he knew most of the books in his school library and therefore was appointed
the in-charge. His love for reading complemented by his naturally gifted
oratory skill won him numerous trophies at the school and inter-school
elocution as well as debate competitions. He inculcated moral values
in his classmates by teaching them to recite the 'Saraswati Vandana'
before each class. Having scored a distinction at his SSC examination,
Pujyashree Bhupendrabhai decided to take up the science field for higher
education. He joined Elphinstone College where he majored in Chemistry.
He was popularly known as 'Wrangler' because of his authority over Mathematics.
This accounts for his clear logic. Even in college, he was an active
participant at inter-collegiate elocution, debates, poetry writing and
literature competitions where he always secured the first prize. He
was also elected as the Chairman of the students body in his college.
He wrote many articles in Sanskrut and poems in Gujarati for 'Elphinstonian',
the college magazine. During the celebration of Sanskrut day, he recited
the entire Geeta with the right diction. He even directed Sanskrut plays
to encourage students to learn the language. He was an active participant
at various youth seminars. He graduated from Bombay University in the
year 1984. He then went ahead to study Law as well as Management.
Early Days
As a child, Pujyashree Bhai more often than not, accompanied his parents
to listen to the discourses delivered by learned saints like Param Pujya
Dongreji Maharaj and Pandurang Shastri Athavale. On hearing them, his
young mind relished every word he heard and his intellectual appetite
absorbed and digested the underlying meanings. He could narrate the
discourses he heard ad verbatim even when he was just five. Since he
idolized Param Pujya Dongreji Maharaj, he often imitated his style of
delivering lectures while he was at play with his mates. Elders gathered
to hear him and considered him to be an unusually gifted child. At that
young age he would give an interesting twist to the regularly told 'Satyanarayan
Katha' through various examples so that people would get interested
in the otherwise routine ritual. For Pujyashree Bhupendrabhai, this
came effortlessly. Here one could perceive the traits of a born preacher.
Meanwhile, his habit of reading continued. He read and studied various
scriptures including the Vedas, Geeta, Upanishads etc. in original Sanskrut
as well as other languages. He contemplated on them, transforming ancient
wisdom into easily understandable principles for the common man. After
having completed his SSC board examinations, for the first time Pujyashree
Bhupendrabhai decided to become a religious preacher. He was just fourteen
when he gave his first discourse on the Geeta. Initially, he preached
at regular study circles on subjects like Upanishads, Geeta, Vedas,
Bhagavat etc. to an intellectual audience comprising of doctors, engineers,
chartered accountants, lawyers, architects and teachers. These discourses
gave the intelligentsia of Mumbai a deep understanding of the valuable
principles present in our scriptures. Pujyashree Bhai joined Dena Bank
in 1984. He worked at the bank's main office in Flora Fountain for 8
years. Even while he worked at the bank, he continued to give discourses
after office hours. His love for religion and spirituality won over
his desire to work at the bank. Finally, in 1991 he quit his job and
ever since this 'Gift' from God to society has been constantly illuminating
our path with his enlightenment and philanthropy and today we cherish
him as the religious preacher that we can truly look up to!