Virchand Gandhi
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Virachand Gandhi (Gujarati: વીરચંદ ગાંધી; Hindi: वीरचंद गाँधी) (25 August 1864 - 7 August 1901) was a Jain scholar who represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893 after Jain Acharya Vijayanandsuri was not able to go. A barrister by trade, he worked to defend the rights of Jains, and wrote and lectured extensively on Jainism, other religions, and philosophy.
Gandhi was born in Mahuva, Gujarat, India on 1864. His father, Raghavji Tejpalji Gandhi, was a businessman. A polyglot who reputedly spoke fourteen languages, Gandhi was educated as a lawyer. In 1885, at the age of 21, he became the first honorary secretary of the Jain Association of India.
During his term, he fought against a tax being levied by the ruler of Gujarat on pilgrims visiting Mount Shatrunjay, Palitana. During the course of this fight Gandhi met Lord Reay, the British colonial governor of Bombay, and Colonel John Watson of the Kathiawar Agency. With the help of these two individuals, he ultimately negotiated an annual fixed payment of Rs. 15000, rather than an individual tax on each pilgrim.
Gandhi also fought to close a pig slaughterhouse that had been started in 1891 close to Mount Sametshikhar, a holy place of Jain pilgrimage. Gandhi spent six months in Calcutta learning Bengali and preparing his case against the factory. He was eventually successful in getting the factory closed.
Gandhi represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893. His statue still stands at the Jain temple in Chicago.
Herbert Warren, who studied Jainism under him and adopted the Jain religion, published a book on his lectures titled Herbert Warren's Jainism.
The American newspaper, the Buffalo Courier wrote regarding him, "of all Eastern scholars, it was this youth whose lectures on Jain Faith and Conduct was listened to with the greatest interest and attention". Later, in Kasanova, he delivered a lecture on 'Some Mistakes Corrected' on 8 August 1894, which prompted the citizens of the city to award him a gold medal.
He propagated the relevance of Jain tenets and Mahavira's message of non-violence. In total, he delivered about 535 speeches on Jainism, other religions, and social and cultural lives in India, all of which received wide publication. He was invited two more times, first in 1897 and then in 1899 to the West.
He founded Gandhi Philosophical Society and the Society for the Education of Women in India (SEWI) for women education. He participated in Pune session of Indian National Congress in 1895 as a representative of Bombay state. He lectured on Indian politics and industry in Large Hall of William Science building on December 19, 1898. He also participated at the international conference of commerce in 1899 and represented Asia. He settled tax disputes of Palitana and Shikharji piggery case.
He died at the age of thirty-seven of hemorrhaging of the lungs on 7 August 1901 at Mahuwar, near Mumbai, India.
More: http://www.jaina.org/?page=vrgandhi_info
Gandhi was born in Mahuva, Gujarat, India on 1864. His father, Raghavji Tejpalji Gandhi, was a businessman. A polyglot who reputedly spoke fourteen languages, Gandhi was educated as a lawyer. In 1885, at the age of 21, he became the first honorary secretary of the Jain Association of India.
During his term, he fought against a tax being levied by the ruler of Gujarat on pilgrims visiting Mount Shatrunjay, Palitana. During the course of this fight Gandhi met Lord Reay, the British colonial governor of Bombay, and Colonel John Watson of the Kathiawar Agency. With the help of these two individuals, he ultimately negotiated an annual fixed payment of Rs. 15000, rather than an individual tax on each pilgrim.
Gandhi also fought to close a pig slaughterhouse that had been started in 1891 close to Mount Sametshikhar, a holy place of Jain pilgrimage. Gandhi spent six months in Calcutta learning Bengali and preparing his case against the factory. He was eventually successful in getting the factory closed.
Gandhi represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893. His statue still stands at the Jain temple in Chicago.
Herbert Warren, who studied Jainism under him and adopted the Jain religion, published a book on his lectures titled Herbert Warren's Jainism.
The American newspaper, the Buffalo Courier wrote regarding him, "of all Eastern scholars, it was this youth whose lectures on Jain Faith and Conduct was listened to with the greatest interest and attention". Later, in Kasanova, he delivered a lecture on 'Some Mistakes Corrected' on 8 August 1894, which prompted the citizens of the city to award him a gold medal.
He propagated the relevance of Jain tenets and Mahavira's message of non-violence. In total, he delivered about 535 speeches on Jainism, other religions, and social and cultural lives in India, all of which received wide publication. He was invited two more times, first in 1897 and then in 1899 to the West.
He founded Gandhi Philosophical Society and the Society for the Education of Women in India (SEWI) for women education. He participated in Pune session of Indian National Congress in 1895 as a representative of Bombay state. He lectured on Indian politics and industry in Large Hall of William Science building on December 19, 1898. He also participated at the international conference of commerce in 1899 and represented Asia. He settled tax disputes of Palitana and Shikharji piggery case.
He died at the age of thirty-seven of hemorrhaging of the lungs on 7 August 1901 at Mahuwar, near Mumbai, India.
More: http://www.jaina.org/?page=vrgandhi_info
Books By Virchand Gandhi
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