Sushil Kumar (Jain monk)

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox religious biography | image = Acharya Sushil Kumar.jpg | caption = Picture of a marble plaque showing Sushil Kumar | religion = Jainism | sect = Śvētāmbara; non-sectarian | subsect = Sthānakavāsī; Arhat Sangh | birth_date = {{birth date|1926|6|15|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1994|4|22|1926|6|15|df=y}} }} {{Jainism}}

'''Sushil Kumar''' (15 June 1926 – 22 April 1994) was a Jain teacher, monk and an Acharya.<ref name="CowardSmith2004">{{cite book|author1=Harold G. Coward|author2=Gordon S. Smith|title=Religion and Peacebuilding|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPg6YIpDNOgC|date=2004|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-8585-9|page=22}}</ref> He was a self-realized master who devoted more than 50 years to promoting non-violence, peace and knowledge of the self.

Kumar, known as 'Guruji' by his devotees, was born on 15 June 1926, in Sikhopur, a small foothill village in Haryana, India. The village was later named Sushilgarh in Kumar's honor. As a seven-year-old he left his home to live with Shri Chotelalji Maharaj, who later became his religious guru.<ref name=b1>{{cite book |author1=Kumarji Maharaj |author2=H H Acharya Sushil |title=Song of the Soul |year=1987 |publisher=International Mahavir Jain Mission |location=New Jersey, USA |isbn=0-943207-00-2}}</ref>

When Kumar was a young boy, Roop Chandji Maharaj, a great yogi and Jain master, appeared to him in his spirit and told him to become a monk. His knowledge was realised through direct experience, and his powers were awakened through the grace of past lives. When he was 15 years old he became a Jain Muni (monk) in the Swetamber Sthānakavāsī sect.<ref name=b1/>

During his academic career in India, he passed through a number of examinations such as Shastri, Acharya, Sahitya-Ratna, Vidya-Ratna, etc., and mastered the classical studies of Indian religious and yogic philosophies.<ref name=b1/>

His primary ashram in North America, Siddhachalam, was established in 1983 in Blairstown, New Jersey. He was one of the founding fathers of American Jainism.<ref>Briggs, Kenneth A. (28 August 1975) "A Jainist Monk Brings Ascetic Ways Here", ''New York Times'' </ref><ref>Titze, Kurt (1998) ''Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence'', Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 241. {{ISBN|8120815343}}</ref>

Although he was ordained as a monk in the Sthānakavāsī Jain tradition, he regarded himself to be non-sectarian. In 1979, he formed Arhat Sangh, a syncretic, non-sectarian group within Jainism.<ref>Jones, Constance A., and Ryan, James D (2007) ''Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Facts on File Inc. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&dq=arhat+sangh&pg=PA251 p. 251]. {{ISBN|9780816075645}}</ref> ==Life== thumb|Sushil Kumar on a 2023 stamp of India Sushil Kumar was born into a Brahmin household.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence|author1=Titze, K. |author2=Bruhn, K. |name-list-style=amp |isbn=9788120815346|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loQkEIf8z5wC|year=1998|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|page=241}}</ref> As a Jain monk, he traveled on foot thousands of miles across the length and breadth of India. He represented the Sthānakavāsī Jain tradition in the making of Saman Suttam, a compilation of Jain principles that was acceptable to all sects of Jainism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Varni|first1=Jitendra|title=Saman Suttam|date=5 April 1993|publisher=Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan|location=Rajghat, Varanasi, India|page=Introduction|edition=First}}</ref> He discovered and mastered the secrets of sounds behind the Namokar Mantra, an auspicious rendering that is central to Jains and wrote a book on the subject, ''Song of the Soul''.<ref name=b1/>

For as long as historical records have been available, Jain monks did not use any mechanical means for travel. However, on 17 June 1975, Kumar decided to travel outside India by aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jain|first1=Jaipat Singh|title=What's So Special About Siddhachalam|url=http://www.siddhachalam.org/about/about-siddhachalam/whats-so-special-about-siddhachalam/|website=Siddhachalam|publisher=International Mahavira Jain Mission|accessdate=11 December 2016}}</ref> He said he was prodded in meditation to do so by the 12th-century Acharya, Dadaguru Manidhari Jinchandra Suriji Maharaj. Dadaguru asked him to travel to faraway lands to spread Bhagwan Mahavir's message of Ahimsa (non-injury) and Anekantavada (belief that no one has a monopoly on truth).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schlosser |first1=Courtney |title=The Light of Nonviolence |publisher=Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh |location=New Delhi |page=124 |edition=First Indian Edition 1997}}</ref> The decision caused some controversy in the Jain community,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.has.vcu.edu/wrs/profiles/Jainism.htm|title=JAINISM|author=Long, Jeffery D. |accessdate=1 February 2013|publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of American Religious History|author1=Queen, E.L. |author2=Prothero, S.R. |author3= Shattuck, G.H.|volume= 1|isbn=9780816066605|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-|year=2009}}</ref> but allowed other Jain monks and nuns to begin using mechanical means of travel, including outside India.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jain|first1=Jaipat|title=Guruji Opens Doors|url=http://www.siddhachalam.org/about/guruji/guruji-opens-doors/|website=Siddhachalam|publisher=International Mahavira Jain Mission|accessdate=11 December 2016}}</ref> He traveled and taught extensively, spreading the message of non-violence and self-awareness. He founded many ashrams and centres in the East and West.<ref name=b1/>

During his travels, Kumar helped found many organizations and communities across the globe that engage in promoting Ahimsa and Anekantavada. One of the principal organizations he founded in North America was the International Mahavira Jain Mission, which manages the ashram [http://www.siddhachalam.org Siddhachalam] that he founded in New Jersey. Siddhachalam is regarded as the first Tirtha (site of pilgrimage) outside India.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ryan|first1=James|last2=Jones|first2=Constance|title= Encyclopedia of Hinduism|pages=250–251|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2007|isbn=9780816075645}}</ref>

On 1 March 1980, Sushil Kumar was declared an "Acharya" (master) of Arhat Sangh of the Jain tradition.<ref>{{cite web |title=40 Years of Acharyapad |url=http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=681755&f=6212&s=14159&m=646447&t=d8ca86bbafacc88fd7ebf56cc7d4aca230e002b6c5c5b13f3998af036202b49b |website=www.imjm.org |publisher=International Mahavira Jain Mission |accessdate=22 April 2020}}</ref>

Kumar was a master of meditation and the science of sound. His teaching system is called Arhum Yoga. It is an ancient system of the mastery of the inner self through watchfulness and direct perception. Arhum yoga encompasses all aspects of philosophy and yogic practice in the Arihant spiritual tradition.<ref name=b1/>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Sushil}} Category:Jain acharyas Category:Indian Jain monks Category:20th-century Indian Jains Category:20th-century Jain monks Category:20th-century Indian monks Category:1926 births Category:1994 deaths