Acharya Mahaprajna
Acharya Mahapragya, who heads the Jain Swetamber Terapanth religious order is a many-splendored mystic - a dhyan-yogi par excellence. He is widely respected by both the Jains and non-Jains for his broad-minded outlook and passionate appeal for unity in diversity. He considers ahimsa (nonviolence) as the fundamental principle of life and advocates non-absolutist attitude as the basis for interfaith harmony and universal peace.
He believes that the human mind is the storehouse of infinite wisdom and miraculous powers that lie dormant in the right cerebral hemisphere. Both the seeds of violence and nonviolence originate in human mind. The present system of education excludes students' exposure to moral and spiritual values from its periphery and only emphasizes the study of the material world. As a result man's left hemisphere is more active today. It is the real source of violence and conflict that mark the world. In order to awaken man's right hemisphere we need a systemic training consisting of both conceptual and theoretical aspects. He has developed a scientific system of meditation known as Preksha Meditation, which uncovers some fundamental human qualities and brings about an attitudinal transformation in both young and old. It is also an effective technique to activate man's right hemisphere leading to the enhancement of individual emotional competence, which is at a very low ebb these days.
He is of the view that if we want people to switch over to nonviolence as a way of life, there ought to be a worldwide campaign for nonviolence training. Already more than 200 nonviolence training centers are being run in India under his patronage. Acharya Mahapragya shot into prominence recently for his Ahimsa Yatra, a journey on foot to awaken people's consciousness of ahimsa. He was honoured by Government of India with Communal Harmony Award in 2005 for his significant contribution to interfaith unity. Author of more than 200 books he exudes confidence and hope even at the ripe of age of 89 years.
