Lalit Garg
Reference: Golden Jubilee of Initiation
Many great personalities have been born on the land of India, Acharya Mahashraman is among one of them and increase the glory of India on spiritual front. Carrying forward this tradition of Mahavira, Buddha, Gandhi, Acharya Tulsi and Acharya Mahapragya, he raised himself, did great and rigorous sadhana, gained experience and on the basis of his experience, gave the message of peace, non-violence, love, harmony, and promotes the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam to the world. Acharya Mahashraman has given a new vision to the fading spiritual tradition of the past. This new vision can be called the beginning of a new man, a new world, a new era. His humility and dedication are giving height to his spirituality. Just like Hanuman's devotion and dedication towards Lord Ram, Acharya Mahashraman has the same dedication towards his guru Acharya Tulsi and Acharya Mahapragya. The Golden Jubilee of the initiation of Acharya Shri Mahashramanji is being celebrated on a nationwide level on 22 May 2024, i.e. Vaishakh Shukla Chaudas.
Acharya Mahashramanji became the epitome of a flawless personality and the secret of this specialty is his strong effort, his dedication, unwavering resolve, unbroken faith and devotion to the goal. Emerson has rightly said that when nature has to accomplish a great task, it creates a genius to do it. Certainly, Acharya Mahashramanji was also born for the accomplishment of some great task. Many such great works are associated with his life; one of the special undertakings among them was the Ahimsa Yatra. In this historical, unforgettable and unique journey of his eight years, Acharya Mahashramanji spread the message of non-violence and peace by walking about seventy thousand kilometers in nineteen states and three neighboring countries including India.
He made about one crore people take a pledge to give up addiction. The reaching of this Yatra to Naxalite and Maoist areas in the adverse circumstances of earthquake and corona in Nepal was a symbol of Acharya Mahashraman's strong determination, strong morale and self-confidence. Acharya Mahashraman's Ahimsa Yatra in remote areas of the country - Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh etc. including neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan and the special emphasis on non-violence in it has proved fruitful for the establishment of non-violence.
India has a unique history of padayatras; whether it is the historic yatra to Lanka undertaken by Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram for the victory of truth over untruth or the Dandi March of 1930 that shook the entire British Empire with a handful of salt, Baba Amte's Bharat Jodo Yatra or the Ekta Yatra dedicated to national integrity, communal harmony and international brotherhood, the importance of yatra cannot be denied. In Indian life, padayatra has been accepted as a powerful medium of public relations. These padayatras directly confront the social, cultural and political reality. They enlighten the public consciousness and give it a turn suitable to the times. Lord Mahavira had sowed the seeds of spirituality in the minds of the people there by roaming in many regions during his lifetime. But in the series of these yatras, Acharya Shri Mahashramanji has carved new paths. Acharya Shri Mahashraman has come to be known as the “sun who walks on foot” as a result of having undertaken the longest padayatra (foot journey) among all the previous acharyas in a particular period.
My first meeting with Acharya Mahashraman as a twelve year old monk in Ladnun was a unique and memorable event of my childhood. But my introduction to his profound thoughts four and a half decades later is an even more unique event because his thoughts touched the strings of my mind. When he sheds the light of his transparent vision on the small issues of life, it seems as if the rays of the sun have spread on the fog-filled path. The clouds of the mind are removed and the clear sky has risen. Acharya Mahashraman believes that the nation which has forgotten its culture cannot be a truly living and awakened nation. In his view, Indian culture means high culture, culture of sacrifice, culture of restraint and culture of spirituality. He is overwhelmed by the dignity of Indian culture, hence he keeps on telling the countrymen about the great cultural values of India many times. The biggest expectation is that India should learn to evaluate itself and regain its lost prestige. On the basis of this wide and deep thinking, he believes that if anyone can truly represent the world, then only India can do so, because even today non-violence is deeply ingrained in the soul of India. I believe that if India forgets spirituality, it will die a natural death.
Acharya Shri Mahashraman thinks that Indian culture is not only the oldest, but also rich and vibrant, hence we should solve any national problem through our cultural elements, and otherwise mental slavery will not allow us to be as proud of our culture. Explaining the reason for cultural unity in India, the national poet Dinkar said - "Indian culture absorbed other cultures coming from outside on the strength of its coordination power, hence its flow continued." In the context of the same Indian culture, the current experiences of Acharya Shri Mahashraman have become inspiring, accurate and poignant. India is a land of action, not a land of enjoyment. The civilization that developed here will not be defeated by anyone in the world. If we try to imitate the western civilization, we will be ruined. This does not mean that we should not adopt what is good in it and what we can digest.
In his short tenure as Acharya, Acharya Mahashraman highlighted every aspect of the development of human consciousness. He did a unique job of incorporating the tragedy and challenges of the era by selecting such life values from the tradition of Krishna, Mahavira, Buddha, Jesus as well as many saints of the Indian spiritual sky – Adi Shankaracharya, Kabir, Nanak, Raidas, Meera etc. There is no such aspect of life which has remained untouched by his sermons and thoughts. He has elaborately shed light on the deep mysteries of yoga, tantra, mantra, yantra, sadhana, meditation etc. He has also given his revolutionary life-view on many subjects like politics, art, science, psychology, philosophy, education, family, society, poverty, population explosion, environment, violence, casteism, corruption, political criminalization, foeticide and the global crisis of inflation. When his discourse series based on Uttaradhyayan and Shrimad Bhagwad Gita came out, it initiated a new revolution in the spiritual world.
Like Uttaradhyayan, a Jain Acharya has given an accurate and authoritative interpretation of the revered book of Sanatan tradition, Gita, is not only surprising but also inspiring. That is why Acharya Mahashraman is popular and respected among the people as the messiah of humanity. He is such a saint for whom the difference of sect and book does not become an obstacle. Your programs, thoughts and discourses are for the welfare of all. People of every caste, class, region and sect have been benefiting from your life-philosophy and personality.