Acharya Mahaprajna - A Life Dedicated To Ahimsa

Sant Tarunsagar

tarunawakening.org "Let's Carry Jainism to Generation Next".....

He never fails to put his attendance everyday on "Sanskar" and more surprisingly what he speaks today will not be repeated on any other day. Everyday he preaches something unique and on every opportunity he throws something special out of his unending repository of thoughts.

Yes, he is the one and the only Acharya Mahaprajna, the current religious pontiff of Swethambar Terapanth community.

He has spent more than 75 years as a monk!! This is probably the longest time span by any Jain monk after the Nirvana of Mahaveera. His legs might have lost the required energy to walk, his body might not be function at its best. But all those factors have not made any damage to his willingness to walk (part of Jain monk's life).

He is still leading a huge bunch of Monks & Nuns, covering every distance by walk though a mission called "Ahimsa Yatra". According to him, every drop of sweat that comes out of his body in this process of walking is his weapon to protect Non Violence in the current age.

For the very first time in the last 1-year of this business of reaching Jainism, I am presenting a complete article which is of Non Digambar origin. In spite of being too close to the Digambara School throughout my life, I have kept my ears open to this great seer.

It gives me an immense pleasure to present this article as I carry a great sense of attachment to the teachings of Acharya Mahaprajna. His Knowledge and approach to Ahimsa is undoubtedly beyond any comparison.

I consider him as one among the top most leaders this Jain community has ever witnessed after Achraya Shanthisagara in 21st Century.

I am really desperate to see this great leader at least once in my lifetime.

Acharya Mahapragya (born 1920) is a Jainist religious leader. He is the tenth and the current Acharya of Terapanth. He succeeded Acharya Tulsi as the Acharya of Terapanth in 1994. He had been called as "Modern Vivekanand" by great Indian poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar'. He is well known for rediscovering Preksha Meditation process, which is an integration of science & spirituality, Ahimsa Yatra (The Chariot of Non-Violence) (2001-2007) which is termed as a revolution for peace & attempt to bring awareness towards Non-Violence way of living & for Surat Spiritual Declaration.

Nathmal, as his parents had named him, was the only son of businessman Tolaram and his wife Baluji. He was born on 14 th June 1920 in the village of Tamkor, Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan.

Even as Nathmal was playing with his friends, a sage passing through the village prophesied about one boy playing with him that he will die in a week and said about him that this young boy would one day be a leader among men. Within a week that boy actually dies. And A few years later destiny saw Nathmal initiated into monk hood on 18 th February 1930. Words of Sage become true.

On the eve of his sister's marriage, he was playing hide & seek game in house by closing eyes with pieces of cloth. While searching friends, his forehead strucked with pillar. He started weaping. Then her mother Baluji console him saying, why are you weeping, now your third eye has opened.

Today, it seems that this event has really opened the third eye of Nathmal and transform his personality into Acharya Mahapragya

**Acharya Tulsi Nominating Acharya Pragjna as 10th Acharya of Terapanth community**

• On 18th Feb 1930, Nathmal initiated his new spiritual life as a monk. He was renamed as Mahapragya. For the very first time in the Jaina History, monk hood was initiated at a tender age of 10 year to a boy after Acharya Kundakunda (8 years) in 2500 years of the Nirvana of Mahaveera.
• Emerging from years of spiritual penance Acharya Mahaprajna enunciated a technique of meditation and contemplation for bio-chemical and bio-electrical changes in the body called Preksha Dhyan.
• On 4th February 1979 Acharya Tulsi nominated him as the Yuvacharya or his successor.
• On 5th of February 1995 he was formally consecrated as the tenth Acharya of the Terapanth Community.
• He is the probably the only Jain Monk to spend more than 75 years in monk hood.

More than 40 books (including popular Anekanta: The Third Eye, Abstract Thinking, The call of dawn, Economics of Mahavira) were authored by this great monk.

Acharya Mahaprajna critically edited the 32 basic Jain Aagamas for the first time, from Ardhamagadhi-Prakrit. Nearly half of these canonical texts have also been translated with critical annotations by him into Hindi.

Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 2002 - The Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 2002 was awarded to Acharya Mahaprajna on 31. October 2003 at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi.

Communal Harmony Award 2004 - Acharya Mahaprajna, has been selected for the National Communal Harmony Award, 2004 by the Government of India in April 2005.

Dr Abdul Kalam has maintained a very close relationship with Acharya Mahaprajna. Kalam was deeply influenced by the preaching of Mahaprajna.

Both Kalam and Mahaprajna are going to author a book, which emphasizes the need of spiritual inclination. This book is supposed to contain 6 chapters with 3 chapters from Acharya Mahaprajna and the rest 3 written by Kalam.

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India