By Savita Jain
D E VOT I O N
Acharya Samrat Dr. Shiv Muni Ji – A Pious Soul
Savita Jain is a multi-talented individual who has dedicated herself to the community through many volunteer activities locally, nationally, and internationally. She volunteers her time to teach the proper pronunciation and meaning of Jain sutras to students all around the world and has taught over 60 adults and 25 kids more than 18 sutras. She is humbled, and considers herself very fortunate to be able to write about the exemplary life of Pujya Shri Acharya Samrat ji
Dr. Shiv Kumar, popularly known and reverentially addressed by the Jain followers as the Acharya Samrat Dr. Shiv Muni Ji Maharajsaheb, the spiritual head of the Jains, is a pious soul whose inner piety and goodness gets reflected in the divine resplendence on his face.
Early Years Born in Punjab in 1942 in an affluent and respected Oswal family to his mother, Vidhya Devi, and father, Chiranjiv Lal Ji, he was the middle of 7 children. He grew up learning about Jainism from his parents and grandparents. At the young age of seven, during a visit to his maternal grandparents, he met Upadhyay Pravartak Parampujya Shri FulchandJi Maharajsaheb and under his guidance learned Samayik and Pratikraman. He was always eager to
serve Sadhu-Sadhvis in any way he could. It was then that the seed of diksha was planted in his mind at such a young age.
From his early years, he would often wonder “What kind of meditation Bhagwan Mahavir Swami had engaged in that allowed him to connect with his soul to such a great extent?”
Student Life – Punjab to USA and Back
He did his Master’s in Philosophy from Punjab University, and Master’s in English Literature from J.V. Jain College, Saharanpur. His education, however, could not satiate his hunger for truth. Rather the acquisition of higher academic knowledge further intensified his desire for high spiritual knowledge. During his student life, he visited various countries including America, Canada, England, Switzerland,
15
