Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji M. S.

Acharya Mahapragya was the tenth Acharya and the supreme head of Jain Shwetambar Terapanth sect which comprises of more than 800 monks, nuns & millions of followers all over the world. Acharya Mahapragya was a sage, a seer, a saint, a savant, and a human representation of peace and non-violence. Acharya Mahapragya stressed that unabated materialistic growth, devoid of spiritualism and without restraint on acquisitiveness, shall result in inequality and breed violence. His stress for restraint, purity and harmony in every sphere of life is a part of his life and action. He opines that if only a fraction of the money and the efforts put in preparing arsenals, were made available for training, preaching & propagating non-violence, the world would have been a much better place to live in. A spiritual ascetic, a prolific writer, a teacher, a profound Dhyana Yogi, a philosopher par excellence, a distinguished Jain Acharya who has authored nearly 300 titles, many of which are regarded as classics, he is the discoverer of Preksha Dhyana (a scientific meditational technique) and the preceptor of Science of Living (a value-oriented educational programme). His writings on Jain Agams, Non-violence, Peace, Morality, Socio-Religious Harmony, Spirituality. Education through Science of Living, Spiritual Practice of Yoga, Preksha Meditation, Ecology and Socio-economic Justice have inspired both intellectuals and common men alike. In order to make a concerted effort for world peace and non-violence, he has presented a platform 'Ahimsa Samvay' to unify diverse non-violent forces.

Contributions of Acharya Shree

Spirituality and Literature : A versatile scholar of oriental languages and philosophy. Acharya Mahapragya possesses profound knowledge of the ancient works of Indian schools of philosophy and religions, including Jain, Buddhist and vedic scriptures. His critical editions of all the 32 basic Jain scriptures in Ardhamagadhi-Prakrit are landmark in the last 1500 years of history of Jain literature. Most of these volumes have also been translated in Hindi by him with critical annotations, which earned him vast recognition amongst the oriental scholars all over the world.

Economic Growth with a Human Face : Acharya Mahapragya gave a revolutionary concept in the field of economics in the form of Non-violence of Economics. In this concept every individual is expected to put a legitimate limit to his own consumption and contribute to fill up the chasm between have and have-nots. Acharya Mahapragya elaborately discussed his theory in the book 'Economics of Mahavira' by critically examining the theories of economics put forward by Mahavira, Marx, Keynese and Gandhi and finally established that all social evils like violence, disparity, exploitation, cruelty, injustice, crookedness, etc. have their roots in lop-sided view of economic prosperity, devoid of human values.

ICENS : On his initiative, an International Centre for Economics of Non-Violence and Sustainability has been set up to analyze the various issues related to building a durable and peaceful socio-economic order in the world and prepare a concrete blueprint and road map to operationalize the sector-wise path of economic development in order to remove hunger, poverty, unemployment and regional and personal inequalities.

Training in Non-Violence : Training in Non-violence aims to promote peaceful, non-violent co-existence of people in different walks of life by curbing violent instincts in individuals. Training in non violence is a programme that helps to mitigate the core cause of violence. The special feature of this programme is to impart training in self-employment and integrity in business/ profession. The training mainly comprises of Principles and History of Non-violence, Training in Emotional Modification, Training in Non­violent Life-style and Morality in Profession and Self employment Training. At present there are more than 100 centres for Training in Non-violence and about hundred thousand people are deriving its benefits from this programme. The programme is focused in rural and backward areas, acting like a solace to people living below poverty line.

Preksha Meditation : Preksha Meditation is the combination of knowledge from ancient scriptures, modern science and experience. Preksha Meditation is the practice of purifying emotions, psyche (chitta) and realizing one own self. Preksha Meditation is a technique of meditation for attitudinal change, behavioural modification and integrated development of personality.

End result of this unique experience it leads to a life, which is balanced, blissful and full of peace; free from stress and enlightened in all respects. It helps to connect you with your soul at its most profound level, achieving a state of super consciousness and increased concentration. Besides, it endows upon us a boon of good health. In many cases participants have experienced vast relief in diseases like heart problem, blood pressure, diabetes and depression.

Thousands of successful camps and seminars of national and international levels have been organized to inculcate the techniques of this unique method called Preksha Meditation. More than 550,000 people around the world, with different cultural backgrounds and religions, have been benefited by regularly practicing it.

Jain Vishva Bharati & JVB University : JVB (Estd. 1971) and JVBI (Estd. 1991) are two academic institutes, under able guidance of Acharya Mahapragya, working for enhancement of human values as well as cultural heritage of India. University Grant Commission (UGC) & NAAC have accredited JVBI (U) with 'Fivestar' recognition in 2004-2005. Acharya Mahapragya is the 'Anushasta' of JVBI, which is the highest office in the University. Some of the publications, research work, extension activities including training in various disciplines of JVB have been considered unparalleled in the academic field. The University through its Department of Social Work is contributing immensely to the development of rural people and youth by inculcating the moral values.

It's lush green campus which is situated in Ladnun, (Distt. Nagaur), Rajasthan, India boasts of a museum with collection of ancient scriptures, rare and valuable artifacts of Jainism.

Ahimsa Yatra : On 5th December 2001, Acharya Mahapragya started an unimaginable campaign on foot to reach out masses with following objectives:
1. Mass awakening of consciousness of Ahimsa
2. Development of moral values in the society
3. Propagate Communal Harmony
4. To create more congenial atmosphere among diverse communities
5. To minimize violence and drug abuse in the society

Ahimsa Yatra has traversed more than 8,000 KM across different parts of India to achieve its objective. Through this Yatra an effort to pinpoint the root cause of violence has been made. Ahimsa Yatra has caught imagination of people from different walks of life who have participated enthusiastically to reach its objective.

Surat Spiritual Declaration (SSD) & Foundation for Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship (FUREC) - 

With an object to bring about unity among different sects of all religions, Acharya Mahapragya invited fifteen top spiritual leaders and scholars from different sects of Islam, Hindu, Christianity, Sikh, Parasi, Jain, Buddhist, Zorostrianism, Judaism, Bahai, etc. at Surat, India to prepare a declaration for unity of religions and developing enlightened citizens. This resulted in Surat Spiritual Declaration (SSD). The SSD was released by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India on 15th October 2003 at Surat, India. With SSD as foundation, FUREC was established on 15th June 2004 with four major objectives.

Enlightened Progress
Enlightened Society
Enlightened Education
Enlightened Action

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and H. H. Acharya Mahapragya are the benefactors and the signatories of SSD are the members of the apex body of F.U.R.E.C.

Dr. A. P. J. Kalam Ex-President of India on Acharya Mahaprajna - I am seeing in our country, a great sage, who has been performing 'Tapas' for the 75th I years. Through the intense Tapas, he has freed himself from passion, anger, love and hate. Presence of such great souls in the country, spreads peace and promotes spiritual prosperity. He is a beacon light that attracts lesser mortals towards him to become an enlightened soul. "There are three characteristics of his Tapaswalk, acquire and give. He walks with undeterred dedication and concentration; acquires knowledge from everyone he meets as well as from the nature; and radiates hope to the society through his writings, actions and practice. He is a towering inferno of knowledge that purifies every soul that comes into contact. I myself experienced this when I met Acharya Mahaprgayaji at Sadhna Kendra. Mehrauli,1999 at around mid night. "On this day of celebration of the 75th year of Jain Acharya Mahapragyaji entering the monkhood, I would like to give my respects by reciting one Kurul (couplet) from my favourite Thamiz classic composed over 2200 years ago by Thiruvallurvar. The Saint Poet has devoted one full chapter of 10 kurals out of 1330 to Tapas. "It means, with the power of Tapas, if one discards the attachment to one's own life an 'I' the 'ahankar' in him, then all lives in the universe bow before him. "How true in 21 st century we see a walking and saintly example in H.H. Acharya Mahapragyaji. I join the lives in the universe to pay my reverence and respect to him."

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