Valsad, historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. Valsad is located south of Navsari and shares border with Maharashtra and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in the south.
Valsad district is one of the 33 districts in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. It is bound by Navsari district to the north, Nashik district of Maharashtra state to the east, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli district of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD) union territory and the Palghar district of Maharashtra to the south. The Arabian Sea lies west of the district. The coastal Damaon enclave of DNHDD is bounded by Valsad district on the north, east, and south. The district's administrative capital is Valsad. The district's largest city is Vapi.
Kochrab Ashram, also known as Satyagraha Ashram, is a historic site and museum in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The ashram was the founded in May 1915 by Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement. For the next two years he lived in the ashram with several other members of the movement. Some of his Gandhian ideas were conceived during that time. In 1953 the Bombay State named the ashram a memorial and tendered it to the Gujarat Vidyapith a year later. Its renovation and redevelopment into a museum were completed in 2024.
Muktanand Swami (1758–1830), born Mukunddas, was a swami and paramahansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
Shrimad Rajchandra, also known as Param Krupalu Dev, was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar, and reformer from India. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he claimed to have attained recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed Avadhāna, a memory retention and recollection test that gained him popularity, but he later discouraged it in favour of his spiritual pursuits. He wrote much philosophical poetry including Atma Siddhi Shastra. He also wrote many letters and commentaries and translated some religious texts. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi.
Dharampur is a town and a municipality in Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India. There are more than 100 villages associated with Dharampur (Revenue) office. Ramsingh of the Sesodia clan, the second son of Ram Raja of Udaipur, defeated the local tribal chief in the 13th century and became the ruler of Dharampur State in South Gujarat.
Dada Bhagwan, also known as Dadashri, born Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, was an Indian spiritual leader from Gujarat who founded the Akram Vignan Movement. He was spiritually inclined from an early age. He worked as a contractor for a company maintaining dry docks in Bombay before attaining "self-realization" in 1958. He left business and focused on his spiritual goals. The movement around his teaching grew into the Akram Vignan movement gaining followers in western India and abroad. Ahimsa (non-violence) and vegetarianism are an important part of Dada's teachings.
The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain, with a population of about 25,000.
Atma Siddhi Shastra is a spiritual treatise in verse, composed in Gujarati by the nineteenth century Jain saint, philosopher poet Shrimad Rajchandra (1867–1901). Atma according to Jainism means "soul" or the "self" and "siddhi" means "attainment". Hence, Atma Siddhi is translated as self attainment or self realization. It is a composition of 142 verses in Gujarati, explaining the fundamental philosophical truths about the soul and its liberation. It propounds six fundamental truths on soul which are also known as satapada.
The Gandhi Global Family medals and awards are awards offered by the Gandhi Global Family for contributions to society.
Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Britain, mainly England, has since become a center of the Jain diaspora with a population of 40,000 in 2007. The 2021 United Kingdom census recorded a population of 24,991 Jains in England and Wales, and 44 Jains in Northern Ireland.
Deepakbhai Desai, referred as Pujya Deepakbhai Desai by his followers, is Indian spiritual leader from Gujarat, India. He heads Dada Bhagwan Foundation. He teaches the Akram Vignan philosophy developed by Dada Bhagwan.
Ānandaghana was a 17th-century Śvetāmbara Jain monk, mystical poet and hymnist. Though very little is known about his life, his collection of hymns about philosophy, devotion and spirituality in vernacular languages are popular and still sung in Jain temples.
Yugpurush: Mahatma Na Mahatma is a 2016 Gujarati play based on the relationship between Jain philosopher Shrimad Rajchandra and Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. The play depicts the spiritual journey of Gandhi. It is written by Uttam Gada and directed by Rajesh Joshi. The original song for the play is composed by Sachin–Jigar. It is produced by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur and inspired by its founder Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai. The play is adapted into seven total languages including English, Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada. It won the Best Drama award at the 16th Annual Transmedia Gujarati Screen and Stage Awards 2016. The play has completed 1004 shows as of November 2017.
The Akram Vignan movement, also spelled Akram Vijnan, is a new religious movement originated in 1960s in Gujarat, India. It was founded by Dada Bhagwan and later spread to Maharashtra and Gujarati diaspora communities around the world. After death of Dada Bhagwan, the movement split in two factions: one led by Niruben Amin and the other led by Kanubhai Patel.
Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital is a charitable, multi-bed hospital located in the city of Dharampur in the Valsad district of Gujarat, India. The hospital currently operates under the administration of Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which runs the hospital and other charitable activities. Established in 2003, it provides medical care at nominal rates or completely free of cost. Hospital records show that over 125,000 patients were treated in 2016, and over 1 million patients have been treated since the inception of the hospital in 2004.
Pranjivandas Jagjivandas Mehta was a Mumbai-born physician, lawyer and jeweller who settled in Burma. He was a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, helping Gandhi in England, helping him return from South Africa to India and sponsoring him. He also helped Gandhi articulate and elucidate his vision of India in the Hind Swaraj which was written primarily for Mehta. In 1909 he wrote a letter to Gokhale recognising Gandhi as a Mahatma, well before Gandhi was given that title.
Apurva Avsar is a 2007 biographical play about an Indian Jain philosopher and mystic Shrimad Rajchandra directed by Manoj Shah. The play is co-written by Shah and Raju Dave.
Pujyashri Saubhagyabhai (1823–1896) born in Sayla, Saurashtra was one of the foremost devotees of Shrimad Rajchandra. Saubhagyabhai was 67 years old when he first met Shrimad. Though Shrimad was 44 years younger than him, he declared Shrimad as his Guru and is considered as Shrimad Rajchandra's divine soulmate. The great scripture, Atmasiddhi Shastra was composed by Shrimad Rajchandra upon the request of Saubhagyabhai in 1896.
