150th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Acharya Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj Anop R. Vora, Rochester, NY
D E VOT I O N
Anop Vora is involved in Community services and Promotion of Professional Education in the Jain Community. His current interests include: Listening to the Spiritual Discourses, Meditation, Reading and Writing on the religious topics. e-mail: vora5000@yahoo.com
Acharya Vijay Vallabh‘s Life and Vision
Acharya Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj (Acharya Ji) was born in 1870 and was initiated at the tender age of 17. He learned Jainism in depth from his guru-Shri Vinayanand Surishwer Ji Maharaj. The forward-looking Guruji taught him not only to make Jain teachings useful for his own spiritual growth but also for the benefit of the entire community through bold steps. Apart from carrying out the usual rigors of a Jain Saint, Acharya Ji took his great Guru’s commands to heart and embarked upon several social issues prevailing then. He initiated the work of amelioration of masses, spreading of moral values-based college education for holistic development, eradication of social evils, and women empowerment with a missionary zeal. His support for the independence movement, swadeshi and promotion of Hindi was also commendable. For him, the path for Jain Saint’s coveted goal of self-enlightenment passed through the practice of common good. His emphasis on community service, education, self-reliance, and dissemination of Jain literature spurred the conscience of the society and nation during his lifetime and continues to serve as a shining beacon for all of us at present. Acharya Ji came up with a vision that was well ahead of his time. He was very courageous because he came up with far-reaching steps that usually do not fall into the traditional domain of a Jain monk. He chose to think “out of the box” as he was no ordinary person. His vision carries a remarkable imprint even today. His life and ideals uplifted the entire community and he will be remembered by generations to come.
Acharya Ji’s impact on my life
I would like to acknowledge the impact made by Acharya Ji in my own life. I spent 5 years at the Baroda branch of Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya (MJV) and received my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Then I came to the States in mid-sixties and did very well in all aspects of my life. My parents had no means of putting me through the college back then and it was MJV who helped me when I needed the support badly. After I settled down in America, I was able to help my siblings and relatives and in the process, my entire family got a huge financial uplift. This was all possible due to the vision of Acharya ji who helped establish the first branch of MJV at Mumbai in 1915 and then several more branches sprung up across the nation because his initial step was a grand success. MJV has helped thousands of students over the years and made their future very bright.
In all humility, my story is not unique by any means; but I am using it to highlight the power of education that was well recognized by Acharya Ji in the times when higher education was looked down upon by the community in general. The Jains were mainly merchants in those days and to succeed in business, they needed education no more than matriculation; sometimes not even that much. Besides, college education for the girls was a rarityespecially in rural areas. Acharya Ji saw the huge potential of the Jain community that no one else could see it before and took active steps to bring it out. We can never thank Acharya Ji enough for the huge impact he has left on the society. I bow down with reverence and express my deep gratitude from the bottom of my heart to this great Jain saint of India.
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