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Celebrating 100 years birth Cenetenary of
aCharya Mahapragya (1920-2020)
A PHILOSOPHER, A THINKER,
AN AUTHOR, A POET,
A SIDDHA YOGI AND
A REVERED JAIN ACHARYA
Acharya Mahapragya:
Birth name: Nathmal
Birth place: Tamkor, Rajasthan
Birth date: 14th June, 1920
Jain ascetic diksha: Became a
monk on 29 January 1931.
Acharya Designation: On 5
February 1995, Mahapragya was
formally consecrated as the 10th
Acharya — the supreme head —
of the Terapanth religious order.
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faith
discover the joys of internationalization”
“Conversations cease when we learn to
— Acharya Mahapragya
charya Mahapragya,
the tenth Acharya of the
Terapanth Sangh, was an
religious texts, he has contributed
encyclopedia of knowl-
A edge. A scholar of Jain
greatly to the understanding and dis-
semination of Jain philosophy and way of
life. Shared below his inspirational
journey.
Acharya Mahapragya, the tenth
Acharya of the Jain Swetamber Tera-
panth Sangh was a humanitarian lead-
er, a spiritual guru and an ambassador
of peace. An ascetic practitioner with
intuitive insight, he spent his life striv-
ing for universal amity. yogi, a teacher, philosopher and a dis-
He was a prolific writer, a profound
tinguished Jain Acharya. He traversed The Eminent Scholar
more than 1,00,000 kms on foot across of Philosophy Dr. Daya
Aagam India, addressing thousands of public Krishna has recognized
Sampadan meetings, reaching out to the mass-
es with his preachings of peace and Acharya Mahapragya
harmony. as “the most
Acharya Mahapragya popular-
In 1955 , Acharya Tulsi com- ized the “Preksha Meditation System”, knowledgeable
menced the research. The joint
activity of Acharya Tulsi, Ma- which teaches self-control to achieve
hapragya and other intellectual self-transformation. He also launched person on the subject of
monks and nuns began to facili- the Ahimsa Yatra movement to pro- Jain logic
tate the permanent preservation mote non-violence and harmony. He
of many thousands of years old authored more than 300 titles on topics Former Indian Prime
canonical scriptures. The original ranging from meditation and spiritual- Minister Late Atal Behari
text of the 32 Agam scriptures ity to human psyche and yoga many of
was determined and their Hindi which are regarded as classics, Vajpayee said “I love
translation also completed. He Acharya Mahapragya encouraged Mahapragya’s literature”
uncovered many Agam mysteries one to look within. In his last discour-
and presented root philosophies age on May 9. 2010, he said “An ocean Rashtrakavi Ram Dhari
and Mahavira’s philosophy and of infinite intuition, infinite knowledge, Singh Dinkar famously
vision in this commentary. There infinite joy and infinite power is surging
are beliefs of both determinism within”. He is not merely a person, but said “Mahapragya is a
and purushartha, Srishti is the also a purpose, not just a being but also modern Vivekananda.
sum of destiny in the world but a belief. He is a perception than can not
effort is also important. Destiny be bound by time or space. We have not seen
depends on effort. If there is any His very name Mahapragya, mean-
difficulty or doubt, then chant the ing “Great Consciousness” defined the Vivekananda, only read
Navkar Mantra. Agama Swad- man. and heard about him.
hyaya is the food of the monk. Bharat Ratna, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam,
Sage is nourished by Agam Swad- former President of India, regarded But now we can see
hyaya, this increases knowledge him as a towering inferno of knowl- Vivekananda through his
and quietness. edge, who purified every sould that
came into his contact. vision”.
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