Acharya Vijayanand Suri (6 April 1837 – 20 May 1896), also known as Atmaramji of

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

, was the first Swetambar

Murtipujaka Mūrtipūjaka (lit. "image-worshipper"), also known as Derāvāsī ("temple-dweller") or Mandir Mārgī ("follower of the temple path"), is the largest sect of Śvētāmbara, Śvetāmbara Jainism. Mūrtipūjaka Jains differ from both Śvetāmba ...

Jain monk in modern times to receive the title of

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...

. Born and raised in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, he was initiated as a Sthanakvasi monk and later joined the Murtipujaka tradition. He travelled extensively in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

and Punjab; he organised and reformed Jain community, ascetic orders and literature. He wrote several books in Hindi and was invited to the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893 which was attended by

Virchand Gandhi Virachand Raghavji Gandhi (25 August 1864 – 7 August 1901) was a Jain scholar who represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893. A barrister by profession, he worked to defend the rights of Jains, and wrote and lectur ...

later.

Early life

He was born on 6 April 1837 CE (Chaitra Shukla 1

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (ISO: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar ...

1893) in Lehara, Punjab to Ganeshchandra and Rupdevi. He was born in a Hindu family. His father was an army official of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

. His father died in his early childhood and he was raised by his mother. He was given to Sheth Jodhmal of Jira, Punjab for education in VS 1903. He studied Hindi and arithmetic. He came into contact with Sthanakvasi monks during his school life. A couple of influential Sthanakavasi monks initiated him in 1853 (VS 1910) at the age of sixteen and was given the name of Atmaram.Alt URL
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Ascetic career

Shrine of Vijayanandsuri Atmaramji Gujranwala

Atmaram began the study of Jain scriptures along with his fellow ascetics. He was later joined by a ''Yati'' of

Tapa Gaccha Tapa Gaccha is the largest Gaccha (monastic order) of Śvetāmbara Jainism. More than half of the existing Jain ascetics belong to the Tapa Gaccha. Several successful Sanskrit scholars belonged to Tapa Gaccha, including Hiravijaya, Meghavijaya, ...

lineage. After several years of study, he was convinced that the Sthanakavasi position of opposition of Idol-worshiping contradicted the scriptures. Later in 1876 (VS 1943), he was initiated again as a Murtipujaka monk in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

by Muni Buddhivijay, also known as Buterayji of Tapa Gaccha who himself was Sthanakvasi monk before. He was given a new name, Anandvijay. In 1886, he was conferred the title of

by the

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

Palitana Palitana is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations for followers of Jainism, renowned for the Shatrunjaya hill temples, a sprawling complex of over 900 marble t ...

during his

Chaturmas Chaturmasya (; Pali: ''Catumāsa''), also rendered Chāturmāsa, is a holy period of four months, beginning on Shayani Ekadashi (June-July) and ending on Prabodhini Ekadashi (October-November) in Hinduism. This period also coincides with the m ...

(four months stay during rainy season) there. This was a notable event because since four centuries, there wasn't an ascetic who was conferred with the title of Acharya. He was the first Acharya of contemporary Jain history as till then only ''Yati''s were conferred with the title. As a result of reforms advocated by him, the influence of

yati Yati, historically was the general term for a monk or pontiff in Jainism. Jainism In the late medieval period, yati came to represent a stationary monk, who lived in one place rather than wandering as required for a Jain monk. The term was mo ...

s declined, although the yatis still survive in some locations. He travelled extensively in Gujarat and Punjab. He convinced to open Jain Bhandaras (libraries) with Jain literature kept closed to people for years and had texts copied and examined by scholars. He brought this literature to light and instilled a sense of identity among Jains. In 1893, he was invited to participate in the first ever

World Parliament of Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and since Jain monks do not travel overseas he sent

to United States to participate in the World Parliament of Religions. He won silver medal in 1893 at Chicago and was covered by many USA periodicals. Based on questions that he had received from the organizers of the Parliament, he wrote a book for the occasion entitled ''The Chicago-Prashnottar'' or ''Questions and Answers on Jainism for the Parliament of Religions Held at Chicago USA in 1893''. He was instrumental in reviving the tradition of fully initiated monks (''Samvegi sadhu''). He also convinced many Sthankvasis in the Punjab to join the Murtipujaka tradition. About 15000 people converted to Jainism due to his efforts. He also encouraged the construction and renovation of Jain temples. He had helped orientalist

Rudolf Hoernlé Augustus Frederic Rudolf Hoernlé CIE (1841 – 1918), also referred to as Rudolf Hoernle or A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, was a German Indologist and philologist. He is famous for his studies on the Bower Manuscript (1891), Weber Manuscript (1893) an ...

in his studies on Jainism. He died in

(now in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) on 20 May 1896 (Jayeshtha Shukla 8 VS 1953). A memorial shrine dedicated to him was built there by Lala Mayadas Nanakchand Bhabras. His footprints along with the ''chhatri'' (cenotaph) over them, are moved to

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

Museum. Some artefacts and decorations were also moved. The shrine was mistakenly identified as the memorial of Punjab ruler

's grandfather Charat Singh. The shrine came under the local police in 1984 and used as a police station until 2003 when most offices were moved to new place. The central chamber was used as an office of the Gujranwala Deputy Police Superintendent. The building was used by traffic police until 2015. In 2019, it was declared as a protected monument by the

Government of Punjab, Pakistan The Government of the Punjab (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is the provincial government of the Pakistani province of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is based in Lahore, the provincial capital. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisi ...

. The samadhi was visited by Jain Acharya Gachadhipati Dharmadhurandhar Suri on May 28, 2023 along with other Jain munis and lay Jains after a gap to more than 75 years. पूजनीय आत्म वल्लभजी के गुरुदेव आत्मारामजी समाधि धाम में जैनाचार्य पूजनीय धर्मधुरंधर जी मा.सा का आगमन, PALI SIROHI ONLINE, Nagendra Agrawal, May 28, 2023
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Works

He wrote a number of books in Hindi, including ''The Chicago-Prashnottar'' or ''Questions and Answers on Jainism for the Parliament of Religions Held at Chicago USA in 1893'' which was translated into English and published in 1918. His other important works are ''Jain Tattvadarsh'', ''Agyana Timira Bhaskara'', ''Samyaktva-shalyadwara'' and ''Tattva Nirnaya Prāsād''.

Legacy

He used to give more importance to education and established several libraries and ''Pathshala'' (religious schools) in Punjab. Later Vallabhsuri, his disciple, built many schools, hospitals and educational institutes. He was given the title of ''Navyug Nirmata'' (builder of a new era) by Vallabhsuri. His monkhood lineage has large number of ascetics which roughly covers of all current ascetics of Tapa Gaccha. Major ascetic groupings are Atma-Vallabh Samuday, Prem-Ramchandra Suri and Prem-Bhuvanbhanu Suri Samuday.

References

External links