International Mahavira Jain Mission (IMJM)

The International Mahavira Jain Mission is a public charity formed in Ohio in June 1981. Its initial purpose was to:

To promote understanding of Jain sacred scriptures and teachings of Lord Mahavira;

To promote and propagate Jain religious doctrines and beliefs;

To promote the aims and teachings of His Holiness Muni Sushil Kumarji;

To provide academic, cultural and intellectual interchanges among Jains in the United States, India and elsewhere;

To promote the principles of pure vegetarianism, non-injury (Ahinsa) and many views and truths;

To celebrate auspicious Jain events and festivals;

To foster and promote the idea of construction of a "Jain Temple" and "Jain Ashram" in the United States;

To operate exclusively for religious, charitable and educational purposes that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

One of the foregoing purposes, namely "to foster and promote the idea of construction of a "Jain Temple" and "Jain Ashram" in the United States, became a reality soon thereafter in 1983 when the International Mahavira Jain Mission acquired about 108 acres of land that is now known as Siddhachalam Jain Tirth. The "Jain Temple" was formally opened in August 1991. In 1994, Siddhachalam expanded to include the land that now houses its library.

The Mission has published books by Acharya Sushil Kumar and by other scholars. These include, The Song of the Soul, An Introduction to the Namokar Mantra and the Science of Sound, by Acharya Sushil Kumar in 1987, and Jain Doctrine and Practice: Academic Perspectives, by Jospeph T. O"Connell in 2000. It has also made available discourses by Guruji, including his deep rendering of the Namokar Mantra. The rendering is considered among the most authentic rendering in modern times of the Namokar Mantra.

The Mission is a registered non-governmental organization with the United Nations and helps promote and dissemenate United Nations initiatives in the area of freedom of religion, peace, conflict resolution, and environmental matters, among others.

Guruji created several entities in various countries, formed under the laws of those countries, with similar names. Each is an independent entity.