Shree Atam Vallabh Jain College

Jain Acharya Shrimad Vijay Vallabh Surishwar Ji Maharaj (1870-1954) was born at Vadodra (erstwhile Baroda). He renounced worldly pleasures and took Deeksha at the tender age of seventeen. He mastered Jainagamas and scriptures under the tutelage of Jain Acharya Vijayanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj besides gaining masterly understanding of divergent theologies and philosophies. Acharyashree was a great educationist, renowned scholar, author and poet, apart from being a saint with a vision. He placed before mankind, by percept and practice, the higher moral and spiritual values of the life and led the society from untruth to truth, from darkness to light and from transience to immortality. His sermons were directives for society to value knowledge, faith, kindness, tolerance and love. Ceaseless were his efforts and indomitable was his zeal. Acharyashree was a revolutionary in many ways. In the field of education, he emphasized the necessity to blend education with moral values. He said that the primary aim of education should be character-building and it must encompass the eternal values of life, viz. compassion, love, humility, tolerance, austerity, discipline, selfless service and patriotism. He rebelled against meaningless customs and unhealthy practices. He wanted to see his beloved country become a model for the whole world. He actively encouraged non-violence and the wearing of home-spun khadi. He persuaded his followers to give up the use of foreign goods. He became instrumental in establishing a number of educational institutions which have successfully produced people of character with high caliber in the sciences, arts and humanities from all social strata. Truly, the mission of Acharya Shree lives in the precincts on this educational complex.