Jain monk Tarun Maharaj died in the early hours Saturday at east Delhi's Radhapuri Jain Temple. He was 51.
Jain monk Tarun Maharaj died in the early hours Saturday at east Delhi's Radhapuri Jain Temple. He was 51.
"He was not keeping well and was earlier admitted to a private hospital in Vaishali. A few days ago, he had decided to come to the Radhapuri Temple in Krishna Nagar, where he died at around 3.18 am Influential Jain Muni Tarun Sagar passed away on Saturday. He was 51. He breathed his last at 3 AM at Radhapuri Jain Temple in Krishna Nagar of east Delhi after a prolonged battle with jaundice. He had stopped taking his medication and opted for Santhara - the Jain ritual of fasting to death. He enjoyed a massive fan following even outside the Jain community and was known for his nationalist views.
Tarun Sagar was greatly respected by various politicians including PM Modi, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje. Born on June 26, 1967, in Dahoh district of Madhya Pradesh, the renowned Digambar Jain monk has a huge following in the Jain community. He was popularly known for his sermons titled 'Kadve Pravachan'. He accepted celibacy and decided to lead a life of a monk in the year 1981.
His last rites will be performed in Uttar Pradesh's Muradnagar later in the day. PM Modi expressed his condolences, writing: "Deeply pained by the untimely demise of Muni Tarun Sagar Ji Maharaj. We will always remember him for his rich ideals, compassion and contribution to society. His noble teachings will continue inspiring people. My thoughts are with the Jain community and his countless disciples.”
1. Birth
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He was born Pawan Kumar Jain on June 26, 1967 to Pratap Chandra Jain and Shanti Bai Jain in a small village in Madhya Pradesh.
Pic Source: PM Modi's Twitter Handle
2. Great Orator
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He was known for bitter sermons with a caustic style littered with jokes and anecdotes. He had said on his style: “I had been sweet in the first 10 years. The side effect of me speaking sweet was that people used to sleep. Then my inner self told me not to waste time before these blind and deaf people... next day I made a statement and half of Hindustan turned against me...after that pressure was exerted on me to take back my statement...that was the beginning of bitter sermons.”
Pic Source: RSS
3. More Hindu fans than Jains
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Tarun Sagar possibly had more followers among Hindus than Jains and accepted food from everyone unlike other Jain gurus who only accepted food from Jains. Several politicians respected him greatly including PM Modi, CM Vasundhara Raje and CM ML Khattar.
Pic Source: PM Modi's Twitter Handle
4. Tarun Sagar Comments - On his following
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Speaking about his following, he said: "I am not acceptable everywhere. But I believe there are a large number of people who have affection for me. In my sermons, I don’t talk about any religion, any community, I talk only about life and everyone loves to live. That is the reason people love me. These days, people have scarcity of two elements: smile on face and happiness in life. I speak in both these elements and people not only listen to it but also choose it."
Pic Source: PTI
5. On Ram Temple
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Speaking about the Ram Temple debate, he had said: "I tell you blatantly that if Ram Mandir is not constructed in Ayodhya then would it be built in Saudi Arabia? Construct the Mandir where Ram was born."
Pic Source: Facebook
6. On PM Modi
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He had said: “I look at Modiji as a good Prime Minister. It seems after a long time, country has got a good Prime Minister. But I criticise Modiji for one thing... when Modiji was in opposition, he would oppose subsidy being given to slaughter houses during Congress government. Now Modi government has even hiked the subsidy on slaughter house and I will criticise it.”
Pic Source: PTI
7. Tarun Sagar with Mohan Bhagwat
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He got the RSS to drop the leather belt from its uniform to prevent animal slaughter.
Pic Source: RSS
8. On rapists babas
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He said: "I had said that rapist babas are dangerous than Bin Laden...they are murdering religious beliefs... Akhada has released list of 14 fake babas...I say there are not 14 but 14000 fake babas...after exploring only we can get to know what kind of mischiefs are going on in the name of religion. There are no code of conduct for these babas and that is why such accidents are happening.
Saints like us have completely code of behaviour and only by discharging clothes one can’t become Digambar saint. When a saint undergoes commitment, he has to vow 28 commitments. There has to code of behaviour then only this organisation can be saved."
Pic Source: PTI
