Veerchand Gandhi
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Veerchand Gandhi Renowned Barrister-At-Law, a Exponent of the Indian culture, Philosopher, Reformer, Jain Scholar
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard all your lives from your missionaries,
These were the words of a fearless and frank patriot - the proud son of India - the late Shri Virchand Raghavji Gandhi, a renowned Barrister-At-Law, a great exponent of the Indian culture, a philosopher, reformer, a great Jain scholar, born at Mahua in Gujarat on the 25th of August 1864. His father Raghavji Gandhi was a well-to-do gentleman of the town, known for his honesty, integrity and religious mindedness. The seeds of service to the society were sown by his father, who himself was a reformer, a man very practical in approach who fought against social evils and succeeded in eradicating them. As a child Shri Virchand received his primary education at the town school and was sent to Bhavnagar for further studies. At the age of sixteen, he passed his matriculation examination from Bhavanagar, and secured the 1st position, which entitled him to receive the ‘Shri Jaswant Singhji’ scholarship. The urge for knowledge made him take up further studies. He graduated from the Elphinstone College in Bombay in 1884, where he received his degree of B.A. with honors. He was gifted with a fine and charming personality. He had a fairly tall, stately, well-built figure with well-proportionate features and a fine, brilliant and lustrous face. For his American sojourn, he had selected a dress, which added charm to his personality, a royal purple robe, and a gold colored turban. He had round his waist; a white sash with a knot on the right and two ends hanging to his knees. He wore oriental shoes. This make-up created an oriental and hallowed atmosphere around him. He looked like a priest, sober, serene and peaceful, eager to achieve his objective. He was a polyglot who had mastered as many as fourteen languages. Apart from academics, he regularly attended the Jain Pathshala. The religious knowledge that he acquired at the Pathshala proved fruitful at the ‘Dharma Mahotsava’ held in Ajmer in 1895, where he was awarded a Gold Medal. He was a student of Buddhism and the Vedanta Philosophy who had also acquired knowledge of Christianity and Western Philosophy, mastered Yoga and Occultism and made comparative study of various philosophies, which equipped him for talks on various subjects with confidence. He also happened to be the first Jain Barrister from London, who was, at the growing age of 20, appointed as the honorary secretary of the Jain Association of India. His Achievements : The Congress, also known as the Parliament of Religions lasted for 17 long days from the 11th of September to the 27th of September 1893, where representatives of various religions presented and expounded the principles and philosophy of their religions. It was a unique gathering of leaders of world religions, all intelligent, devout, eager, learned and anxious to express and expound the principles of philosophy and religion. It provided a great opportunity for comparative study of different religions. Amongst the other delegates who sailed to America with Virchand Raghavji Gandhi, were Swami Vivekananda, representing Hinduism, Shri Nagarkar - of the Brahma Samaj, Shri Dharmapal from Ceylon representing Buddhism, Professor Gyanendranath Chakravarty of Allahabad and Miss Sorabji of Pune. Needless to say, Shri Virchandji represented Jainism. In his remarkable speech, he tried to communicate and convey to the scholarly, eager listeners the essence of Jainism and its contribution, philosophically, ethically, historically, culturally and socially. This erudite speaker, who had mastered the Western as well as all other systems of Indian Philosophy gave lectures at the Congress on the various Indian Philosophical systems which enthralled the audience and made them realize the sublimity of Indian culture, at a time when the innocent Indians were considered to be barbarians and illiterates. His speeches laid a great impact on the listeners. Amongst the many, Mr. Herbert Warren, the Honorary Secretary of the Jain Literature Society of London was so impressed that he arranged a series of talks and lectures by Virchandji and invited him to London. He later, published his speeches in the form of a book entitled ‘Jainism in Western Garb as a Solution to Life’s Great Problems’ in Sept. 1912. Till date various editions of this book have been printed. Shri Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi felt the void and reprinted the work in May, 1968.This arduous task was done by the esteemed scholar Dr. Nagindas J. Shah, the then Deputy Director of the renowned L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad. The book deals with topics such as the origin of the Universe, the existence of God, the causes of suffering, happiness and misery in the world, the ultimate purpose of life and ethics. Shri Virchand Gandhi, himself has written books like, The appreciation of his speeches was shown by periodicals and newspapers, which at times printed the entire speech, word for word. An eminent contemporary also wrote about Shri Virchand Raghavji in eloquent terms: “A number of distinguished Hindu scholars, philosophers and religious teachers attended and addressed the Parliament, some of them taking rank with the highest of any race for learning, eloquence and piety, but it is safe to say that no one of the oriental scholars was listened to with greater interest than was this young layman of the Jains as he declared the Ethics and Philosophy of his People.” Priests, public men and the press spoke in eulogistic and glowing terms and paid tribute to his scholarship, learning, intelligence and culture. At one instance, he went furious when, at the Parliament of Religions, Rev. Pentecost, a delegate from London, used abusive language describing women in the Hindu Religion. He behaved like a patriotic Indian and sought to dispel false beliefs about the social and religious practices in the country. The American press was unanimous in declaring the remarks of Rev. Pentecost as derogatory to the dignity of the Parliament. They not only took note of Virchandji’s dignified and broad-minded reply but also printed the whole lecture verbatim. On his second tour to the Western countries, he divided his time between America and England and delivered lectures, conducted study classes for six months each at both the places. He had also traveled to France, Germany and other European countries and delivered discourses on Jain Religion, which were very much appreciated. In 1899, he attended the International Commerce Conference representing Asia. He founded an organization for women called, ‘The Society for the Education of Women of India’, whose secretary was Mrs. Howard. While in England, his health suddenly took a turn for the worse. He had to leave England abruptly - though luckily he had successfully finished his work of appeal. He returned to India but within only a few weeks of his return on 7th August 1901, Shri Virchandji at an early age of 37passed away. This valiant patriot was the first Jain who unfurled the Principles of Jainism and glorified them This religious man will ever be remembered as a brilliant promising young man, full of hopes and aspirations who served the society, the community and his motherland. ----------------------------------------------------- Information Courtesy : Mr. Mahavir S. Chavan ----------------------------------------------------- Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation |
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