Mostly known as Vydunas, he was was a teacher, poet, humanist, philosopher; a leader of the Prussian Lithuanian national movement in Lithuania Minor, and one of the leaders of the theosophical movement in East Prussia. His moral influence transcended the confines of being a typical political leader or writer of his time. He has been compared by biographers with national leaders in India of his time, such as, Mohandas Gandhi. Vydunas was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize by the Lithuanian Writers Association.