Book Title: Unknown Life of Jesus Christ New Edition 2009 Publication
Author(s): Nicholas Notovitch, Virchand R Gandhi, Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: World Jain Confederation

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Page 37
________________ - The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ Later, Virchand Gandhi went to England, where he fulfilled his desire to be a barrister but he did not use this training for monetary gain. Considering the curiosity for Jainism in England, he started a coaching class. Later he founded the 'Jain Literature Society' in London. Herbert Warren, a religious enthusiast, abandoned non vegetarianism and adopted the Jain religion. He took notes of Virchand Gandhi's lectures and wrote in English a book on the Jain religion. Moreover, Charles C. Bonny, the President of the Conference of world religions, was impressed by him. At the time of the famine of 1896-97 in India, Mr. Bonny was the president of the Famine Relief Committee founded in America by Virchand Gandhi. This committee immediately sent forty thousand Rupees and a steamer full of corn to India. During this travel Virchand Gandhi delivered as many as 535 lectures. He had the command of fourteen languages including Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, English, Sanskrit, and French. Thus a young man of twenty-nine, he preached religion in foreign countries in the face of opposition from his own community who objected to travel abroad. He toured abroad thrice to spread the message of Jain Philosophy and he was equally a spokesman of Indian Philosophy. The short life span of Virchand Raghavji Gandhi is full of multifarious achievements. He was the first graduate of the Jain society to get his BA with Hons. in 1884. When his father died in 1890, he did not allow the primitive practices of wailing and breastbeating during mourning. At the age of twenty one, as the secretary of 'Shri Jain Association of India' he worked for the abolition of poll-tax levied on pilgrims to Palitana. Annoyed by poll-tax and other forms of harassment, the Anandji Kalyanji firm had filed a suit against the rule of Palitana. But Sursinghji, the ruler (Thakor) of Palitana, was a right-hand man of the Political Agent. The Political Agent did not give fair - 36

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