Siddhachalam
Encyclopedia
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
Tirth
Tirtha
In Jainism, a tīrtha |ford]], a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha...
(pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
site) located outside of India. Founded in 1983 by Acharya
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
Sushil Kumarji
Sushil Kumarji
Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj was a Jain Acharya. Sushil Kumarji was the honorary president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, founder of the World Fellowship of Religions , and a founding member of the Vishva Hindu Parishad...
, it is located on a 108 acre (44ha) site in rural New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The main temple has idols of Lord Adinath, Lord Parshvanath, Lord Mahavira
Mahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...
, Lord Chandraprabhu and Lord Shantinath
Shantinath
Shantinath was the sixteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age . According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Shantinath was born to King Viswasen Raja and Queen Achira Rani at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku clan...
. There is also a small temple where the main idol is Lord Parshva
Parshva
Pārśva or Paras was the twenty-third Tirthankara "Ford-Maker" in Jainism . He is the earliest Jain leader generally accepted as a historical figure. Pārśva was a nobleman belonging to the Kshatriya varna....
nath.