Champat Rai Jain

Vidhya-Varidhi Champat Rai Jain
Born	(1867-08-06)6 August 1867 Delhi
Died	India
Pen name	C.R. Jain
Occupation	Barrister
Language	English, Hindi, Urdu
Subject	Jainism, Comparative religion
Notable works	"The Key of Knowledge", "The Practical Dharma", "Jainism Christianity and Science"
Notable awards	Jain Darshan Diwakar

Champat Rai Jain (1867-1942) was an influential Jain writer and comparative religion scholar of the 20th century. He visited various European countries to give lectures on Jainism and comparative religion. He was conferred with the title Vidhya-Varidhi (lit. Ocean of Wisdom) by Bharata Dharma Mahamandal (The India-Religious Association).

Life

Champat Rai Jain was born on 6 August 1867 in Delhi, India. He was married at the age of 13. In 1892, he went to England to study law. He was the founder of the Jaina mission in London. He died on 2nd June, 1942. He was an able barrister-at-law, effective orator, influential writer, great reformist and philosopher.

Lectures

• Jaina Doctrine - Lecture delivered before the "Association des Amis de l'Orient" (Paris) on 28 November 1926
• Jainism And Its Power To Stop Human Warfare- Lecture delivered before "Le Trait d'Union" Society at Nice
• Religion and Comparative Religion- Lecture delivered at Genova, Italy (6 January 1927)
• Ahimsa as the Key to World Peace at the World Fellowship of Faiths (1933)

Works

• 

  Confluence of opposites (1921) book authored by C.R. Jain

• 

  The Householder's Dharma

• 

  Jainism Christianity and Science (1930)

• 

  "Risabha Deva-The Founder Of Jainism" book authored by C.R. Jain

Champat Rai Jain wrote in three main languages of his time: English, Hindi, Urdu.

English

• The Key of Knowledge (1915, 1919, 1928)
• The Householder's Dharma (1917): English translation of the Jain text, Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra.
• The Practical Dharma (1929)- Second edition of "The Practical Path" (1917)
• Confluence of Opposites (1921)
• The Jain Law (1926)
• Nyaya- The Science of Thought (1916, 1924)
• Jainism, Christianity and Science (Allahabad, 1930)
• The Lifting Of The Vell or The Gems Of Islam (1931)
• The Practical Dharma (1929)
• Risabha Deva- The Founder of Jainism (1929, 1935)
• Sannyasa Dharma (1926)

Essays and Addresses

• What is Jainism (Essays and Addresses- I)
• Jainism and World Problems (Essays and Addresses- II)
• The Change of Heart (Essays and Addresses- III)

Hindi

• Jain Law
• Sanatana Jain Dharma

Urdu

• Jawahrat-e-Islam

Key of Knowledge

Book cover of "The Key of Knowledge"

"Key of Knowledge", a book authored by Champat Rai Jain, was published in 1915. It was widely acclaimed among the scholars.

The Pioneer (on March 12, 1916) wrote: "Mr. Rai's book is singularly lucid and readable and not a word in it could give umbrage to the most sensitive votaries of the creeds discussed."

"The author's learning and breadth of outlook entitle him to patient hearing......"- The East and West—March (1916)

Vijay K. Jain, a modern Jainism scholar in the Preface of his book From IIM-Ahmedabad To Happines wrote:

Many illuminated works and teachings of great thinkers and sages of the past have repeatedly told us that we need to be able to distinguish between valuable gems and valueless stones, both of which are scattered along our way. One such valuable gem that I could lay my hands on, about a decade ago, was that amazingly comprehensive yet precise treatise The Key of Knowledge, by Champat Rai Jain. The book, first published in 1915, true to its title, has timeless pearls of wisdom in each of its 900-plus pages; one has only to have patience, and develop appreciation and understanding to pick them up. No other work that I know of treats of the great issues that confront humanity with the same simplicity, charm, ease, authority and freedom. As could be expected from a Barrister-at-Law of that era, he was a brilliant grammarian and logician; but more than that, he was a great philosopher.

See also

• Jainism in Europe
• Bal Patil