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PART VI CONTEMPORARY JAIN LEGENDS
Virchand Gandhi talked about the doctrines of Jainism in such a coherent manner that some newspapers published the texts of his lectures in full. He had the most effective way of handling the otherwise difficult terminology of Jainism. He had an extraordinary ability to clarify his statements in a consistent and logical manner. At the conference, he made a brief but striking presentation on the fundamentals of the Jain religion. He expounded the main aspects of the Jain religion in the categories of Jain philosophy, Jain way of life, and Jain code of conduct. Another special characteristic of Shri Virchand Gandhi's lectures on Jain religion was that they did not deal in criticism of other religions. Free from sectarian preferences and prejudices, his impartial ideology is an apt
Shri Virchand R. Gandhi
expression of Jains who practice non-violence in life and Anekäntaväda in thoughts. His discourses convinced the elite of America of the fact that Jain religion has an authentic and rational religious tradition. His speeches received extensive publication in several leading newspapers. Shri Virchand Gandhi was a great exponent of Indian culture and religion in addition to being a brilliant scholar of Jainism. His speeches at the parliament echoed the true spirit and culture of India. The prevailing belief in America was that India was a country of tigers, serpents, magicians, and kings. Christian missionaries also presented a distorted picture of the people of India. Shri Virchand Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda made a great effort to give
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JAIN STORY BOOK
