Ahimsa Day 2008 15th October 2008
Portcullis House
House of Commons
London
Full Transcript of Jaysukh Mehta’s address announcing the rceipient of the IoJ Ahimsa 2008 Award
Pujya Samnijis,
Lord Puttnam,
Joint hosts of this event
Chairman of the Institute of Jainology, Mr Ratilal Chandaria,
Ladies and gentlemen:
The recipient of this year’s Ahimsa Award is Param Pujya Acharya Shri Mahapragyaji. He is the current Acharya and head of the terapanth Jain sect.
To say a few words about a giant personality is not difficult, it is impossible!
Acharya shri was born as Nathmal to Tola Ram and Baluji Choradia, in Tamkor, Rajasthan on 14th June 1920. Very shortly after his birth, his father had passed away.
There was no school in their village and Nath Mal did not have an opportunity to receive formal education. However, he had demonstrated very strong spiritual inclinations from a very young age and he was deeply impressed by the personality of Acharya Shri Kalu Ram Gani.
On 29th January, 1931, at the tender age of 10 he was initiated by Acharya Shrimad Kalu Ram as a disciple of Acharya Tulsi. The effectiveness of the guru-disciple relationship in Indian tradition is reflected by the wisdom of the young disciple in that, without any formal schooling he had mastered subjects such as History, Philosophy, Logic, Grammar, Physics, Ayurveda, Politics, Economics, and Social sciences.
Since then, he has evolved not only as an author but also as a poet, and that too in diverse languages such as Hindi, Prakrit and Sanskrit.
Muni Nath Mal, through his devotion established an incomparable rapport with his Guru. Acharyashri Tulsi also recognised the exceptional talents in his young disciple and placed heavy responsibilities on him:
- In 1955 Acharyashri Tulsi nominated Muni Nath Mal as the Chief Secretary of the Terapanth organisation.
- On 4th February, 1979 he was appointed successor-designate to Acharya Tulsi and was given the title of Yuvacharya Mahapragya.
- On 18th February 1994 Achary Tulsi relinquished his post, and Yuvacharya Mahapragya became Acharya Mahapragya. A holy ceremony in followed in Delhi on 5th February, 1995 when he was formally pronounced the tenth Acharya of the Terapanth sect.
- Acharya Mahapragya is the torch bearer of some of the most successful projects initiated by Acharya Tulsi: First one being the
- Anuvrat Movement
- Acharya Tulsi launched the Anuvrat Movement on March 1, 1949. Within a year, it exceeded all expectations when thousands of people from different faiths recited the lesser vows to live a mindful and aware daily life. The movement is universal and is not based on any particular sect or religion. It is a way of life to improve one’s own quality of life, harmonising it with all living beings. Its relevance to present times can be appreciated by looking at the vows taken to protect the environment and to avoid waste, misuse and pollution of nature.
- Since its inception, Acharya Mahapragya has made it popular not only in India, but internationally. The Anuvrat Global Movement is now a dedicated organisation under the patronage of Acharya Shri Mahapragya. The first vow it administers is that of practicing AHIMSA.
- Then there is Preksha Dhyan
Acharya Tulsi assigned his young protégée to investigate the reasons for the disappearance of the practice of meditation in Jainism.
Acharyashri Mahapragya spent over 20 years studying the Jain Agams – that is Jain Scriptures and concluded a system of meditation which is now popularly known as Preksha Dhyana.
This is a non-sectarian system of meditation which has spiritual as well as physical benefits. It is complimentary to the Anuvrat movement in that its practice makes the observation of the vows a matter of routine without any special efforts.
For his efforts in this task, Acharya Shri Tulsi gave him the title of Jain-Yoga-Punruddharak (Resurrector of Jain Yoga).
Acharyashri Mahapragy’s most recognised contribution to AHIMSA is in the journey he undertook to quell the communal violence that had erupted in India between Hindus and Muslims. Ahimsa Yatra, as it was named, was launched on 5th December, 2001 in Rajasthan. As if Ahimsa Yatra was destined to be a precursor to the events that followed, in February, 2002, communal violence broke out in Gujarat and its ugly aftermath affected many Indian states.
Addressing a gathering at a village in Gujarat, Acharya Shri said,
“Only that country becomes strong, whose citizens know the way to control their emotions. No country can emerge powerful, without peaceful coexistence, and it is impossible for a country to ensure peaceful co-existence of its people without restraint and discipline. Some people are educated into communal and caste frenzy. The frenzied state of their minds gives rise to an anti-social environment. The government tries to resist it through its might, but it is the duty of the citizens to see that the hooligans do not convert it into communal frenzy. ………”
Touched and inspired by these efforts of Acharyashri, the then President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, ignoring all protocols, met him. Many political leaders including, the deputy Prime Minister of the time, Shri Lal Krishna Advani, Congress President and Leader, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, the supreme of RSS, Shri K.C. Sudarshan travelled to Gujarat and met Acharyashree to discuss the adoption of Ahimsa as a national policy.
The famous Surat Spiritual Declaration of Unity of Minds was signed by 20 leaders from all different faiths of India and presented to Dr Kalam on 15th October, 2003.
Acharyashri moved from state to state, undertaking journeys of thousands of kilometres, and convinced multi-faith congregations to accept four principles in their lives:
“1. I will believe in human unity.
2. I will not resort to quarrels and conflicts on the basis of caste and sectarian issues.
3. I will try adopt integrity in my personal life as far as I can.
4. I will try to remain free from drug addiction. “
Just as a drop of ocean water, gives the flavour of the whole ocean, in the limited time available, I have narrated only a sample of Acharyashri Mahapragya’s virtues, achievements and greatness but enough to give you a flavour of his whole being. From this narration, you will all agree that the Trustees of Institute of Jainology have made the right choice for the presentation of AHIMSA AWARD 2008 to PARAM PUJYA ACHARYASHRI MAHAPRAGYA.
Thank you.