Virachand Raghavji Gandhi (25 August 1864 – 7 August 1901) was a Jain scholar who represented

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

at the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893. A barrister by profession, he worked to defend the rights of Jains, and wrote and lectured extensively on Jainism, other religions, and philosophy.

Background and early accomplishments

Gandhi was born on 25 August 1864 in Mahuva near

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state ...

(now in Gujarat, India), to Mahuva Nagar Sheth and Raghavji Tejpalji Gandhi. His father, Raghavji, was a businessman.Virachand Gandhi
/ref> After completing primary and secondary school in Mahuva, Gandhi was sent to

for further studies. In 1879, Gandhi married Jiviben. At the age of sixteen, upon placing first on the Bhavanagar matriculation examination, he was awarded the ‘Shri Jaswant Singhji’ scholarship. Gandhi continued his education at

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

, of the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

. He graduated with honors in 1884, having earned a bachelor's degree in law. Gandhi was a polyglot who spoke fourteen languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, English, Prakrit, Sanskrit, and French. Gandhi was a friend of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, and joined Mahatma in his "experiments in dietetics" (

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianis ...

). Virchand helped Mahatma in the latter's struggle to establish a legal practice. 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 Princely State of Palitana on pilgrims visiting Mount Shatrunjaya,

Palitana Pālītāṇā is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre ("shashwat tirth") for Jains. It is first of the two vegetarian cities in the world. Histo ...

. During the course of this fight Gandhi met Lord Reay, the British colonial governor of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, and Colonel John Watson of the

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British India. The agency's headquarters we ...

. 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

Shikharji Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara and ...

, a holy place of Jain pilgrimage. Gandhi spent six months in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

learning

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and preparing his case against the slaughterhouse. He was eventually successful in getting the slaughterhouse closed. Swami Vivekananda at Parliament of Religions

Swami Vivekananda at Parliament of Religions

Trip to the World Parliament of Religions

Gandhi represented

at the first World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893. Jain monk Acharya Vijayanandsuri, also known as Acharya Atmaram, had initially been invited to represent

at the Parliament, but as Jain monks do not travel overseas, he could not attend. Atmaram recommended Gandhi to go in his stead and serve as the emissary for the religion. Atmaram and his disciple Vallabhsuri trained Gandhi for six months. Virchand Gandhi US

Gandhi received a positive response at the Parliament and was asked to deliver more lectures. He ultimately stayed two years in the US and one year in the UK He went outside India to promote Jain values on two other occasions, and is known for giving about 535 lectures on Jainism and having attracted followers from outside India to Jainism. He was awarded various medals for his lectures. He was a contemporary to

Swami Vivekanand Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

, who deeply admired him. He faced criticism over his sea voyage, which was at the time considered unholy. Vivekanand, impressed with Gandhi's adherence to

in the face of the cold Chicago climate, came to his defence: in an 1894 letter to

Haridas Viharidas Desai Haridas Viharidas Desai (1840–1895) was Diwan of Junagadh state from 1883 onwards. He was a pious man and a brilliant administrator who in a decade made the most important reforms in every department of the Junagadh state. He built the 12,00 ...

, Diwan of Junagadh, he wrote "Now here is Virchand Gandhi, the Jain whom you knew well in Bombay. This man never takes anything but mere vegetables even in this terribly cold climate and tooth and nail tries to defend his countrymen and the religion. The people of this country like him very well. But what are they doing who sent him over? They are trying to outcast him." Herbert Warren, who studied Jainism under Gandhi and adopted the Jain religion, published a book on Gandhi's lectures titled ''Herbert Warren's Jainism''. The American newspaper, the ''Buffalo Courier'', wrote regarding Gandhi, "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 Kasadova, 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. Gandhi had studied

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

Philosophy, Christianity, and western philosophy. He praised Mogul

Emperor Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hu ...

for his equal treatment of all religions. Gandhi propagated the relevance of Jain tenets and

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...

's message of

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. 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.

Later life and death

Virchand Gandhi teaching Jainism to lady in US 1893

Gandhi founded Gandhi Philosophical Society and the Society for the Education of Women in India (SEWI). He participated in Pune session of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

in 1895 as a representative of

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding So ...

, and lectured on Indian politics and industry in Large Hall of William Science building on 19 December 1898. He also participated at the International Conference of Commerce in 1899 and represented Asia. He settled tax disputes of

and

piggery case. Gandhi died at the age of thirty-six of haemorrhaging of the lungs on 7 August 1901 at Mahuwar, near Mumbai, India.

Works

* ''The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ: translation from French to English''. It was a manuscript found in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. * ''The Life of Saint Iss'' * ''Religion and philosophy of the Jainas''

Collection

* ''Speeches and Writings of Virchand R. Gandhi'', collected and edited by Bhagu F. Karbhari

Recognition

* Gandhi was accorded both a welcome and honour by many literary and spiritual institutions, churches and societies. He was presented with medals. * A museum was constructed and dedicated to Gandhi in 1964. * In the 1990s, statues of Gandhi were erected in Chicago and Mahuva. *He was remembered on 1993 Parliament of World religions. * A drama based on his life, ''Gandhi Before Gandhi'', was performed 200 times throughout the world. * On 8 November 2009, the Indian Postal Department honoured him by issuing a postal stamp with his image. * On 25 August 2013, his Saardh Janma Shatabdi Year celebrations commenced at Vallabh Vihar, Rohini Delhi under the aegis of Akhil Bhartiya Shree Atma Vallabh Jain Mahasangh, organised by Shree Atmanand Jain Sabha, Rohini, Delhi. * On 17 August 2014, the concluding function was held at Thane in the august presence of Gachhadhipati Jainacharya Shree Vikay Nityanand Surishwer Ji. The programme was held under the banner of Shree Atma VAllabh Jain Mahasangh with Mr. Ashok Jain as the Programme Convenor who also made an elaborate presentation on the life and achievements of Shree Virchand Raghav Gandhi. * As a befitting finale to the yearlong celebrations, One day programme was organised by Akhil Bhartiya Shree Atma Vallabh Jain Mahasangh, Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir Tirth & Akhil Bhartiya Shree Jain Shwetamber Yuvak Mahasangh at Balyogi Auditorium in the Sansad Bhawan. Sh Ravisahnkar Prasead, Union Minister of Law & Justice,Information and Broadcasting & Information Technology presided the deliberations attended by 15 Members of Parliament and leading Jains from all over Indie. Gandhi Before Gandhi - a play on the life and ideals of Shri Virchand Raghav Gandhi was presented by Rangat Productions, Mumbai. Keynote presentation was made by Sh Ashok Jain, Programme Convenor and Hony Secretary of Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir Tirth, Delhi

References

External links

Virchand Gandhi article in USA's Newspaper ''The South Asian Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Virachand 1864 births Nonviolence advocates Scholars of Jainism Indian Jain religious leaders Gujarati people 19th-century Indian philosophers Indian barristers 1901 deaths 19th-century Indian lawyers People from Bhavnagar district University of Mumbai alumni