Jain Vishva Bharati Institute

The Jain Vishva Bharati Institute (JVBI) at Ladnun, Rajasthan, is the deemed university founded under Acharya Tulsi’s Terapanthi movement (institute status 1991) — the global center of Jain studies and of the Preksha meditation system.

Overview

The Anuvrat movement (1949, Acharya Tulsi’s vow-based moral campaign) and its international arm (Jain Vishva Bharati, 1970) built the institute at Ladnun near the Terapanth’s seat; Acharya Mahapragya’s Preksha Dhyana (perceptive meditation) systematized Jain meditation for modern practitioners there.

Core functions

Jainology and comparative religion studies (degree programs), the Preksha meditation research and training, Ahimsa studies (nonviolence research), and the Terapanth saman tradition (the samani order of Jain nuns trained as teachers).

Significance

JVBI made Jainism teachable in the modern university form; Preksha meditation and the anuvrat ethics carried Jain practice beyond the community; the institute’s manuscripts and Shanti Prakash? — its publications are standard references.

Modern status

A functioning deemed university; the Terapanth lineage (Acharya Mahashraman, from 2012) guides it; international Jain studies partnerships continue.

Verification notes

• The Anuvrat (1949) and university (1991) dates are documented.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).