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salil lodha
May 18, 2010, 9:53:47 AM5/18/10
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Respected Sir,
We are forwarding below an article appeared in Indian Express, which we
hope, will be of interest to you.
Best regards
Surendra Choraria
*INDIAN EXPRESS*
*Homage to a Maha Gyani*
*Sudheendra Kulkarni*<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/sudheendrakulkarni/>
*Tags : sudheendrakulkarni, column**Posted:* Sun May 16 2010, 02:46 hrs
[image:
http://static.indianexpress.com/frontend/iep/images/discussion_bot_bg1.gif]
The demise last week of Acharya Mahapragya, the legendary Jain spiritual
leader, received paltry and perfunctory coverage in our mass media. How sad.
Here was a godly figure, a genuine and persuasive preacher of non-violence,
an embodiment of all the virtues of Jainism. Nominally, he was the 10th head
of the Jain Shwetambar Terapanthi tradition. Yet, transcending all barriers
of caste and creed, he embraced the concerns of the entire humanity with his
caring heart and penetrating mind. Unlike several New Age preachers, here
was an Old Age guru whose personality fully reflected the meaning of his
name?Mahapragya means the most knowledgeable. His learned followers, and
they belonged to different religions?India?s former President Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam being one of them?unanimously averred that Acharya Mahapragya was ?not
merely a Person but also a Purpose, not just a Being but also a Belief?.
Who was this man? What did he strive to achieve during his 90-year-long
journey on this planet? Why did he literally Walk His Talk, traversing more
than 100,000 km on foot across the length and breadth of India, including
10,000 km of ?Ahimsa Yatra? that he undertook in the last decade of his
life? Most people remained unaware of the answers to these questions because
our newspapers did not deem that his passing away merited more than an
obligatory news snippet. I didn?t see a single editorial, nor a befitting
obituary in any newspaper. Our TV news channels, which devote endless hours
of broadcast time to covering the scandals of fake swamis, didn?t consider
it their duty to enlighten the people about this true and towering religious
leader.
I had the good fortune of having the darshan of Acharya Mahapragya on
several occasions. The most vivid among them was when, in 2006, my friends
and I drove to Ladnun, a small desert town in Rajasthan, where he was
staying on the campus of the Jain Vishwa Bharati University. It was a
special occasion? the 75th anniversary of his acceptance of diksha, an
initiation ceremony for a disciple by a guru that is common in many
religions. There was a lot of excitement in the air since Dr Kalam, who had
collaborated with the Acharya on many worthy projects, was going to deliver
a message via a video link from Rashtrapati Bhavan. What a reassuring
manifestation of the Indian ethos of statecraft and secularism it was to see
that the Head of the Indian Republic was seeking the blessings of a holy
man, and that too from one who denominationally belonged to a different
faith! In 2003, Dr Kalam and the Acharya had joined hands to organise a
conclave of senior leaders of all religions in Surat, Gujarat. The ?Surat
Spiritual Declaration?, which they adopted, envisaged collective celebration
of religious festivals; multi-religious development projects for healthcare,
employment, environment protection, women?s empowerment and welfare of the
needy; value-based education in schools; encouraging interfaith dialogue for
peace and harmony; and establishment of the Foundation for Unity of
Religions and Enlightened Citizenship (FUREC).
After the video message from Dr Kalam, my friends and I asked the Acharya
what he thought was the single biggest challenge before India. He said it
was the disconnect between economic growth and ecological well-being,
ecology understood here both as man?s outer and inner environment. ?Economic
growth of the kind being pursued in India and elsewhere in the world has
become an end in itself. It is divorced from ethics, righteousness and
spirituality. It stands in conflict with man?s responsibility towards his
own community and the community of other creatures on Earth. Which is why,
human beings everywhere are unhappy.?
Acharya Mahapragya, who had succeeded Acharya Tulsi, an equally illustrious
Jain seer, was not unaware of the problems in the realm of religion itself.
His speech at the Surat conclave is a source of both caution and
enlightenment for the followers of all religions. ?In the world of
religion,? he said, ?moral values are not being given adequate importance.
Therefore, even a religious man does not hesitate to indulge in evil deeds.
In the world of religion, spirituality is being ignored. Therefore, the
dream of human unity is not being realized and no refinement is evolving in
human relationships. Spirituality is the path of purity of consciousness.?
In a world divided by religious distrust and discord, the Acharya?s
articulation of the philosophical basis of inter-faith amity has an enduring
global relevance. ?The themes of awakening spiritual consciousness and
development of moral values,? he said at the Surat conclave, ?can serve as
an universal platform for all religions. From this platform, all religions
can proclaim the message of unity and harmony. There need not be any problem
with the fact that the modes of religious worship and devotion are different
for each religion. The distance between religious traditions, however, may
exist on the basis of rituals and customs. But if we emphasise freedom of
thought and devotion to divinity, then, in spite of this distance, we can
come closer, sit together on the platform of spirituality and morality, and
work together. If we can develop this thought, then a new sun will rise over
our world.?
The man who strove for that New Dawn is now no more. But his message will
remain alive.
We are forwarding below an article appeared in Indian Express, which we
hope, will be of interest to you.
Best regards
Surendra Choraria
*INDIAN EXPRESS*
*Homage to a Maha Gyani*
*Sudheendra Kulkarni*<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/sudheendrakulkarni/>
*Tags : sudheendrakulkarni, column**Posted:* Sun May 16 2010, 02:46 hrs
[image:
http://static.indianexpress.com/frontend/iep/images/discussion_bot_bg1.gif]
The demise last week of Acharya Mahapragya, the legendary Jain spiritual
leader, received paltry and perfunctory coverage in our mass media. How sad.
Here was a godly figure, a genuine and persuasive preacher of non-violence,
an embodiment of all the virtues of Jainism. Nominally, he was the 10th head
of the Jain Shwetambar Terapanthi tradition. Yet, transcending all barriers
of caste and creed, he embraced the concerns of the entire humanity with his
caring heart and penetrating mind. Unlike several New Age preachers, here
was an Old Age guru whose personality fully reflected the meaning of his
name?Mahapragya means the most knowledgeable. His learned followers, and
they belonged to different religions?India?s former President Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam being one of them?unanimously averred that Acharya Mahapragya was ?not
merely a Person but also a Purpose, not just a Being but also a Belief?.
Who was this man? What did he strive to achieve during his 90-year-long
journey on this planet? Why did he literally Walk His Talk, traversing more
than 100,000 km on foot across the length and breadth of India, including
10,000 km of ?Ahimsa Yatra? that he undertook in the last decade of his
life? Most people remained unaware of the answers to these questions because
our newspapers did not deem that his passing away merited more than an
obligatory news snippet. I didn?t see a single editorial, nor a befitting
obituary in any newspaper. Our TV news channels, which devote endless hours
of broadcast time to covering the scandals of fake swamis, didn?t consider
it their duty to enlighten the people about this true and towering religious
leader.
I had the good fortune of having the darshan of Acharya Mahapragya on
several occasions. The most vivid among them was when, in 2006, my friends
and I drove to Ladnun, a small desert town in Rajasthan, where he was
staying on the campus of the Jain Vishwa Bharati University. It was a
special occasion? the 75th anniversary of his acceptance of diksha, an
initiation ceremony for a disciple by a guru that is common in many
religions. There was a lot of excitement in the air since Dr Kalam, who had
collaborated with the Acharya on many worthy projects, was going to deliver
a message via a video link from Rashtrapati Bhavan. What a reassuring
manifestation of the Indian ethos of statecraft and secularism it was to see
that the Head of the Indian Republic was seeking the blessings of a holy
man, and that too from one who denominationally belonged to a different
faith! In 2003, Dr Kalam and the Acharya had joined hands to organise a
conclave of senior leaders of all religions in Surat, Gujarat. The ?Surat
Spiritual Declaration?, which they adopted, envisaged collective celebration
of religious festivals; multi-religious development projects for healthcare,
employment, environment protection, women?s empowerment and welfare of the
needy; value-based education in schools; encouraging interfaith dialogue for
peace and harmony; and establishment of the Foundation for Unity of
Religions and Enlightened Citizenship (FUREC).
After the video message from Dr Kalam, my friends and I asked the Acharya
what he thought was the single biggest challenge before India. He said it
was the disconnect between economic growth and ecological well-being,
ecology understood here both as man?s outer and inner environment. ?Economic
growth of the kind being pursued in India and elsewhere in the world has
become an end in itself. It is divorced from ethics, righteousness and
spirituality. It stands in conflict with man?s responsibility towards his
own community and the community of other creatures on Earth. Which is why,
human beings everywhere are unhappy.?
Acharya Mahapragya, who had succeeded Acharya Tulsi, an equally illustrious
Jain seer, was not unaware of the problems in the realm of religion itself.
His speech at the Surat conclave is a source of both caution and
enlightenment for the followers of all religions. ?In the world of
religion,? he said, ?moral values are not being given adequate importance.
Therefore, even a religious man does not hesitate to indulge in evil deeds.
In the world of religion, spirituality is being ignored. Therefore, the
dream of human unity is not being realized and no refinement is evolving in
human relationships. Spirituality is the path of purity of consciousness.?
In a world divided by religious distrust and discord, the Acharya?s
articulation of the philosophical basis of inter-faith amity has an enduring
global relevance. ?The themes of awakening spiritual consciousness and
development of moral values,? he said at the Surat conclave, ?can serve as
an universal platform for all religions. From this platform, all religions
can proclaim the message of unity and harmony. There need not be any problem
with the fact that the modes of religious worship and devotion are different
for each religion. The distance between religious traditions, however, may
exist on the basis of rituals and customs. But if we emphasise freedom of
thought and devotion to divinity, then, in spite of this distance, we can
come closer, sit together on the platform of spirituality and morality, and
work together. If we can develop this thought, then a new sun will rise over
our world.?
The man who strove for that New Dawn is now no more. But his message will
remain alive.
--
CA SALIL LODHA
S.LODHA & CO., Chartered Accountants
B-11,Satyam Shopping Center,
M.G.Road, Ghatkopar (East)
Mumbai-400 080 (India)
Tel: +91-21028309
Fax: +91-21027884
Mobile: 09820149302
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