जयदयाल गोयन्दका
Jayadayal Goyandka
Sethji — The Visionary of Gita Press
He wanted the Gita in every home, the way the British made tea available everywhere.
“The Bhagavad Gita offers a live route to freedom based on the synthesis of devotion, action, and knowledge. These three are not competing paths but one interwoven way.”
Life
Born in 1865 into a middle-class Aggarwal merchant family in Churu, Rajasthan, Jayadayal Goyandka was a trader based in Bankura, Bengal. But from childhood, the Bhagavad Gita seized his attention in a way no commercial enterprise could.
At age 13, he was influenced by Saint Mangalnath of the Nath sect. He formed satsang groups in every town he visited for business. By his twenties, thousands were attending his discourses.
The founding of Gita Press came from a frustration: he arranged for the Gita to be printed but found the copies riddled with errors. When the printer told him to set up his own press, he took the advice literally. On 29 April 1923, Gita Press was born in Gorakhpur.
Under his vision, Gita Press never accepted advertisements — a policy Gandhi himself endorsed. By his death on 17 April 1965, completing a full Vedic lifespan of exactly 100 years, Gita Press had printed tens of millions of copies of the Gita and Ramcharitmanas.
One Heart
“God is not attained through the intellect. God is attained when the heart is purified and turned wholly toward Him.”
Teachings
The Threefold Unity
Jnana, karma, and bhakti are not separate paths but one interwoven way. The Gita does not choose between them.
Scripture for All
Spiritual knowledge must be accessible to ordinary people — not locked behind Sanskrit scholarship or priestly gatekeeping.
Simple Living, High Thinking
Every rupee earned was channeled into making the Gita available. Wealth exists to serve dharma.
Works & Publications
Tattvavivecani
His commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, presenting the synthesis of jnana, karma, and bhakti.
Gita Press (Institution)
The world’s largest publisher of Hindu scriptures, founded 1923.
An Inspiration
Goyandka created the vessel — Gita Press — through which these teachings reached millions. The affordable Ramcharitmanas that Ananta reads from in satsang exists because of his vision.