Gaya: Malaysia-based Sunyatee International Foundation (SIF), which is working on the restoration of ancient sutras at Indian universities that were taken to China centuries ago, has made a significant development in its work.The initiative is being led by Lim Siow Jin, a Malaysian citizen of Chinese ancestry and an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus, working to restore ancient sutras at Nalanda, Takshashila and other universities across the country.SIF director Rajesh Savera, said at a press meet in Bodh Gaya on Tuesday that the team of scholars working on the mission since 2022, has successfully got translated sutras from 84 verses of Gita, Buddha philosophy, Prajnaparamita, sutra a genre of Mahayana Buddhist text, the diamond sutra, and Agama sutra, Maa Annapurna sutra and some other ancient sutras on palm leaf.He added: “SIF founder Lim Siow Jin, also known as Dhyanacharya Nagajiva, started working on the sutra project to dispel the misconception that people of India were not skilled in the art of writing”.He clarified that the process of restoring the ancient sutras to Indian universities would not require govt involvement.Mangesh Bhai, a former IAS, who quit the job to join the SIF team said, “The palm leaves on which laser printing of the text is being done, have a life of more than 1,000 years and are waterproof. We procure palm leaves from Odisha and Telangana and process it before the print work.”“The sutras are being translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and other Indian languages. It is also available online,” he added.Savera was in Bodh Gaya with SIF team members on Tuesday to attend sixth mega camp of SIF at Bodh Gaya focussed at ensuring mental wellness of the people belonging to the underprivileged section.As per information from SIF, a large number of men, women and children from adjoining areas of Bodh Gaya attended the programme. The organisation has also been working to ensure health benefits to the malnourished children.“At the camp, we teach people just to practice meditation with a peaceful mind,” Savera said.
