Rohit Mehta

Rohit Mehta was born on August 3,1908 at Surat in the family of Hasmanram, a professor of physics at the Elphinstone College, Bombay. After several years of political activity with Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Mehta became a leader in the Theosophical Society in Adyar. He was a major lecturer and contributed greatly to Theosophical literature. The University of Lugano in Switzerland awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Political work and imprisonment

While attending Gujarat College in Ahmedabad, the 18-year-old led a student strike that lasted three months, over a rule prohibiting political activity by students. From 1926 to 1934, young Mehta was jailed five times for his political activities with Gandhi, including participation in the famous Salt March. In 1934, he was sentenced to a two-year term of hard labor at the Ahmednagar Fort:

The heat and hard work in breaking stones there led to a terrible illness. He suffered a sun-stroke and then was partly paralysed. The alarmed authorities rushed him to the KEM Hospital in Bombay under the care of Dr Jivraj Mehta, who was to later become the first chief minister of Gujarat.
Rohitbhai had refused even to go on parole but the Mahatma intervened. According to Prof Bababhai Patel, a Congress worker, Jamnadas Dwarkadas took J. Krishnamurti to see the ailing Rohitbhai ["Brother Rohit" in Hindi]. Krishnamurti kept his hand on the parts of the sick man’s body wherever it was paining. The therapeutic touch is said to have cured Rohitbhai completely. He walked next day, and was discharged from the hospital soon.

Theosophical work

Around 1936, Mehta came to see the political realm as soulless, and took up study of the works of Theosophy and Krishnamurti. He wrote of this change in his consciousness in A New World of Theosophical Socialism, in which he predicted the decline of Communism in the Soviet Union. In 1941, he went to Adyar in Tamil Nadu to work as recording secretary of the Theosophical Society, and soon became the International Secretary. He could speak fluently in English, Hindi and Gujarati, and was much in demand for lecture tours in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.

While serving as General Secretary of the Indian Section, Mehta and his wife made a nine weeks' tour of East Africa, including Tanganyika, Uganda, Belgian Congo, Kenya and Zanzibar. "Huge audiences heard them at 137 meetings held in 24 communities and 80 new members were admitted to the Society." He recognized that the Indian Section could play a useful role in bringing together racial and ethnic groups in East Africa.

Mr. Mehta was General Secretary of the Indian Section from 1945 to 1959.

Marriage

Rohit Mehta and his wife Shrideviben were effective partners in their theosophical work. She sang bhajans and hymns at his lectures, and his words illustrated the meaning of the music. Professor P. G. Mavalankar recalled that Mehta would advise the audience before his talks, “You cannot leave while Shridevi is singing the bhajan. However,you can leave when I am talking.” Hardly anybody would go. When not on lecture tours, the Mehtas lived at Varanasi.

Writings

Dr. Mehta wrote at least 25 books. In 1955, he was awarded the Subba Row Medal for his contributions to theosophical literature. This is a partial listing in alphabetic order:

• The Being and the Becoming
• The Call of the Upanishads Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
• The Creative Silence: Reflections on The Voice of the Silence. Adyar, Chennai, India:Theosophical Publishing House, 1957. Available online at Theosophical.org.[4]
• Dialogue with Death: Shri Aurobindo's Savitri, a Mystical Approach. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
• The Eternal Light Adyar, Chennai, India Theosophical Publishing House
• From Mind to Super Mind: A Commentary on Bhagavad Gita Motilal Banarsidass Publishers and South Asia Books
• The Fullness of the Void: The Yoga of Theosophy - The Transcendental Wisdom, 1982. A study based on the teachings found in H. P. Blavatsky’s Voice of the Silence, this book deals in detail with what the author calls “the Yoga of Theosophy”, the mystical side of the theosophical teachings. Available at Theosophical.org.http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/books/CreativeSilence/TheCreativeSilence.pdf]
• The Intuitive Philosophy. 1950. Second edition - Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1958. Predicted socio-economic effects of technological advances.
• J. Krishnamuri and Sant Kabir: A Study in Depth with Shridevi Mehta Motilal Banarsidass Publishers and South Asia Books
• J. Krishnamurti and the Nameless Experience Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
• The Journey with Death Motilal Banarsidass Publishers and South Asia Books
• The Nameless Experience
• The Negative Approach. Adyar, Chennai, India:Theosophical Publishing House,
• The New World of Socialism
• The Play of the Infinite
• The Science of Meditation. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1978. The theme of meditation is discussed from a purely practical point of view, in terms of the three main constituents in man, namely the brain, the habit mechanism, and the mind. It also discusses the awakening of Kundalini in a natural and spontaneous way, with no dangers involved as is done in Hatha Yoga techniques.
• The Search for Freedom
• The Secret of Self-Transformation: A Synthesis of Tantra and Yoga. South Asia Books
• Seek Out the Way. Adyar, Chennai, India:Theosophical Publishing House, 1955.
• Theosophical Socialism. 1937.
• Yoga: The Art of Integration. Adyar, Chennai, India:Theosophical Publishing House, A review is available from M. P. Pandit.[5]

In addition, Mehta wrote numerous articles, including these:

• "The Raging of the Storm". An excerpt of Seek Out the Way, 1955. Available at Theosophical.org.[6]
• "The Three Objects". Available at The Theosophical Library.[7]