Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer: The ‘Revolutionary Jain monk’

The land of Gujarat gave us two Vallabh. In the political field, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and in spiritual field Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj. Both dedicated their lives for India's unity and brotherhood.

New Delhi, Oct 26: Acharya Vijay Vallabh Surishwar Ji was a great revolutionary saints of Jainisim. Born on 26 October 1870, at Vadodara, Gujarat to Deepchand and Ichhabai, Vallabhsuri was also known as Punjab Kesari. He learned Jainism in depth from his guru-Shri Vinayanand Surishwer Ji Maharaj.

In Vikram Samvat 1981, he was anointed as an Acharya of the Jaina congregation in Lahore. He worked relentlessly for the welfare of masses and contributed immensely in the field of education, eradication of social evils and women's welfare and their upliftment.

Vallabhsuri also worked actively in Punjab where he established schools, hospitals, educational institutes all of which are working successfully to the day.

In 1947, Vallabhsuri was in Gujranwala for Chaturmas in 1947. Due to the partition of India, Gujaranwala fell in Pakistan. There was a widespread communal violence across both nations. He refused to travel by aeroplane which was arranged by the Government of India as Jain monks do not use vehicles. He travelled by foot along with other Jains of Gujaranwala and entered India via the Wagah Border and reached Amritsar in September 1947.

Contribution

Vallabhsuri placed emphasis on education and inspired Jains to build more educational institutions. He is well known as the founder of Shree Parshwanath Jain Vidyalaya in 1927 at Varkana Village in Pali district of Rajasthan.

He founded Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya (at Mumbai, Vadodara, Pune), Parshwanath Umed Mahavidyalaya (at Falna), Atmanand Jain College (at Ambala, Malerkotla), Atmanand Jain High School (Ludhiana, Ambala, Malerkotla, Bagwada, Hoshiarpur, Jandiala Guru) and other educational institutes. He wrote some books and religious texts in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi Languages.

He also established the Atmanand Jain Sabha. He was also instrumental in establishing Jain unity and accessibility of Jain literature.

Swadeshi Movement

He also participated in the Swadeshi movement led by Mahatma Gandhi for independence of India. Most of the national leaders of that time were associated with him. It is said that he was responsible for the propagation of khadi (hand woven cloth) in Punjab.

Vallabh Suri was an inspiration to may kings and national leaders. He died on 22 September 1954 in Byculla, Mumbai. More than 2 lakh people attended his funeral procession. Later, a memorial dedicated to him was also built there.

150th anniversary of Jain Muni Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwarji

Ministry of Culture, under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and in association with Aatm Vallabh Jain Smarak Nidhi, celebrated the Saardh Janm Shatabdi Mahamahotsav (150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations) of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer on 26th October 2022 at Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir Tirth, Delhi.

A video message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi was played at the event, and Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Culture & Parliamentary Affairs graced the event as the Chief guest.

Gujarat has given two 'Vallabhs' to the country

Prime Minister Modi said, it is a coincidence that today the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Acharya Ji are being completed, and after a few days we are going to celebrate Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, National Unity Day.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the 'Statue of Peace' is one of the largest statues of saints and the 'Statue of Unity' is the tallest statue in the world. He mentioned that these are not just tall statues, but they are also the greatest symbol of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.

Remarking on the present geopolitical scenario in the world, the Prime Minister said, "Today the world is experiencing the crisis of war, terror and violence, and looking for inspiration and encouragement to break out of this vicious circle."

Modi highlighted that in such a situation, it is the ancient traditions and philosophy coupled with the power of today's India that is turning out to be a big hope for the world. He further added that the path shown by Acharya Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwar and the teachings of Jain gurus is the solution to these global crises.