Acharya Sushil Kumar

December 24, 2023

A commemorative postage stamp on the Acharya Sushil Kumar, a Jain monk, founder of International Mahavira Jain Mission :

Issued by India

Issued on Dec 24, 2023

Issued for : Department of Posts is pleased to issue Commemorative Postage Stamp on Acharya Sushil Kumar and salutes his spiritual life and work for humanity, peace and self-realization.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Brochure : Ms. Anjali Tegwal
Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Nenu Gupta

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 421220

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Sushil Kumar

Born on 15 Jun, 1926 at Sikhopur, Haryana, India

Died on 22 Apr, 1994 at New Delhi, India

About :

Acharya Sushil Kumar was a self-realized master who devoted more than 50 years to promoting non-violence, peace and knowledge of the self. Guruji (as he is lovingly called by many of his devotees) was born on June 15, 1926 in a Brahmin household in Sikhopur, a small foothill village in Haryana, India. The village was later named Sushilgarh in his honor. As a seven-year-old child, he left his home to live with Shri Chotelalji Maharaj, who later become his religious guru. Shri Roop Chandji Maharaj was spiritual guru of Acharya Sushil Kumar.
When he was 15 years old he became a Jain muni (monk) in Swetamber Sthanakwasi sect. During his academic career he mastered the classical studies of Indian religious and yogic philosophies.
As a Jain monk, he traveled on bare foot, across the length and breadth of India. He represented the Sthānakwasi Jain tradition in the making of Saman Suttam, a compilation of Jain principles that was acceptable to all sects of Jainism. 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’. He was a poet and an author and wrote more than twenty books on Jainism and knowledge of the self.
For hundreds of years and as long as historical records are available, Jain monks did not use any mechanical means for travel. However, on June 17, 1975, Acharya Sushil Kumar made the decision to travel outside India by aircraft to spread Bhagwan Mahavir’s message of Ahimsa (non-injury) and Anekantavada (belief that no one has a monopoly on truth). He traveled and taught extensively, spreading the message of nonviolence and self-awareness. He established many ashrams in India and abroad.
Guruji founded many spiritual organizations, including the World Fellowship of Religions (1957) and the Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh (1957). He also founded the International Mahavir Mission (1977), Arhat Jain Sangh (1979), the World Jain Congress (1981) and the World Center of Non-Violence. He was the Honorary President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, the director of the Temple of Understanding, a Founding Member of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival, President of the Punjab Peace Unity Committee, President of the Ram Janambhoomi – Babri Masjid Solution Committee and a Founding Member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
His primary ashram in North America, Siddhachalam, located in Blairstown, New Jersey, was established in 1983. Siddhachalam is regarded as the first tirtha (site of pilgrimage) outside India. He was among the founding fathers of American Jainism. In 1991, on the occasion of the Pratishtha Ceremony of the main temple at Siddhachalam, various felicitation resolutions were passed by the US houses including US House of Representatives, New Jersey General Assembly, Senate of State of New Jersey etc.
Acharya Sushil 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.
Guruji had a vision of an earth united in the pursuit of ahimsa, peace and brotherhood. In 1957, he convened a World Religions Conference with more than 1200 representatives from 27 countries and 500,000 people in attendance. His work was not limited to creating religious harmony; he also received acclaim for his pioneering work in the fields of animal and environmental protection. In 1966, he initiated India’s cow protection movement to signify protection of the weakest.
In 1982, he inspired the leaders of eight nations to submit a memorandum demanding peace through non-violence to the Secretary General of the United Nations. In August 1989, he was invited to inaugurate and preside over the World Hindu Conference in Britain. In the same year, he addressed the World Conference of Religions for Peace in Melbourne, Australia, advocating the dire need to protect the animal kingdom and our natural environment, In 1990, he was an honored guest at the Global Conference for Human Survival in Moscow. In 1991 he traveled to Iran in an attempt to persuade Saddam Hussein to adopt a peaceful resolution to the Gulf Crisis. At the World Parliament of Religions conference at Chicago in 1993, he delivered the keynote address where he emphasized the need to create a charter of Animal Rights for ecological balance, a key to human survival.
In 1982, the International Mahavira Jain Mission founded by him became affiliated with the United Nations and the concept of Ahimsa was adopted at the Sacred Earth Gathering as a core principle for protecting all forms of life.
Acharya Sushil Kumar journeyed around the world and he was sought after by millions for his wisdom, his loving and childlike simplicity, and for his teachings of love and brotherhood. He was known to engage in deep meditation for days at a sitting and easily traverse time, space and lives. He attained Samadhi (left his worldly body) on the 22 April 1994 in New Delhi.
Text : Referenced from content provided by Proponent.