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New Life Now.
By the summer of 1974, the places where Gurudev was speaking three and sometimes four times a week were not able to accommodate the number of seekers. Several committed students searched for and found an ideal space for a meditation center. A former nursery school at 120 East 86th Street went through dismantlings and painting. Within one year, the Jain Meditation International Center opened its doors to the public.
J.M.I.C., or The Center, as it came to be called, has become an oasis of calm, a space in which to discover one's inner space. By word of mouth, by means of an ever-expanding tape and video-tape program of Gurudev's talks, and through the books Gurudev has published since coming to the West,* people learn of the man whose talks can inspire them to turn their lives around completely and discover their meaning.
Gurudev wears the galaxies on his brow while grounding his feet in the common sense of every day. An “eternal traveler," he calls himself, “on a sojourn. We stop somewhere overnight and move on. While we are here, we live as lamps, illumining both ourselves and others. We live as a fresh breeze, giving a gentle cooling touch, and flow on.” If he wanted to, he could retire to a jungle retreat or a mountaintop, but he comes with a message which he himself exemplifies: “Don't run away from life! Fulfill what is meant for you with a willing heart! If you fight with the world, the fight remains with you, in you, corroding you."
*Books published in English in India by the Jain Meditation International Center:
Jain Master Speaks to One World Ten Dans' Journey Into The Self Sense Beyond The Senses The Philosophy of Soul And Matter The Miracle Is You Books published in America by Dodd, Mead, and Company: Realize What You Are: The Dynamics of Jain Meditation The Psychology of Enlightenment: Meditations on the Seven Energy Centers Twelve Facets of Reality: The Jain Path to Freedom.
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Jain Education International
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