Acharya Tulsi

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Acharya Tulsi bigraphy, stories - Indian Jain monk

Acharya Tulsi : biography

October 20, 1914 – June 23, 1997

Acharya Tulsi (October 20, 1914 – June 23, 1997) was a Jain Acharya (an ascetic). He was the founder of the Anuvrata and the Jain Vishva Bharti Institute, Ladnun and the author of over one-hundred books. Dr. Radhakrishnan in his "Living with Purpose" included him in the world’s 15 great persons. He was given the title "Yuga-Pradhan" in a function officiated by President V.V. Giri in 1971.

He was influential in the development of Acharya Mahapragya and Sadhvi Kanakprabha.

Life as Acharya

After assuming the responsibility as the head of the order, Acharya Tulsi wandered from one place to another only within the erstwhile state of Bikaner for the next eleven years. During this period he concentrated on the education and training of his monks and nuns. He undertook to teach them himself. He encouraged them to develop their skills in writing and speaking. In fact, he had taken to teaching even at an early stage of his monkhood. At seventeen he was already teaching a large number of monks. Prominent among them were Muni Nathmal (later Acharya Mahapragya) Muni Buddmal, Muni Janwarilal, Muni Dulichand. The disciples taught by him emerged as erudite scholars in various streams of knowledge like Sanskrit, Prakrit, philosophy, comparative studies, etc.

Scholarship

Acharya Tulsi and [[Acharya Mahapragya during Jain Agamas research ]] In the 1970s, Tulsi began researching, translating and annotating the Jain Agamas.

Tulsi was the first person who sought to rediscover Jain meditation. His work with Acharya Mahapragya led to the Preksha Meditation.

A Great Wandering Ascetic

Jain Monks and nuns remain under a vow of moving on foot all their life. In Tulsi’s lifetime he covered more than 70,000 km. His followers are celebrates his Birth centenary in 2012–13 all over the world. He was man of power and wisdom. Dr. Radhakrishnan in his "Living with Purpose" included him in the world’s 15 great persons.

His major marches included:

  • 1949 : From Bikaner to Jaipur, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1955 : From Rajasthan to Gujarat, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1958 : From Rajasthan to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, again Bihar, Uttar pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1966 : From Rajasthan to Gujarat, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1974 : From Rajasthan to Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1981 : From Rajasthan to Haryana, Delhi and back to Rajasthan.
  • 1987 : From Rajasthan to Haryana and Delhi and back to Rajasthan.

In the course of these marches, Tulsi had widespread contact with people and preached to Anuvrat-oriented life and abstinence from alcohol.

Early life

The son of devout Jain traders, Tulsi was born in 1914 in Ladnun Rajasthan, India to Jhumarmal Khatter and Vadana Ji. He first went to school at the age of eight years. Acharya Kalugani, the 8th Acharya of Terapanth order and also the family guru, greatly influenced Tulsi, later recalling: "His divine face fascinated my heart and I used to gaze at him for hours." Acharya Kalugani came to Ladnun in 1925 (Vikram Samvat 1982). The child Tulsi was 11 years old. His visit to Kalugani aroused in him a strong desire to become a Jain monk. In less than a month young Tulsi got initiated into the Terapanth order by Acharya Kalugani.

Though he was young in age, Acharya Kalugani visualized in him the seeds of genius, manly courage and great fortune. It was in a sudden and dramatic way that both Guru (master) and disciple were seized with a feeling of oneness. His elder brother Muni Champa Lai had become a monk only a year before. His process of education began under his super­vision with the direct patronage of the Acharya himself. He achieved mastery over the Sanskrit language in just seven years. With it began the period of a thorough study of Jain Agama and Jain philosophy. During this period he performed an astounding feat of memory by learning about twenty thousand Sanskrit verses by heart. He also began to write poetry in the Rajasthani language, besides having acquired the knack of delivering discourses.