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{{Short description|Indian Jain monk and philosopher (1874–1925)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Buddhisagarsuri
| image = Pujya Shri BuddhiSagar GuruDev.1.jpg
| caption = Buddhisagar Suri
| religion = [[Jainism]]
| sect = ''[[Śvetāmbara]]''
| birth_name = Bechardas Patel
| birth_date = {{birth year|1874}}
| birth_place = [[Vijapur]]
| death_date = {{death year and age|1925|1874}}
| death_place = [[Vijapur]]
| signature= Buddhisagar Suri signature.jpg
}}
[[File:Handwritten Text of Buddhisagar Suri.jpg|thumb|Handwritten Text of Buddhisagar Suri. It lists rules to be followed by Jain lay men. [[Gujarati language]] script. Samvat 1972 (1915 AD approx.)]]
'''Buddhisagarsuri''' (1874 – 1925) was a [[Jainism|Jain]] ascetic, philosopher and author from British India. Born in a Hindu family, he was influenced by a Jain monk and later was initiated in asceticism, and later elevated to the title of ''[[Acharya]]''. He wrote more than a hundred books.<ref>{{Cite web |title=इतिहास के महापुरुष पूज्य बुद्धिसागरसूरिजी के जीवन का एक नज़ारा, जिनके वर्षों पूर्व के विचारों से वर्तमान प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्रभाई मोदी भी प्रभावित है! - Veer Shasan Sevak |url=https://veershasansevak.com/2020/06/18/the-jain-saint-w%E2%80%A6gar-maharajsaheb/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:Vijapur Derasar.jpg|200px|thumb|The Jain temple and a memorial shrine where Buddhisagarsuri was cremated in Vijapur.|left]]
[[File:Buddhisagar Suri Jain monk Guru Mandir Dadawadi Mehsana Gujarat India 4.jpg|thumb|Statue of Buddhisagarsuri in a shrine at Dadawadi Jain temple in [[Mehsana]]]]
{{Jainism}}
Buddhisagarsuri was born Bechardas Patel in a Hindu family of Shivabhai and Ambaben in 1874 at [[Vijapur]] in north Gujarat. He studied till sixth standard. He met Muni Ravisagar, a Jain monk, and became his disciple. He studied at the Yashovijayji Jain Sanskrit Pathshala, a school for religious studies, in [[Mehsana]]. He took a job of religious teacher in [[Ajol]]. Following the death of Ravisagar in 1898, his spiritual quest intensified. Ravisagar's disciple, Sukhsagar initiated him as a Jain monk in 1901. He was given a new name, Muni Buddhisagar. He was conferred with an informal title of ''Yoga-nishtha'', literally "firm in [[Yoga]]". He was elevated to the title of ''Acharya'' in 1914 in [[Mansa, Gujarat|Mansa]].<ref name="Cort2009">{{cite book|author=John Cort|title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC&pg=PA250|date=16 November 2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973957-8|pages=250–251}}</ref><ref name=hnu>{{cite web|url=http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=84508|title=Acharya Shri Buddhi Sagarji►Biography|work=herenow4u.com|date=31 January 2012|access-date=10 August 2014}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> He established the [[Mahudi]] Jain temple in 1917.<ref name=kc>{{cite news| last= Dave| first = Pranav| date= 2 November 2013| title= Kali Chaudas havan revered by all faiths| url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Kali-Chaudas-havan-revered-by-all-faiths/articleshow/25078317.cms
| work= The Times of India|location= Ahmedabad| access-date = 2 November 2013}}</ref> He was invited by the royals of [[Baroda state|Baroda]], [[Idar State|Idar]] and [[Pethapur State|Pethapur]] to preach there. He died at Vijapur in 1925.<ref name="Cort2009"/><ref name=hnu/><ref name=":0" /> The Jain temple and a memorial shrine were built where Buddhisagarsuri was later cremated in Vijapur.

==Works==
He wrote more than a hundred books.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Cort2009" /> He wrote about 2,000 poems, including a large number of poems about [[Sabarmati River]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=2019-08-16|title=पीएम मोदी ने जिन जैन मुनि का ज़िक्र किया वो कौन हैं|language=hi|work=BBC News Hindi|url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-49361515|access-date=2020-11-07}}</ref> His first book was ''Jain Dharma Khristi Dharmano Mukablo'', a comparison between [[Jainism]] and [[Christianity]]. He criticised Christianity and its missionary activities in Gujarat.<ref name="Cort2009"/>

He was involved in several debates regarding icon worship during those time. He defended it and authored a booklet ''Jain Sutroma Murtipuja'' (Icon Worship in Jain Scriptures). He termed icons as a form of love and devotion.<ref name="Cort2009"/>

===Selected works===
* ''Samadhi Shatak'', a hundred stanzas on meditation
* ''Yog Deepak'', the guide on [[yoga]]
* ''Dhyan Vichar'', a book on meditation
* ''Adhyatma Shanti'', a work on spiritual peace
* ''Karmayog'', a theory of [[karma]]
* ''Adhyatma Geeta''
* ''Atma Shakti Prakash''
* ''Atma Darshan''
* ''Shuddhopayog''
* ''Samya Shatak''
* ''Shishyopanishad''
* ''Atmana Shasan''
* ''Anandghan Pad Bhavarth Sangrah'', a collection of hymns of [[Anandghan]], a Jain mystic poet, and its meaning
* ''Shrimad Devchandraji'', a biography of Devchandra
* ''Kumarapala Charitra'', a biography of [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]], ruler of [[Kumarapala (Chaulukya dynasty)|Kumarapala]]
* ''Yashovijay Charitra'', a biography of [[Yashovijay]]
* ''Adhyatma Bhajan Sangrah 1–14'', a collection of songs

== Commemoration ==
The Union Home Minister, [[Amit Shah]], released a ₹150 commemorative coin to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Buddhisagar Suri at Auda Auditorium, Shela, [[Ahmedabad]], on 9 March 2025.

== See also ==
* [[Swayamprabhasuri]]
* [[Vimalsuri]]
* [[Kalapurnasuri]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{commonscat}}
{{Jain Gurus}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:People from Mehsana district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jain writers]]
[[Category:Indian Jain monks]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jains]]
[[Category:20th-century Jain monks]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian monks]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:Śvetāmbara monks]]

Buddhisagarsuri - Revision history

HwaNormanby23 at 07:46, 5 February 2026