Siddhachalam
{{short description|First Jain pilgrimage site located outside of India}}
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox religious building
| religious_affiliation = Jainism
| image = Siddhachalam1.jpg
| alt = Siddhachalam
| caption = The main temple at Siddhachalam, Digambara on the left and Śvētāmbara on the right
| image_size = 250
| map_size = 200
| map_type = USA New Jersey#USA
| map_alt = USA New Jersey
| map_caption = Location within New Jersey
| coordinates = {{coord|40.95478|-74.95188|region:US|display=inline,title}}
| location = 65 Mud Pond Road, Blairstown, New Jersey, United States
| festivals = Mahavir Jayanti
| temple_quantity = 2
| established = 1983
| creator = Sushil Kumarji
| website = {{url|http://www.siddhachalam.org/}}
}}
{{Jainism}}
Siddhachalam is the first Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) located outside of India. Founded in 1983 by Sushil Kumar, it is located on a 108-acre (44ha) site in rural New Jersey, United States.{{sfn|Richardson|2014|p=162}} Siddhachalam (Hindi: siddha, liberated souls; achal, a permanent place, as a mountain) literally means the abode of liberated souls.
History
In 1980, Sushil Kumar encouraged his disciples to acquire a long-abandoned children's summer camp and founded an ashram there to teach ahimsa. Kumar reportedly engaged there in extended samadhi meditation.{{sfn|Richardson|2014|p=162}} Twelve years later, he encouraged the community to establish temples in homage to Jinas. The ashram maintains the only Jain monastery outside India.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TiNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=Strangers in This Land|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786457274|last1=Allen Richardson|first1=E.|date=10 January 2014}} Siddhachalam has become an important center of Jain conferences and an important Jain pilgrimage.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1F2AAAAMAAJ |title=Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration|publisher=Aldershot|isbn=9780754638568|last1=Williams|first1=Raymond Brady|year=2004}} The center houses idols from all Jain sects, given that American Jains have sought to not bring in sectarian differences from India.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPQMAQAAMAAJ |title=Indians in America|publisher=Rawat Publications|isbn=9788170336389|last1=Sheth|first1=Pravin N.|year=2001}}
In 2012, Siddhachalam became the site for the world's first full-scale, complete replication of Shikharji, the most important place of pilgrimage for the Jains. Shikharji at Siddhachalam is the first Jain place of pilgrimage outside India.{{sfn|Richardson|2014|p=174}}
The main temple has marble idols of the tirthankaras Rishabha, Pārśva, Mahāvīra, Chandraprabha and Shantinatha.{{sfn|Richardson|2014|p=162}} There is also a small temple where the main idol is Pārśva.
The ashram is also a nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZET2sSUVsgC&pg=PA251 |title=Critical Companion to George Orwell|publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated|isbn=9781438108735|last1=Quinn|first1=Edward|date=14 May 2014}}
See also
{{Portal|Religion|North America|United States|New Jersey}}
References
= Citations =
{{reflist}}
= Sources =
- {{citation |last=Richardson |first=E. Allen |title=Seeing Krishna in America: The Hindu Bhakti Tradition of Vallabhacharya in India and Its Movement to the West |url={{Google books|BWQMBAAAQBAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=McFarland |date=2014 |isbn=9780786459735 }}
External links
- [http://www.siddhachalam.org Siddhachalam Jain Tirth]
{{Jain temples in North America}}
{{Jainism Topics}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:20th-century Jain temples
Category:Indian-American culture in New Jersey
Category:Jain temples in the United States