Book Title: Anand Rishijee A Redeemer of the Modern Wasteland
Author(s): Satishkumar Jain
Publisher: Z_Anandrushi_Abhinandan_Granth_012013.pdf
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/250011/1

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Page #1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Satish Kumar Jain, M.A. Jain Bhawan, Jullandbur City Acharya Anand Rishijee-"A Redeemer of The Modern Wasteland" J. S. Eliot in "The Wasteland", means over the loss of old religious values which have made the world a chaotic and dismal wasteland where people are burning in the sterile fire of lust, abhorrence and other evil passions ; where society presents a grim and nightmarish picture of Godless Society whose ethical scruples have become "a heap of broken images"; life appears to be spiritually impoverished, intellectuly degenerated, emotionally barren and mentally retarded. The so-called advanced yet God-Killing Society adorates the false and hypocritical gods of Mammon and Secularism. In utter contemptuous tone the poet depicts the pollusion of sex by the modern westelanders who have made the sanctified, sex perverted, debased, vulgarised and even commercialised to makes the "hollowmen" whimpered in despair finding no way to spiritual salvation. At the end of the poem, the poet, being a radical reformer, delivers the goods for tiding over the grave and sinister problem of spiritual-impotency and aridity caused in the Modern Westeland by referring to the source of the Indian Legend of the Thunder in the sacred book 'BRIHAD-ARANYAKA UPNISHDA'. The fable runs as. Once there was a drought over the holy antique land of India. The grief-stricken gods of the three races met the Prajapati' who spoke to them thrice in the divine Voice of Thunder in one Sanskrit word 'DA'interpreted as 'DA-Datta (to give), 'DA'-Daydharam [to Sympathise] -and 'DA?-Damyat' (to control). However the poem concludes on an optimistic not by suggesting that if a man obeys the triple injunction of the Prajapati, he may succeed in putting his own house in perfect order and will gain ultimately his release from a living death. The turbulent and fretful world today needs a redeemer who can save this burning Westeland by sprinkling chilly cold waters of his holy deliverances of true faith and true knowledge. "What the eye does not admire/The heart do's not desire." The significance of this old English rhyme is realised fully when the hungry eye of an ever hankering soul of a devotee encounters the very beautiful living image of a Massaiha-a Healer who is regarded as a unique model of eternal bliss and beauty. To my mind above mentioned idea is to be said exactly about a great saint Jain Acharya Anand Rishi. UP Pn SO Julga2n A Buiz9a2f318 97131Toy Strengendstely 51699 Page #2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 9az? Jul 943 31 zrIAnandA anyazrIAnandagrantha 2 Satish Kumar Jain Venerable Acharya Anand Rishi, the 75 years old, the successor to Late great Acharya Sh. Atama Ram Ji Maharaj, birth-celebate turned spiritual gaint has deservedly won credit as the Redeemer-Acharya who has imparted a dynamic and staunch leadership to. The All India Sthanakvasi Jain Sramana Sangb, popular with the masses assisted by a young band of literate saints, the uncrowned king of the vast realms of the Spirit, the neculeus of devotion and reverence of rank and file, a source of wisdom and knowledge, a revealer of truth, Divinity incarnate, perfection of the Divine in Man endowed with innate greatness invested with perfections innumerable effulgence of pure spirit, independant, fearless, immutable, immaculate, philosopher and Guide, the best of the best certainly he is as towering a personality as the six foot two inches of a person. Rev. Acharya Anand Rishi is really a wonderful man, the prophet of the new era, a smithy of his soul certainly ranks the chief among a shining galaxy of the bearers of Light. Perhaps asceticism comes naturally to his genius ; had from an early age he is a meticulous observer of JIN VANI (The Divine Voice). In his childhood he was never naughty who carried fictitious tales, Soberiety and Stoicity were seen conspiculously in him. He often sat like a Yogi in state of transcendental meditation in the preaching Hall. The organisers were flabbergasted to scan his unfailing devotion in religion and his immutable sitting at the preaching Hall led them to foretell the glamourous extraordinary future of this would be redeemer of the suffering mankind. The people generally equated him with tender-aged Ayvanta Kumar of Jainistic World and also thought him to be a reversed-image of Dhruva in Vaidic World. He achived the holy Acharyaship by the sheer force of a magnificent godly halo of his pious personality, by his astute recondite scholarship, by his untired and dauntless devotion to hard work and by his astounding competence and talent. He represents the soul of India yearning for peace and harmony. He is in the line of great sevants and seers of the Sramana Heritage who have acted as the saviours of confused humanity. He raises his voice to reinforce the intrinsic values and high ideals expounded by Lord Mahavir in a new idiom to combat disintegration and decadence set in by the oppressive wordly situations. It was the hey-day in the annals of the Sramana Heritage when he was placed on the highest seat of Acharya. His is the supermost seat of honour for that he is the patron and soverign. Honourable Acharya is an errant Karma Yogi. Almost the whole of India has been conscectrated with a hallow touch of his lotusfeet. He has been propagating enthusiastically the holy commandments of Lord Mahavira untiringly and incessently for the last so many years on the length and breadth of India. The people of every state in India is a true devotee of the sacred feet. of Acharya Anand Rishi, where ever he goes people flock there to catch the holy sight of his divine figure, the whole spiritual community hails him with warm recepetion accords a big ovation of their sincere homage at his divine feet. Incidentally, I am reminded of a sumptuous yet sober welcome Page #3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Acharya Anand Rishijee-"A Redeemer of the Modern Wasteland" 3 D LLLL 1 presented to him during his tour to PUNJAB when he paid a holy visit to Jullundur City for the first time. There was a big maddening crowd which received him in sombre robes and bare-footed. The special articles and editorials were published in his honour by the leading papers of the city. The grandeur and splendour of the Morning Prayers' were beyond description. A mammoth congregation was seen diving deep in the sea of Bhakti at his holy fcet in the preaching hall during his stay in the city. He is Par-excellence in the art of rhetoric. His holy discourses contain mellifluous voice with a dignified calmness of his liberal vision. He has the knack of creating an hyponotique effect on the audience by the virtue of his sugary-sweet voice. His utterances contain the kernels of sagacious wisdom. His thoughts are perspicuous in tone which are packed with scintillating epigrams along with its aphoristic terseness. He dislikes verbosity and superfluous hair-splilting in his formal talk. His intelligentsia never suffers from the fog of dogmatic rituals. He always speaks in idioms and expressions easily intelligible to the lowest and the humblest members of the community and his, religious sermons, least hackneyed and sterotyped, are brought home to the very hearts of his followers in homely phrases and anecdotes culled from the world wide knowledge and experiences. He never passes bitter, harsh sarcastic remarks on others, Men assemble to listen to his divine voice. His speech is like the voice of many waters" that can be heard from a great distance which is termed as Jinavani (The voice of God.) Lord Mahavira preached and propagated his holy instructions in Prakrit, A gigantic store of the Jain Scripture is found written mainly in Prakrit. Like aged old ancestor-Acharyas, Acharya Anand Rishi is also an aspirant preacher of this divine language which has largely been enriched, rejuvenated and renovated and by his skilful erudition. His literary works in Prakrita must be classed with the greatest literary out put of Acharyas of the antiquity. The posterity will always enlogise and felicit his literary contribution to Prakrit in good respect. Acharya Anand Rishi is also a reputed author, a prolific writer, fully enlightened enchanting singer of the tune of Universalism. He has a stern command over a half-dozen languages. Near about fifteen of the books have been written as well as adapted in to translations which is one of the greatest ventures on his esteemed part. By writing books he has opened the new vistas of our knowledge. His classical masterpieces have been largely commended by the scholars for his versatile knowledge of Scriptures and the stylish way of expression in them. Being a devotee of the goddess of learning he has founded two and a half score of Vidaya Mandirs '(The temples of spiritual learning) throughout in the country where spiritual instructions are imparted to innumerable seekers after renunications the glorious traditions set by him in the efforescence and promulgation of the spiritual knowledge through these Vidaya Mandirs can not be under rated in the parochiol confinements of the inedquate expression. The inner qualitative divine being of his personality appears to be characterised by a deep seated considency. Neither by any novel way of life, as we know, does he ever strive to give himself the airs of Saint or an inspired CA tvo LAUALAM WAMEVAMANNA Page #4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Niugaza HAS Bulgaz in 2013 dice S 13TG Thy Stela 4 Satish Kumar Jain special messenger of God our reply will be in emphatic 'No'. He is not only great UPASAKA and seer of the Jain religion and philosophy but also a great promoter and messenger of Universal love and world peace. In a true, sense he is a true votary of humanistic and ethical values. His visible personality is as impressive as that of a celestial being. His countenance is resplendent like a thousand suns shining glisteningly in one place, his eyes "a flame of fire," his feet resemble "fine brass" as if they burned in a furnace, his voice bubbles in the "honeyed sap" of docile-meekness--a perfect living embodiment of mercy, piety, suavity, humility, magnanimity and simplicity. In the fire of penance burning the fuel of KARMAS he attains eternal gift of in exhaustible joy. He is an apostle of Ahimsa and Peace. He is preaching Truth, Non-violence, nonpossession, non-stealing, celebacy-in a nutshell the religious path. The gist of his preaching sermons rests on the triple path of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. In his pure soul appears the quartenary of Infinite-knowledge, Conation, Power and Bliss. He is distributing endlessly the light of knowledge extravagantly and generously amongst the people. His teachings are guiding stars in the forlon darness of the worldly night. Being the torch bearer of true path unlike an introvert he became the great Acharya of the great religion. Acharya Anand Rishi is the incarnation of indescribable glory. Before him Venom, anger, violence, passions all sins fly away and forgiveness, nonviolence and self control all merits sway whose many sided views, logic saves all quarrels of universe leads to truth and peace removing complete delusion, and devestation. He is a harbinger and herald of harmony between life and light, wisdom and work, devotion and deed, idealism and activity. He has waged war against hatred and evil passions. He is free from pride, deceit, aversion and infatuation. His knowledge of reality for pious persons is like a speech nectar for subsiding wealth, pride and passion. He is the propounder of the law prised by the best of semigods and men, the benefactor of universe who has made the best use of human birth really glorifies the radiant and pure place of Acharya. His is an image of Equanimity who has extracted the poisonous fangs from the serpent of self and rode the elephant of ego victory-victory over best and vice. Acharya Anand Rishi possesses a titan like indomitable spirit, contains steelish might in his feet. Omniscient perfection in his sayings, his endless and rampant Pad Vihar (travelling on foot) all the more an active spokesman of the doctrine of Ahimsa and Peace endeavouring to vanish the mist of superstition appeared in this world. Along with his rigourous path of penance, unflinching faith in moral and ethical values he has no peer in his astute knowledge of the obscure jainistic Scripture. His interior godly pious being is replete with multifold natural qualities viz.-Earth like Mercy, Moon like Coolness, Ocean like Serenety and Perseverence, Mountain like firmness, Diamond like rigidity, flower like suppleness etc. His pious and noble heart is the fountain of spontaneous over flows of unbounded-righteousness and modesty, incomparable debonair amiability. He is phelgmatic in nature, Page #5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Acharya Anand Rishijee-"A Redeemer of the Modern Wasteland" 5 1 humble and save in mutual intercourse, having sanguine and sanemind with panoramic stretchability of the Vision, altruistic in outlook who so ever comes to lay his needs before this benovelent healer himself becomes the source of all Goodness and Good. A true Jainistic spirit pervades his mind and soul. Love, kindness, friendliness, delight, sympathy, self-endurance, compassion with an attitude of toleration and indifference are the cardinal tenets of his soul. Being a never centre of social welfare--Unity of the Sangha is his breath, uplift of masses is his adherent devotion, unhampering growth of the community is his rock like firm determination. Acharya Anand Rishi -a Reformer Saint is an emancipator of troubled humanity whose great teachings are the panacea for the ills and grievances of the modern Wastelanders. It is true that he is born to redeem the world. He is of our life's anchor help us in crossing the tumultuous sea of our life. We now all seek shelter at thy feet dedicating our minds and souls. All troubles are ended by the mere mention of thine holy name. May the whole Sthanakvasi Jain Sraman Sangha illuminate the horizon of SPIRIT with its pride and prosperity, unity and strength, purity and peace under the holy banner of his inspiring and accomplishing spiritual headship. A commemoration Volume in honour of Rey. Acharya is a very nice idea and it will go a long way to encourage such spiritual luminaries in the pursuits of the establishment or re-establishment of fundamental values of the life such as Truth, Peace and Non-Violence. The felicitations to be offered to the scholar Rishi and the Commemoration volume to be offered to him on the auspicious occassion of his Gracious 75th Birth day in appreciation of his profound intellectual knowledge and priceless services. May he win many more laurels and distinctions for his meritorious services and be with us for many a year for guiding and stimulating the seekers after Truth and Non-Violence. Acharya Anand Rishi is a palpably historical personality whose words ring so familiar today will also sound in the ears and hearts of millions of humble folk after the lapse of centuries. It is my ardent prayer that his glorious message of Truth, Non-Violence, peace, good-will and fraternity among mankind may take firm roots in and reign over human hearts and minds all over the globe for ages to come. wietnam einen nimensionering - wwwwwwwwwwaaronlin