Systems of Indian Philosophy

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

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SOMETHING ABOUT LATE SHRI V. R. GANDHI
"The Systems of Indian Philosophy' is published here for the first time. It contains lectures which late V. R. Gandhi delivered before American audience of the common people, while he was on his journey to attend the World Congress of Religions held for the first time in the United States of America in 1893 A.D.
The manuscript of the work, written in the author's own handwriting, remained unknown for very long. And fortunately it was discovered just in his centenary year. It is really a matter of happy co-incidence that Dr. K. K. Dixit, who himself is a sincere student of Indian and Western philosophy as well as a proficient scholar of ancient Indian languages-Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, etc., has carefully edited the present work. It is an outstanding characteristic of Dr. Dixit that whatever he writes, he writes after mature consideration, without any partiality or exaggeration.
Dr. Dixit has written an elaborate introduction to this work. Any sensible enquirer, who sincerely tries to understand it, will find no difficulty in properly evaluating these lectures. When I think on this line I feel that there remains nothing particular for me to write. But because I hold Gandhi in high esteem and because I have good faith in Shri Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya, the Institute which publishes the present work, I am inspired to say few words.
For the last so many years, I have been hearing one harping note. It is this that the Jaina tradition should engage scholars to produce works on the cultural subjects like Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Art, etc. This note has originated from our special contact with the Western culture. But the Jaina tradition has formed the tendency that whatever the scholars write by themselves or whatever they write at the instance of others should all be published or got published in English.
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