Prof. Dr. Sohan Raj Tater
JAIN VISHVA BHARATI UNIVERSITY
A Journey from Mohan to Mahashraman
Whenever humanity is endangered, great men take birth on this earth to relieve it from danger and misery. Vikram samvat 2019 was the period when immorality, insensitivity, corruption, falsehood, cruelty and selfishness was prevalent everywhere. At such a time a son was born to shri Jhoomarmalji Dugar and his wife Nemadevi on the ninth day in the moonlit half of the lunar month of Vaishakha v.s. 2019 (3 may, 1962) at Sardarshahar in district Churu, Rajasthan. The child was named Mohan. From childhood, he began to show the signs of great promise. From the very beginning, Mohan had been very intelligent, and sober, having a serious bend of mind. Who could have thought that this serene child would grow to be the maker of destiny of Terapanth. Mohan is the seventh of the eight children. When he was only seven years old, misfortune befell on him as his father suddenly died. But his mother Nemadevi was a lady of strong will and determination. He never let her children feel the absence of their father. She aptly played the roles of both father and mother. She formed good habits in her children. The result was that even early in his childhood, Mohan got inclined towards renunciation and detachment. With the passage of time, this inclination got strengthened. He began to make preparation for his future monkhood. Since childhood he had been extremely resolute and determined. A time came, when finding a suitable occasion; he expressed his desire to be a monk to his mother. His mother said, "O! My son, I am happy that you have such good ideas in your mind. But my dear, getting initiated and becoming a monk is no child's play. This path is not an easy one. It is full of thorns." She advised him to wait till he matures enough to lead the life of a monk. Mohan listened to her advice and began to evaluate himself. He began to develop the feelings of detachment. His desire to get initiated grew stronger and stronger. In due course of time, he expressed his intense desire to Acharyashri Tulsi. At that time Acharyashri was staying at Delhi, as it was the occasion of 2500 centenary of Lord Mahavira.
Acharya Tulsi put Mohan's feelings of renunciation and detachment to a severe test. Mohan, though very young, was fully prepared and determined. He passed every test of Acharyashri Tulsi. At last, being fully satisfied with Mohan's behaviour and ideas and thinking him to be perfectly fit for initiation, he, very kindly and graciously, asked Muni Sumermalji (of Ladnun) to initiate him. With the kind permission of Acharyashri Tulsi, young Mohan was initiated by Muni Sumeramalji (of Ladnun) on the 14th day of the moonlit half of the lunar month of Vaishakha, v.s. 2031 (5 may, 1974) on Sunday. He began his new life as a monk by the name of Muni Mudit Kumar. With the change of dress and with his hair pulled off, his whole life changed and the process of complete transformation began. Gradually, everything began to change. He began to observe silence, living in solitude, self-study, perseverence and meditation. He also began to study the Agamas thoroughly and to learn Jain literature by heart. He believed in the maxim, "knowledge should be gained by heart and money should be there in the pocket" (jnan kantha dam anta) and began to learn everything by heart. There appeared in him a rare combination of knowledge and conduct. He began to put into practice the great maxim of Lord Mahavira - Nanassa Sarmayaro - conduct is the essence of knowledge. He also started learning Hindi, Sanskrit, Prakrit and English. At times he lived in seminary and at-other times away from him. But he began to live in a seminary permanently in the vikram samvat 2040 after the closing of the Bidasar Maryada Mahotsava.
Acharya Tulsi was a great connoisseur of the gems of the human beings. He was a skilful sculptor. He was an artist of high caliber. He transformed many an unchiselled stones in form of human beings into excellent statues as nuns and monks. His keen eyes fell on Muni Mudit. He realized at the first glance that he (Muni Mudit) was a star material and that he was a real gem. He like a skilful craftsman began to shape him into a highly scholastic monk. The result was that Muni Mudit Kumar was thoroughly rejuvenated. He attained various dimensions of development. On the 7th day of the moonlit half of the lunar month of Magh in the vikram samvat 2042 (16 Feb. 1986) on the occasion of Maryada Mahotsava that took place in Udaipur, Acharya Tulsi presented him as the intimate associate of Yuvacharya Mahapragya. Yuvacharya Mahapragya is a great scholar of Prakrit and Sanskrit and has a deep and vast knowledge of Agamas. Working under Yuvacharyaji as his intimate associate; Muni Muditkumar gained a vast knowledge of Agamas, Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. Yuvacharya Mahapragya is a scholar having transcendental knowledge. He is blessed with the third eye of knowledge. His intellect has awakened. Muni Muditkumar was extremely fortunate as he got the golden opportunity of working as an intimate associate of such a gem of scholar. The company of Yuvacharya Mahapragya proved to be extremely fruitful to Muni Muditkumar. The latter gradually came to acquire all the good qualities of the former. Muni Mudit continued climbing gradually the ladders of development. This was all because of the rise of his auspicious karmas.
On the fourth day, on the next evening of the immortal third, of the moonlit half of the lunar month of Vaishakh v.s. 2043 (14 may, 1986), Acharya Tulsi appointed him as Sajhpati in Beawar. Muni Mudit is always engrossed in perseverence and in gaining more and more knowledge by heart. He has earned many capacities with his sincerity, labour and hard work. Assessing his ability, Acharya Tulsi appointed him on the significant and dignified post of MAHASHRAMAN on the ninth day of the moonlit half of the lunar month of Bhadra v.s. 2046 (9 September, 1989) in the Yogakshema year. This was an absolutely new post in the religious order of Terapantha. From the point of view of seniority; this post comes third after the post of Yuvacharya. With his appointment on this very important post, his responsibilities increased considerably but he was strong and determined enough to carry out them. He undertook independent journeys in order to give a new direction to the religious order and to have contact with his followers. The results of four of his journeys proved to be very significant -
(1) First Journey
He set out on this journey in the month of February-March 1990. It was a journey from Ladnun to Sardarshahar to Chhoti Khatu via Shridoongargarh. This journey provided him an opportunity of watching the Terapantha sect from close quarters. During this journey he assessed the capacities of the Terapantha order.
(2) Second Journey
The second independent journey was undertaken in Nov.-Dec. 1990 when the four-month stay (chaturmas) at Pali was over. This was a journey of the Sivanchi-Malani area and it came to an end at Sojat road via Rani station on 10 January, 1991. Trying him severely after the completion of this journey, Acharyashri Tulsi said to him, "If someone accuses you of seeking comforts and conveniences or some such thing comes to my notice, you will have to meditate for three hours and that too in a standing position." Muni Mudit gladly accepted his order. This was a unique example of his devotion to his guru. The latter wanted to qualify him in all respects. He wanted to bring about his all-round development. A harmony was established between the guru and the pupil. They no longer remained two separate entities. They attained non-duality.
(3) Third Journey
The third journey from 25 Nov., 1994 to 4 January, 1995 after the completion of the Delhi rainy residence covered the suburbs. During this journey many intellectuals came in his contact and this contact proved to be highly beneficial to Jain religion.
(4) Fourth Journey
The fourth journey started on 17 feb., 2000 from Taranagar, covering Ganganagar district, Sardarshahar, Doongargarh and was terminated at Bidasar on 11 June, 2000. This journey was known as "Anuvrata Preksha Journey." During the whole journey, Mahashraman Mudit Kumar expatiated the principles of Anuvrata to people and urged them to observe these vratas (vows.). A person can bring about morality in his life by observing small vows and such a person has a peaceful life and does a great service to the society and the country. Anuvrata is a code of conduct that can be easily followed by each and every body. This code of conduct is available to all and sundry. Anuvrata makes a man a "good man". The practitioner of perceptional meditation can go to the world of transcendental consciousness and intellect, a world, where thoughts and words have no reach. During this journey, Mahashramanji conducted camps of perceptional meditation and explained to the people its different experiments, and its spiritual and scientific background. Perceptional meditation provides permanent solution to the problems of daily life. It also helps in attaining physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Taking the various advantages of this journey in view, this journey proved to be very useful and fruitful.
Journey from Mahashraman towards Yuvacharya Mahashraman
Acharya Tulsi remained in the office of Terapantha religious order for 60 years. His tenure as the Acharya was a golden period in the history of this religious order. He had the wonderful gift of adjusting himself with the changing stream of time. Acharya Tulsi, with his indomitable will power and firm determination realized every dream that he visualized. He had to face great hurdles, obstacles and strong opposition, but with his firm resolution, he overcame them all. He possessed a multidimensional personality. For the welfare of humanity, he introduced perceptional meditation, Anuvrata, science of living and training in non-violence. Acharya Mahapragya, Yuvacharya Mahashraman and Kanakprabhaji, the head of nuns, are his unique creations. He also established many institutions such as Naya more, Saman class and Parmarthik Shikshan Sanstha. This great sculptor of the Mahashraman, AcharyaTulsi, the head of the vast clan of Terapantha, suddenly expired at Terapantha Bhawan, Gangashahar (Bikaner) on the 3rd day of the dark half of the lunar month of Ashadha in the vikram samvat 2050 (23 June, 1997). Terapantha religious order was deprived of the blessing of its great guru. The masiha of mankind was parted with us. The order bore this great blow with a great effort and great patience. After the death of Acharya Shri Tulsi, Acharya Mahapragya, all of a sudden, declared the nomination of Yuvacharya. Following this declaration he handed over the order of succession to the Mahashraman at Gangashahar on the 12th day of the moonlit half of the lunar month of Bhadra, in the vikram samvat 2050 (14 September 1997) in the presence of nearly fifty thousand people. Since then, Muni Mudit Kumar has come to be known as "Yuvacharya Mahashraman". Thousands of people were filled with great happiness on beholding this great and pious ceremony. Muni Mudit Kumar stands eighth to be nominated Yuvacharya by Acharya Mahapragya in the previous history of the Terapantha religious order. At that time he was only 35 years old.
To establish someone in the temple of a religious order depends on the personal choice of the Acharya of that order, but these are only the selected few who win the hearts of millions of people and attain the highest post. Yuvacharya Mahashraman is one of such rarest of the rare persons. From being simply Mohan, he came to be Muni Mudit, then Mahashraman and then yuvacharya Mahashraman simply because of his simplicity, humility, serenity, fearing evil and sin and taciturnness and soft speech.
Yuvacharya Mahashraman: Personality and Doings
Terapantha community is fortunate that it got the governance of Lord Mahavira, a famous religious order like Terapantha and the discipline of Acharya Mahapragya. Its past was glorious, its present is glorious and under the guidance of Yuvacharya Mahashraman, it's future too will be glorious. Acharya Tulsi and Acharya Mahapragya chiselled a diamond and placed it on the crown of Terapantha. That diamond is Yuvacharya Mahashraman. Jain philosophy is the composite philosophy of Indian culture. In this philosophy, virtues are valued, not the person. Yuvacharya Mahashraman is worthy of respect. He is a paragon of virtues. Equanimity, discipline and devotion to the guru pervade his entire being. He is a devotee of the highest quality and possesses vast and pure knowledge. All his passions have been subsided. He performs everything with great concentration with the result that his psychic activity is automatically realized. He is soft-spoken, taciturn, pondering and an extra-ordinary genius. He is fortunate that he got the blessings of Acharyashri Tulsi and now he is getting those of Acharya Mahapragya. Under the guidance of these two great scholars and Acharyas he has formed very good habits. He is a great intellectual. With him as the Yuvacharya, Terapantha religious order can rest assured upto the whole of the 21st century.
He is a very efficient administrator. He can be compared with a coconut, that is hard from outside but very soft from inside. His heart is brimming with the feelings of friendship and compassion. He is extremely charming. One is never tired of beholding him. He gives the impression of Acharya Shri Tulsi in his appearance and movements. When he moves with the flag of the religion on his shoulder, one feels that Acharya Tulsi himself, in flesh and blood, moving. He has got the rare combination of the efficient administration of Acharya Tulsi and the great intellect of Acharya Mahapragya. He is extremely careful about spiritual practices. He does not allow the slightest carelessness in spiritual practices not only on the part of a monk or nun but on that of himself also. He abstains from doing anything wrong or evil. He has truly realized the sermon of Lord Mahavira -
jayang chare, jayang chitthe, jayang mase, jayag saye|
jayang bhujanto bhasanto, pava kammang na bandhai||
By moving carefully, stopping carefully, sitting carefully, sleeping carefully, taking food carefully and by speaking carefully, evil karmas are not bonded.
(Dashvaikalika, 4/8 gatha)
Contribution of Yuvacharya Mahashramana to Humanity
Yuvacharya Mahashraman is the Masiha of mankind. He is always thinking of the plans by which welfare of mankind may be brought about. He has great compassion for all the creatures of the world. He has learnt a number of sutras of Jain literature by heart. He is a great scholar of Agamas. His sermon-delivery is highly impressive and effective. His sermons are very sweet and pleasing. He speaks a language that is understandable to all. His sermons are short, sweet and pregnant with deep thoughts. He mainly teaches - appna sachchame seja meting bhue su kappye - Discover truth yourself, make friendship, with each and every one. Psychical activities, reaction abstinence, friendship, taciturnness, and abstinence in eating are indispensable parts of his life. He himself leads a life of psychical activity and motivates others also of doing so. So far as psychical activity is concerned, mind is engrossed in whatever is done. One who performs psychical activity, always lives in present. By doing so, passions remain under control and mind gets concentrated. The message of Yuvacharya Mahashramana to mankind is to live a life of psychical activity. By doing so, one can get the solution of all the problems. Yuvacharya Mahashraman has truly lived the teaching of Acharya Bhikshu -
budhi vahi sarahiye jo seve jina dharma|
va budhi kin kamri jo padia bandhe karma||
The intellect that follows the teachings of the Jina is praise-worthy. The intellect that binds karmas is of no use. He always motivated people to have good character. He lays great stress on honesty and morality. Along with Acharyashri Mahapragya, he set out on journey to spread the message of non-violence from Sujangarh on 1st December, 2000. There are two aims of this journey -
- Awakening the consciousness of non-violence in man.
- Development of moral values in man.
Through this journey both Acharya Mahapragya and Yuvacharya Mahashraman motivated the people of Rajasthan, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to adopt a non-violent life-style. They also discovered the causes of violence. They found that the main causes of the eruption of violence are want of (food, cloth and shelter), injustice, selfishness and ignorance. They also urged from time to time the officers of the central and state governments to do away with want of by creating the opportunities of employment on humanitarian ground. They are of the opinion that Judiciary should be so strong and effective that nobody suffers injustice, and nobody is exploited. In order to remove ignorance and the feeling of selfishness, they organized camps at various places. Training in perceptional meditation, science of living, Anuvrata and non-violence was imparted in these camps. Both of them are of the view that no transformation in man can take place without carrying out proper experiments and imparting training. Goodness is to be taken upto the sub-conscious mind of man. After touching sub-conscious mind, ideas are deeply implanted in the heart and the process of transformation begins. Through these camps of perceptional meditation, millions of people were taught the ways by adopting which they could change their habits and natures.
In order to imbibe morality in the nature of man, Anuvratas were resorted to. Yuvacharya Mahashraman is an eloquent spokesman of the philosophy of Anuvrata. He told people that morality and religion are the two sides of the same coin. A person, who has faith in morality, will never go against religion. In the same way, a person, who has faith in religion, will never act in an immoral way. Yuvacharya Mahashraman is an eloquent commenter of the subtle expatiation of non-violence. Lord Mahavira and his philosophy are his ideals. He daily spreads and propages the Agamavani (the sutras of Jain literature) through the Sanskar channel of television. He expatiates the sutras entirely. Taking them one by one and thus transforms people by brain washing. For example, some sutras are like this: -
- Khanang janahi pandiye - One, who knows the value of moment, is a scholar.
- Sampikkhaye appagamappayenang - conduct is the essence of knowledge.
- Rago ya doso vi ya kamma biyang - Attachment and malice both these are the seeds of karmas.
- Eka manussa jai - The whole mankind is one.
- Vidya dadati vinayam - Learning (education) brings about humility.
- Samya dhamma mudahare muni - Religion lives only in a pure heart.
- Ya vidya vimuktye - Only that can be termed as education which leads to liberation.
- Appa so param appa - soul itself is the super soul.
- Utthie no pamayae - you are awakened, do not be careless now.