Vimalsagarsuri is an eminent and popular Jain monk and Acharya of the Tapa Gaccha of the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism. He belongs to the lineage of Buddhisagarsuri.
Early life
Acharya Vimalsagarsuri was born on April 23, 1966, in
Hiriyur,
Karnataka into an
Oswal family, to Suadevi Bagrecha and Chaganrajji Bagrecha. In terms of formal education, he dropped out of school after passing the 8th grade. He displayed an interest in learning and mastering multiple languages including
Hindi, Gujarati,
Sanskrit,
Prakrit,
English language,
Marathi language, and Rajasthani.
Initiation and ascetic life
At the age of 16, Vimalsagarsuri was initiated as a
Jain monk in a ceremony held on April 19, 1982, in
Chennai. He was initiated by Acharya Padmasagarsuri of the
Buddhisagarsuri of the
Tapa Gaccha of Śvetāmbara Jains.
On December 1, 2014, he was consecrated as an Acharya after 22 years of monkhood in a ceremony held at the
Nakodaji.
He has delivered over 6,000 discourses and has a large number of young followers. He usually uses
Hindi as the medium of instruction in his sermons to reach a larger audience. He revived the ancient
Jainism practices of different types of
meditation and also created the
Shri Ghantakarna Mahayantram, Shri Manibhadra Mahayantram, Shri Parshva Padmavati Mahayantram and
Shrut Devi Yantram , which, according to
Jain scriptures, are important objects of meditation. He is particularly popular among Śvetāmbara Jains for his yearly 5-day-long
Shrut Sadhna (meditation for knowledge).
In his ascetic life, he is said to have learned several Jain literature, as well as scriptures of other faiths before becoming an Acharya. Afterward, he also consecrated several temples and idols. Due to his efforts, Haribhadra Suri's Samarditya Mahakatha, which was only available in Gujarati in addition to its originally language, was translated and presented in Hindi for the first time to reach a larger audience.
Social initiatives
Acharya Vimalsagarsuri has undertaken extensive
padayatras (walks), covering approximately 70,000 kilometers across
Western India and
South India, mainly in the states of
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka,
Goa,
Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, and
Rajasthan. The purpose of these walks is to reach out to communities far and wide to spread the message of
Jainism. The other means he uses include transformation camps, awakening seminars, children's development workshops, family counseling sessions, and spiritual knowledge seminars.
He is known for actively promoting interfaith harmony through his speeches and sermons, which he has delivered in various settings, including mosques, , and public gatherings.
Sources
-
Devluk,Nandlal B.2010. Vishwa Ajayabi Jain Shraman. Arihant Prakashan.
-
Devluk,Nandlal B.2008. Jinshasan na Zalhlta Nakshatro.Arihant Prakashan.
See also
External links
