In our time we were privileged to be acquainted with Pujya Gurudevshri Kanji Swami, who was like a sweet oasis in the middle of a bitter ocean. He kept the flow of knowledge intact from Mahavir bhagwan to recent times. The seeds of his teachings were dug so deep that they will last until the end of the 5th era. Gurudev Kanjiswami was born of sthanakwasi parents at Umrala, a small village in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, on early morning of Vaishakh Sud 2nd, of V.S. 1946 (1889 A.D.). His mother Ujamba and father Motichandbhai were dasha shimali bania. Right from his childhood, Gurudev's face showed distinct yearnings of vairagya - freedom from wo ness. He was mostly number one in his school and also in jainshala where he was learning Jainism. Due to inborn vairagya, he observed celibacy throughout his life and took diksha (renunciation) at the age of 23. As a jain monk in the sthanakwasi sect he made a detailed study of the available scripts in the sect. He was practising an absolute code of conduct befitting a jain monk and very soon he became a renowned saint. In his previous birth he was in Mahavideh chhetra and had devotedly heard the preaching by Tirthankar Shree Simandhar Swami. By his good luck, Samaysar came in his hands in A.D. 1920. He soon realised that this is what he wanted and that the teachings in Samaysar was on the line of what he had learnt from Simandharswami. This paved the way for self-realisation. He observed 21 years as a sthankwasi jain monk. Then on the day of Mahavir Jayanti Chaitra Sud 13 (A.D. 1934), he left the sthanakwasi sect and adopted the Digambar Jain sect and started to live in Songadh, near Palitana. He lived there for 46 years from A.D. 1934 to 1980.

He was able to bring out the basic principles of life as depicted in these scriptures. He taught the correct method
of interpreting the scriptures. His discourses were in simple gujarati language but were very convincing to the masses. He had an inherent gift whereby he could give easy and proper examples which were so useful in explaining very difficult doctrines of Jainism. By his ability of explaining the principles, and he himself putting them in practise, he soon became the reverend Gurudev for thousands of his followers. As Gurudev stayed in Songadh, it became a live Tirth. Finally, on Kartak Vad 7, i.e. on 28.11.1980, our most revered Gurudev made a great departure to the heaven, in a state of Samadhi, as would accrue to a knower of the self.