Yugbhushan Suri

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Yugbhushan Suri
Yugbhushan Suri
Title	Pandit Maharaj Saheb[1]
Personal
Born	Naveen Khimji Mota (1957-10-26)26 October 1957
Religion	Jainism
Sect	Śvētāmbara

Yugbhushan Suri^[2][3][4][1](born 26 October 1957) born as Naveen Khimji Mota is a Jain acharya of Shwetamber tradition.

He holds, along with 31 other monks, the highest rank in Jaina order and as the heir of Tirthankara Mahavir Swami he is the 79th successor^[5] in the lineage of Ganadhara Sudharma Swami after his coronation as Gachhadhipati of Muni Mohjit Vijayji Samuday on 4 February 2020.^[6]

On 21 February 2021 celebration and felicitation function was held at Mumbai upon his 1st anniversary of coronation as Spiritual Sovereign^[7] also known as Gachhadhipati amongst Jain followers.^[8]

He is a disciple of Acharya Ramchandrasuri and was initiated into monkhood on 29 April 1979 along with his elder brother Muni Mohjit Vijayji.^[9]

He was appointed to Acharya position at Deolali on 23 April 2008.^{[10][4][11][3]}

Yugbhushan Suri leads Jyot,^[3][12][13] an organization spreading Jainism. He gave the concept to Jyot for films like Chal Man Jeetva Jaiye,^[14] an urban Gujarati morality drama,^[3] and Ek Cheez Milegi Wonderful,^[15][16] a scientific and philosophical movie.^[17]

In 2017, under the guidance of Yugbhushan Suri, a 50-foot tall 3D image projection of Jain Lord Mahavira emerging from Sabarmati River was organised on the evening of birth anniversary of Mahavira Swami.^[18]

Yugbhushan Suri led the Shikharji Movement, 2018 against Jharkhand government's project related to the development of commercial infrastructure on the hill of Shikharji.^[19] The hill is considered sacred by all Jain sects. He is concerned about government's effects on all religions and often supports agitations based on the sanctity of religious places.^{[20][21][22][23]} Jain Acharya's open letter to CJI elaborately juxtaposes the position of Indian religions vis-a-vis western religions showing his deep concern for pride of Indian religions.^[24]

He also urges to get particular definition on religious rights as right to privacy, equality and freedom of speech and expression had been significantly expanded.^[25]

In an article with FirstPost, Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushan suri (Pandit Maharaj) emphasised the importance of religious sovereignty in India as a means for global influence. Despite withstanding centuries of foreign invasion, the religious framework is still constantly meddled with in independent India. To maximise its soft power and revive the civilisational heritage, he says that India must correct historical wrongs and ensure religious sovereignty^[26]

At a conference organised in tribute to Maharana Pratap, Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) elaborated on how Maharana Pratap is considered the icon of sovereignty. Sovereignty is the most invaluable political aspect that must be protected at all costs. Delving into Indian history, he explained that during independence, India was granted legislative sovereignty, not absolute temporal sovereignty. Consequently, India was brought under the sovereignty of the British Empire in a de-jure manner. He guides contemporary Indian leaders by stating that India must break the de-jure sovereignty from under the British monarch and establish it with indigenous sources to secure India's independence and sovereignty for the future.^[27]

The Gitarth Ganga research institute organised an assembly, wherein Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) spoke about the protection of dharmik sampatti and management of sources of religious income to spread awareness among the Jain community. The assembly was attended by 276 representatives from 231 shravak sanghs of Ahmedabad and approximately 25 CAs and CSs, among others, totalling 430 individuals.^[28]

Arun Anand interviewed Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) for FirstPost to understand his insightful opinions about how India's G20 theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam can positively influence international relations, especially in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, terrorism and other global conflicts. During the interview, he explained that although India has immense potential, there is a long way to go to compete with China. Moreover, although India is home to all major religions, only Christianity has a global voice. Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) emphasises that other spiritual voices that encourage conflict resolution must be internationally recognised in an institutional set-up.^[29]

In an opinion piece with FirstPost, Mr. Abhinav Pandya of Usanas Foundation shared his insights on a panel discussion held under the aegis of Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj), one of the finest minds on strategy and foreign policy today. The panel discussed the topic of “Ethics of Kutumb towards Achieving Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. Mr. Pandya elaborated on his perspective in the article based on his realisation that Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) envisioned the topic as India's contribution to international relations theories. Modern international relations is dominated by Western theories, which focus on conflict and struggle. However, these theories are unlike the lived experiences of the Eastern world. Therefore, Spiritual Sovereign Jainacharya Yugbhushansuri (Pandit Maharaj) provided this topic (ethics of a kutumb can help achieve Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) as a revolution to international relations that focuses on ethics, morals and feelings of a shared future.^[30]

• Devardhigani Kshamashraman
• Manatunga
• Yashovijaya

^{[31] [32]}