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Foundation
stone laying ceremony of the Mangalayatan complex was witnessed by
thousands of devotees gathered from across the country on December 27,
2000. The ceremony, which continued for over 6 hours, was conducted in
a very sacred and pious atmosphere. Foundation stone of the
Mangalayatan complex was laid by Union Human Resources Development
Minister Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi while Sh. Rajnath Singh, the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh, unveiled the 'Shilanyas Pattika' of the
temple-cum-research complex.
A lot of religious, political and social
personalities were present in teh ceremony apart from a large number
of the members of the fourth estate. Foundation
stone laying ceremony began at 9:25 am with poojan,
abhishek and mangalashtak. Mangalacharan
and Vandana were also presented by the students of Delhi Public
School, Aligarh. President of Jain Mahila Club, Dehradun, Smt. Bina
Jain presented a song in the praise of Mangalayatan and Gurudev
Kaanji Swami. Eleven prominent members of the Jain community and other
respectable personalities were invited to take place on the dais
erected to conduct the ceremony. They included Managing Trustee of
Bharatiya Gnanpith, Sahu Ramesh Chand Jain; Member of Parliament Sh.
Laxmi Malla Singhavi; Chief Patron of the trust Pt. Kailash Chand
Jain; Sh. Nemish Bhai Shah; Sh. Jayanti Bhai
Shah; Principal of Delhi Public Schools Dr. Shyama Chona; Sh.
Chiman Bhai Thakarsi, Sh. Prafulla Bhai Raja and Sh.
Hansmukh Maganlal Shah etc.
Applauding
the trust for the plans to develop the Mangalayatan tirtha dham, Dr.
Murli Manohar Joshi highlighted the importance of religion in our
lives. He said, "This Mangalayatan will spread the message of
service to the needy, love, honesty and tolerance." He appealed
to the gathering to keep India's religious and spiritual tradition
alive. Sh. Rajnath Singh said that Jainism had been a great unifying
force in the country and had added a new dimension to the cause of
non-violence. "Everyone looking for mental and spiritual peace
will step into Mangalayatan," he said.
Renowned
constitutional expert and MP, Sh. L M Singhvi expressed hope that
Mangalayatan will act as a bridge between the Jain and Vaidik cultures
as the two have so much in common. Former Chief Editor of the Times of
India group, Sahu Ramesh Chand Jain was confident in saying that the
proposed complex will be counted among the most respected Jain
pilgrimage centers (tirtha) in the near future.
Executive
Secretary of the trust, Sh. Pawan Jain
introduced the concept of Mangalayatan before the gathering and
promised that the complex will be completed as per the target
schedule. In a speech, highly soaked in emotions and devotion, Sh.
Jain said that Mangalayatan is going to make a strong spiritual impact
on every devotee's life. Pt. Kailash
Chand Jain also spoke about the proect.
Prominent
among those present during the ceremony were State Minister Sh.
Dalbir Singh, Members of Parliament Sh. Kishan
Lal Diler, Dr. Gyanwati Singh, Sh. Jagvir Kishor Jain,
Divisional Commissioner Sh. Rajiv Gupta, District Magistrate (Aligarh)
Sh. Devdatt, District Magistrate (Hathras) Sh. RK Bhatnagar, City
Mayor Smt. Savitri Varshney, Jila Panchayat Chief
Sh. Tejvir Singh, MLAs Ramsakhi, Sh. Nemsingh Chauhan, Sh. Yashpal
Singh Chauhan, Sh. Harishankar Mahore and Vice Chancellor
of Aligarh Muslim University Md. Hamid Ansari. Among the prominent
members of media present on the occasion were Sh. Achyutanand Mishra
(Editor, Lokmat Times, Nagpur), Sh. Ashok Agrawal (Chief Editor, Amar
Ujala group), Sh. Rahul Dev (TV Presenter and Former Editor of
Jansatta) etc. The program was presided
over by Sh. Shital Prasad Jain, Bulandshahar.
Pictures
of the ceremony
Rath-yatra and Cultural Program
The
impressive ceremony was preceded by a kilometer long 'rath-yatra'
(processon of chariots) of Bhagwan Adinath comprising seven chariots,
which had arrived from different cities like Meerut, Hathras,
Ferozabad, Jevar and Aligarh. About 15,000 devotees including 3000
mumukshus (high priests) participated in the rath-yatra. The
procession, which began from Malukchand Oil Mil ended at the
Mangalayatan site at 9:00 am.
On the
next night, a cultural program was organised at Bagwala
Jain Temple. Artists associated with the Jain Mahila Club, Dehradun
presented an impressive dance-drama based on King Shrenik and Queen
Chelana apart from a customary Panch-parmeshti Vandana. The
program was directed by Bina Jain, the President of the Jain Mahila
Club.
Pictures
of the ceremony
Bhoomi-Poojan
On
December 21, 2000, Bhoomi-Poojan of 'Mangalayatan' pilgrimage
complex took place amid chanting of sacred hymns. Leveling and digging
work also started at the location on the same day. Lots of
enthusiastic members of the Jain community from Aligarh and other
cities were present at the occasion. The ceremony marked the beginning
of the first phase of development of the 'Mangalayatan' complex. The
process will take a duration of around 18 months to complete.
The
Bhoomi-Poojan was conducted by Pt. Brajlal Shah (Badwan, Gujrat) and
Bhogi Bhai Dagli (Mumbai). Chief Patron of Shri Adinath Kund-kund
Kahan Digambar Jain Trust and renowned Jain scholar Pt. Kailash Chand
Jain formally started the digging work at the site. Sh. Manoj Jain,
the architect for the 'Mangalayatan' and Sh. Manoj Jain, the building contractor
were facilitated by the trust during the ceremony along with the
laborers working on project. Sh. Pawan Jain, the brain behind the
project, gave a brief description of the project to the people present
in the ceremony.
Pictures
of the ceremony
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