When he was born in a not-too-affluent family in a small town of Gujarat, nobody knew he’d strike it amazingly big later. Though, as this child grew up buried in books, always reading and cumulating knowledge from everything he could, his parents knew he had it in him. Today, at 71, the prime of his life, he has established a successful medical practice in the US and run several health centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area focused on serving senior citizens. Now retired, he is an active philanthropist and his charitable giving is concentrated on introducing the ancient faith of Jainism to students at American universities.
Jasvant has till date donated not only monetarily but also his mind, efforts and time to establish Jain dharma studies in colleges and universities across the US. He started the Vardhamana Charitable Foundation to expand awareness about Jainism to college and university students.
Sticking close to his roots and following his beliefs in Jain dharma, his philosophy is – Be careful about the complaints you have. “Well, I think, to achieve greater heights, we must stop criticizing and complaining about little things and better find a solution to things we complain about,” shares Jasvant.
Sticking close to his roots and following his beliefs in Jain dharma, his philosophy is – Be careful about the complaints you have. “Well, I think, to achieve greater heights, we must stop criticizing and complaining about little things and better find a solution to things we complain about,” shares Jasvant.
He has been serving mankind with his medical expertise for over three decades and was the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Queen of Angels/Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the Chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology at St Vincent Medical Center, the member of governing body at Temple Community Hospital, and headed many other departments and institutes. He took voluntary retirement in 2014 and turned his focus on serving the community.
He was the Chairman of the LA Chapter of Akshaya Patra, an organization that delivered food to the needy and children. He is a lifetime member of the Jain Center of Southern California (JCSC). A Board Member and Vice President of Jain Temple of LA (JTLA) and JCSC, he was instrumental in organizing the JAINA Convention in 2019. Along with some close friends, he has more than 20 endowed chairs at various universities like the University of California Irvine, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ahimsa Center for the study of non-violence at Cal Poly Pomona. He also endowed professorship at Loyola Marymount University, California State University at Northridge and many more.
Right Belief, Knowledge and Conduct
India was still struggling for independence when Nagindas, a school surveyor, and Kamlaben, a dedicated housewife, were married at a rather early age in Gujarat – then a part of Bombay State. The couple worked hard for a better future of their children. Born in Godhra in 1951, Jasvant was the fourth in line of six kids. Brilliant in studies, he finished grades 1 and 2 in just a year. Unlike other kids his age, he preferred staying at home and reading history books rather than playing outside. All he enjoyed was reading, reading and just reading! He loved visiting the village temple and attending school. His grandparents taught him about the Jain philosophies that he carries on with him till date.
He completed schooling with distinction in 1966. Planning to become an engineer, he joined LD Engineering College in 1967 to pursue Mechanical Engineering. But later, he realized that it might not be that good of a career option. After a lot of discussion with his elder brothers, he finally decided to pursue medicine and joined BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad. He stayed at Shri Mahavira Jain Vidyalaya hostel and earned his medical degree in 1973. “Studying medicine was an intelligent choice!” He has pledged to fully fund the school-owned boys’ hostel in Vadodara and the girls’ hostel in Surat.
But fate had decided a lot more than studying medicine and becoming a doctor for Jasvant.
He found his mentor in one of his professors, Dr Amin, who helped him move to the US in 1975. “I had landed in West Virginia and though it seemed like a beautiful world, yet it was difficult to fit in – with food, climate, culture and everything shocking. Being a Jain, it was all the more difficult as I only had vegetarian food, while here in the US, most of the vegetarian food had non-veg in it. And look at where the world is now – in the need of peace! People are trying to adopt veganism.” Initially, for the first two years, he worked at Hinton Hospital in West Virginia. Soon after, he moved to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, for training and later did his residency in Chicago. In 1983, Jasvant became a qualified and registered gastroenterologist.
Meera entered his life in 1979 through an arranged setting. She was born in 1949 in Wankaner, Kathiawar, and had earned her medical degree in 1972 from Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. She moved to the US in 1975 and lived in Los Angeles and did her residency in Philadelphia. She later moved to Chicago and became an Internist. She was doing her residency from Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center when they met. Both of them found in each other the partner they have always dreamt of. With the blessing of their families, they tied the knot on May 12, 1979, in Gandhinagar and a fortnight later, they began their lives in Chicago.
Together We Can Ace It All!
Right after his residency at Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Meera and Jasvant together applied for residency positions in Edgewater Hospital and started training together. After three years of sheer hard work, struggle and odd-hour duties, they rejoiced with the news of their first pregnancy and happily welcomed Rusha in 1982. “Meera was juggling between a lot of work and home, managing everything. We were too busy with life; in fact, we had a miscarriage due to this, but luckily had a lovely daughter, Shruti, in 1988,” remembers Jasvant.
Rusha attended the Harvard School of Public Health and earned a master’s degree in Public Health. He did his fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology from the University of California LA (UCLA) and is a renowned doctor now. He is married to Ashley, a nurse practitioner in the Liver Transplant ICU. They have a baby boy, Kaius (Latin for rejoice). Shruti also wanted to follow her father’s footsteps and become a doctor but later she realized her interest lay elsewhere and she went on to become a lawyer. In 2010, she met Brad, a medicine expert, and the two got married in 2018.
Meera and Jasvant grew up in humble families that believed in good education and hard work to be successful. They both share the same values of helping others as the key to a meaningful life.
“I have grown up learning the principles of Jainism: Non-violence, non-possessiveness and acceptance of multiple viewpoints. I take these principles to my heart.” The couple became successful physicians and while building a life together in the US, they never forgot their roots and always wanted to help others, especially the elderly. “People, in their basic form, don’t need much. Other than medical attention, patients can well be treated with the basics of life: love, care and compassion.”
Currently, the Modis are actively working to spread the values of Jainism to others. They also hope to help their home country by donating money to build schools, hospitals and kitchens. Throughout their lives, they had help and support from family, friends and mentors who saw their promise and potential. They hope to spread that kindness and generosity to other bright people who can also donate their time and effort to spreading similar values to our world.
Some incidents that stunned the world like 9/11 or the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the Modis too. “I am blessed to have been born in a family that emphasized humility. The chimes of the bells from the temples of Godhra still reverberate in my soul. The virtues of my parents still run through my veins. Their example gave me the courage to cross the oceans to uplift my kutumb (family), sadharmic seva (community) and share my manav sadhna (humanity) with all living beings. I firmly believe the people of the world need to solve their differences with equanimity and ahimsa (non-violence), and I try to instill that belief in my own family. It is for this reason that I support Jain academic education in colleges in both India and the US.”
“Night sky, endless constellations, planets and interesting space theories interest me.” Is that the reason he is touching the sky!