Rajkot: Every Gujarati must have heard the line, ‘There was a poor Brahmin…’ at the beginning of a story during their childhood. However, this sentence struck Guruji Vijaybhai Joshi from Rajkot’s Gajanan Malsar Ashram and he crafted a Janoi (sacred thread) out of gold to dispel the notion of poor Brahmins from people’s minds. Vijaybhai wears a Yagnopavit (Janoi) which is made of around 1.25 kg of gold.

In an interview with the media, Joshi said, “Yagnopavit is generally made of cotton threads, but it was my resolve to wear a Janoi weighing 1.25 kgs. It is also mentioned in the shastras that Vidwan Brahmins like Lankesh also wore gold Janois. Generally, people say ‘Ek garib Brahman Hato’ (There was a poor Brahmin), I wanted to challenge that notion as Brahmins can never be poor. Regardless of the offerings given to a Brahmin, he bestows blessings in abundance. How can we call such a Brahmin poor? A Brahmin may be lacking in monetary wealth, but he can never be impoverished in terms of knowledge. The Brahmins who have contributed so much to the nation should not be viewed as poor.”

Another notable aspect of Vijaybhai is that he recites Sanskrit shlokas every day, but he also keeps a revolver and a Pharsa (battle-axe) with him. Speaking about this, Joshi said, ‘The Pandavas learned both Shashtra (Scripture) and Shastra (Weaponry) knowledge from Dronacharya. Lord Ram and his brother also learned it from Guru Vishwamitra and Vashishth. They all sought wisdom from Rishis to acquire these skills. He also mentioned Lord Parshuram who was Brahmin but used to carry Weapons as well as Knowledge with him. DeshGujarat

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