Known affectionately as "Sethji," Param Shraddheya Shri Jaydayal Ji Goyandka was a successful Marwari merchant who, driven by an intense desire for the welfare of all humanity, dedicated his life and resources to founding institutions that would serve India's spiritual and social needs for generations.

His central conviction was simple but revolutionary: that Bhagavat-prapti (God-realisation) was not the exclusive domain of sannyasis in forests. The mother serving her family, the merchant conducting honest trade, the student respecting his teacher, the householder welcoming guests, all could attain liberation while living fully in the world. The Bhagavad Gita was not a text only for renunciates; it was for everyone.

This conviction drove him to create Gita Press, not as a commercial enterprise, but as a dharmic service. He personally prepared the first Hindi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita with word-by-word (padcchhed) and sentence-construct (anvay) meanings, making the Gita accessible to every literate person in India for the first time.

Sethji was deeply committed to textual accuracy. He famously said: "An error in our books, especially in the Gita, is like cutting someone with a knife." This commitment drove him to establish Gita Press's own printing facility rather than relying on commercial presses where accuracy could not be guaranteed.

"Sethji's one burning desire was this: how can ordinary people, men, women, merchants, farmers, householders, find their way to God while living their normal lives? Everything he built was his answer to that single question."

🙏
Param Shraddheya
Shri Jaydayal Ji Goyandka
("Sethji")

Place founder's portrait here
Param Shraddheya Brahmaleen Shri Jaydayal Ji Goyandka (Sethji) — Founder, Gita Press (1923)

Sethji's Founding Institutions

  • Gita Press, Gorakhpur (1923): world's largest publisher of Hindu scriptures
  • Gita Bhawan, Rishikesh (1925): free pilgrim shelter on the Ganga
  • Shri Rishikul Brahmacharya Ashram, Churu (1924): gurukul education
  • Kalyan Magazine (1926): India's longest-running spiritual journal
  • Namjap Vibhag (1927): India's largest collective meditation movement
  • Gita Bhawan Ayurveda Sansthan: free Ayurvedic healthcare
↑↓ navigate open Esc close