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{{short description|Leader and prominent figure in American Jainism}}
{{for|the 16th century mathematician|Chitrabhanu (mathematician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chitrabhanu
| image = File:JAINAChitrabhanu.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Book Release on Chitrabhanu, [[JAINA]] 2017 at Edison NJ
| birth_name = Rup–Rajendra Shah
| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|07|26}}
| birth_place = [[Rajasthan]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|04|19|1922|07|26}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], India
| nationality =
| other_names = monk as Chandraprabha Sagar
| education = Degree in Psychology
| alma_mater = college at [[Bangalore]]
| occupation = Jain Spiritual leader, Jain philosopher, author
| years_active =
| employer =
| organization = Jain Meditation International Center in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]
| agent =
| known_for = First Jain Spiritual Leader travelled to US
| notable_works = Gujarati composition "Maitri Bhavanu Pavitra Jharanu", The Jain Path to Freedom
| awards =
| website = {{URL|www.jainmeditation.org}} /www.chitrabhanuji.com
| footnotes =
}}

'''Chitrabhanu''' (July 26, 1922 – April 19, 2019) was a prominent figure<ref>Michael Charles Tobias, A Jain Leader Addresses the World
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltobias/2012/09/18/a-jain-leader-addresses-the-world/</ref> in [[American Jainism]].<ref>American Yoga: The Paths and Practices of America's Greatest Yoga Masters, Carrie Schneider, Sterling Publishing Company, October 9, 2003, p. 39</ref><ref>Chitrabhanu: Man of the Millennium, Dilip Shah, June 21, 2017</ref> He was one of the co-founders of [[JAINA]].<ref name="Death"/>

==Personal life==
He was born on July 26, 1922 in a small town Takhatgarh in [[Pali district]] of Rajasthan, India. He studied [[psychology]] at [[Bangalore]].<ref name=jl>{{cite web|title=Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji – Life and Works|url=http://www.jainlibrary.org/chitrabhanu/Life_and_Works_of_Gurudev_Shri_Chitrabhanuji_2002.pdf|work=www.jainlibrary.org|accessdate=October 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211714/http://www.jainlibrary.org/chitrabhanu/Life_and_Works_of_Gurudev_Shri_Chitrabhanuji_2002.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> He found Acharya Sagaranand as his Guru. He became a Jain monk on February 6, 1942 at the age of 20 at [[Palitana]] and was named Muni Chandraprabha Sagar for 29 years.<ref name=jl />

In 1970 he was invited to attend The Second Spiritual Summit Conference to be held in April in [[Geneva, Switzerland]].<ref name=jl /> Jain monks are traditionally not permitted to travel overseas.<ref>Iconoclastic Jain Leader Is Likened to Pope John, New York Times, GEORGE DUGAN, December 18, 1973,</ref> He gave up monkhood in 1970 to attend the Summit, and became an ordinary shravaka. He also married Pramoda in 1971. He has two sons, Rajeev Chitrabhanu and Darshan Chitrabhanu.

He died in his [[Mumbai]] residence on April 19, 2019.<ref name="Death">{{cite news |title=Jain community mourns loss of major spiritual leader who made U.S. his home {{!}} News India Times |url=https://www.newsindiatimes.com/jain-community-mourns-loss-of-major-spiritual-leader-who-made-u-s-his-home/ |accessdate=June 7, 2019 |work=News India Times |date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>

== In USA ==
After spending some time in Africa and Europe, he came to the USA in 1971 at the invitation of [[Harvard Divinity School]].<ref name=jl /><ref>Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu: On Achieving Omega Consciousness, SUSAN K. BROWN, The Harvard, Crimson, Monday, April 30, 1979
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1979/4/30/gurudev-shree-chitrabhanu-on-achieving-omega/</ref> In 1973, he founded the Jain Meditation International Center in Manhattan, [[New York City]].<ref name=jl /> He claimed to attained enlightenment in 1981 by the ocean at San Diego.<ref name=jl />
In 1975 he met Jain Muni [[Sushil Kumarji]] to USA, the first practicing [[Jain monk]] on his visit to USA.<ref name=jl />

He was among the early promoters of [[Yoga]] in USA. His disciple Beryl Bender Birch developed her own style of yoga.<ref>American Yoga: The Paths and Practices of America's Greatest Yoga Masters,
Carrie Schneider,Sterling Publishing Company, 2003, p.39</ref>

== Establishment of JAINA ==
With his guidance, a federation of all Jain associations termed [[JAINA]] (Federation of Jain Associations in North America), was founded which became the umbrella organization with more than 100,000 members. For his unprecedented journey to bring the Jain tradition of [[ahimsa]] to the Western Hemisphere, Chitrabhanu received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.<ref name=jl />

== Works ==
He has written about twenty-five books which mainly deal with the topic of self-realization.<ref name="JonesRyan2006" /> Some of these are:<ref name=jl />
*The Jain Path to Freedom
*The Dynamics of Jain Meditation
*Meditations on the Seven Energy Centers
*The Philosophy of Soul and Matter
*Ten Days Journey into the Self
*The Miracle is You and Reflections

==See also==
* [[Jain Center of America]]
* [[Jainism in America]]
* [[JAINA]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="JonesRyan2006">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Constance|last2=Ryan|first2=James D.|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA112|year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|page=112}}</ref>}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.jaina.org/events/event_details.asp?id=248068 Guruji Chitrabhanuji's 90th birthday Celebration at JCA]

{{Jain Gurus}}
{{Modern Jain writers}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:Indian Jain monks]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jain writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Jain monks]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian monks]]

Chitrabhanu - Revision history

imported>Johnpacklambert at 14:07, 25 August 2021