Inner Journey Part 01

Author(s): Namramuni
Publisher: Parasdham Mumbai
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007615/1

Page #1
The Inner Journey... Part - 1 Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb

Page #2
The Inner Journey... Part - 1 Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb

Page #3
The Inner Journey By Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb Published by : Parasdham - Mumbai. First Edition printed in August 2011. : Available at: PARASDHAM Vallabh Baug Lane, Tilak Road, Ghatkopar (E), Mumbai - 400 077. Phone : 022-32043232. 12/2a, Bakulbagan Row, Kolkata - 700 025. Phone : 9831067208 A PAWANDHAM Opp. B.C.C.I Ground, Mahavir Nagar, Kandivali (W), Mumbai - 400 067. Phone : 022-32092277. Old Padara Road, Hathibhai Nagar, Vadodara - 390 007. Phone : 0265-3293232. SHREE UVASAGGAHARAM SADHANA BHAVAN 4, Africa Colony, Kalawad Road, Rajkot. Phone : 0281-6548659 Did you enjoy reading this book ? Your feedback is valuable. For feedback and review email us at gparsdham@yahoo.com

Page #4
CONTENTS .001 2. 028 044 063 5. 083 Samveg Longing for Salvation. Nirved Disgust for worldly objects. Dharma Shraddha Faith in religion. Seva.. Servitude to Guru & co-religionists leads to liberation. Aalochana Confession. Ninda Self repentence. Garha Hatred towards sins. Samayik Equanimity. Chauvisantho A hymn for HIM. Vandana To bow down with devotion. 105 114 8. 129 9. 152 10.

Page #5
PREFACE Only when infinite luck dawns...only those who have infinite punya (virtuous) karmas are fortunate to read and listen to Parmatma's preachings. We are amongst the select few who have the opportunity to read and listen to the infinite knowledge of Parmatma through Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shri Namramuni Maharaj Saheb. Lord Mahavir's final sermons are compiled in 36 chapters of Shri Uttaradhyayan Sutra(Jain sriptures-Aagam). In the 29th chapter, titled "Samyak Parakram," are embodied 73 easy and simple steps to detach from worldly attachments. Parmatma has shown us these 73 steps to enlighten our soul and guide us to ultimately become free from the cycle of birth and death. They are the milestones on the path to attain liberation. Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shri Namramuni Maharaj Saheb gave discourses on these 73 steps in his unique, simple and innovative style. These discourses were compiled as "Siddhatva Ni Yatra- parts 1 to 4." The Inner Journey - part 1 is the English translation of the same. This book consists of the first ten steps, milestones or commandments. The other commandments will follow in part 2, part 3 and part 4. Pujya Gurudev has explained each word... each step in great detail with relevant examples and short stories in such depth that if one reads it with proper understanding and

Page #6
implements it in his life, he will progress swiftly towards liberation. Let us read each step shown to us by Parmatma, with proper understanding, dedication and devotion... think and ponder over it... implement it in our life... while chanting Parmatma's name and with a feeling of obligation to Pujya Gurudev... begin our journey onto the path of liberation. Pujya Gurudev's mission is to spread awareness and knowledge amongst people. HE has initiated Look n Learn for children, Arham Yuva Group for youngsters, Arham Senior Citizen's Group, Arham Satsang, Divine Mission, Shree Uvasaggaharam Bhakti Group, Guru Spandan and Dharma Shravan ,thus, inspiring all age groups. With Pujya Gurudev's inspiration and guidance, various publications like Pranpushpa (monthly), Look n Learn (fortnightly), Jain Kranti (monthly) and Arham Sandesh (fortnightly) are read by millions, all around the world. Besides Pujya Gurudev's yearly sermon and Aagam books, Shibirs, Programs, Gurubhakti songs as well as DVD's of his discourses are in demand, all across the globe. We thank Uma Shah for her dedicated efforts in translation, Rashmin Shah for printing and the Parasdham Computer Team for the design layout. In addition, Pratima Badani, Nandita Sheth ,Swati Kamdar, Hemal Doshi, Jayshree Doshi, Forum Shah, Jaina Tolia and Khushbu Vora are greatly indebted to Pujya Gurudev for this invaluable opportunity of being a part of the editorial team of "The Inner Journey." This undertaking has been successfulonly with Pujya Gurudev's blessings and showers of grace. - Parasdham

Page #7
INTRODUCTION * The 15 milestone of 'The Inner Journey' is SAMVEG - Once longing for salvation is born, worldly attachments cease to exist. * The 2nd milestone is NIRVED - To detest worldly objects. Nirved follows Samveg. The 3rd milestone, DHARMA SHRADDHA, teaches us to have faith in religion and to surrender to Dev and/or Guru. * GURU AND SADHARMIK SEVA, the 4" milestone, tells us that one can become modest and humble by serving Guru and coreligionists. * We must disclose our faults before our Guru and empty ourselves to be able to gain knowledge. This is AALOCHANA - CONFESSION, the 5"" milestone. * The 6 and 7th milestones, NINDA and GARHA, explain how to criticize our sins and repent for them. We must also detest our sins so that they are never committed again. The 8th milestone, SAMAYIK, stops our sinful activities and brings out our virtuous qualities. * In CHAUVISANTHO, the 9th milestone, while performing Logassa, we sing praises of the 24 Tirthankars and purify our soul. * The 10 milestone tells us that by doing VANDANA, we make efforts to become one with Parmatma. Let us begin crossing each milestone and climbing the steps onto the path of attaining Siddhi. This will help us gradually move away from worldly attachments, and initiate us towards liberation.

Page #8
ET Attraction of our soul towards the Supreme Soul. II SAMVEGII LONGING FOR SALVATION gssdoJOUS ASVO ! Ordo qH$ OUB? doJOUS A Wimas Ya_gOS OU'B, AUwimamE Ya_gumE ggdoj Id_mJAN AUGVM UV-{Y H$moh-_mU-_m`m-bmo^o IdoB, UdS M H$a -SYB, B'M{AN>Im{dgmogh H$mD$U X&gUmamhE X$g, mohrEus {dgwOmE AEWOJB'm Ordm VoUod ^d%2 h Jous APB ~WAPB_wfB n[a{Uidm'B gidXwSImU SV& H$a, {dgrohe US {dgwOmE Vf& nwUmo ^d%2JHUF UMB,$_B 1i&

Page #9
Parmatma (Supreme Divine Soul) bestowed upon us 73 bols (commandments) to attain emancipation. The 1" commandment is Samveg- undeterred love for God and strong yearning for liberation. This commandment is of prime importance in this 5" era as it is impossible to attain salvation and be united with Parmatma, without longing for salvation. O Parmatma! What does the soul attain by Samveg? What exactly is Samveg? When Chandanbala saw Parmatma Mahavir, she could not remove her gaze from HIM. She kept on looking into his loving eyes and while gazing at HIM, she started yearning for Parmatma and finally, she experienced an ardent desire to become like Parmatma. That state, that vision, those feelings, those intentions are called Samveg bhaav (an ardent, undeterred yearning to attain salvation and be united with Parmatma). What is the pious definition of Samveg? The spiritual attraction of the soul towards the Divine Supreme soul and the ardent faith and worship that is generated due to this divine attraction is called Samveg. Param means The Supreme Being, the highest and the ultimate. Param means Dev Guru or an ideal person. Divine worship is impossible without constant divine yearning. That is called Samveg.

Page #10
"Divine attraction" without which "Divine Worship" is not possible, is called "Samveg". Until Chandanbala had not seen Parmatma she had mixed feelings, both of attachment and detachment, for her kingdom and luxuries. But, the moment she set her eyes on Lord Mahavir, their inner vision got connected. From that moment her mind, heart and soul constantly began longing and yearning for Parmatma and to be with HIM forever. She was thirsty for HIS guidance and impatient to hear HIS words. She longed to fill her heart with Parmatma's essence. The impatience that had set in her entire being, the eagerness to imbibe the Paramtatva (ultimate reality) of Parmatma in her heart made her restless everywhere and thus, she did not enjoy any material pleasures. That is why, although Chandanbala was sent back to the palace, where she had the opportunity to lead the life of a princess and enjoy the luxuries of the palace, she was not happy in the palace and constantly felt unsettled. She led a grand life, but she was not contented with these luxuries. Though she lived with her near and dear ones, amidst the luxuries of the palace, she felt lonely. She had everything at her disposal but her heart starved to meet her Lord Mahavir and to be with Parmatma. She felt a strong longing to hear Parmatma's discourse and his soothing words. The following lines clearly explain her state. "Pa ke tujko kya mein mangu, kuch nahi hai sujta..... Ek tera naam meri rag rag mein hai gunjata...!"

Page #11
After attaining oneness with you, what more can I ask for? I cannot think of anything else. It is only your name that keeps humming in each and every breath of mine. Such a divine experience! An attachment that is totally spiritual and devoid of any physical attraction! No doubt, there was a strong attraction, but it was for the amazing eyes of Lord Mahavir. There was also a deep desire to drown in the pool of the divine love flowing from HIS eyes. Chandanbala's attachment was that of a devotee who is drenched in the divine love of God. The happiness, contentment and the supreme bliss which she did not experience amidst all the luxuries of this world... she experienced that happiness and contentment by drowning in the pool of the divine pool of love flowing from Parmatma's eyes. Lord Mahavir had not asked Chandanbala to leave the palace and take the path of salvation. Yet in the midst of all the luxuries of this materialistic world, her eyes were only seeking Parmatma's affectionate eyes. She was constantly preoccupied with HIS thoughts. Where must HE be? How must HE be staying....? Her oneness and unity with Lord Mahavir reached a stage where she started feeling that, "My Lord is leading a simple life and eating simple food, how can I live in luxury and relish delicacies?"

Page #12
The spiritual attraction towards ultimate reality, and the force and magnitude this attraction provides, to a devotee's worship is called Samveg bhaav. Samveg is the fuel that speeds up the progress of a seeker. It enhances the feeling of dedication and the devotedness, just as a lubricant increases the speed and the efficiency of a machine. No matter how much knowledge a seeker acquires, until and unless he experiences Samveg bhaav, the knowledge acquired by him is mere information. This sort of knowledge, devoid of Samveg bhaav can never let a seeker proceed onto the path of salvation and attain Moksha ( liberation from the cycle of birth and death). It can enhance the seekers intellect, but not the purity of his soul. Samveg purifies and clarifies the intellect and helps a seeker attain spiritual progress. Samveg very naturally inspires a soul to reach the Supreme Being. Once this strong feeling is aroused, the seekers' journey automatically begins. Samveg leads to self-awakening and inspiration to tread on the path of liberation. Once this strong feeling is aroused there is no necessity of any teaching or advice to undertake self-upliftment. It is a silent, sublime journey, seemingly inactive, yet, very active. = =

Page #13
When an individual is strongly attached to the world and worldly pleasures, he thinks of nothing else. He is completely involved in the complexities of this material world. He enjoys it. He loves it. This attachment is called raag. But when this strong unflinching attachment and attraction is towards God, for God, and when everything else besides Paramatma or Guru becomes immaterial and unimportant, it is called devotion or worship (bhakti). Samveg is another name for bhakti. Longing for salvation is another name for worship. O Parmatma! What does a devotee achieve by worship? Attraction towards the Supreme Being results in freedom from the painful shackles of this world. Attraction towards the Supreme Divine Soul leads one to become an Arihant (one who is free from attachment and hatred) When one worships Parmatma, he gets attracted towards HIM and gradually strives to become like HIM. True worship also enables a devotee to converse with Parmatma. There is a pleasure in listening to the words spoken by Parmatma in Ardhamagdhi (The Lord's language) and also in spreading the teachings of HIS golden words. If we go to the United States of America and hear everyone speaking in English but if we are unable to converse

Page #14
in that language, we will suffer an inferiority complex and would want to learn it as soon as possible. Similarly, while listening to Parmatma's teachings in Prakrut (an Indian language), a curiosity and longing should arise within us to learn Parmatma's language. One should feel restless to learn the language and converse with HIM and experience the most fortunate moment in his life!! Moments when one converses with Parmatma , are the most divine moments in a person's life. The auspicious moments... imagine if one could converse with Paramatma ... those would be the ultimate moments in a person's life. There is, however, another question and another truth here. Which is the ideal language to converse with Parmatma? Have any of us ever had the experience of conversing with Parmatma? One does not require any language in order to converse with the Supreme Being except true love and feelings. The Lord Almighty is aware of our unspoken words and feelings too. When a child goes to a temple, he recites A... to... Z as his prayer because, for him, this is his prayer, as he knows nothing else and no other way of worship. True feelings inevitably find a way of expression. Words without feelings are useless. In a prayer, language is surpassed =

Page #15
by the waves of true feelings. Our message of love and devotion reaches Parmatma through our feelings and heart. There is a library in Gujarat which has about one-and-a - half lakh books on Jainism. A learned man was in-charge of the library. Pujya Gurudev wanted some books on leshya (aura) for reference, as he was writing an article on it. HE went to the library and inquired about the books HE needed. The pandit (a learned man) immediately gave him complete details of the book, the page number, where the article could be found, the row in which the book was shelved, etc. He also suggested three more books for reference! Pujya Gurudev was highly impressed by the pandit's knowledge. When Pujya Gurudev turned to leave the library, the pandit asked pujya Gurudev his age. This is the incident that occurred in 1995. At that time pujya Gurudev was twenty-five years old. The pandit said, "Maharaj Saheb, at this young age, why are you wasting your time, energy and life after Mahavir. The knowledge HE has conveyed in HIS sermons is just to deceive innocent people like you. Forget these things and enjoy life." Pujya Gurudev was absolutely stunned and shocked. HE became speechless and did not know what to say! The learned man had immense knowledge but he had no Guru in his life to guide him. If one does not have the blessings of a Guru and has not surrendered to his Guru, his knowledge remains merely bookish and thus, cannot be

Page #16
effective enough to purify his soul. Parmatma has shown the path of liberation in the form of 73 ropes (commandments). The first amongst them is Samveg... longing for salvation. A person cannot become accomplished without total surrender. A person cannot attain salvation without total surrender. Until and unless a person surrenders at the Lotus feet of the Lord, he cannot reach the heights of spirituality (siddha shila according to Jain philosophy). There can be no Supreme accomplishment without Samveg. The attainment of emancipation is directly proportional to the act of surrendering. One should bow down at the Lotus feet of the Lord and surrender himself to the Supreme Being to follow the right and the ultimate path. When we completely surrender to Parmatma, an eternal faith is born, which serves as a lifeline for dedicated worship. Dedication without faith is like a lifeless body. Faith in religion is born out of longing for salvation. How did Chandanbala develop faith in Parmatma? When she surrendered completely at the Lotus feet of her UV -

Page #17
Lord, she developed undeterred faith in the words of Parmatma. Faith and devotion are like two sides of a coin. When faith develops, devotion increases and as devotion increases, faith is strengthened. With the increase in faith, the urge to surrender also increases. This enhances a devotee's worship, discipline and service towards attaining emancipation. A scarecrow is placed in the field to protect the crops from birds and other creatures. Seeing the scarecrow, birds fly away, but only temporarily. It only creates an illusion. Similarly, a learned man can get rid of his vices with some knowledge, but this is for a short period only. Without a Guru's guidance and blessings, a devotee may practice spirituality by himself, but it only creates an illusionary world around him, in reality, he can never achieve spiritual heights. A devotee without a Guru can obtain knowledge but cannot attain purity of soul. One can reach Parmatma, and become like him only by ardent worship, faith and dedication. As Chandanbala's attraction towards Parmatma increased, her detachment from the world also increased. She did not harbor any negative feelings for anyone, did not get angry with anyone. The reason being, she saw -- 1 =

Page #18
Parmatma in everything and everyone in this world. This is the beauty of divine love. When a person's entire view changes and becomes solely a view of Parmatma, his outlook, attitude, perspective and feelings also change. Negative and destructive emotions like anger, ego, greed and deceit, which have been deeply ingrained in him since ages, are gradually destroyed. He experiences the presence of Parmatma everywhere!! In a nutshell the eternal truth is that without becoming a devotee, a person's negative qualities can never be eliminated. When King Pardesi met Guru Keshiswami, he experienced eternal peace from within, such that when his wife, Surikanta, poisoned him, he only kept on thinking of Keshiswami and did not bear any hateful thoughts towards Surikanta. Keshiswami had advised him to remain calm and contented under all circumstances. He had gained control over his anger. As a result even when his wife poisoned him, he remained peaceful... peace prevailed in him naturally! That came very naturally because he had attained eternal peace with himself as well as the external world. The words of Keshiswami were like Gurumantra (golden words of a Guru) for him. He was dedicated to Keshi Swami and constantly remembered him. His Samveg bhaav for Keshiswami, his soulful attraction to him, his total surrender

Page #19
to him took him to greater spiritual heights. Thus, the devotee of Keshiswami attained Bhagvatta. Bhagvatta means to possess qualities like Parmatma. One cannot gain the qualities like Parmatma without being a devotee. A devotee is inseparable from his Guru and with HIM around, does not indulge in the binding of new karmas. Parmatma is not physically present with his devotee all the time, but HE is always with him in spirit... a devotee's entire existence is filled with the essence of Parmatma. A true devotee (bhakt) is one who has attained oneness with his Guru. He is called avibhakt (one who is not separate). A true seeker does not necessarily have to go to a temple or a shrine to get the darshan (sight) of Parmatma. He constantly sees his Parmatma within him. When the soul is attracted to the Supreme Divine Soul, it loses interest in worldly matters and does not indulge in binding new sinful karmas. Parmatma has shown a simple and effective way. One who practices religion and becomes a devotee improves this life, but one who helps others understand religion, attains religion and new spiritual heights in his next life too. A fast flowing river was asked a question, "Why are you in - 12

Page #20
such a hurry to meet the ocean?" The river replied, "I feel a constant attraction towards the ocean." She wanted to reach the sky and attain great heights. She was told by the great ascetics that, to reach the sky, she should merge with the ocean. Thus, she felt that the ocean was her only support and became restless in order to merge with it. Why is this so? Why is the river so strongly attracted? What is the reason for her tremendous speed? When the soul begins its journey towards the Supreme Divine Soul, why does it experience Samveg? When a river branches into its tributaries, its speed decreases. Similarly when seekers branch off, their speed decreases. Those without steady thoughts split whereas dedicated seekers do not branch off. They are as solid as a rock. Their direction and goal is fixed. When the soul moves with speed towards Parmatma, a longing for salvation is born. Longing for salvation (Samveg bhaav) is the dedication and vigor to move ahead towards a single direction with the sole aim of meeting Parmatma. These are Parmatma's valuable golden words. The Gandhar Bhagvants (disciples of the Tirthankar's) have chiseled ornaments to these golden words of Parmatma. If these ornaments are easily available to us as a gift, should we not have a longing to possess them and make them our own, at the earliest? U 13 -

Page #21
The Gandhar bhagvants have moulded the gold into ornaments and our Guru Bhagvants have placed these ornaments in decorative boxes and presented them to us in such an attractive way that on seeing them, one would definitely be tempted to wear these ornaments, own them and make them their own. The jewels presented to us by our Guru Bhagvants are our Aagam Shastras (Jain scriptures). What should one do before owning these ornaments? One should have the feeling of total surrender and devotion to gain pure knowledge. After purchasing the ornaments, one should have the sense to wear the right piece at the right time and at the right place! While reading the Aagams, at the beginning, when the Namaskar Mahamantra is recited, one must close his eyes and visualize Parmatma, the Divine Gandhars, Gautamswami and Sudharmaswami in order to recollect their gratitude. "O Parmatma! I am gaining this Right Knowledge because of your blessings." This attribute of gratefulness will ingrain the knowledge in our hearts deeply and permanently. This attribute of gratefulness will imbibe the knowledge in our hearts deeply and forever. Each and every shravak (layman) and shravika (laywoman) here, is enriched with Parmatma's precious

Page #22
jewels, just as in a king's palace, every individual, young or senior, is adorned with precious jewels. We too should be so enriched and fulfilled with Parmatma's ornaments, that no greed is left within us for any other wealth of the world. "The one who is herself beautiful will never be attracted towards other's beauty." "The one who feels complete will not get distracted elsewhere." When the river was questioned, "Why do you flow towards the ocean?" She answers, "I can't think of anything else but the ocean." The river was so captivated by the ocean that she did not feel attracted to any town or village. She just kept flowing without waiting for anyone. When the destination is clear, then achieving the goal and moving towards it becomes certain. One does not stray from the path. We should feel similar attraction, similar internal bond, for Parmatma and our Guru. When the flow of the river is vigorous, it must be utilized. A dam is never constructed on a dry or a slow flowing river, but always on a vigorously flowing river. When we experience a unique spiritual and soulful attraction in our heart, when we yearn to merge with God, Guru and religion, we must consider it as the most sublime moment in our life, which is coupled with a divine = 5 =

Page #23
opportunity to sow seeds for a magnificent future. The right action taken during these moments leads us to emancipation. These moments are very rare and they come in our life after infinite cycles of birth and death. The rousing of Samveg bhaav in any individual is very rare and comes after numerous years of meritorious deeds. The attraction of the soul towards the world or worldly pleasures is raag and the attraction of the soul towards the supreme soul is Samveg. Raag for the world will keep us within the worldly cycle of birth and death, while samveg for ultimate reality will lead us to Paramtatva and will finally convert us into the Supreme Being (param). Samveg is the inner urge of the soul to recognize and realize the soul as an entity (atmatatva). When there arises a longing for salvation and worship, when there is rousing of devotion, it leads to faith and dedication. As dedication and faith become stronger and firmer, one becomes much more ready for total surrender. When the urge to surrender reaches its peak, the individual attains equanimity (sambhaav) and his anger, pride, greed and deceit are eradicated. Worship decreases anger, pride, deceit and ego. Total surrender (samarpanta) is the amalgamation of two words - total (sam) and surrender(arpanta). The offering which brings about equanimity is samarpanta. We offer -- 6 =

Page #24
plentiful to this world, and at times we are obliged to give. But an offering which is made with our choice, which gives us happiness and makes us attain equanimity, is true surrender. A newlywed was taken to Chandrudra Acharya Maharaj by his friends. They told Acharya Maharaj that they had brought a disciple for him. Chandrudra Acharya was a very short-tempered person. He remained quiet for some time. When his friends consistently nagged at the Acharya, he held the newlywed man, pulled-out his hair and made him his disciple. What is the difference between boiling water and cold kerosene? Water at any temperature will always extinguish fire, whereas kerosene will always create a blaze, even if it is frozen. There is difference between anger of various people. Anger of a saint is like boiling water whereas anger of a layman is like frozen kerosene. Some people have the capacity to pacify even an angry monk, whereas there are some who can provoke even calm and cool people. That man became his disciple and surrendered himself with his entire existence to the Acharya. He requested the Acharya to relocate to another place because he knew that if his parents found him, they would either take him back or trouble the Acharya. He said that he would not be able to 17V

Page #25
withstand anyone insulting or harassing his Guru. He could not even dream of being the cause of any pain or trouble. Since Chandrudra Acharya was barely able to move, the disciple agreed to carry him. The Acharya had foresight. He thought that if they stayed there, the disciple's parents would come and it would lead to unnecessary arguments, anger and hatred and the soul would bind infinite karmas which cannot be eradicated easily. Though Jain saints should not travel at night, he decided to do so for a good cause. He thought that, as a knowledgeable saint, he could at last perform penance and annihilate his karmas. Chandrudra Acharya sat on the disciple's shoulder. The disciple was unable to walk sturdily as there were pot holes in the road. Chandrudra Acharya hit him on the head with his fist and ordered him to be careful (our Gurus do test us at times). The disciple heard his Guru's angry words but remained calm. He had totally surrendered himself at his Guru's service. So he thought, "This head belongs to my Guru so, let him hit or do whatever he wants. It is not me who is getting hurt. I will accept with full faith, whatever he gives me and however he treats me. I shall never complain." This is the duty of a true disciple. He should have unflinching faith in his Guru. If surrender is not coupled with a sense of peace and

Page #26
calmness, it is not complete. We offer so much time and service to the people around us, sometimes willingly and sometimes unwillingly. But when we offer ourselves completely without an iota of ego, it is complete surrender in its true sense (samarpanta). When a disciple is ready to surrender...submit his self, he automatically becomes calm and peaceful. But when one is forced to remain calm he becomes calculative and suppressive. Such a person will never be able to forgive. Real calmness cannot be enforced or practiced. It comes naturally. Such calmness gives us peace and becomes our virtue. They travelled through the night. Again, Acharya hit the disciple's head with a stick. Blood began to ooze out. Yet, the disciple remained calm and told his Guru that he would be more careful in future and will not cause him any trouble. How did he remain so calm? Where did he get the strength to bear the pain with a smile on his lips? The harsh words of the Guru do not hurt when one is totally devoted. He thought that it is not me who is getting hurt. "Nothing belongs to me. It hurts the one to whom the head belongs." "I am HIS...I belong to HIM...I am ready to face all adversities with a smile on my face even the scorching heat of - 12 =

Page #27
the sun, if my Guru wishes so...!" The river surrenders totally to the vast ocean, in the bargain, reaches the sky...! Parmatma's divine words are so heart warming! Parmatma's words have latent within them, hidden treasures! True dedication is, when one has completely surrendered to God or Guru - whatever HE does, whenever HE does and wherever He does - everything is acceptable. Whether it is happiness or sadness, success or failure, anything He gives is accepted wholeheartedly and willingly. This is called true dedication, true faith and total surrender. The dedicated are indifferent towards the fruits of sinful or meritorious deeds. The soulful offering that eliminates our affection, jealousy, anger, ego and deceit is called real surrender. When an individual experiences longing for salvation, his negative qualities start decreasing. A hundred efforts made to overcome anger might go waste, but a single attempt of total surrender will keep anger miles away... it seems simple but is not as easy as it seems. Yet it is not impossible, if we try, we can definitely remain peaceful and calm and save ourselves from the devastating effects of the negative traits that could harm our future spiritual journey.

Page #28
The disciple, who remained calm in spite of being hit, attained pure knowledge and right perception. Now, he began walking in a smooth manner. The Acharya thought that the disciple had learnt to walk properly because he had hit him. One always learns the hard way. The disciple remained calm and quiet. The Acharya then asked him "Have you gained any knowledge?" The disciple replied humbly, "Yes, Gurudev!". A real seeker never exhibits the true level of his knowledge Guru again asked, "temporary knowledge (Padivaai) or permanent knowledge-kevalgyan(Apadivaai)?" The disciple said "Apadivaai". The Guru realized that his disciple had attained the Right Knowledge. The Acharya got off the disciple's shoulder, joined his two hands and prayed, 'O Parmatma! I am sorry for being immodest, for offending you and for causing pain to you. Please forgive me because I failed to recognize you in my ignorance." He further said these golden words with his entire heart and soul - Khameh aparha mein, khameh aparha mein, khameh aparha mein ... It means, forgive me for my erroneous behavior.

Page #29
These words were spoken with such sincerity that Chandrudra Acharya too attained liberation at that very auspicious moment. Thus, we see here that the foresight of one Guru, who decided to travel at night for the benefit of his disciple and his parents, who decided to take the ownership of it and perform penance to eradicate it, went a long way and generated meritorious fruits. His foresight and his one controversial yet right decision became the cause of the liberation of two souls. Isn't this an amazing achievement? There are many in the world with vision, but only a Guru can possess a far-sighted vision. Only those who possess foresight can become a Guru and lead others. A Sadhu or Sadhvi should never be rigid. They should be able to make an ideal decision, at the ideal time and in an ideal situation. This truth is clearly explained in the following words Jyan Jyan Je je yogya che, Tahan samajvu teh, Tyan tyan te te achere, Atmarthi Jan aeh! It means... A knowledgeable person and a seeker is one who can evaluate and act ideally and according to situations for good cause and good outcome. The rigid are obstinate and irreligious. We often complain to Maharaj Saheb that we do not have peace of mind, fail to maintain equanimity, while reciting the

Page #30
rosary and in spite of performing samayik, our mind remains agitated. Why does this happen? The reason is that we have offered our love and worship but have not surrendered and are not dedicated completely in the service of Parmatma. Those who are not dedicated have not even climbed the first step of sadhana Parmatma's teachings are extraordinary and amazing with many hidden truths. When a person longs for emancipation his anger, ego, pride and deceit reduce. Many seekers have put in immense efforts to get rid of anger, but all have failed. As a last resort, why not try surrendering. It is easier said than done. It is possible only if one has immense love and immense faith for God or his Guru. Total surrender can very miraculously and within a short period, transform a seeker. Surrender is a superb shortcut for a seeker. The offering (arpanta) that eradicates our attachment, hatred, ego and deceit, is called real surrender (samarpanta) Pujya Mankunvarbai Mahasatiji, the niece of Acharya Pujya Doongarsinhji Maharaj Saheb was extremely beautiful. A person from the royal court was attracted towards her. To protect her, Acharyaji decided to move to another town and kept her under his shelter that night.

Page #31
Those with lack of maturity and understanding immediately spread the news that Maharaj Saheb and Mahasatiji had stayed together all night. People are always in a hurry to draw their own conclusions or to pass comments, without reaching to the root of the problem and knowing the details of the matter. The negligent should never be assigned responsibility as they will wander from place to place and also make others wander. When given a responsibility, they assume that they are the most knowledgeable and perfect people. Parmatma has defined five types of conduct according to substance, area, time, circumstance and feelings. Shrut, Aagam, Aagna, Dharna and Jit are the different conducts of an ascetic. Why are five different types of conduct assigned to a saint? The reason is that the conductor action of a knowledgeable person should be in accordance to his circumstances. An ascetic has to act as most suited to substance, area, time and circumstances. It is mentioned in the Aagam that they must perform their spiritual activities(sadhana) in accordance with the area and time. Doing the right thing at the right time is Religion. But ifone fails to act so, it would be irreligious.

Page #32
Parmatma has explained this principle in Aagam as follows: Every monk is expected to empty the pot after urinating. countless (sanmurchchim jivs) lives are born in the waste within one mahurat (24 mins). If a monk genuinely forgets to do so (forgetfulness/emergency work) and if another monk sees it, then it is his duty to dispose it off. The repentance for both these monks is defined in the Vyavhar Sutra as follows: * The monk who forgets, has to repent by fasting for 2 days. * If the other monk disposes, he must perform the Kausagg of "Iriyavahiyae" * If the other monk avoids or neglects, he has to repent by fasting for a day. If a layman were to analyse this situation logically, he would think that, "disposing leads to violence (killing of jivs), while keeping it untouched preserves lives." But Parmatma saysOne must act as per the call of circumstance. Modesty is the root of religion. Violence and non-violence follow modesty. One who does not empty the pot inspite of seeing it, is being "immodest". He has to repent by fasting for a day, whereas, if

Page #33
he empties the pot (even though it involves killing of lives), he is deemed to have practiced religion. Obeying Parmatma's command is religion! Violence and non-violence accompany humility. Without the roots, there will be no branches, and if there are no branches, there will be no leaves, fruits or flowers. Religion should not be rigid in any manner. Rigidity in religion leads to non-religion. When a religious place(upashraya ) is built, infinite lives are killed, but we have to continue this work which is appropriate as it encourages thousands to progress spiritually. Did the Celestial Beings clear the vast land of all the living creatures when they created Parmatma's grand Samavasaran? When a fly-swatter is waved vigorously in the air, infinite lives are killed. When Parmatma moved from one place to another, didn't every step HE takes cause violence(ahimsa)? Parmatma has called this violence as unavoidable violence. Parihar means violence that should be given up, violence that is shameful. Knowledge is for increasing faith in religion, not for exhibiting. A knowledgeable person will never exhibit his knowledge. When one is forced to remain calm he becomes = 26 =

Page #34
calculative and suppressive. Such a person will never be able to forgive. Real calmness cannot be enforced or practiced. It comes naturally. Such calmness gives us peace and becomes our virtue. Samarpanta is that offering which is done for our peace, to enhance our virtues, and to raise the standard of humanity. What is a longing for salvation or Samveg? Longing for salvation destroys our old karmas, does not bind new karmas and helps us in attaining right knowledge, right perception and finally attain salvation. What is gained by longing for salvation? Right perception is gained by longing for salvation.

Page #35
Leave to love... || NIRVED 11 DISGUST FOR WORLDLY OBJECTS {UidoEUS "SVo! Ordo qH$ OU'B ? VidoEusd_mUwng{V[a{AN>Egw H$m_^moJogw {Uido's hid_mJAN>E gid{dgEgy da,mB, gid{dgEgw {da,m_mUo Amag^n[a/2Jhn[afh H$aoB, Ama [a/2Jh - n/afm`s H$ao_mUo ggma_72Jdmo{A VSXB, {gpo_12J$ n{S>EUO '^dB &&2&&

Page #36
In this world, the deficit of objects is always compensated by excellence of other attributes. We are aware of the fact that a coin has two sides. Everything has two opposite sides or we can say that there are contradictions and antithesis in this world. If there is anger, forgiveness is always there to bring about a balance... if there is liberation on one hand, then there is attraction for worldly life on the other and if worldly life exists, liberation is certain. Everything in this world is associated with its counterpart. Not a single substance in this world is on its own. Parmatma has clearly explained this effect of the counterpart in the second commandment(bol) of Right Actions. The first commandment is longing for salvation. Longing for salvation means the affinity of the soul to become Parmatma and its attraction towards his Parmatma and Guru. Until an affinity and longing for Parmatma and Guru develops from within, one cannot surrender. Without surrendering, he cannot be calm and serene and thus cannot attain ultimate state of completeness(siddhi). The summary of the first commandment is, have affinity towards Parmatma and Guru, obtain a place at HIS feet, abide by HIS words and stop the actions that causes one to commit sins or leads one to non-worship.

Page #37
"Good conduct is that which prohibits one from sinning or indulging in non-worship." Whatever deed one indulges in, after taking refuge at Parmatma's or Guru's feet, one realizes the truth and refrains from such negative actions thus resulting in good conduct. It is only with Parmatma's blessings, and after acquiring a place at HIS feet, that one attains good conduct. Parmatma's shelter gives one, the strength to attain good conduct. Parmatma's shelter is like the bright sunlight which spreads the rays of good conduct! One must abide by the teachings of his Parmatma and Guru, surrender to Parmatma and follow HIS footsteps to attain the right conduct. First, have a longing for Parmatma, then take HIS shelter and thereafter, develop good conduct. What does the soul attain by developing good conduct? Good conduct destroys our past karmas and prevents us from binding new karmas. When one stops binding new karmas, his soul becomes the Supreme Soul. Parmatma has shown us all the stations that come in the journey of the soul to become the Supreme Soul. To reach the final destination, we must have that level of devotion, that affinity and that willingness to surrender, which Chandanbala had towards Parmatma Mahavir and which 30

Page #38
King Pradeshi had for Keshiswami. The first step on the spiritual path is Samveg bhaav! Longing for salvation is the first step towards attaining liberation. The second commandment for the soul to become Parmatma is Nirved Bhaav -disgust for worldly desires. What does the soul acquire by having disgust towards the worldly objects? Just as a child would question his father, Gautamswami asked Parmatma Mahavir these questions: "O Parmatma! What is Nirved? What is disgust? What do we gain by disgust towards the worldly objects? How does one acquire disgust for the worldly objects?" When Gautam, like a child, asked Parmatma Mahavir, all these questions, Parmatma Mahavir, as a father gracefully answered all his questions without any discontentment. The question may be one, but there can be three reactions to it... boredom, contempt or settlement. "Parmatma Mahavir was the source of everyone's satisfaction and contentment in this world." There is not a single question in this world to which Parmatma Mahavir did not have an answer or solution. Parmatma Mahavir did not have expectations from

Page #39
anyone nor did HE disregard anyone. One, who does not have expectations from anyone, will not disregard anyone. If one has expectations from others, he will tend to disregard others! Parmatma Mahavir answered each and every question of Gautamswami, thereby, clearing his doubts and helping him gain more knowledge. We must visualize Gautam, the child, and then, introspect...do we go to a place dedicated to religious activities(upashraya) or temple or any other religious abode as a child, to come under the shelter of our ascetics or Guru or do we go as egoistic individuals who are full of 'I'? One who comes to Parmatma like an innocent child with an empty mind, gains everything. We must pray to Parmatma to give us the right understanding so that when we go to the upashraya or temple, we become like a small child and surrender ourselves totally at HIS feet. O Parmatma! Give me the sense and permission to become like a child... allow me to be as innocent as a child, when I enter a religious abode... when I am at your Lotus feet... when I am under your refuge...! A child is not only curious but is always eager to gain knowledge. A curious child may break objects in order to know and learn more about them, whereas a child who is

Page #40
eager to gain knowledge will ask questions with folded hands, politely, to elicit answers. He will hold his mother's sari or his father's hand and ask questions fearlessly. When a desire to take the right decision is awakened from within, it is Nirved. Nirved is similar to Samveg. When one is attracted towards Parmatma... when one surrenders totally... when one begins to like Parmatma...when one begins to like Guru, then a disinterest in worldly matters is created! Once a person surrenders to Parmatma and develops a feeling of affection towards God and Guru, he starts disliking the world. Until one is interested and likes the worldly affairs ...one is attracted to someone in the material world... till then one does not like Parmatma or Guru in the true sense! As long as he has affection towards someone or something in this world, he will not have a strong attraction for God or Guru. Disgust for worldly objects is born out of longing for salvation. One can understand "Samveg" on the basis of "Nirved". Nirved means : disgust for everything in this world and a dislike for the world itself.

Page #41
" One who likes worldly life(sansar) does not like Parmatma! One who likes Parmatma does not like sansar!" One who loves one's self stops loving this materialistic world. His only desire is to progress himself from a human being to a Supreme Being. One who likes the world and is entangled in worldly pleasures does not think about himself and his soul. We can only discover ourselves when we do not meet others. Until we keep meeting others, we cannot meet our own self; we cannot truly understand and discover our own self. A devotee is one, who worships Parmatma from his heart and ceases to engage in worldly pleasures. When the soul turns towards Parmatma, it becomes indifferent to the bodily pleasures. To have a liking for something which can be seen by the eye and heard by the ear is called desire (kaam). To repeatedly inhale the smell of worldly pleasures by the nose, relish the taste by the tongue and caress by physical touch is called sensual enjoyment (bhog). When the soul surrenders to Parmatma, it becomes indifferent to the desires and sensual enjoyments related to the physical body and the world.

Page #42
One who likes Parmatma becomes indifferent and apathetic to the worldly pleasures! A blind man may eat anything given to him, even if it is a bowl of sweet dish(kheer)vomited by another person, because he does not know the truth. But, will a person who can see, eat the kheer vomited by another? NO! Often, people ask, "Maharaj Saheb, you have renounced the world. Do you sometimes feel like watching television or enjoying other worldly pleasures?" The answer of a true ascetic would be, "After enjoying worldly pleasures, we have realized that this sweet world is filled with poison, hence, we have abandoned it. Is it possible for us to once again accept anything that we have already discarded from our lives?" Only those who do not know that the bowl is filled with vomit, will lick it. Similarly, when one develops intense love for Parmatma, has ingrained the name of Parmatma in his soul and heart and gains knowledge like Parmatma, he realizes, that this world is like a cup of poison. Assume that a lady has an infectious boil filled with pus in her hand and is making laddoos(Indian sweet)using her hands. How will those laddoos taste? Strangers will relish those laddoos, but one who has seen her boil will not even feel like looking at or touching them, = 35 =

Page #43
leave alone eating them...! Ascetics look upon this world as an contaminated laddoo. One who has visualized the real beauty of the soul will never be attracted by the superficial beauty of this world. If we clean and dress up a roadside boar with make-up and good clothes, it would perhaps look attractive, but will we ever take it home? Will we ever pet it? Celestial Beings possess such exquisite beauty that, to them, any person in this world is comparable to a boar, even a beauty queen or Miss World...! When the soul develops a liking for Parmatma and HIS preachings, it gradually loses interest in this world. To develop disgust for worldly objects means to become indifferent to the pleasures of this world. This is called Nirved Bhaav. One may be interested to belong to Parmatma, but only his immense thirst and deep desire will lead him to the Divine Soul. There are many beautiful objects in our surroundings, but if we are satisfied with ourselves and choose not to desire them, we will not make the effort to acquire them. Only the thirsty strive to quench their thirst! Only the dissatisfied strive to gain something! = 36 -

Page #44
When one develops a longing for Parmatma, he will no longer strive for worldly pleasures. O Parmatma ! Just as a piece of old dirty cloth cannot be cleaned by a small quantity of soap, similarly, by listening to the preachings of a learned ascetic only once, or by reading only a little, we will not be able to eliminate anger, desire, deceit and greed which have been embedded within us since several lifetimes. But, if we are genuinely determined to clean the polluted layers covering our soul, then, someday, we will succeed in eradicating these vices from our lives. Only when we realize that our soul is covered by polluted layers, will we someday attempt to cleanse them. We may not be very successful initially. We may try once, twice or maybe, numerous times. Eventually, our soul will surely become free from all the layers of vices and negative feelings and will emerge as its original self- bright and glowing like snow, exquisite, beautiful and magnificent. It may seem impure today, but one must always remember that it is not true, for a soul is too pure and too unique to be changed by any external object. It temporarily gets layered by sins. Its original self forever remains the same and will always remain the same - powerful, pure and knowledgeable. Thus, the truth that has to be understood here is that, a soul is eternal but its sins are not eternal.

Page #45
With every life, an individual has the opportunity to wash away his past negative karmas, to free its soul from the layers and shackles of negative karmas and emerge a Supreme Being. One must make the best use of this opportunity. Every sin has its own lifespan and when the period has concluded, the sin is annihilated. Whenever we see a person committing a sin, we must not consider him a sinner, but must pray to Parmatma, "May he realize his mistake and not commit a sin again." The thought of the other person being a sinner makes us one. We must also realize that every soul has the capacity within and can, one day, become Parmatma. Each individual born will, in some birth, become Parmatma. That is the ultimate destiny of any living soul. Every living individual in this age is like one, who has potential to purify his soul completely(bhavi)). No one is abahvi (opposite of bhavi). Today, he may be full of vices, but no vice or negative quality of any individual is eternal. One must always remember before wanting to criticize others that, "I am viewing him to be a bad person, but I am equally sinful." By viewing others negatively, we are binding such strong karmas that we will not be able to eradicate them for ages. There is also a possibility that we may be born with similar vices for many future births. It may also happen that the sins of others may get negated with time and he may acquire good -- 38 -

Page #46
virtues and perhaps, attain liberation. When a person gets disappointed with this world, he turns towards Parmatma and becomes HIS servant. He serves Parmatma only when he is free from the slavery of the worldly matters! Only when the world seems disinteresting, does Parmatma become interesting! When a sinner longs for liberation and is disgusted with worldly objects, he becomes pure. One who desires the worldly objects, has not been affected by the divine and the pure colour of devotion and surrender...if one is drenched in the divine colour of Parmatma , then the world seems unenthusiastic and unworthy! One who is drawn towards the pleasures of the world has undoubtedly not drowned in the love of the Lord. One who is engrossed deeply in the love of the Lord loses interest in this world. "O Parmatma! How can I acquire Nirved Bhaav after I have attained Samveg Bhaav?" If our affection towards Parmatma increases, automatically, our attachment towards the world decreases. Our Parmatma has preached, not to dislike the world or anyone in the world. He has advised us not to dislike our 39V

Page #47
thoughts and feelings. He has told us not to harbor any negative thoughts towards one's self or others. Then, what should we do? Well, the solution is, to develop an indifferent attitude, an attitude of equanimity. When we are angry, we must not hate ourselves or our anger. If we hate our anger, we will develop hatred for ourselves too. Various thoughts pertaining to our anger will arise in our mind. "What have I done? Why am I angry? Why is there so much anger in me? What should I do to avoid anger?" In such a situation, what should we do? At such times, we must divert our mind towards Parmatma and develop a feeling of forgiveness. Forgiveness is of two types: Negative and Positive Peace has 2 categories: Negative and Positive Repentance is also of two types: Negative and Positive When a disturbing situation arises, one invariably gets angry, but later repents. "Under certain circumstances, I lost my temper and got angry. I could not control my anger. It just happened. The situation is responsible." We make these excuses. This is negative repentance. It implies that in the future too, we will repeat this mistake because we are not genuinely remorseful for our error. = 40 -

Page #48
Positive repentance is to realize that, "I got angry and lost my temper. It was wrong. I should have been careful. In future, I will definitely try to manage my anger." Negative repentance makes us think we tend to behave in this manner as it is not within our control. This sort of incorrect thought processes decrease the possibility for improvement and cause inferiority complex. Religion must always be evaluated positively, we must refrain from taking it in any negative aspect. Anything bad in this world, any sin, any defect must not be looked upon as negative. Rather, one must bring out the positive side of any situation. The positive side of repentance is atonement. Why has Parmatma asked us to perform Pratikraman? We perform Pratikraman so that we realize that we have sinned and want to avoid committing more sins in the future. If your resolution is firm, you will achieve your goal. But, if one thinks that wrong things just happen and they cannot be controlled, it is not in our power to manage these wrong deeds... this is negative thinking. We must introspect the quality of our repentance. The difference between negative repentance and positive repentance is the same as that between equanimity (Samta) and peace(Shanti). = 41 -

Page #49
We are not ordinary people. We are followers of Parmatma Mahavir. There should be great depth in our understanding which will provide us fruitful results. When one develops affection towards Parmatma, he will dislike the world, its luster and the violence that is prevalent all over. Violence committed for selfish reasons is called showoff(aarambh). Violence committed for beautification is called "aarambh." Violence committed without any reason is called "aarambh." Violence committed due to desire is called "aarambh." A person's mother is very ill, there are worms on her body and flies are hovering around her wounds. Her daughter gives her mother a bath with unboiled water to clean her wounds. Is she being violent? Is this called aarambh? Given the situation, at that point in time, she is performing her duty. Under other circumstances, it may be considered violent, but under unavoidable circumstances, it is acceptable. On the other hand, to celebrate a child's birthday, the entire bungalow is washed and the child is bathed along with

Page #50
other children in the fountain for fun and excitement, then this is considered as "aarambh" violence, as one drop of water contains innumerable lives and also an invaluable resource is wasted. One person is bathing her mother to give her relief and the other is bathing her child under the shower just for the fun of it. Is there a difference between the two? Violence committed without any reason is called "aarambh" and it gives one an one-sense organism(ekendriya) form in the next birth. Those who perform violence without purpose, for their desire, liking or pomp attain the one sense form(ekendriya jeev). Violence performed with reason is called avoidable violence (shakya parihar). The wise never have any problems, whereas the ignorant have problems in everything. This message should be embedded in the heart. When one develops a longing for Parmatma, he loses interest in worldly pleasures and abstains from violence performed for worldly pleasures. He becomes non-violent, a devotee and finally, attains liberation. This is the message of the second commandment "Nirved - Disgust for worldly objects." -- 443 -

Page #51
T Faith in religion is the ladder to accomplishments. || DHARMA SHRADDHA || FAITH IN RELIGION Ya_gOmE US 4GVo ! Ordo qH$ OUB? 1_gOmE US gm mgmoslogw a,m_mUo {dan, AmJmaYa_S MUS MB, AUJUS Ordo gmara_mUgmus XwSIMUS N OU - poJmB@ dmoAN>o`S H$aoB, Aidm-mhg M gwhg {idimoB & -- 444

Page #52
To be close to God, means to be away from the material world, and to be away from the material world, means to be close to God! Only he, who is ready to be detached from the world, can be close to Parmatma. As long as you belong to someone else, you cannot belong to Parmatma. Once you belong to Parmatma, you will not be able to belong to anyone else. The drawback with us is that we want to remain with others as well as with Parmatma. This is not possible. The socket of the heart, that hoards many relations, is bound to become sore. If one wants to be the beloved of Parmatma, then, one has to gradually detach himself from the world. The life boat can float in the worldly ocean, only if the dirty water of the material world does not enter the boat. If polluted water enters the boat, it is bound to sink. To be in the midst of the world, to maintain all relations of the world, and yet to belong only to Parmatma, is called Samveg bhaav. In spite of being amidst others, we are aware and conscious of only Parmatma, this is called Ekant. 'Kant' means dear and 'ek' means one. Thus, Ekant means the one and only dear person, our Lord, our Parmatma or our Guru. It is not possible for us to like anything else in this world

Page #53
once we start liking God, Guru and religion. To please God or Guru, one must detach from the world. Once when one tastes and relishes a rich sweet dish(rosogulla) he does not bother about the sweet drink made of jaggery(gudraab)... one who desires the gudrab, knows not the sweetness of rosogulla... he knows not what he has missed. It is a process wherein, on one hand you move towards Parmatma and on the other, you drift away from the worldly affairs. One who keeps bothering about the world can never please his God or Guru. One who listens to the world can never listen to the valuable golden words of Parmatma. Once a person listens to Parmatma's preaching, he loses the desire to listen to any worldly talks. As long as you are afraid of, 'What others will say? What others will think? What if people say something?' Till then understand that you have not even climbed the first step of religion. Chaah gayee chinta miti.....Manva beparwah! "The mind will become free only when there are neither any attachments nor worries." When an individual rises above the longing for the world and becomes indifferent to the world, only then can he be the beloved of Parmatma. -- 46 --

Page #54
When Lord Shri Krishna... Lord Vasudev passed away... his brother carried his dead body on his shoulder and travelled around for six months. People abused him....they remarked that he was mad....but he was not bothered about what the world said. He kept on saying just one thing.... "He is my brother! He is my brother!" A man carried the dead body of his brother for six months without bothering about the world...can you imagine the extent of his love? The moment he places the body down, he automatically lifts his soul to the highest level and attains emancipation...! A person, who is a crusader of action or work, can be the crusader of religion, and one who is the crusader of religion, he alone can be the crusader of action. As long as one is engrossed in others, what others are doing? What others are thinking? One is miles away from the Divine Soul. If one is constantly worried about the world, then one cannot care for Parmatma in the true sense, if one begins caring for Parmatma, then the world seems unworthy and undeserving...! The ultimate truth is that society is temporary and Parmatma is eternal. Thus, my relationship with the universe is temporary, but my relationship with Parmatma is eternal. It will remain for ages, life after life...!

Page #55
If longing for salvation is attained, disgust for worldly objects will follow. Suppose you follow your religion strictly and you and your family eat before sunset (chauvihar), some guests come to visit you in the evening. What will you tell the guests? What will you offer? You would in a humble and soft tone inform them that, after establishing relationship with Parmatma, it is a practice that we follow in our house, that after sunset neither do we take food nor do we offer food to anyone. There is always animosity between this world and a devotee. One who tries to handle the world can never have the time to listen to Parmatma. One who listens to Parmatma will have no ear for the world. 'Bhante' refers a person who helps us rouse feelings and intentions from deep within us. The moment we articulate the word 'Bhante', a fountain of affection flows from our heart! Effusion of love and warmth flows from our heart. Our heart and mind are filled with excitement with the enunciation of this word, 'Bhante! In this auspicious moment, our accumulated sins of many lives are destroyed. That person is my Bhante, who rouses displeasure for the world within me and rouses love and affection for worship in order to attain nirvana in my heart. Once you say the word Bhante with your whole heart and soul, you surrender totally S L48 -

Page #56
at HIS feet. In such a state, one loses the consciousness of body and mind. Life does not feel the same again. Parmatma's commandments, HIS guidelines and HIS directions become the sadhana and breath of the devotee. No matter what, in every action, every place, and everywhere in the world, he only visualizes Parmatma. Because of this constant thought of Parmatma, a seeker becomes detached from the worldly life. There may be many saints but a Guru is only one, the one and only...! A Guru is the one who dispels the darkness and brings light, radiance and joy. 'My Bhante' guides me through the path of life and realize the truth. For one who wants to achieve the ultimate goal, even a moment is enough... whereas for others, even an entire lifespan is inadequate. Disciple Jambuswami, asks his Guru Sudharmaswami, with deep emotions: "O Bhante! What does the soul attain by keeping faith in religion?" His Guru who is like Parmatma for him, answers... "When the seeds of faith for religion... of surrendering in religion... offering to Guru and religion, are sown, the plant bears fruits of eternal peace, contentment and happiness.

Page #57
Those seeds are of the happiness and contentment born out of total surrender to the Almighty." Can sadness touch one who is in the shelter of Almighty God? No!! Unless the seeds of total surrender are sown, the plant of life never bears fruits of eternal spiritual bliss. Leave aside the spiritual aspect for a moment... it is not even possible to get worldly pleasures without the spirit of surrender. There is not a single happiness or comfort, in this world, that one can attain without the spirit of offering, worship and devotion to religion. When worship and faith in Parmatma, are born in one's heart, his bonds with the materialistic world are broken. It is Parmatma's guideline that one must fast. So you decide that, "I will fast today." You will be hungry, you will be thirsty and you will have to face troubles... so what? You must have faith that since it is Paramatma's command, it has to be for my benefit. You then resolve that no matter how many hurdles come your way, you will face them bravely, patiently and you will experience happiness, even in pain. Parmatma says, "There is no gain without pain." When faith is roused, we can see well-being even in suffering! When there is no faith, even a little pain feels like torture!

Page #58
One, who is devoted to Parmatma, and offers service to HIS religion, honoring HIS guideline, will always feel that he is just fulfilling the desire of his Lord. When we endeavor to fulfill the wishes of our dear one, we will never dislike any activity. But, when we have to fulfill the desires of those whom we dislike, we execute the work forcefully. One, who loves and understands Parmatma, develops a genuine interest in each and every guideline of Parmatma and HIS commands become the most cherished duty. It is very obvious that a person who is dutiful to Parmatma will naturally become dear to HIM. A person who loves his Guru and lovingly obeys HIS command, will he not become dear to his Guru? It is not necessary that Sadguru likes all his disciples but a disciple must like his Guru. A person who is drawn towards religion, and has faith in religion, can very easily and happily sacrifice the comforts of life. The first sign of a person who is drawn towards religion is that, in spite of losing the comforts of life, he is extremely happy and peaceful. When a person while fasting, while suffering, while bearing pain, experiences peace and happiness, goes in a meditative state, feels that he is obeying the guidelines of his 51 V

Page #59
Lord, then his worship is true and his devotion is of the highest level. Such worship and devotion makes one spiritually elevated. "I am fasting!" - This is non-worship! Because there is pride in the term "I". "With the permission of my Parmatma, with the inspiration and guideline of my Guru the penance was performed." This is the right way, because there is no sense of 'I' or ego in this sentence. When the term 'I' becomes the center of your action, it is like a goat going out of your house and a camel entering your house and destroying everything. It is easy to lash out at the goat with the help of a stick, but very difficult to do the same with the camel. Similarly, it is easy to be free from small mistakes and vices, but the most difficult to curb is your ego. Statements like, "I only do it this way, I will never tolerate such a thing," exhibit the fact that your sense of 'I' is the most predominant in your existence. In spite of indulging in religious activities, this sense of 'I' will result in binding innumerable sins. To eradicate the vice as tall as the camel, one has to raise himself that high spiritually. Only then, it is possible. Even if a person thinks that good happenings or good actions experienced in his life are due to his good karmas, he is - 52V

Page #60
merely satisfying his ego. In spite of indulging in religious activities, worship, and devotion till-date, we have not attained liberation. Why? There is only one reason for this - we are still nurturing the power of our "doer-ship capacity "I have done it(kartutva bhaav). There are many who declare statements like, "Maharaj Saheb I can do a kind of penance that continuous for a year(varshitap) easily... nothing happens to me... six months have passed very comfortably." By saying such things, one indulges in pride related ability and ego. When people inquire about your fasting, the right way to answer is, "It is with the blessings of Dev Guru and religion that I am able to fast." Thus, rather than giving credit to one's self, we must give credit to our Guru or religion. In ancient times, when one entered his house after making some income, he would put down the bag of money and say, "Today, with the grace of Devguru, I have been able to make some income." Thus, by developing auspicious feelings, his wealth becomes pure(suri). Such wealth will never cause uproar in his life. What will today's man say? "Wow! I have really trapped that fellow and made a profit of two lakhs (two hundred thousand). Let's put it in the cupboard." Such wealth becomes impure(asuri). This wealth will eventually cause

Page #61
him pain and it will also be spent on wrong things. Wealth that increases our ego is asuri...evil...! Wealth that increases modesty and good qualities within us is suri...propitious! Parmatma's blessings can be experienced in the behavior, actions and speech of the one who has given his heart to Parmatma and is a true devotee of Parmatma... HE experiences Parmatma's grace all the time...! When you enter the field of sadhana, always remember that after performing sadhana if ego arises in you, then it is kartutva bhaav (I am the doer) and liberation cannot be attained. Where there is Kartutva, there is no well-being(kalyan). Where there is non-doer-ship(akartutva bhaav ), wellbeing is inevitable. When Kartutva bhaav is present, liberation cannot be gained. When there is Akartutva Bhaav, liberation is inevitable. "I am doing it because I can do it," is ego, while, "I am doing it because of my Dev's or Guru's blessings," is humility and modesty. After making a donation, if you desire that your name should be publicized, it will reduce the benefit of your charity -- 54 -

Page #62
by 50%. The remaining 50 % benefit remains because, upon seeing your name, others may be inspired to contribute. After making a donation, if the name of your Guru or Parmatma precedes yours, it immensely increases your sadhana. Due to faith in religion or Dharmashraddha, one starts getting detached from favorable situations. Once he becomes indifferent to favorable situations, nonviolence becomes the predominant factor in his life. You can never get the comforts of this world or favorable situations without destruction of innumerable lives. Pujya Gurudev says, even one single word that comes out from my mouth cannot reach you without the destruction of innumerable Vayukay Jeevs (living beings prevalent in air). Even if the hand of a clock moves for a second it kills innumerable lives. Why should we fast? Why should we perform samayik and pratikraman? Why should we have faith in religion? Because each favorable situation in our life is caused by the violence, by the destruction of innumerable lives, for example, using a fan, air-conditioner, all forms of transportation, etc. That is why Parmatma has advised us to decrease the comforts of life in the third bol. Every single thing that we use for our convenience is born out of violence. -- 55 -

Page #63
For example, even a small piece of cloth. How is cloth made? Well, the small piece of material is produced out of innumerable living plants. Innumerable lives, living within the grains of wheat are killed to make wheat flour. And from this flour, we make chappatis. We manage to keep our body, eyes, hair and skin beautiful by drinking juices, eating fruits, dry fruits and using cosmetic products. What will happen if we do not get nutritious food for days? The glitter from your eyes and the redness of your lips will fade away, the shine on your face will disappear and your hair will become rough and dry. Everything in this world that we acquire for our pleasure is prepared from the dead bodies of small or big living creatures. What is a building made of? What is paper made of? It is made of dead bodies of infinite lives. How is a ring made? We consider it as our ornament which we wear with pride. However, the ring too is made from innumerable earthly bodies.

Page #64
Can it be worn with pride or should we be guilty of having killed so many lives for our pleasure? Here, we are not discussing sacrifice. What we are talking about is the sacrifice of attachment and affection for the things giving comforts, pleasures and conveniences. So first, have attachment for sacrifice and this will lead to sacrifice of the attachments. If you want to give up attachments then become a devotee of Parmatma or Guru. If affection arises for Satguru then you will naturally develop apathy towards the world. Once you start disliking things and attachments of the world you will not belong to anyone in the world. When you stop belonging to the world you will belong only to Parmatma... become HIS beloved...!. We have wasted so many births by belonging to somebody or the other. In this birth, let us resolve and try to belong only to Parmatma... the Supreme divine Soul! Whatever activity you do in this world, regardless of the manner in which you perform the activity, give all the credit to Parmatma. However, in the course of performing the activities, you must take responsibilities for all the mistakes that you make. You cannot pass that, on to Parmatma. "All the defects are mine and all the merits are of my Parmatma. - TV -

Page #65
Whatever I am is because of the blessings of my Parmatma." Resolve to indulge in activities but request Parmatma to be present in every action of yours. "I will execute everything but O! Parmatma, with you, besides me." When the very thought of Parmatma takes away all the grievances of the worldly affairs, then it is true sadhana. While thinking about God if we forget all the complaints and let go of all the grievances, then it is called real fasting. The desire to enjoy conveniences breaks down, due to faith in religion. When Parmatma is with us, the activity performed by our hands, feet and lips is called sadhana and when Parmatma is not with us, the activity performed by our hands, feet and lips is mere action. The person who gives up material comforts is called compassionate. Why? Because to enjoy conveniences, is violence and to sacrifice comforts is non-violence. To enjoy comforts is worldly(sansar) and to sacrifice comforts is renunciation(sayyam). The one who rises above both comforts and restraints is an accomplished person(Siddha).

Page #66
The one who follows the discipline to rise above both is the one who starts the journey towards inner self. The one who likes comforts, does not like the soul and, the one who likes the soul, does not like comforts. My weakness for comforts and conveniences is my unnatural self, whereas my desire to rise above all comforts is my natural self. The original nature of my soul is to rise above everything. Every day when you wake up in the morning, resolve to give up at least one convenience or comfort for that day. For example, decide to refrain from eating one dish from all the items cooked for lunch. It is not the item that you have to give up; it is actually your liking or weakness for the item that you have to give up. It is the deep seated negative factor that we overcome. Various efforts have been made to increase our affection for Parmatma and to love Parmatma by making sacrifices but we have been unsuccessful. Our actual aim behind all sacrifices should be to increase love for Parmatma. Once our genuine love for Parmatma is aroused, no conscious efforts have to be made for sacrificing objects or comforts. Our desires and weaknesses will naturally and unconsciously start decreasing. Our shackles start breaking on their own. There is a vast difference between a conscious effort to

Page #67
break something, and an unconscious natural breaking of shackles. When worldly bonds break on their own, it is due to Parmatma's blessings or Gurukrupa. When we make effort to break our bonds then, it is our action and our endeavor, which will always be partial and temporary.Any sadhana which is performed will not be successful without Gurukrupa. When Parmatma bestows his blessings and support on us, the spiritual journey thus becomes a celebration. When love for Parmatma increases it is called Faith in Religion or Dharmashraddha. The devotion and the worship done with the aim of merging with Parmatma is the example of eternal liberation(shashwat siddhi), whereas the worship done for years without deep and strong affection for Parmatma is worldly worship. It is more of religious practice rather than emotional ecstasy. What is the role of Dhramashraddha ? Religious faith raises one above conveniences and teaches the person to maintain equanimity, even in unfavorable circumstances. It gradually takes a person closer to Parmatma. The one who has the same approach towards both, favorable and unfavorable situations is never affected by

Page #68
either of them. He is unruffled by unfavorable circumstances and is not overjoyed in favorable situations. When an individual looks upon adversities as difficulties then he is bound to be disturbed by it and he will suffer. One, who does not care much about favorable conditions or is not overwhelmed with it, will never dislike unfavorable conditions. We like favorable things and dislike unfavorable things. Because we like the air conditioner, we do not like heat. One who reduces the comforts of his life develops self restraint. One, who completely rises above the effects of favorable and unfavorable situations, becomes Parmatma. When the love for Parmatma arises, materialism will automatically decrease. O Parmatma! Please give me some indication to prove that in this life, I have found you or you have found me." There is only one proof for this, only one indication and only one experience. One, who has met or has experienced closeness with Parmatma, will not feel at ease, during times of bliss or despair, let conditions be favorable or unfavorable, it does not matter. Even if a fraction of these feelings, get entrenched in us, we are on the road to accomplishments. Once the sadhana

Page #69
begins, then gradually we can attain the ultimate state(siddhi). This is the '5th Era' in which siddhi cannot be attained in one attempt. One must commence sadhana and gradually progress in it, so as to attain siddhi in future. Never think negative about yourself, even if you are unable to follow or practice much of the religion, keep trying to improve yourself at every step. Remember, our soul is constantly improving and this improvement will keep increasing until 'siddhi' is attained. Keep these feelings in the mind and think about them, to attain peace. -- 662 -

Page #70
T Servitude to Liberation. II GURU ANE SADHARMIC SEVA II SERVITUDE TO GURU & CO-RELIGIONISTS dvegmhpa_'gwngygU`mE US ASVO ! Ordo qH$ OU'P ? wegmhpa_'-gwngygU`mE US {DU`n{S>dqim OU, HU`n{S>dEUo`US Ordo AUAMmgm`Ugrbo UoaB' | Vasi - Omo{U' - _Uwng - Xod - Xw72JB(c)Amo {Ues B dEU 5 D6U - ^{\m cho_mUmE_UwfgXodge JBOAmo {SYB, Thgmo%2JI S M {dgmohoB, ngEWmBS MUS {dU_ybmB$ gidh mBS gmh AEUO' ~hdo Ordm {DUBImm ^dB &&4&& 63

Page #71
What does one achieve by serving one's Guru and fellow brothers and sisters, who are followers of the same religion? Parmatma says that by offering service to Guru, one acquires Vinay Pratirupta. (Vinay - humility, courtesy, modesty, Pratirupta - reflected image, counterpart) Vinay means to bow down at the feet of, or pay homage with deep feeling and emotion. With modesty, one does acquire knowledge but when one becomes genuinely humble, then one can certainly attains salvation either in the same life or in his third life or in his fifteenth life. After performing extreme fasting for 30 days (maskhaman), one might still not attain liberation, but once humbleness becomes an individual's sole nature, then liberation is certain for him. Modesty and humbleness becomes a distinguishing feature of the person's body, mind and speech, he experiences extreme happiness, in serving his Guru and fulfilling HIS commands. One becomes mild, sensitive and lighthearted... there is simplicity in his walk... softness in his speech, eyelids and eyes are lowered. Every action is filled with humility, gentleness and kindness. The life of an individual with Vinay Pratirupta is like that of an innocent, tender rabbit. There is gentleness in his hands, legs, lips and heart.

Page #72
Each and every part of his body reveals surrender. If a person is fuming from within, his moves will obviously release aggression. Only that bowl of water will boil, which is under fire. There is no smoke without fire. What goes in... what is inside...surely comes out, and this is reflected in person's actions. Where there is surrender, there is no need of aggression. Once the heart is surrendered, anger and hatred cease to exist. One, who has surrendered his heart to Parmatma will never indulge in wrath. One, who does not surrender, tends to argue and squabble. There is scope for arguments and questions, where the heart has not been surrendered. After surrendering our heart, our body does not remain our own. We remain uptight, rigid and stubborn only when we do not surrender. When we do not surrender, we have to bear the weight of our problems. Once we surrender and belong to Parmatma, we are free from carrying the weight of life on our weak shoulders. A person, who roams with weight on his head, suffers. We suffer when we fail to surrender... problematic situations seem out of control and difficult to resolve...! When we surrender and belong to Parmatma we feel free... We do not have to bear the weight of the tricky

Page #73
challenges...one who moves around with the weight, feels heavy, dejected and lost in life. Je Hari no hoy, te haare nahi ane, je haare, te Hari no hoy nahi. One who belongs to God will never lose and one who loses, has never belonged to God. One, whose hands, legs, lips, heart and mind are light... feel light... are tender... feel gentle... are kind and calm will never be born in a bad realm of existence(durgati). We see that animals are always on the run, because they perpetually live in fear. A person who lives in fear will always be on the run. Only the one who fears, runs! One who is humble, modest and simple will never go to hell. He will attain the religion of Parmatma. He nurtures virtues within himself, and ultimately attains liberation. Non-dedication leads to birth in a bad realm of existence. The life in which one finds Parmatma is that of a good realm of existence. Our only prayer to Parmatma should be to give us liberation in our next lives! "Call me wherever you are, and always keep me under your shelter." Let me born to such a family where I will get the right knowledge of what I should eat and the right values to lead a

Page #74
virtuous life. "I can survive without luxuries, but I will not be able to endure, if your invaluable presence is not with me. Without you, all the wealth and prosperity of this world are worthless to me." There was a king who had four queens. Once, the king decided to travel out of his kingdom. He asked all his queens, "What should I get for you?" The first three queens told him to get whatever was famous in the place he was visiting. The fourth queen said, "I want you and nothing else. I want you to come back soon. I do not want anything else." When the king came back, he brought all the gifts that his three queens had asked. For his fourth queen, he brought gifts of his choice and went to the palace of the fourth queen. Thus, the fourth queen got the king and gifts too. The important point here is that the queen, who got the king, also got a lot of other things. Those who get Parmatma, get everything in this world. The king's presence fulfills all the needs, comforts and luxuries! Parmatma's presence brings along a sense of satisfaction...a sense of achievement and completeness! In the battle of Mahabharat - Indian epic, Arjun got Lord Sri Krishna to accompany him. Eventually, Arjun won the

Page #75
battle and got everything else too. Duryodhan, on the other hand, selected the army of Lord Sri Krishna. He eventually lost the battle and everything else along with it. When Vinay Pratirupta enters one's life, his chances of taking birth in a bad realm of existence (durgati) becomes negligible. In fact, his possibility of attaining emancipation increases significantly. The virtues of a person with vinay, multiplies greatly. Troubles fade where modesty shines! Right knowledge is possible only if virtues in a person increase. One who remembers his Guru every single moment, that individual's gati (life form) is called good realm of existence like human or Dev life(sadgati). Even if a person is in hell, but if he attains the right perception, then it is called sadgati. On the other hand, if one does not attain right perception even while he is in heaven, then, it is called durgati. It is not enough to massage Guru's legs in service(seva). One has to also, time and again, express the appreciation and awe that one feels for his Guru. By appreciating your Guru and religion in front of others, you are indirectly spreading Parmatma's message. By listening to you, if someone who is an atheist is inspired and becomes a believer, a religious person, then, you become

Page #76
instrumental in causing someone to become religious. Accordingly, you will sow seeds of such good karmas that in your next life, you will take birth in a family where you will acquire religious sanskars and the ability to get closer to God. By indulging in rituals and prayers(samayik, pratikraman,sadhana,aradhna), our past accumulated negative karmas get eradicated. Whereas, by appreciating and spreading the divine message of Dev Guru and our religion, by inspiring others to follow the path of the divine, we bind karmas of a birth in a family with the highest religious virtues. Koine pamadvu j pamvanu karan chhe! By helping others gain, we too gain in return! We receive, when we give! By worshipping God with humility and by expressing one's love for Parmatma, one attains liberation... the soul becomes free from accumulated past karmas and becomes its original, pure self that is crystal clear. The soul gradually gets closer to Parmatma. By decreasing worldly pleasures, it gradually starts detaching from the world. One acquires good intellect in accordance with the religious service(sadharmic seva) one indulges in! One acquires sadgati in accordance with the type of Guru seva one indulges in! Service is always successful! One who serves, is bound to obtain the fruits !

Page #77
Anything that gives fal (fruit) is called safal (successful) ! The value of speech differs from person to person. Every person's speech has a different weight-age. Some people's speech is valued greatly. Their words are powerful. The moment they speak, their work is done. There are others, whose words do not have any impact. No matter how much they speak, their instructions are never carried out...jobs aren't executed. Why? For a person who has never served his parents, elders, Dev, Guru or others, his instructions will never be obeyed and his work will not be completed. But a person who has served others, his work is bound to be completed and his instructions are bound to be followed. Parmatma says, he may be a family man or a saint, but irrespective of who he is, all his desires will be fulfilled. Any task, performed with humility, is easily completed and it is done very well. Modesty embellishes and garnishes our task! If one has offered selfless service, he will always be successful! Both babul and asopalav trees are green in color. A babul tree is simply a tree, whereas an asopalav tree is used for auspicious occasions and for decoration. Even a small act of kindness and service, gives some good

Page #78
result, as the candle melts, it gives light to the world. If we desire to be enlightened and kindle the world around us, we too will have to melt like the candle in the presence of our Guru. Even the smallest service offered gives its fruit. Every hardship endured shines just as a candle melts itself to give light to the world. One who melts, he alone can achieve and cause others to achieve. When we desire to get closer to Parmatma, we aspire to endure the pain that our Parmatma has endured. We feel, "If Parmatma could bear big nails struck in his ears, can't I bear some harsh words of my fellow people? In spite of having everything, HE sacrificed so much... can't I sacrifice little things?" By constantly gazing at Parmatma, if we aspire to become like Parmatma and develop characteristics like Parmatma, it is called appropriate faith in religion (Yatharth Dharma Shraddha)! Each and every individual is assigned a certain role in this world. One has to act in accordance with the role assigned to him. One who is in a mother's role has to live like one. She does not hesitate or feel embarrassed to hold her child, to bath, feed, or put her child to sleep. This is because; taking care of and raising her child are her primary duties. Similarly, when modesty and humility is roused in a person... what happens?

Page #79
His lifestyle, behavior and speech are transformed in accordance to his state. What happens if: The role is of a mother, but the lifestyle is not like a mother? The role is of a Guru, but the lifestyle is not like a Guru? The role is of a disciple, but the lifestyle is not like a disciple? Our speech, behavior and dealings should always be in accordance with the role assigned to us. If this is achieved, it is called Vinay Pratirupta! Two ladies were given the same quality and quantity of rice grains, same water and same type of gas tank. One of them prepared rice in ten minutes, while the other lady took forty-five minutes. Why was it so ? When all the conditions provided were same, why was there a difference in the preparation time? Well, one of them prepared rice in a pressure cooker where each and every drop of water vapor was used. The other lady prepared rice in an open pan, where the water boiled, but not each and every drop of water vapor could be used. The message here is, if we make proper use of each and every valuable moment of our life, then, our life can become fruitful and our goals can be achieved faster.

Page #80
If our goal is liberation, then our mind, speech, thoughts, sensitivities, body, soul... everything we have, we should surrender at the Lotus feet of our Parmatma. With total surrender, you will swiftly attain spiritual heights. Otherwise, we will not attain anything in our entire lifetime. If you keep trying to please the world, you will never be able to love or belong to God. One who lives to please the world cannot love God. One who is beloved of God, does not care about the world. Perform all your duties, but be devoted only to God. One who completely surrenders to Dev Guru and religion is so engrossed in their constant thoughts, that he is unable to remember anything else in this world. He can just think of Parmatma and HIS words...sacred words keep ringing in his ears. When an individual's life is fully engrossed in Parmatma, he is bound to meet Parsmatma and unite with HIM. A life with Parmatma is sadgati and a life without Parmatma is durgati. When an individual gets a life in which he is destined to be close to Parmatma, he will constantly feel the presence of Parmatma in his life. When one constantly experiences the presence of Parmatma, his negative qualities decrease and his virtues increase. He reaches closer to his goal of salvation.

Page #81
A person speaks once and his work is done whereas even after repeated requests other person's work is not done. Only after quarreling, his work is done. One who has not sincerely served his parents, elders or Saints has to repeatedly request for getting his things done! Be it a wordly being or restraint, one who has served his parents, elders or Saints or even wished to serve them ..... Parmatma says that he would be successful. He will not have to say but the other person would realize what he wants. When one has to say and things are done that is called luck or good fortune, when one does not have to say and things are done, this happens by kind blessings of our Guru(Guru Krupa'). To be fortunate or favored is in our hands! Earn Guru's favor; you will not have to utter a word to get your things done. Acquire Guru krupa, and your tasks will be accomplished easily. If we water the roots, we will not only get leaves and branches, but also, fruits and flowers. That is why, instead of watering the leaves, we must water the roots. We must strive to please Parmatma and acquire the ultimate fruit. One who has humility, not only, is his work done, but it is done very well and it proves fruitful. There are some who

Page #82
perform tasks, but there is no interest or perfection in their work. Babul and asopalav, both are trees, but with a difference. The tree as well as thorns grows but the tree is useful whereas the thorns are useless, they hurt. If we want to shine brightly in this world, we will have to melt, but where do we have to melt our ego? In the proximity of our Guru, in Parmatma's presence and at HIS Lotus feet we will have to surrender and melt completely. One, who melts, achieves enlightenment which is bright and lustrous and one who doesn't melt, gets only sparks and blazes. In a small earthen pot, if we pour ghee and kindle the wick, it is called diya (light). But, if we pour kerosene instead of ghee and kindle the wick, it will be called a blaze. Similarly, in the diya of action, if there is surrender and humility, it is called ghee but if there is selfishness behind our action, it is called kerosene. Whether to kindle a diya or create a blaze, is in our hands. There are some whose task can be termed as good work and there are some whose work is drudgery. When there is no humility in a person's work, then each action is drudgery. When a person becomes soft and modest all his work is executed with ease. If we begin our morning by chanting Navkarmantra with deep feelings and devotion, then fifty percent of our tasks will be completed automatically. Do not pray for your work to be completed successfully. Your intention should be, "HE is my

Page #83
Parmatma and that is why I want to chant HIS name. Except my Parmatma, no one else in this world is mine." A saint once visited, near the house of a gentleman. The gentleman's wife had faith in the saint but the gentleman had none. He had seen many people coming to pay homage. He had heard about the miracles. He had heard that, because of the saint, many peoples' problems were solved and there was peace in their homes. In spite of listening to these stories, the gentleman never paid homage. A week passed like this. One day, he felt like testing the saint. He ordered his servant to get an earthen pot, fill it with mud and muck and thereafter, decorate the pot. The servant unwillingly followed the instructions and gave the pot to the gentleman. The gentleman went to the saint. Many followers were sitting there. He went in the midst of them and offered the pot to the saint and said, "I have brought sweets... especially for you... please accept this gift. I do not come every day because I am not a believer, but today, I have come for you so please accept my gift." If one receives a gift amidst so many people, and when it is opened if there is dirt and mud inside! What an insult it would be for the saint! What would everyone think? A saint receives such gifts! It is an insult for the one who accepts the gift rather than the one who gives it. The saint knew that this person was his opponent. It is a

Page #84
norm for Guru to visit the opponent before visiting the devotees. Saint was prepared. He closed his eyes and prayed to his Guru, "Guruji ! Protect me and help me maintain my reputation." What will happen? In the midst of so many followers, if the saint opened the pot with mud and muck, how insulting it would be for him! The saint was aware of the gentleman's plan to insult him. To the gentleman's amazement, he opened the pot, removed sweets from it and started eating. The gentleman went to his house and broke into tears. He realized his mistake. Fifteen days passed after this incident. One day, his wife asked him to accompany her for the saint's blessings. The gentleman readily agreed. He wanted to ask a question that was troubling him for many days. He asked the saint, "How did the mud and muck in the pot turn into sweets?" The saint replied, "I don't know anything." The saint is always engrossed in the thought of his Guru. He is always in vinay bhaav. Because of this vinay bhaav, the servant felt concerned about the saint's prestige. He did not approve of the fact that such a great saint should be insulted in front of others, so instead of filling the pot with mud, he filled it with sweets. Miracles are not purposeful acts, they just happen naturally

Page #85
The fact, that the servant's intention changed, can there be a bigger miracle? People change clothes all the time. But one, who can bring about a change in others, is a Satguru. One who has experienced Gurukrupa will understand that things do not have to be done, they happen automatically. It is mentioned in the Jain religious scriptures(Aagam) that, upon observing one humble and modest person, others will be inspired to become like him. If we follow the right discipline and behave properly, whether it is maintaining a queue or welcoming a saint by saying "Padharo (welcome)," only then can we set an example for others and our coming generations. People learn to be modest by observing modest people. If we are arrogant, everyone surrounding us will learn to be immodest. If one is rightfully polite and courteous, then others will also try to be polite and courteous and thus help him gain good luck We must remember that we should always strive to set right examples, because human beings have a great ability to inspire others. People imbibe both good and bad examples very easily. A Disciple is one who follows Discipline!

Page #86
Where there is vinay bhaav, there is bliss. Where there is bliss, there is no scope for mistakes. One word is enough for a person who is ready for spirituality but if one is not ready, even an entire book is not enough. If the sanskars of vinay are roused in one ideal person, then it is bound to be roused in many more people. A modest person teaches modesty. One, who counts can never give and one, who gives never counts. When one is totally engrossed in work, there is no room for mistake. Guru imbibes culture in one; many get that culture from one. For those who comprehend, one word read is of importance, but for one who does not understand, even if he reads the entire volume it is useless. When Rishabhdatt Brahmin went for the darshan of his Parmatma, he would ask for the biggest chariot to be prepared. This fact is mentioned in the Bhagvatisutra. He would ask the chariot to be decorated beautifully with small bells of gold, silver and other precious metals. The question arose... why does he decorate the chariot in this way? He answered... "Admiring the exquisite decoration and

Page #87
beauty of the chariot, many people will ask me, "Rishabhdatt Brahmin, where are you going?" I will answer, "I am going to pay homage to my Parmatma, would you like to join me? Please come." This is what is called propagation of religion... genuine prabhavana. The chariot was decorated with gold and silver bells, as though it was the preparation of a grand ceremony. When the feeling of prabhavana is aroused in a person, he is so much in awe of his Parmatma and full of gratitude for HIM that he feels, "I have united with God. I feel extremely elated and understand the value of it! The joy of it! Now, I want all my fellow brothers and sisters to attain God and experience divine bliss just like me." Such benevolent and sublime intention, for the betterment of this world can only happen to a seeker and an accomplished soul. Once, if all the souls become interested in the religion, then automatically, they will become interested in Parmatma. Once they become passionate about Parmatma, they will become interested in sadhana and they will thus become seekers. Their soul will gradually attain its purity and its original clarity. Once clarity of the soul (antarshuddhi) sets in, all other interests vanish and only purity (shuddhi) remains. 80 =

Page #88
If you have attained religion, it becomes your duty to see to it that others too attain religion. If you become instrumental in others attaining religion, only then will you attain religion in your future births. Je pamadto nathi, te pamto nathi One who does not give, does not receive. Upon observing your feelings and intentions for religion, similar feelings will be roused in the heart of other devotional individuals. Then, you too, in future lives, will attain Jain religion, you will get Parmatma's shashan, your home will be close to a Jain place of worship (upashray), you will get the opportunity to serve ascetics (sadhujis and sadhvijis) and to listen to their discourses (pravachan). Moreover, you will get the intellect and knowledge to understand the message of Parmatma. All your circumstances will be favorable, so that you can perform sadhana. This sublime punya karma is called bhadra karma. One can bind bhadra karma only by prabhavana. Religion is multi-dimensional. It should never be viewed from one side (Ekantwad). It should be viewed from all angles (Anekantwad). There should be no Ekantwad in religion. There is always Anekantwad in religion. Anekantwad is the right form of religion. One who does a type of fasting where only one meal is taken(ekasana) and eats ten rotis is considered acceptable, but

Page #89
for one who does fasting without food(upvas), even eating one roti is unacceptable. If you do not act rightly according to your situation, then, you are non-religious(adharmi) and if you act rightly according to your situation, then, you are religious (dharmi).Accept all that is good in this world. Vinay aj vinay ne viksave chhe! Vinitta aj vinittone viksave chhe! In a nutshell, the above phrases can be explained as: "Humility in one human being nurtures humility in others." Your vinay is like a small seed of a banyan tree. This seed has the power and potential to create many such trees that can give shade to thousands of people. Whether to accept the leaves of the tree or the seed is in our hands. If you accept the leaves, you will not achieve much because the leaves will wither in a few days. In your journey as a seeker, if you attain other virtues, it will be like a leaf. It is only vinay that is most fruitful. The seed nurtures many more trees. Sow the seeds of respect and leaves are bound to be yours... Engrave the vinay bhaav in your heart! In this life, if you cannot do the greatest of things, don't worry. If we only become humble and modest , we will achieve everything. We will certainly attain peace and meditative state.

Page #90
From confession to worship. || AALOCHANA 11 CONFESSION Ambmo'UmE US ^SVO! Ordo qH$ OUB? mbmo`UmE US _m`m - {UomU - {AN>m - X$gu ,,mUg _nto $1_12J - {d/2YmUS AUSV - g$gma - dCOUmus ca H$a0B Cintu mdg M OUTMB, C,mw^md n{S>dEUo`US Ordo AMBO, Bpewdos Unwegjdo`S MU-SYB, nwid-OS, MUS {U, ma &&5&& -- 683

Page #91
A new crop can grow in a field only after the land has been ploughed and cleaned. Similarly, one can imbibe a Guru's teachings only after he has clean sed himself by disclosing his vices, defects, mistakes and sin she has committed to his Guru with an open heart. If ghee is filled in a kerosene tin, it is bound to stink. The kerosene tin must be cleaned properly and dried in the sun for the smell to fade away before filling it with ghee. In the same way, until one empties and frees himself of vices and defects, one will not be able to fill oneself with the appreciation and essence of Parmatma. We must cleanse ourselves to be able to fill ourselves with Parmatma's preachings. Ifyou want to invite Parmatma into your heart, you will have to release all the poisonous pythons and snakes lying latent in your heart, and make way for Parmatma's auspicious entry. Is it right to place Parmatma with such poisonous entities? Pythons and Parmatma can never reside together. A saint and a devil can never live together. If there is a devil within you, then, even the divine words of a saint will be ineffective. What should be done under such circumstances? We will have to first begin with confession... "Oh! My revered Guru Bhagvant! I am disclosing everything before you." = 84 -

Page #92
'Jenu antar khuli shake chhe,tej sadhana ma khili shake chhe!' 'One, who can unlock his heart, can bloom in his spiritual endeavor!' A seeker can never become a worshipper without confessing all his mistakes before his Guru! Virtues can be firmly established only after vices are removed. Why does peace only last for a short time? Even if virtues are established, they are temporary... The reason is, we have not indulged in selfintrospection, self-criticism and confessed our sins (aalochana), not condemnedour sins (ninda) and not confessed our sins to our Guru (garha). We have not disclosed our faults before our Guru. One gets ENTRY into the religion of Parmatma, only ifone UNFOLDS before his Guru. To open-up the heart before Satguru means to review the heart in all its totality, to analyze the feelings... to scrutinize all the actions...! Who am I? Where am I? What am I? Review your inner soul and confess your mistakes - disclose everything before your Guru. Jambuswami asked Guru Sudharmaswami, = 85 -

Page #93
"O Bhante! What does the soul attain by confessing its sins?" If one has complete faith, confessing can become the road to salvation. When a person confesses his mistakes to his Guru and his heart cries, the sins are washed away and he moves closer to Parmatma. Aalochana is disclosing to our Guru, how we are, what our true self is and what our thoughts are when we are alone. In front of others, we project ourselves as perfect, virtuous individuals because we want to portray an outstanding image in the eyes of others. 'Confession of one's sins ensures that he will not become a woman in the future.'What does this mean? Jealousy...deceit...sweet tongue on the outside and bitterness inside... are characteristics, typical of a woman. According to the Aagam of Parmatma, the highest tendency of illusory thoughts regarding the world(maya), attachments and affection that makes one weak and deceitful tendency(kapat) are in tiriyanch (sub-humans, animals)... and lesser than them, they are in women,while they are the least in men. When there is a dead body within and flowers on the surface, it is called grave or tomb. When there is deceit and malice within, but a sweet smile on the face, it is called deceit. -- R 86 =

Page #94
Confession (Aalochana) is to remove the corpse, the dead body from our inner soul and disclose it to our Guru. 'Jagat ne je matra ful batave chhe, ena jevo FOOL jagat ma bijo koi hoto nathi.' There is no bigger fool than him, in this world, who only displays flowers of false appreciation to the world. But one, who reveals his inner true self to his Guru, confesses his mistakes and admits to his Guru, "Oh! Guru Bhagvant ! I have done this... I am at fault... I have behaved in this manner... I became angry and upset with him...!" When an individual discloses his errors to his Guru, not only tears trickle down his eyes, but his inner self also weeps. When the heart sheds tears, the inner self gets cleansed and becomes pure. 'Ankhon thi radvawala no paar hoto nathi, pan antarthi je rade chhe eni ne parmatma ni vachche antar rahetu nathi.' There are many who cry, but only the one who weeps and repents from the bottom of the heart moves closer to Parmatma. The heart becomes clean and pure only when it is cleansed with tears of confession. Jyan preet tyan pardo nahin...jya pardo tyan nahin preet! Preet tyan pardo rahe, ae preet nahin viparit kahevai chhe!' Where there is love, there is nothing to hide, where =R 87

Page #95
there are secrets, there is no love! If secrets are kept inlove, love changes to hostility. "O Parmatma! If I keep a secret between you and me, if I hide myself from you, I cannot become one with you. My affection will be superfluous and adverse. It will never be true affection!" Only one who has opened up before Parmatma and reveals his true self before Parmatma can become Parmatma! In this world, there is no dearth of people who stand with joined hands...but there are very few people whose hearts have merged with Parmatma. Will a sculptor be able to carve an idol from a big slab of stone which is covered with mud? No! Why? He can carve an idol only from a clean stone... a stone free from mud and dirt! Similarly, when we go before our Guru, we must reveal our true selves to him. Only then, can he help us wash our sins. Yet, we conceal our true nature and sit in front of MaharajSaheb and indulge in sugary conversations like, "Are you in shata?" Yes! We are in shata! MaharajSaheb! I am doing an upvaas (fasting without consumption of food)!" When your heart is full of upheavals like attachment, -- 688

Page #96
hatred, greed, deceit and other such vices... This is not true fasting! "Upvaas to ea kahevay, jema Parmatma no vaas thaye! Parmatma no vaas tyare j thaye, jyare haiyu shuddh thaye!' When the heart becomes pure, then, Parmatma will reside in the heart. Only after this, when we indulge in fasting with mind and body, it is called upvaas. It is not possible to indulge in any religious activities without cleansing the heart. Before cleansing the mind and body, one should purify the heart. Mind can be cleansed by saying prayers repeatedly, but to purify our heart, we have to visit our Guru and confess our mistakes. When the soul aspires to connect with Parmatma, the first condition is to surrender yourself completely. First, reveal your vices - there is no need to display your virtues. When you observe your vices, and when that observation becomes the offering at the Lotus feet of your Guru... this is called Aalochana! Many would have been involved in spiritual endeavors for years,yet, one cannot claim that in last twentyfour hours, he has not lost his temper! One hasn't given a thought to the fact that, in spite of performing religious 890

Page #97
activities, the mind is filled with... rather, dumped with all sorts of thoughts. Why? In a field, the roots of old crops are often stuck in clods. Only after the lumps are broken, can the roots be separated and the litter in the field removed. After clearing the field, new crops are grown. If we sow new seeds with the old garbage, then the new crop will get destroyed. Spiritual endeavors are successful only when purification is performed with surrender! Selfintrospection has to be performed with honest observance! Remove the poisonous creepers that are the cause of your infinite lifecycles ! Purification is inevitable! Examine yourself: "Have I disclosed before my Guru? Have I ever confessed my mistakes, my sins to my Guru? Has my heart ever moistened, with tears of guilt, before my Guru?" One, who does not confess, can never ever become a worshipper, a devotee. There can never be a devotee, devoid of selfintrospection. If the BASE of a building is not strong and the foundation is not FIRM, at some point in time, the building will collapse. One has to check the land thoroughly before -- 90

Page #98
laying the foundation for a high-rise building. If one fails to prepare a strong foundation, the structure will fall like a pack of cards! Similarly, without surrendering and confessing, your building of sadhana, penance, worship, vows and chanting of mantras will collapse and prove fruitless, yielding no constructive results. One individual may carry out seemingly minor spiritual endeavors and worship, and attains liberation. On the other hand, another individual who completes a series of maskhamans(fasting for a month without food and consuming only on boiled water), and yet, becomes a nonworshipper. Why...? Because, he is not dedicated. A death devoid of the vow of santharo is not a devotee's death! What are the conditions for santharo? You cannot become a devotee until you confess your sins before your Guru. Several days ago, a lady came...she began by saying, "MaharajSaheb, I have completed nine lakh samayiks....five samayiks done in one stretch are equivalent to twenty-five, just as one continual three-day fast(attham) is equivalent to twenty-five days of fasting ! In this way, I have completed nine lakh samayiks." Her daughter-in-law, who was standing behind the lady, gestured to Gurudev to guide and bless her 91V -

Page #99
mother-in-law, who was very short-tempered, to keep her cool! In spite of completing so many samayiks, she has not progressed even an inch on Parmatma's path. Why? Because, every time she got angry, she moved one step back. Those who do not cleanse their heart, do not have peace of mind. What is the meaning of santharo? In simple words, santharo means 'cremation of the heart and mind while the body is still functional.' A dead body is cremated in a crematorium. Cremation of the mind and heart means to burn all the negative feelings and tendencies of the past to ashes. Santharo burns all the feelings attached with the past to ashes. How is it done? "O Bhante ! I have sinned... I am asking for forgiveness... I have committed wrong deeds and troubled many people... I am confessing all my wrong doings... criticizing them... repenting for what I have done and my soul as witness, I am surrendering all my sins...I confess to you, my Gurudev." Tap Samrat Pujya Gurudev used to say... 'Upvaas no santharo nahin karu pan hun to swarth, sneh ane sambandh na agni sanskar karish, ane ene j santharo kehavai!' - U 92 --

Page #100
I will not do a santharo by fasting, but I will cremate selfishness, affection and relations... this is truly santharo! The cremation of selfishness is santharo! The cremation of desires is santharo! The cremation of relations is santharo! The cremation of aspirations is santharo! "Take suggestions from all, but follow the command of only one!" Listen to the words of all, but surrender at the feet of only one! Permission should be taken from only one person -Gurudev! A Panchmahavratdhari (one who has taken five vows according to Jain philosophy) is called a saint! There can be many ascetics, but only one Guru. For whom do we recite the third Namotthunam? It is for our religious Guru. Listen to all... try to understand all... and accept what is good! The Uvvaisutra elicits the following example: Ambad Sanyasi starts his journey, in search of truth, with his seven hundred disciples. He gained religious knowledge from Parmatma Mahavir. It is said in the Aagam, = 93

Page #101
that he gained knowledge from Parmatma Mahavir, surrendered to HIM and accepted HIM as his religious Guru. HIS disciples, however, did not regard Parmatma Mahavir as their Guru, but continued to regard Ambad Sanyasi as their Guru. Ambad Sanyasi had a vow-to drink water only with permission. When he did not get water, he instantly took a vow of santharo and began chanting: "Mum Dhamma Guru Dhamma Ayariye Shraman Bhagwan Mahavir Swami!" His seven hundred disciples chanted: "Mum Dhamma Guru Dhamma Ayariye Ambad Sanyasi!" The seven hundred disciples of Ambad Sanyasi had taken vows of a shravak(layman). It is mentioned in the Aagam that they had knowledge of all living beings as well as that of good and evil. Knowledge and wisdom come naturally to the one who has completely surrendered to his Guru! The Aagam is the key strength of a devotee. According to the circumstances of this time & age, we must accept that all Panchmahavratdhari saints are Gurus. Our religion believes in anekantvad (multiplicity of views) - everyone is correct from their perspective.

Page #102
What does one gain by confessing his sins? When we confess our sins, we uproot the thorns which clutter the world and obstruct our path to liberation. How can one be sure that the steps that a traveler takes on his chosen path are in the right direction and will yield fruitful results? A path may be full of thorns, but a traveler has no problem, until a thorn pricks him. The moment that happens, he has difficulties in proceeding further. In the same way, to tread on Parmatma's path, the thorns of mistakes, sins and negative qualities that have been pricking you since ages must be removed from your heart, else, they will hurt you at every step. "Oh! Guru Bhagvant ! I want to acknowledge the responsibility of all the sins that I have committed in my life. I have made all these mistakes. I accept my mistakes." There is only one way to acknowledge the mistakes - confess and don't repeat them. Those who don't confess are bound to repeat their mistakes. A mistake remains a mistake, until it is acknowledged. Once it is pointed out, it ceases to be a mistake. If it is not pointed out, then a series of mistakes will follow.

Page #103
Parmatma is not concerned about how many sins you have committed. He is concerned about how many you have acknowledged and repented for. The degree of devotion can be calculated on the basis of repentance. A store owner is not interested in the one lakh rupees in your pocket - he is concerned with the amount of money you will spend in his shop. Religion begins only when the heart gets cleansed. Without the purification of the heart, one does not attain the state of a seeker. 'Je sudharvani sharuat kare te saadhak,ane jenu sudharvanu sampurna te Siddha!' One who begins improving is a devotee and one who has fully-improved is a liberated yogi! Because one is a seeker, one makes mistakes. If one does not make mistakes, then, he is not a seeker but a fully enlightened and liberated soul. One must remember that a devotee is bound to falter and make mistakes, hence, we should never comment on his negative qualities! One who does not make mistakes is a Siddha. The reason why clothes are washed is because of dirt and stains. Once they are completely clean, there is no longer

Page #104
any dirt or stain. We must never comment on seeing any defects in a seeker. THE PATH OF SPIRITUAL ENDEAVOR At once, surrender at the feet of your Guru. Give HIM your complete responsibility. Unfold and entrust your heart to HIM. What is the task of a Guru? HIS task is the same as that of a washerman. A washerman takes your dirty clothes and returns them to you after washing. A Guru embraces your heart, cleanses it and returns it to you. 'A heart cannot be cleansed without surrendering it... and until the heart is not cleansed, Parmatma will not reside in it! If you want Parmatma to reside in your heart, then, you must give your heart ...! A Guru will cleanse your heart and thereafter, without doubt, Parmatma will reside in it! What happens if a house is kept shut for long time? Insects, bugs and spiders will make a deserted place, their home. However, in an open house which receives sunlight, there will not be any spiders or insects. Similarly, if a heart is not surrendered to a Guru, many negative elements and feelings will enter and UZYK =

Page #105
encapsulate the heart. But, if we surrender ourselves totally to our Guru, he will ensure that our heart remains safe from the muck of the world. We must pray..."Oh ! Guru Bhagvant ! Snakes of anger, illusion and deceit & pythons of pride are lying in my heart. There is also a lot of disorder, sorrow and many desires in my heart. Kindly cleanse my heart." Ifone does not hesitate in exposing himself before his Guru, then, purification is certain. However, if he hesitates, then, purification is not possible. There is a very nice example in the Aagam regarding this: During a war, a soldier was injured by small arrows on his back, legs and chest. These small arrows were very dangerous. Firstly, they were not clearly visible. Secondly, if they remained in the body for more than three days, their poison would start spreading all over. The soldier went to the doctor and showed his chest and legs, where he was hit by the arrows, but he did not show the arrows that had penetrated his back. The doctor diagnosed his injuries and accordingly, started the treatment. Soon, however, the injury on his back started getting infected, and the poison started spreading, causing unbearable pain. Hence, he had to go back to the doctor. Why did he not show his injuries on his back before? =U98

Page #106
A brave warrior never runs away from the battlefield. Those who try to run away are hit by arrows in the back, whereas, those who fight bravely are hit in the chest. As we know, soldiers exhibit their bravery by flaunting their chests. The moral of the story is that we should not hide our mistakes from Parmatma. "Je potana dosh ne chupave chhe ae kyarey sadhak bani shakto nathi!' One who hides his defects can never become a seeker. A seeker is one who starts the process of purification. There is one rule for a seeker - he has to open up, he has to confess. To confess his mistakes - Aalochana. To destroy the thorns of attachment, greed, deceit, perversion and passion lying deep within us is called Aalochana. An individual makes many efforts to remove the vices within him... yet, he is unsuccessful... but, if he surrenders and performs Aalochana, all his vices will cease to exist. "Manadik Shatru Mahan Nij Chande Na Maraya, Jata Sadguru Sharanma, Alp Prayase Jaay." Pride, ego and desire are strong enemies which cannot be removed with one's own efforts, but if one

Page #107
surrenders to his Sadguru and takes HIS shelter, they can be eradicated with minimal effort. These negative tendencies are latent in one's own desires and cannot be removed by one's own will. If an individual takes refuge in his Guru's protection, then, with little effort, these negative tendencies can be removed from one's innate nature. If you visit any doctor or vaid (one who practices Ayurveda), he will check your pulse and diagnose your ailment. Then, he will prescribe medicines to remove all the impurities in your body. Finally, he will try to increase the stamina or the purities of your body. However, before starting the medication, a vaidwill give a purgative and cleanse the body's system. Similarly, with Parmatma's blessings, first, remove all the impurities and cleanse yourself. Once purification is attained and you become worthy and deserving, the next few steps on the ladder to liberation become very easy. The progress onto the path of liberation becomes natural and automatic. 'Patrata ni shuddhi j pragati na pagathiya chadave chhe!' Purification of character helps one climb the steps of progress! Perseverance alone does not help one to progress; purification of character is also required. The soul is purified when one confesses with an open = 100

Page #108
mind, without any hesitation. Samayik, pratikraman, sadhana, and worship performed without purifying the soul are valueless as enemies like ego, anger and deceit will keep attacking the mind time and again. One does not attain peace of mind in spite of performing many samayiks, pratikraman, sadhana and penance. The reason behind our failure is that we have not opened up before our Guru. The biggest advantage of confessing is that, one who opens up before a Guru, himself becomes a Guru in the future. THE BENEFIT OF AALOCHANA When an individual indulges in Aalochana, he does not bind karmas that will cause him to take birth in a family without religious virtues, a woman or as an impotent person. A child does not hide anything from his mother - he tells her everything. A genuinely virtuous person is like a child, innocent and humble. He will disclose his inner self before Parmatma without hiding anything. Our deficiency is that we have grown-up...we have lost our childhood. We reveal our unnecessary virtues and hide our vices which should, in fact, be revealed. In order to show the roots of a tree to others, the tree

Page #109
has to be uprooted. This will destroy the tree completely and it will never grow again. In the same way, our virtues are like the roots - once displayed, their growth and progress will stop. Roots are better buried. It is best to keep your wealth, your virtues and your respect buried. They should not be exposed. There are people who fast and there after, announce to others about their fasting. The question to ask them is, "Have you fasted for yourself or to show others?" Yes, you can motivate yourself to boost your confidence, but the moment you try to show-off to others, the essence of sadhana vanishes. Your sadhana will become fruitless. Nijrehi means nirjarvu (to destroy). What is destroyed by nirjara (annihilation of past karmas)? When karmas are annihilated, it is a natural process, but, when the root cause of the karmas is destroyed, it's simply amazing. Karmas that were bonded because of anger are annihilated by confession but when one's nature to get angry is altered, the impact is extraordinary! If one does materialistic sadhana, his materialistic karmas are annihilated. Confession and self-repentance are subjective sadhana. When the subjective sadhana is

Page #110
performed with the deepest feelings and affection of the heart, the latent mental traces of anger gets destroyed. Which is better - switching off the light or cutting off the connection? What does the soul attain by confessing its sins? With fasting like upvaas or ayambil, the switch turns on and off intermittently, however, by confessing mistakes, the connection is cut and one becomes free from binding similar karmas in the future. 'Bhaav karma ne je khapavechhe tene aalochana kahevay chhe!' Aalochana is internal penance! It destroys the evil mental traces lying deep within a person. Confession is the emotional penance that destroys the anger, ego, attachment, deceit, hatred, sexual tendencies, desires and passions lying deeply latent within human nature. Confession annihilates psychological karmas, whereas penance annihilates materialistic karmas. When it is switched-off, the current stops temporarily, but if we cut-off the connection, the flow of current completely stops, hence, there is no reaction. When does an action generate a reaction? When there is a connection. But if there is no connection, there will be no reaction to any action. 103V

Page #111
When a person utters bitter words, the switch is turned on and current begins to flow. However, if there is no connection, there will be no current and one does not get affected by whatever the other person says. Sadhana has the power to turn-off the switch permanently. Our deepest prayers should be, "O! Parmatma! I want to indulge in bhaav sadhana and Aalochana." We have had many births where the switch was turnedoff. When the switch is off, there are no reactions, but as soon as the opposite person speaks to us a in a higher tone and insults us, the switch is turned on and the current begins to flow. When the roots are destroyed, the trunk gets automatically destroyed. The feelings of Aalochana and criticism are almost the same. We verbally express the feelings of Aalochana, whereas criticism is done within, in the form of repentance. Confession manifests condemnation (Ninda) in the form of repentance. Repentance, done whole-heartedly, has the power to destroy all sinful actions. -- 104

Page #112
T Genuine repentence leads to purification. II NINDA II SELF REPENTENCE [USXU mE US "SVO! Ordo qH$ OU'B ? [USXUAmE US nAN>mUwVmds OUB, n N mUwVmdous {da,m_mUo H$aUJwUgoqT> n{ S aUJwUgo 1>8 - n{S>dEUO `AUJmao_moh{U,mg H$a_ $ C B , MEB &&& = 105 -

Page #113
When a person confesses his mistakes before his Guru or an ideal person, it is called Aalochana and when he has an urge to repent, it is called Ninda (self repentance). A person undergoes feelings of repentance deep within himself. He ponders over his errors, and repeatedly feels remorse for his actions. When one confesses before Guru, He will bless him through a course of repentance for the transgression. While repenting, one must have feelings in the heart which say, "O Parmatma! I have committed sins which I should not have committed. I have made mistakes. Consciously or unconsciously I have committed these sins. O Bhante! Please bestow upon me a fair understanding and virtues that will purify my soul, so that in the future, neither I may be involved in any evil deeds or false acts nor even think of committing sins." What happens when we ourselves realize the graveness of our mistakes, and thereby we experience an upheaval within ourselves regarding the anger, ego, deceit, desires, passions that we have indulged in? Will the vices increase or decrease? A small plant was sown in the ground. A young boy saw the plant, uprooted it, threw it on the ground and walked away. Later, it rained. This caused the roots to merge with soil and the plant stood erect. When the boy again passed by, he saw the plant and began wondering, "I had completely uprooted it... how did it grow again?"...he again uprooted it - 106V

Page #114
from the soil and threw it on the ground. Every day the boy used to pass from there at 9:30 am, uproot the plant and throw it. Every day it rained between 10.00am to 10.30am and the roots would merge with the soil. This continued for a week. Now what happened? The plant would merge with the soil but it could not get firmly rooted to the ground because it was being uprooted regularly. The plant did manage to grow somehow but it could not bloom like the other firmly rooted plants. Other plants gave fruits and flowers where as this plant could not bear any fruits and flowers. Gradually it reached the state of destruction. Every day, the plant was uprooted and every day, it rained and the roots merged with the soil. Every day one listens to discourses. We are like the plants and our Guru is like the boy, HE tries to uproot us from this worldly life. But soon the worldly life rains so heavily that we again get involved in the worldly matters. The torrent of the worldly shower is so strong that you again get stuck in the mundane life. However, because of being uprooted by Guru repeatedly, we will be connected to the worldly life but will not be able to have a strong foothold in the worldly life. One will not be able to merge with the materialistic world because he is more firmly connected with the Divine.

Page #115
You will neither be able to renounce the world nor live peacefully in it! Guru keeps uprooting us so that we do not bloom in the mundane worldly life. Anger, ego, illusion and greed are the four roots of the worldly tree. Guru uproots us along with the roots. So for one hour, that one listens to discourses or is a part of satsangh, one will not have any sense of pride nor will he get angry, one will not have affection or hatred towards anyone and will not cheat with anyone. During this blessed period one remains away from the above mentioned four Sins (four kashayas- attachment, hatred, ego and deceit). For one hour, you are completely engrossed in listening to the discourses and hence are uprooted from this worldly life - but once again, when the feelings of love and affection start raining, one merges into the worldly life. Again when one goes back to his routine life, he mingles with the mundane world and gets trapped in the cobweb of the materialistic world. Guru's task is to make one aware of the worthlessness of this materialistic mundane worldly life! When a person scorns his vices and does not like them, they are bound to reduce. One who feels that his anger or any other vice is not 108 -

Page #116
worth any criticism, he will never improve or evolve in life. If one does not realize his mistakes then he is far away from the Divine Path. The following sentence is engraved in many people's mind - "Dankhvu nahi pan fufado to marvoj pade!" We should not sting but we should hiss..! This only shows how poisonous our thoughts are! This showcases our inner feelings. Those who think that anger is bad, will sometimes be able to get rid of their anger. Ifone dislikes, one is bound to stay away from it! If he enjoys his anger and takes pride in his action then this trait will increase in him instead of decreasing. This logic applies to all vices. Self criticism and repentance helps a person climb the ladder of good virtues! While dancing on a rope Elaichi kumar experienced pureness and divinity. His vices now, began pricking him. He realized his mistakes and his feeling of repentance from deep within his heart took him towards purity. Genuine repentance leads to purification. Repentance is like a waterfall which washes away everything. There is a difference between a waterfall and a stream of water. What exactly is the difference?

Page #117
That which washes away a small portion is a stream and that which washes away everything is a waterfall. 'Confession is a stream and repentance is a waterfall.' One, who begins with the stream of confession and reaches the torrent of repentance, purifies his soul. The one who gets washed and cleaned is a religious person but the one, who does not get washed, can never be religious. 'HUMAN LIFE is the life for the PURIFICATION of SOUL! This is the only birth in which the three Gems, confession (Aalochana), self criticism and repentance (Ninda) and confession of the sins in front of a Guru (Garha) can be expressed. A soul expresses his innermost thoughts and feelings and follows the footsteps of his Guru. In Aagam there is an important lesson in which, it is mentioned that numerous five sensed lives perform Paushadh on every 24, 5", 8", 11", and 15th day of the month (beej, pacham, aatham, agiyaras and pakhi). This fact has been mentioned in the Anuyogdhvar Sutra. At present innumerable monkeys, fishes and other such lives have acquired Paushadh and are sitting in samayik bhaav (self contemplation and purifying one's ideas and emotions). There are numerous lives in the Adhidweep and = 1100 -

Page #118
innumerable outside the Adhidweep. Though these lives are able to follow strict penances but they can not confess, repent and hate sins because they do not have a Guru. Their biggest drawback is that they can perform sadhana but they do not have a Satguru, at whose pious feet, they can surrender. They have sadhana and we too have sadhana. They have a desire to surrender and we too have a desire to surrender. The only difference is that they do not have a shelter whereas we are fortunate to have the shelter of our Guru. When one repents, all his deluding karmas (Mohaniya karmas) are annihilated. Criticism gives birth to repentance. The soul that repents climbs the steps of the ladder of divinity. The moment he begins to climb, his deluding karmas start decreasing. When the soul gets attracted to the Supreme Entity, it loses interest in the worldly life ....and his interest in religion increases. ...this leads to divine experiences which result in unflinching faith for Parmatma and Guru. The individual then stays in the proximity of his Guru and begins to confess. As he unfolds his heart and pours out all his mistakes, the rays

Page #119
of Guru's blessings enter his heart and the bad qualities are thrown out. When the heart opens wide, the light of Guru Krupa enters the heart and enlightens it. Now there is no place for vices in an illuminated heart. "Parmatma apna rhaday ma padhare ane avguno palayan thai jae." When Parmatma enters our heart all the vices flee. When the peacock enters and the snake runs away! When one stays in close proximity of the Guru, his heart opens up, one confesses his mistakes before the Guru and undergoes a deep sense of self - repentance. This repentance, takes him towards emancipation. Elaichi Kumar attained liberation while dancing on the rope! Marudevi Mata attained liberation whilst sitting on an elephant! Bharat Chakravarti attained Right knowledge (Kevalgyan) and Right perception (Kevaldarshan) in his palace made of mirrors. There are many houseless ascetics who repented while sinking in the sea and attained liberation. There are infinite such lives who have attained liberation while sinking in the sea. They are in a circle, whose - 2 112

Page #120
radius is more than 120 crore kilometers. An envious person pushed an Acharya into the sea... but the Acharya remained calm and in a state of equanimity... and attained emancipation. In spite of being in the midst of innumerable nonworshipping lives, a soul can create his path of worship with unflinching devotion for Parmatma and attain emancipation. There are innumerable such souls. Let us pray to Parmatma to attain a place amongst these infinite souls! -- 1132

Page #121
Internal hatred towards sins. II GARHA II HATRED TOWARDS SINS JahU'mE US ^SVo ! Ordo qH$ OU`B ? JahU'mE US Anwa, $magS OUTMB, Any SmaJE US Ordo ABngeWoqhVmo OmoJoqhVmo {U I POB, ngEWon{S>d,mB ngEW OmoJn{S>dEUoUS AUJ a AUSVKmB(c) n,mdo IdoB &&7&&

Page #122
How can we express our internal feeling, longing of our heart to attain oneness with Parmatma? How should one conduct oneself to be in tune with these feelings? What should be the inclination of our mind in accordance with the longing for Parmatma? (a person's natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way due to past memories of infinite life cycles is called valan). The purification of the inclination of mind is the most important factor. We might have twenty five beautiful handkerchiefs in our cupboard. But while walking on the road, if we come across a beautiful handkerchief lying on the ground, we might feel like picking it up or at least touching it. We might perhaps ignore if, there was a coin lying on the ground. We may not pick it up, yet we will surely have a slight inclination to either touch it or feel it or simply check it. Why so? Because, for infinite life cycles we have harbored the tendency, the habit, of acquiring things that belong to others. This tendency often directs us to indulge in wrong actions. If this tendency was dormant within us, we would 1157 -

Page #123
have never been attracted to any object or inclined to possess any object. There was a couple walking on the road. They had renounced all the pleasures of the world. The husband saw a gold coin lying on the street. He covered it with dust. His wife was behind him. She saw him but said nothing. On reaching home the husband tells her, "I saved you today." The wife inquired, "How"? He answers "I had seen a gold coin lying on the road. I thought the sight of the shining gold coin might attract you, and you might want to possess it, so I covered it with dust." The wife then answers him, "Dear husband! You have covered dust with dust! You still differentiate between gold and dust, but for me both gold and dust are of the same value." The first is the purification of behavior and the second is the purification of the inclination. Till one has achieved this, all his religious activities, samayik, pratikraman etc will be just a matter of routine. While performing all these religious activities, a desire for self introspection should develop within a person. Aalochana, Ninda and Garha! We opened our heart before our Guru and did Aalochana! Confessing one's mistakes is Aalochana. We acknowledged our sins and indulged in self repentance! Introspection and then repentance is Ninda. -- 1162 -

Page #124
Repentance is done in the presence of the soul and confession is done before your Guru. Now what is Garha? What is Garihami? Garha means internal hatred towards sins... decrial of the sins! "Hatred" is to feel, "I cannot do this." What I did was wrong and now I will never do it. I would never commit the same mistake again. This resolution is Garha! Once we develop the feeling of hatred towards the sins...once we dislike it...we will surely never develop the feeling ofliking it! Internal hatred for sins! Internal contempt for sins! Internal aversion for sins! A constant thought and belief that, to commit sin is wrong, and then in the long run experiencing heartfelt disgust for sins is called Garha! We bathe everyday and later we perform pratikraman for the violence committed towards numerous lives in water, while taking a bath. But have we ever felt hatred for bathing? Have we ever disliked bathing? We definitely do Aalochana but we have not yet felt disgust for bathing. Jyan sudhi Alochana ane Ninda thaii gaya pachi ghrina

Page #125
najanme tyan sudhi paap na chute! After confessing and repenting for our sins, if we fail to hate them, we will fail to get rid of them. Till we do not feel hatred for our wrong actions, in spite of performing Aalochana and Ninda for them, our sins cannot be eradicated. Confessions and repentance will not completely help us eliminate our sins! We will have to accept this fact! To commit sins and to repent for them is one thing, but to feel a sense of hatred for our sins is altogether a different thing. Just think that we must not eat, because the basic nature of soul is non-eating (anharak). The fact that I am eating is wrong. O God! When will my soul go back to its original anharak self? O God! What am I doing? I am providing alien object (par padarth) to my body. When the thought process is on these lines, one will then reach the anharak state. We do fast, but we do not feel hatred towards food. The day, hatred develops for food, we will stop eating. If we get know that this is some one's vomit, what will be the reaction? Will one even feel like looking at it? = 118 =

Page #126
No! Then where does the question of eating arise? According to Parmatma, It is a sin to harbor hatred for any object of this world. But he has also said that to hate sins is religion (dharma). When hatred is aroused, then one feels contempt for ones own deeds. Once hatred is aroused, a person becomes extremely conscious of his sins...when sins are acknowledged with honest heart and mind... they get eradicated. It is easy to renounce sins, but to regard sins as worth renouncing is very difficult. If decrial is born along with confession and repentance, one will realize that sin is evil and will become free from that sin. It is easy to part with the sin, but it is difficult to accept that we should part with the evil. What is born out of Garha? A feeling of dishonor (apurashkar bhaav) is born out of Garha. Apurashkar etle potani paap vritti pratyeno aprashansha bhaav! Apurashkar means depreciation ofones own sins. Once hatred is aroused, an individual will never commit the sin again! All the activities, that nurture the tendency to commit sins, will be stopped after the arousal of hatred. May be, due to circumstances and situations one is -- 119 =

Page #127
compelled to commit certain sins. In such cases it will be considered that he has not committed the crime. Because here, not only has his behavior undergone purification but also the inclination of his mind is purified. In infinite lives a soul has made efforts to reform his behavior, but if in any life his inclination undergoes reformation then he is close to liberation. Why is it that souls have so far tried hard to reform their behavior? It was a compulsion because one has to stay in society, in the midst of so many people. One has to project good conduct before others. It is a matter of image. Is this real renunciation? No! Shakya nathi mate chodvu...ae chutyu nathi! Pan chodva jevuj chhe mate chodyu.. ae chutyu chhe! Because it is inevitable, that is why one renounces, is not genuine renunciation. But it is worth renouncing that is why we renounce....is real renunciation. A washer man goes to a village in search of work. Unfortunately he does not get any work. So he sat in a corner and started chanting God's name with a rosary. One day his friend came to the village and saw him. He asked him, "Dear friend, you are taking God's name?" = 120V =

Page #128
Washer man: "Yes I am taking God's name." Friend: "But why are you chanting God's name"? Washer man: "Because I have spare time that is why." Friend: "Why do have spare time"? Washer man: "Because this is the village of Digambars (They do not wear any clothes)." What is the need of a washer man in the town of Digambars? Parmatma has referred to this fact in Dashvaikaliksutra. You do not have anything and you say that you have given up it is not really giving up... you have got and yet you are giving up is renouncing. You have some spare time and you have got nothing constructive to do, so you sit to chant God's name just to pass time, this is not ideal, this is not done. Even if you are pressurized with tremendous work load and you still yearn to take out some time to take Parmatma's name, this is devotion. Your heart should say that no matter what, I will take out time for my Parmatma. I will do his sadhana...... this is real sadhana and real renunciation. Our approach should be, "I want to go deep in devotion and sadhana to pass through each and every exam that life takes and not for passing time aimlessly." After the arousal of Garha, the soul unites with the = 121 =

Page #129
praise worthy state or excellent state (prashasta avastha) and becomes free off unworthy (aprashasta avastha) state. When a seeker unites with the prashasta sadhana, then his infinite Ghati karmas get eradicated. We have often heard and even talked about it in pratikraman, that there are four Ghati Karmas and four Ghanghati Karmas. What is Ghati, Ghangahti and Agahti? The karmas that destroy the virtues of the soul are Ghati karma! The karmas that are for inanimate and motionless, arise from inanimate, karmas that become the support of such inanimate karmas are called Aghati karma! The karmas that have become one with the soul are Ghanghati karma! The karmas that the soul binds are of different categories. For example, take a bucket. Fill it with water. Now pour a spoon full of indigo in it. The water will become blue. Now if we put two spoons, the water will become blue. If we put one kilo indigo in it, not only will the water become extremely blue but it will also become thick. If we keep on increasing the amount of indigo in the water and if we put about ten kilos of indigo, the water will not only become too blue but also too thick, almost like semi-liquid.

Page #130
Similarly our Soul too has indulged in innumerable karmas of various types and qualities, in infinite lives in the past. These karmas have merged completely with our soul and have thickly layered our Soul. The karmas, that have become one with the soul are called Ghangahti karmas. The karmas of anant gun and raas are called Ghanghati karma. Imagine a person peeling the skin of an apple. A man working in a hotel also removes the skin, one caterer man also peels the skin and one Skhandak muni also peels the skin. What is the difference in the act of these four? The first removes the skin because it is his duty. The hotel boy removes the skin because it is his job. He has no other knowledge about it. The person from the caterer peels the skin because he wants to decorate. He therefore performs the act very carefully and minutely. Skandhak muni becomes totally engrossed in the job and peels the skin extremely well and also indulges in pride and ego regarding his job. He feels that no one can do the job better than him. His involvement in the act is too deep. At this moment the karmas that he binds are Ghanghati karma. It is very difficult to eradicate such karmas. At such moments the soul and the karmas become thick like Ragda. Such karmas are called Ghangahti karmas. -- 123 =

Page #131
Ghan means thick and ghati means destructive. What do such dangerous karmas destruct? They destroy the beautiful virtues of the soul like forgiveness (kshama), simplicity (saralta), humility (namrata), satisfaction (santosh), and tendency to let go etc. We have a stomach ache, our money gets stolen... this is Agahti karma. It has got nothing to do with the soul. Money is inanimate. So the karma that has happened for it and with it is Agahti Karma. Thus Ghati karma destroys the virtues of soul and Aghati karma destroys that which is connected to the soul. Aghati Karma: Vedaniya, Ayushya, Naam and Gotra. Ghati Karma: Gnyannavarniya,Darshanavarniya, Mohaniya and Antraikarma. When the soul connects with the prashastiyog then it develops the quality of forgiveness. ... the qualities of humbleness and modesty bloom in the soul...and when sublime feelings of forgiveness, humility and simplicity are aroused, then anger, pride, attachment, illusion, greed and gnyanavarniya and darshnavarniya karmas, all get eradicated. Once we decide that we do not want to indulge in anger because it is very harmful. This thought is followed by the thought of forgiveness. Because of forgiveness we resolve not to get angry. With this resolution innumerable karmas of anger and mohaniya karmas get eradicated.

Page #132
When does one get angry? Why is anger born? When one desires for something and if his desire is not fulfilled he looses his temper. Kamnaaj krodh nu mool chhe. Desire is the root cause of anger. Anger can never be devoid of desire. Anger is not a mother, it is a child. A mother can have many children but a child cannot have many mothers. Similarly ego, deceit and illusion are born out of desire. But have you ever heard that greed is born out ofanger? Yes! Anger can be born out of greed. Chhand ne chhode chhe tej chhed udadi sake chhe! One who gives up addiction, he alone can exterminate the vices. That is, if mother dies, then how will children be born? Everything is born out of addiction. If addiction is restrained, then liberation is not far away. The death of desires is liberation and the birth of desire is world (sansar). Oh God! I have done sadhana in innumerable lives, according to my desire. That is why it has become viradhana. I have nurtured my desires and have been under the illusion = 1252

Page #133
that I am doing sadhana. Now I want to do the opposite. I do not want to do sadhana according to my wish but I want to follow your command. I want to do sadhana according to your desire. Parmatma has said that if one surrenders all his desires and wishes at HIS feet then he will not have to indulge in any conscious sadhana. He will attain liberation. Bhagwan ni ichcha no swikar aj Moksh! The acceptance of God's desires is liberation! Guru ni ichcha no swikar a j Moksh... pachhi Sadhana rehtij nathi! The acceptance of Guru's desire is liberation.... after this there is no need for sadhana!! Je sidho bani jaay tej sidhdh bani jay! One who becomes straightforward and simple soon attains emancipation! Who becomes straightforward? He alone, who is in the shelter of a Guru, can become straight. It is impossible to find a straight person in this world, who is not in the shelter of a Guru. Even if we come across one he has to be a hypocrite. If we perform samayik as per our wish, it is not samayik in the real sense, because here we have nurtured our own wish. Suppose if we desires to do samayik in upashray. People at home stop us. They advise us to do samayik at 126 Sunn

Page #134
home. Won't we get angry? We will be disturbed and we will loose our temper. Why? Because, we are not going for sadhana, we are going to nourish our desire. When we nourish our desire, in spite of being sadhana it will become viradhana! When we follow the desires of Parmatma and Guru it is sadhana. When a swimmer teaches swimming to his student, he first explains to him, how to jump inside the water...how to move hands and legs......then he will involve him in other talks and shift his attention from swimming and finally when the student is not aware, he pushes him into the water. The moment a person falls in the pool, he automatically starts moving his hands and legs. He tries to come to the surface. The teacher's instructions are also there at the back of his mind. If the student was directly asked to jump into the water he would have been scared and would have hesitated to jump into the pool. Did the swimmer push his student to drown him? No! Our Guru might ask us to do certain things that we dislike or are disagreeable to us, yet we must have strong faith, that our Guru is definitely going to uplift us, no matter what the situation. Guru does not push us in to a turmoil, to drown us. He pushes us so that we learn to swim independently. No one -- 127V =

Page #135
can learn to swim by merely standing on the bank. One has to take the plunge. When Guru pushes us in the midst of upheavals, his motive is to train us and to teach us to swim through the rough waters of the world and rise to the surface clean and victorious, untarnished by the muck of the mundane world. Our faith in our Guru should be unflinching. There should be no scope for any doubt. No questions. Why is it so? Why did he do this? The only truth that we need to know is that our Guru always has our well being at his heart. Your worth can be evaluated by the level of equanimity you can maintain in the midst of unfavorable circumstances. When our desires die... then we attain liberation... and when our desires are alive then our worldly ties increase. We may be in state of worship or non-worship, we might be at home or at the upashray, desires are bound to increase our worldly ties. The worship without HIS permission is non-worship and the non-worship with HIS permission is worship. Your liberation lies in the death of your desires. Shishya pase aankh hoy chhe ane Guru pase X-Ray hoy chhe! A disciple has got eyes but a Guru has got X-ray... he can see through..! 128 -

Page #136
T Moral and Intellectual Purity of the Soul. II SAMAYIK II EQUANIMITY gm_mBEUS ^SVO ! Ordo qH$ OUB? gm_mBEUS gmd,m Omoj {daB OU'B &&8&& -- 129 -

Page #137
What does the soul attain by performing Samayik? By performing Samayik, the soul attains an aversion for sinful activities. One becomes alert and cautious of his ultimate goal - cessation of worldly pleasures. Samayik is fusion with one's true self. It involves selfcontemplation and purifying one's ideas and emotions. Forgiveness, simplicity, politeness and contentment are virtues of the soul. The virtue of a rose is beauty. The virtue of sugar is sweetness. Likewise, the virtues of our soul are forgiveness, simplicity, politeness and contentment. Those which kill these great qualities of the soul are anger, ego, deceit and greediness. What does anger do? It crushes the rose of forgiveness of the soul. What does ego do? It destroys the sublime emotions of humility and gentleness lying in the soul. What is the role of deceit? It destroys the straightforwardness of the soul. What does greed do? -- 130 =

Page #138
It removes the contentment of the soul. That, which slaughters the virtues of the soul is 'Savadh Jyog'. By performing Samayik, the virtues of the soul manifest, while the vices start declining. Suppose a person has a vast field... lots of wild plants have grown on it... the whole field is covered with thorns, shrubs and bushes... what should one do in order to make the field clean, green, and healthy? One takes an axe and begins to cut and uproot the wild plants and foliage. He clears the ground and continues ahead. What will happen on the cleared ground? Wild babul trees begin to grow. What should he do now? He uproots the trees from their roots, yet, new ones continue to grow. What is his alternative option? After uprooting the trees, the ground should not be kept vacant because new babul trees will begin to grow in an empty ground. If roses are not planted in the empty ground, babul trees will grow. Wild plants will grow on their own. No efforts have to be taken to grow them. On the contrary, for roses, immense -- 131 =

Page #139
care has to be taken to grow them. First, the seeds have to be sown. Then, the plant has to be carefully nurtured so that we can enjoy the beauty of the roses as well as their fragrance. The same law applies to virtues and vices in human life. 'Sadguno no niyam chhe, ene ugadva j pade... ane durguno no niyam chhe... ene kain na karo to pan ugya vina rahe nahin!' The law of virtues is that they have to be planted and nurtured... and the law of vices is that, without any effort, they grow and keep multiplying! Good qualities have to be planted and nurtured, whereas bad qualities breed on their own. An individual can never remain quiet and peaceful during leisurely hours. The moment a person is free, negative thoughts capture him. An idle mind is a devil's workshop! One will have to learn to grow roses of spirituality when the inner self is clean and clear, otherwise, it will not take long for babul plants(vices) to occupy this sacred place (soul). Only when the 'false' is removed, can the 'real' acquire its place! Only when one uproots one's vices, can one sow the seeds of good qualities! 132U

Page #140
One who is efficient in uprooting, but fails to sow new seeds or plant new trees wastes his energy and effort only in uprooting, without any desirable gain! Whereas, if one uproots and plants simultaneously, the ground will be transformed into a lush green garden... a blossoming garden which is a treat to our eyes. When we fast, we uproot wild plants and remove all the weeds, but the following day, we again sow the seeds of wild plants by eating, in fact, relishing the puri and raab (i.e strong desire to eat at the time of ending the fast). We have learnt to uproot and turn-off the switch, but the following day, we have a strong desire to eat... not only to eat to satisfy our hunger... but an urge to satisfy our taste buds... relish the finest foods... why? 'Vartan sudhari jay chhe pan valan nu shuddhikaran thatu nathi!' Our behaviour improves, but the predisposition of the mind has not yet purified... it is as perverse as ever! There is just one law for internal purification. With purification, if there is no accomplishment, then, purity does not last. With purification, accomplishment is a necessity, and with accomplishment, purification is a necessity. 'Shuddhi ni sathe Siddhi joie ane Siddhi ni sathe Shuddhi joie!' 133 -

Page #141
Siddhi and Purity are linked together and work hand-in-hand. One must learn to grow and uproot as well as uproot and grow. By fasting, bad qualities are uprooted, however, nothing is planted. We have to learn to uproot by fasting; thereafter, what should we sow? This is a very important and challenging question. In Paryushan, we do 8-day fast (atthai), one-month fast (maskhaman), etc. It is easy to fast - one does not have to eat. We gain control over our weakness for food and detach ourselves from it. No food... no problem. But the following day, we again redevelop our weakness for food. We managed to uproot the urge for food only for the period of fast but didn't grow anything efficient and substantial after uprootingit. Love and hatred are uprooted, but what should be planted? People in our society have learnt to uproot, but have not yet learnt to plant. We do not know what to plant. Hence, our sadhana is not successful. We still suffer from a sense of failure as far as spiritual accomplishments are concerned. Sadhana is successful only when one can uproot and plant simultaneously. Once we know what to sow and nurture, we will progress towards achieving liberation.

Page #142
What should be grown? When we fast we uproot our deep attachment for food. But the following day, we go back to our old eating habits. The only way to stop this is: "Dushkritya ni garha karo ane sukritya ni anumodna karo.' Detest sinful deeds and support virtuous deeds. In the darkness of the night, a sailor propelled his oars to take the boat to the other side. In the morning, he realized that the boat was in the same place. It had not moved an inch from its original place. He had released the anchor before getting into the boat, had pushed the boat several times, but it did not move forward. There was plenty of water, no hole in the boat, he had strong muscles and had rowed intensely. Despite all this, the boat had not moved. Why? The sailor had only one oar. Throughout the night, he rowed the boat with only one oar. A boat can never move ahead with a single oar. Thus, the boat only moved in circles in the same area. Our case is the same. "We have followed religion for so many years, but have not attained liberation. We have not progressed spiritually." -- U 135 -

Page #143
For infinite life cycles, we have indulged in various religious activities and spiritual endeavors. Yet, we have not achieved the ultimate goal... we have not attained liberation. Why? Upon introspection, we will realize that we have performed sadhana but have not sacrificed anything, or, we have sacrificed but have not performed any sadhana. Ifone can uproot but cannot grow, then wild trees will grow in the vacant ground. If one rows with only one oar, the boat will move in circles. Similarly, we constantly travel to and fro from home to a religious place... be it a temple or an upashray, however, this does not lead to liberation. Parmatma says that you may fast or perform other religious activities, but if one is not devoted, is not in bhakti, it will not be enough. One has to practice both. Parmatma has said, "Support good and detest evil." "Appreciate virtues and detest vices." If one fasts but does not worship God, it is futile. When he fasts, he must devote time to worshipping Parmatma. Sacrifice is necessary to gain something and after having gained, sacrifice is essential. This is a sustaining circle. However, our defect is that we want to gain, but are not ready - 136 V

Page #144
to sacrifice, or, we keep on sacrificing, but do not gain. We have to learn to renounce certain things and accept certain things and similarly accept certain things and renounce certain things. We are lacking in this theory of acceptance and deliverance. Parmatma has said, "Support virtuous deeds and denounce evil deeds." The Jain community and Jain shravaks who have the treasure of 32 Aagams should be well enriched with knowledge of Jainism. But unfortunately, we have not been able to benefit from the treasury that Parmatma has showered upon us. If a person with crores of rupees in his treasury is unable to make use of it, as he has only a few coins in his pocket... what do you think of such a person? The biggest tragedy is, we have an inexhaustible treasure of Parmatma's knowledge which can enrich our soul, but we are not making adequate efforts to gain this knowledge and benefit from it. Here, we are not speaking negatively about any philosophy... the jaap, taap, dharma and sadhana that we all have been involved in so far, is not wrong or will not go in vain. However, there is much more beyond this that we can achieve...! We have to measure the pros and cons of each activity = 137 =

Page #145
that we are involved in! I have fasted today... gone without food... what have I achieved? Are there any changes in my behavior? We are similar to the bullock that goes round and round in the oil mill without any knowledge of the result. One who performs mental activities, searching of the mind (manomanthan), pondering and meditation (chintan), his sadhana is intellectual sadhana (with complete understanding). One who sails with two oars in the spiritual sea is definitely going to reach the bank. We will have to first set milestones on our road to spirituality. Then, step-by-step, we will have to cross each milestone. A sadhak effortlessly leaves the foot of the hill when he climbs the mountain! When we are standing at the low land, at the foot of a mountain (tadeti), we can smell the polluted air due to the dirt all around us. But as we climb higher and higher, we start breathing purer air. An individual, who climbs the ladder of sadhana, will not have to consciously renounce his anger, deceit, greed, etc. It will happen naturally and unconsciously. Our biggest drawback is that we do not have the knowledge of the kindergarten syllabus and are trying to wreck our brains with the college syllabus! We are not well-versed with A and we are trying to learn Z! 138 -

Page #146
"O Bhante! What does one achieve by performing Samayik?" Samayik destroys negative qualities of the soul and one acquires virati. Virati means to stop... to take rest! When should one take rest? When one is tired or when one wants to take rest. The pause... the break, that does not give any rest or does not do away with your fatigue, is that real rest? In the field of spirituality, after performing Samayik, our fatigue... our tiredness of our vices should decrease and disappear and the ease... the relaxation of our virtues should appear and increase. In our case, the opposite is happening. The rest and pleasure of virtues is not increasing and the tiredness of vices remains the same. That is why, in spite of performing Samayik for an hour, our soul does not experience the happiness, thrill or excitement that it should! We actually do not know what is tiredness and how to get rid of it! Samayik means to sit on the chair of a judge. Similarly Samayik means to differentiate between the perfect and the imperfect and thereafter, accept the truth and denounce the untruth. "Accept virtues... detest vices! Feelings of awe and appreciation towards good qualities and dislike towards bad qualities!" 139 --

Page #147
When one acquires the power to judge, to decide what should and what should not be done, it is called equanimity (sambhaav). 'Sam' means equanimous. To judge one's self is Samayik. When the judgement is very tough, the judge renders his final say and quits the session by breaking the nib of his pen. Similarly, if we feel the agony and pain of our mistakes when we complete our Samayik, then, we have performed Samayik in the true sense! If one acquires anything without proper understanding, it is not a gain (prapti) but a downfall leading to destruction (patan). Once, a king announced that all those who had one crore rupees could sit with him in the first row and have breakfast with him... and when these people go to the market, everyone should respect and salute them. In addition, they should place a flag on top of their house, to distinguish it as a 'Multimillionaire's House' (kotidhwaj). Accordingly, all those who had one crore rupees tied the flag on top of their house and sat in the first row to have breakfast with the king. There was one person who had eighty-five lakh rupees. He was interested in the king's proposal, but did not have enough money. Upon inquiring, he found out that the 140U

Page #148
king never verified the actual amount of money one had. He also observed that these select individuals were greatly enjoying their association with the king. They were eating good food, having fun and above all, wherever they went, they were given a lot of respect. People looked upon them with awe. Hence, he decided to join the group. He placed a flag on top of his house and sat with the other wealthy individuals in the first row at the king's palace. The king noticed this new addition and also offered him food, like the rest. This continued for almost three years. One day, the king was in need of money, so, he called upon these wealthy individuals and asked each one of them to give him one crore rupees. Anyone who did not give the money was to get a death sentence. Now what? Always remember, that any position or happiness that one gets without qualification, does not last long, and it may also become the cause of one's death. Apadi patrata vagarni koi pan prapti apadi pragati nahi... apnu patan karave chhe! Achievement, without being worthy of it, does not bring progress, rather, it results in downfall. Now, the person with eighty-five lakh rupees was very worried. One does not get to wear this muhapati (white piece of cloth worn by Jain ascetics to cover their mouth) without

Page #149
being worthy of it. After punya karma of infinite lifecycles and eternal blessings of Parmatma, one becomes qualified to wear a muhapati. We have got the community (shashan) of Parmatma after infinite life cycles. Hence, we must take utmost advantage of this golden opportunity. We must kindle our worth. When we complete our lifespan and leave this earth, what comes with us? What comes with us is knowledge (gyan), faith (darshan) and deeds (karma). In this life, if one practices religion, it is very good, but, it is best if one acquires the knowledge and understanding of the soul. What comes with us when we leave this world, character (charitra) or knowledge (gyan)? For this, there is a reference in the Aagam: Jem soi dora ma paroveli hoi to khovati nathi, Ane dora vagarni soi khovaya vagar raheti nathi! Em gyan satheno jeev sansar ma pade toi khovato nathi, Ane gyan vagarno jeev khovaya vagar reheto nathi! A needle will never get lost if it is with a thread, however, it is bound to get lost if it is without a thread. Similarly, a soul with the right knowledge will never get lost in temporary worldly pleasures, but, a soul without knowledge is bound to get lost.

Page #150
Due to circumstances, one might sometimes lack proper conduct, but one has to progress significantly in knowledge and proper understanding so that in the next life, this knowledge is manifested by the time the soul is only nine years old. At this stage, the soul becomes so keen to get involved in spiritual endeavors that nothing else interests him. This is why, in our present life, we should only focus on one thing-acquire the right understanding. It has been mentioned in our Aagam: "Gyanasya falam virati." Knowledge takes a person closer to liberation (virati). Thus, acquire right knowledge and you will reach closer to moksha. As the understanding capacity of the soul increases, it reaches closer to Right Knowledge (samyak gyan) and eventually, reaches closer to sacrifice (virati). Just as one should not hoard their earnings in a cupboard - it should be in the pocket so that it can be spent wisely, similarly, knowledge should not be confined within books - it should be understood and wisely applied. Let go of what you are holding on to and hold that which you are going to let go. To hold is to release and to release is to hold! Sacrifice means not to get involved in inauspicious

Page #151
varlaYIK. activities of mind, speech and action and hold on to those activities of the mind, speech and action which are auspicious in nature. The true sense of virati is to release sawadh yog and get involved in nirvadh yog. It means that due to sawadh yog, an individual reaches a state of rest and joins the nirvadh yog. What should one do in Samayik? In Samayik, one must study (swadhyay), meditate (dhyan), chant, recite rosary and purify one's inner self so that Parmatma can reside in it. Chanting mantras verbally is not enough. While chanting mantras, one must get so deeply connected with Parmatma that in each and every bead of the rosary, one must be able to see Parmatma. One must feel that Parmatma is within himself and nowhere else. On one side, there should be sacrifice (virati)... on the other side, there should be happiness... and overall, there should be detachment (viraag)! Sacrifice leads to freedom from attachment, which in turn, gives happiness. Detach yourself and at the same time hold onto something It is worthwhile to uproot only if you sow new seeds! Uprooting of wild plants is successful only when roses are planted simultaneously! 144 UK

Page #152
Only when the truth is accepted and appreciated, can there be repentance for the false! The truth is effective only when one realizes what is incorrect. What happens if you keep listening to discourses by ascetics but do not remove the mundane knowledge of worldly affairs embedded within you? If there is a dead puppy in a water tank, will it be advisable to keep filling more water without removing the dead puppy? Will this help? Is that water safe for drinking? We need to remove the dead puppy, clean the tank and then refill it with clean water. We renounce quite a lot of things, but we forget bhakti. The first word that Parmatma has taught us is "Namo Arihantanam" - this is bhakti. Did Parmatma show us the path of Samayik or Namaskaar Mantra first? We have missed out on true worship (bhakti) and started with sacrifice (tyaag). Sacrifice without true knowledge is oflittle or no use...! A bullet without a gun is of no use and a gun with no bullets is also useless. Both the gun and bullets are required to use the gun effectively. One oar is useless but two oars help to propel the boat in the right direction. 145V

Page #153
Virati etle ekthi viramvu ane ek taraf vikasvu! Ekthi atakvu ane bijane sweekarvu! Virati means that one must take a pause at one end and bloom at the other end! Give up one and accept another! If one wants to travel from Delhi to Mumbai, then, one must leave Delhi. The more one moves away from Delhi, the closer one will move towards Mumbai. A drunkard came out of the Taj hotel and stopped a cab. He told the taxi driver, "I want to go to India Gate." The taxi driver opened the door for him. He then started the engine and kept it running for a while. Sometime thereafter, he stopped the engine, opened the other door and told the man: "Your destination is here!" (Seth! Utariye! India Gate aa gaya!) "I can't see it..." "It's right here sir, in front of you." (Kahan hai? Ye samne mein hai.) "Alright, here's your hundred rupees." (Theek hai. Lo yeh sau rupiye.) Often things are right in front of us, yet, we cannot see. It is the same case regarding religion and moksha. The field of religion is sadhana at one moment and moksha at the same moment. Moksha is not far away. What is moksha?

Page #154
Freedom from karmas! Right! Then, what happens by performing Samayik? Moksha is total freedom! Whereas in Samayik, one experiences the feelings of a liberated soul. When a new product is launched in the market, samples are also introduced. One tries a sample. Ifone likes it, then, one buys the product. In the same way Parmatma has given us Samayik, as a sample of moksha. When one attains Savadh Yog Virati, then, one can gradually become free from the shackles of this world. When one attains Savadh Yog Virati, one can gradually become free from the shackles of this world - a different type of love and affection will emerge from the heart and one will experience a unique sense of delight and contentment. When this happens, understand that you have detached yourself from the mundane world. Rati thai toj virati hoy, ane virati hoy etle rati avashya hoy! If one experiences an unusual kind of joy (rati), only then will one sacrifice (virati) and if there is sacrifice (virati), then joy (rati) is inevitable. Ifone performs Samayik, he is bound to get the result. If he does not get the result, then the act was not Samayik. Two boys were given chocolates to eat. One child said

Page #155
after five minutes, "Yuck!... I don't like it... I don't want to eat it because it's tasteless." The other child said, "Give me another one. I really liked! It's very tasty!" Why? The child, who did not like the chocolate, had not removed the wrapper while the one who liked it, had removed the wrapper. It is alright to eat a chocolate, but it is necessary to remove the wrapper first. First, remove the wrapper, then, chew the chocolate. One has to renounce the world and experience religion too. On one hand, there is the divine experience of knowing and understanding religion and on the other hand, there is the uplifting experience of renouncing the world. While performing Samayik, we must have the desire to experience an iota of the divine feeling that Parmatma experienced while performing Samayik. We normally do not have such a feeling or desire. Most times, we mechanically perform religious rituals. We chant various religious mantras... the Namaskar Mantra, then we say Tikkhuto, then we very quickly chant Logassa... Vandana is optional for many people... thereafter, Karemi Bhante... and Namotthunam... Arihantanam... and... our Samayik is over. The question here is: Samayik samay pasaar karva mate hoy chhe, ke sar leva mate? 148 -

Page #156
Is samayik performed just to get it over and done with or to gain essence out of it? Whether one performs Samayik, fasts or meets an ascetic, in the end, one must gain the essence from all these religious activities. What happens when virati is born? Once virati is roused, one stops indulging in sins. Once you start detaching from the world, your journey towards moksha begins. One is renounced and the other is accepted. We must let go of one and hold onto another. The wrapper has to be removed and the chocolate has to be chewed. Unfortunately, what happens is the opposite! We try to navigate through rough waters with only one oar. We chew the chocolate without removing the wrapper. We enter religious places without removing the worldly filth within us. Just mechanically performing a religious activity is not enough. Religion is that which, after experiencing it once, you feel like experiencing it again and again. You will chew a chocolate again and again. Will you chew a medicinal tablet again and again? No! You would rather swallow it. = US 149 -

Page #157
A doctor prescribed two medicines to a person suffering from a skin disease. One was for consumption and the other was for external application. He did the total opposite. He ingested the medicine that was to be applied and applied the medicine that was to be consumed. What will be the result? "I have given numerous examples to explain one eternal truth. The world, which we should experience with the wrapper, is experienced by us without the wrapper and our religion, that we should experience without the wrapper, is experienced by us with the wrapper! If the wrapper of the world is not removed, then, the original true taste of religion will not be experienced. Remove the wrapper of thoughts and beliefs and thereafter, feel the difference of the divine experience. The wrapper may be really attractive but what if the chocolate within is not good? What is important is that one must not be concerned about the quality of the wrapper. Our primary concern must be the quality of the chocolate. One should not be concerned with what others are doing. The only concern should be with what we are given. When you visit an ascetic, switch-off your mind and open your heart. Your concern should only be with Parmatma's divine knowledge and feelings.

Page #158
Support virtuous acts and denounce sinful acts. Stop at one end and bloom at the other end. This is the only road to religion. Create a longing for salvation (samveg) and at the same time, have abhorrence for worldly objects (nirved). What is Samayik? Samayik helps to detach from this world and move towards liberation. What is Samayik? Move away from violence, towards non-violence! Move away from vices, towards virtues! While in Samayik, we move away from vices, but we fail to get closer towards virtues. Hence, in spite of performing Samayik, wild jungles, instead of gardens, continue to grow. It is clearly not progress if wild trees continue to grow over and over again. Creating a beautiful garden is progression. Destruction (visarjan) is always easy, creation (sarjan) is very difficult. A sarjan after visarjan is eternal. May Parmatma bless us with these sublime feelings and may we all advance closer towards Parmatma. -- 51 -

Page #159
T Singing in praise of Parmatma. . II CHAUVISANTHO || STUTI APVE SIDDHI A HYMN FOR HIM MCdrgeWE US ^SVO ! Ordo qH$ OUB ? MCdrgEWEUS X&gU{dgmoqh OU B I&&9T&& -- 152

Page #160
What does an individual attain when he takes great effort to go through the discipline for winning over Parmatma... when he reminiscence the name of Parmatma... when he sings hymns in the praise of Parmatma...when he expresses emotional ecstasy and his devotion towards Tirthankar Parmatma... when he expresses his sense of wonder for Tirthankar Parmatma? Tirthankar Parmatmas are well aware of their own virtues. What can one achieve by singing their praise, by propagating their name and fame? Jena Sharne jaiye tena jeva thaiye! We become like the one in whose shelter we go! This is a very beautiful and true thought. However, in our Jain Aagams a very beautiful fact has been mentioned, which is much beyond this thought. Singing in praise of Parmatma's virtues destroys the futile vices in us! When can one sing in praise of Parmatma's virtues ? When, one can differentiate between good and bad qualities! By singing eulogy of Parmatma our darshan gets purified! Darshan means Right vision... Right viewpoint... Right understanding...... Right belief! Darshan means the Right viewpoint to understand the world and one's own self. When a stone is flung at a dog, the dog pounces on the 1532 =

Page #161
stone and tries to bite it. When a stone is flung at a lion it will not even look at the stone. The lion will try to see who has flung the stone at him. It is more important to know who has hit us rather than what has hit us. One, who is uneducated and ignorant, will bite the stone. Right Perception is to see the thrower of the stone! Samyakdarshan is Right Perception and Mithyatvadarshan is Illusionary Perception. Mithyatvadarshi (person with a false belief) sees the act where as Samyakdarshi (person with the right vision) sees the reason behind the act. What happens by reminiscence of the name of Parmatma , by singing HIS praise, by praying to HIM? The obstacles of illusionary perceptions, that are covering the soul, start breaking off. As soon as the obstacles are broken, Real Perception manifests. To view an object in its original form, to understand that form and to enjoy that form is called Samyakdarshan. There can be no ignorance without a view point. The dog's view point is that the stone has hit me and the lion's view point is that the man has hit me. The stone is an inanimate object where as the thrower is animate. One whose focus is on the animate, is Samyakdarshani and the one whose focus is on the inanimate, is Mithyadarshani. 154 =

Page #162
One, who views the inanimate, believes in it, understands the inanimate and become like the inanimate, is Mithyadarshani!! One, who views the animate, understands the animate, tries to become like the animate, one, who is full of life is Samyakdarshni!! In spite of being animate if one becomes like inanimate, because of constantly living with the inanimate, then he is a Mithyadarshani!! No matter how much you try, there will be no change in an inanimate object !! The intention to sing in praise of Parmatma will arouse in the soul only if one likes the virtues of Parmatma !! One who likes vices will never be able to sing in praise of Parmatma. One, who loves the sublime qualities of Parmatma, is awed by HIS magnanimity, will not have to make an effort to sing an eulogy. The hymns, in the praise of Parmatma will naturally arouse from within him. No one will have to teach him. He will learn by himself. Because a hymn or a song sung in praise of Parmatma is not a lesson that can be taught or learned. It is the deepest expression of love emerging from the heart of an ardent devotee when he is in a state of emotional ecstasy. Parmatma's eulogy will emerge naturally from the heart of one who is the admirer of Parmatma's virtues and he will start chanting the lesson of Logassa. -- 1552

Page #163
Chauvisantho means Logassa! Logassa comprises of the praise and devotion towards twenty four Tirthankaras. What does one achieve by reciting Logassa? By reciting Logassa one achieves Right Vision. By reciting Logassa, one achieves the Right Vision. When the soul, with the help of the soul, makes the soul, realize its own entity, it is called Samyakdarshan! Samyakdarshan enables self-realisation...a soul starts identifying itself, knowing itself, recognizing itself, through itself! Atma vade Atma nu je gnyan pragat thai ea chhe gnyan! Ane atma jyare atma nu acharan kare, ea che charitra! Ane Atma jyareAtma sivay nu chhode ea chhe taap (penance)! The knowledge that is manifested with the help of the soul, regarding the soul itself is Right Knowledge! When the soul behaves like its own natural magnanimous self, then it is Right Conduct (charitra)! And when the soul renounces everything other than itself, it is penance. To regard the soul as omnipotent ...to regard the truth as the truth...to regard the qualified as qualified and to regard the unqualified as unqualified...and when the soul just accepts its own entity and regards everything else as alien, it is Samyakdarshan. When the soul keeps on living like an inanimate object, it is mundane, worldly life (sansar). When the soul starts living as a soul should, then everything else attached to 156 V

Page #164
the soul, which is mithyatva , will start getting detached from the soul. This is penance. Atmajyare matra Atmaj rahe enu naam Moksh! When the soul accepts only its own Entity, it is Emancipation! By singing hymns in praise (stuti) of twenty four Tirthankaras what does one attain? By doing the stuti of twenty four Tirthankaras one acquires Right Vision. Once, an individual gets the right perception, he gets the knowledge of what he should do and what he should not do. When he understands what he should do and starts doing accordingly, he finally attains Emancipation. We can sing songs and hymns in the praise of Parmatma, only when we can differentiate between good qualities and bad qualities. Only when one realises the difference between the taste of sugar and a bitter medicine, one avoids the medicine and relishes the sugar! The moment one places the sugar granule on the tongue and tastes the sweetness, one cannot resist, but begin munching it. One does not munch the medicine and one cannot resist the temptation to munch sugar! One should munch a thing that one likes, and a thing that one dislikes, should be swallowed.

Page #165
When one likes the qualities of Parmatma, then only one feels like musing over it. Gungram means to muse the qualities of Parmatma i.e. It means appreciation and reminiscence of the sublime qualities of Parmatma. The more an individual muses over it the more its taste increases. As the taste increases the individual's attraction for that savor increases. The individual becomes nostalgic with the divine flavor. HIS attraction makes him yearn more and more for that savor. While enjoying the nostalgic qualities of Parmatma he starts becoming like Parmatma. Every day you chant Namaskar Mantra. Have you ever asked Parmatma to give you at least one of HIS qualities? When we chant Namaskar Maha Mantra, we see the reflection of Parmatma's image coming before our eyes ... We think about Parmatma... we recollect HIS qualities... even if we get attracted by one of HIS sublime qualities and fall in love with that quality, our emotions will make us appreciate and sing praise of that quality. While appreciating that quality we start acquiring that quality. Then only can we say that the chanting of Namaskar Mantra was worthwhile. When a person does heart warming stuti of Parmatma, then his surrendering, in the shelter of Parmatma, can be called worthwhile. Agreed, that Parmatma is vitragi (free from attachment and aversion). But when eulogy is aroused from -- 158 =

Page #166
within a person's heart......when the sense of awe and wonder for Parmatma are expressed in words, then only can a person's surrender be worthwhile. Suppose if a girl falls in love with a boy. After waiting for the whole day to meet him she is not able to meet him till late night. Then at midnight she takes a paper and a pen in her hand and starts writing that boy's name. She keeps on writing his name. One page.....second page... five pages.....ten pages....and so on. When she was on the last page she saw that her grandfather was watching her. In fact he had been watching her for quite some time. The girl had not realized this because she was engrossed in the thoughts of the boy. Her love for the boy....her good will for him...her soulful love for him..... ..her respect for him makes her helpless. She becomes extremely anxious when she is not able to meet him. What is the extent of your affection and attraction for Dev Guru and religion? What is the extent of your liking for Dev Guru? The day you cannot attend the discourse or a spiritual lecture, you feel extremely anxious, you feel uneasy... "Today I have not heard the words of Parmatma.......I could not go due to unfavorable circumstances"... you feel disturbed for not being able to attend the discourse. If this is what you experience, then understand, that -- 159 =

Page #167
you have been 100 percent drenched in the love of Parmatma. Without internal uneasiness and anxiety there can be no love and attraction for Parmatma. Pade pad nu smaran ej sachu samarpan! Reminiscence at each and every moment is real surrender! The law of surrender is that, it is always one way. The law of affection is that, it is always two ways. Je ek pakshiya hoy enu naam Samveg! ane je be pakshiya hoy enu naam Raag! That which is one way is Samveg and that which is two ways is Raag. Sea never flows towards the river and the river can never stop flowing towards the sea. Whether you have attachment and devotion for Dev Guru and religion or you have Samveg for Parmatma, can be measured by just one measure - HE may not even look at you but you cannot survive without looking at HIM, then it is Samveg. Where there is expectation, it is attachment and where in spite of indifference and neglection there is no expectation, it is Samveg. We have to achieve only one milestone in this life. Whether Parmatma looks at us or not, whether our problems - 160 -

Page #168
get solved or not, our anguish gets over or not, whether Parmatma fulfils our wish or not, we have to constantly remember HIS name. We should reach a stage where it becomes impossible for us to survive without the name of Parmatma! He may or may not look at us but we cannot live without looking at HIM! We may or may not be HIS, but for us there should be nobody except HIM. If we attain this state, our life is successful. While singing in praise of Parmatma and HIS innumerable virtues......while loving HIS virtues, our soul attains Samyakdarshan. Suppose you go to pay homage to a saint, you bow down to him. He does not notice you because he is busy talking to other people. At that moment if the thought crosses your mind that, "look at Maharajsaheb , he is always seen in the midst of a group, he did not even see when I bowed down." Finished! You still have expectations! You are still attached to the world! Apeksha vagarni atmiyata ane aasha vagarna ashirwadj faade chhe! Only love and affection without expectation and blessings without desire are fruitful. The relation, in which there is give and take, is sansar. Give and take is the matter of calculation. Calculation has got no relation with qualities. I will do this for you if you do this

Page #169
much for me....this is business... this is not love. Je mangani vagarni lagani hoy ae Parmatma pratyeni hoy! Ane mangani thi je lagani sachvati hoy ae sansar kehavay! Attachment to Parmatma is without any demands whereas, attachment which is sustained by demands is called sansar. What does one achieve by doing Parmatma's stuti? Parmatma transforms us and makes us like HIM! When a slab of stone is handed over to a sculpture, he knows what to do with the stone. What to make, how to make, is all his decision. If a sculpture is given instructions like, what is to be made, how it is to be made, he will never be able to work spontaneously and naturally. If an artist is bounded by compulsions he can never create a masterpiece. Whatever he will create will be mediocre art. Any artist who is pressurized by tension can never create good art because the tension of the mind affects his fingers. Je sahaj hoy de asamanya ne sarje ane je asahaj hoy ae samanya ne sarje! Extraordinary creations are made by one who remains natural and one who is un-natural will do ordinary work! Sadhana hammesha sahaj hoy matej ae asamanya nu sarjan kare! U 162 -

Page #170
Sadhana or spiritual endeavor is always spontaneous, that is why it creates the extraordinary! What is created by doing Parmatma's stuti? By doing Parmatma's stuti one attains clarity of vision. Due to clarity of vision the soul attains right perspective which guides to decide what is proper and what is improper. One who is drunk, will never be able to understand, whether he has fallen in a gutter, on a road or near a heap of garbage. As the intoxication of the drink decrease, one begins to realize that one is in the wrong place. Similarly when the soul is intoxicated by the Mohaniya Karmas ( illusionary karmas) it will never realize what is happening and where it is heading. Once the intoxication decrease, one realizes that one is on the wrong track. In the midst of all mundane souls if one individual says that I do not want to eat kandmul (underground roots)... one should not eat roots because it is denied in our religion... or if one goes too often to upashray, others comment that He has become over religious. Consider yourself fortunate if in this era, even at the age of twenty to twenty five, you feel like going to upashray. If you ask a mundane soul, what is his opinion about worldly 1632 -

Page #171
life? He will say that he finds it quite pleasurable. But as one develops love, for the qualities of Parmatma, one gradually starts feeling that mundane worldly life (sansar) is worthless (asaar). Mohaniya karmas captivate the mundane souls in such a way that they are unable to discriminate between the right and the wrong. As the Mohaniya karmas decrease, the vision becomes clear. With clarity in vision one acquires right perception, which helps in discriminating between right and wrong. As the soul undergoes purification, one realizes that the worldly mundane life is an illusion, worth renouncing. Whether one renounces the world, is a secondary matter. An individual should at least realize that one day he has to renounce all attachment, hatred, illusions, expectations, love and affection. He has to rise above these weaknesses in order to attain spiritual elevation. Until an individual rises above these weaknesses and becomes detached from this mundane world, he cannot become Parmatma. Dodia pachi je pachu vadine juve nahin ej potana laksh sudhi panhochi shaake! He, who does not look back after he begins to run, can reach his goal! One who looks back will never reach his goal. By reciting the stuti of twenty four Tirthankar Bhagwan , one attains clarity of vision. Due to clarity of

Page #172
vision the soul attains right perspective. It acquires the understanding of what is proper and what is improper. Once the understanding increases, the individual becomes fully equipped to face any situation, favorable or unfavorable. The individual gains the knowledge to solve any problem in any situation and to survive in any situation. How should our feelings be, while reciting Logassa or while singing in praise of Parmatma? How should one chant Logassa? Should Logassa be sung or read? Is Logassa a prose or a poetry? Actually Logassa is poetry and it should be sung. That is why all its verses end with Vande or Vandami. This eulogy (stuti) of Parmatma should be sung musically. Just as Sri Uvsaggahar is a hymn, Logassa too is a hymn. It is not aphorism. Hymn should always be sung musically. While we sing the stuti of Parmatma our voice becomes musical, our eyes too become musical, our thoughts, our emotions and feelings too become musically inclined, our latent mental trace (sanskar) too become musical. We experience rhythmic throbbing and we begin to swing to and fro. And the worship done in this enchanting moment becomes fruitful, it becomes worthwhile. = 165 =

Page #173
That, which is regular reading, is called sutra (Aphorism) and that which is recited (Poetry), is called Stotra (hymn of praise). That which is stringed together is called Gatha (story written in verse). Alliterations are set in Gatha. What is Logassa? It is Gun, Gatha, Stuti and Stotra. In this way while singing the stuti of Parmatma, let our heart get purified and let the purified heart cause right perception in us. And may all mundane worldly souls finally attain Emancipation. -- 166 -

Page #174
Heartfelt respect and reverence. II VANDANA II PAYING REVERENCE (TO BOW DOWN WITH DEVOTION) dSXUEUS ^SVO ! Ordo qH$ OU'B ? dEXUEUS Ur'mJmo`H$a_IdoB, CAMmJmo'S H$a_$ {U-SYB, gmoh12JS MUS ARn{S>h & AmUm\$b$ {UidImoB Xm{hU^mde M US OU'B &&190&& -- 167

Page #175
One who can bend, who can salute, who can bow down and render obeisance, one who can surrender can gain everything Vandan means to fold hands, Vandan is to bow one's head, Vandan is to bow the eye lids, Vandan means to kneel down, Vandan is to put one's head at the feet of the revered. This is the external process of Vandana. Very often it so happens that many seekers get moist on the exterior but their inner self remains dry. There are many seekers who are totally drenched in love of Parmatma from within, but they cannot openly express it. Hence they appear dry from outside. Ghana palade chhe andarthi, Ghana palde chhe baharthi pan sachu paladvu to ej chhe je aar paar palde chhe. There are many who get wet from within and many who get wet externally but the real drenching is that which totally wets a person both inside and out. When one is totally drenched, Parmatma's vandana happens spontaneously. In this natural process Vandana is done automatically, a sense of awe for Parmatma is overflowing in one's heart, the inner self is yearning to bow down and the two hands get folded! This mode of folding hands is to be found only in the Arya Sanskriti. Why do we fold hands? = 168

Page #176
When the negative and the positive combine, then our combined energy starts flowing within ourselves. What does the mind absorb? It is the rule of the mind that the external mind always absorbs the words and the internal mind absorbs the pictures and forms. Have you ever noticed carefully that, when you think or imagine about a person in your mind you will be able to see his form? What is this? Actually, you are taking out something that was lying within you. When something is in front of you and you think about it, it is external mind (baharman) and when you bring out something lying within you, it is unawakened inner mind (ajagrut antarman). The inner mind has strong connection with the image. This image is the reflection of the image created in our consciousness. The folding of two hands suggests that, "Oh! Parmatma! I want to connect my eyes with yours. I want to connect my heart with your heart Vandan means to bow and to merge! O! Parmatma I want to merge with you! The process of merging is always gradual. When sugar is put into something it melts gradually and sweetens the whole product. Similarly Parmatma's name

Page #177
enlightens one's entire existence gradually! O! Parmatma! While regularly bowing at your feet, while worshipping your image, I want to become one with you and merge in you. I am surrendering totally in order to merge with you. When a river merges with the sea, does it remain separate or does it mix together with the sea? The river acquires the same form as the sea (tadrup), it becomes equivalent to the sea (anuroop) It gets immersed in the sea (tadakar), it becomes identical as the sea (ekakaar). In the same way o! Parmatma! While looking at you, while worshipping you, while bowing down at your feet, may such feelings arise in my heart that with the help of all external factors like form and images, I am able to merge with you, to attain oneness with you. By merging with your form I want to become formless (nirakaar)! The river merges with the sea and becomes formless by turning into vapor. One can become formless only by becoming identical. Je Ekakaar thai shake chhe te Nirakaar thai shake chhe. Vandana etle Ekakaar thava mateno prayatna! The one who merges will lose its form... Vandana is the effort to become one...merge completely and loose

Page #178
one's own identity...paying reverence is a means of becoming identical! For us what is Vandana? For us it is to, recite quickly the lesson of Tikkhuto three times, then ask the well being of Maharaj Saheb, request him to recite the the auspicious mantra (manglik). Often people seem disinterested in doing Vandana...but to teach the ignorant, is our responsibility. When a seeker whole heartedly surrenders and bows down, to the Ultimate Reality, at that auspicious moment, it is not only his body that bows, but also his mind and heart. When the heart bows it separates from the mundane world. There is only one way by which one can remain separated from the world in spite of being in the midst of the world. To remain in detached state (alipt bhaav), to remain in non-attached state(anasakt bhaav), to remain in the knower and the observer state (gnyata drashta bhaav) the one way is to, become alone, become equivalent and identical like HIM! Gradually you will notice that you will not have to renounce the world consciously but it will be renounced by you unconsciously! A devotee does not have a name. One who keeps a name is not a devotee. = 171 -

Page #179
One who likes his name, who likes his identity, has not yet become a true devotee! When I was in Rajkot, one gentleman gave donation of few lakhs. He specified that his name should not be given as a donor. Another person in the group said that instead of his name write Gurubhakt. When the time to unveil the name plate came, the donor again said that, "I will not unveil, please ask Gurudev to suggest the name of the person who should unveil. I will follow my Guru's wishes". Jyare aham ogle chhe tyarej vyakti ekakaar bani sake chhe! When the ego melts, only then can one become identical ! As long as the identity of 'I' exists he cannot become one with Parmatma and once you belong to Parmatma your 'I' ceases to exist! The one, who has connected his identity with the enormous Identity of Parmatma, does not need to show one's identity to the world. What is Vandana? In your view Vandana is a process; in our view Vandana is a ceremony to break Ego. When one does Vandana his ego is curbed. The one who breaks his ego gets respect from all, appreciation from everybody. One who renounces his name, gets both name and fame in the world. = 12 -

Page #180
There are two ways to gain name in the world. Either you give something and get name, or you do not give anything and yet gain name. To give something and gain, means either give money, or donation or something like that to acquire name and fame. To give nothing means to give (sarvaswa) everything that one possesses, and gain name. There is a difference in this give and take. The former is the give and take system of the world and the latter is Divine and pious give and take which only the seekers are capable of. If there is an aged person in someone's house and there is a young person taking care of that aged person. Now if you ask this young caretaker that, "Why didn't you come for the discourse? He will reply, "Maharaj Saheb, what do you know, I have an aged mother, I have to do all her work in the morning so I do not get time?" Now the words are "I have to do" which actually suggests that I am compelled to do. The answer should be that Maharaj Saheb, I have genuine desire to come for the discourse but at present the necessity of my Grihasta Dharm( household duties) is such that my aged mother is in discomfort and to give her comfort is my prime duty, my first religion. In one place there was a dispute between two brothers regarding the distribution of property. There were many issues related to this matter of division. This dispute was unresolved since six years. One wise man came to their house

Page #181
and heard the whole matter. He told them, "If you listen to me I am ready to give you a solution to your problem." The brothers said, "Yes, we are ready to do whatever you say." He gave the solution. He said that, " One person will do all the division. He will divide everything and make two shares of it. Then he will ask the opposite person to select anyone of the two shares." What will happen? The one who will divide, knows that if he divides unequally then the opposite person will surely select the share that is larger. But if he makes equal distribution then there is no cause to worry for both of them. When does a problem get solved? When one surrenders totally to a Guru! Till one tries to solve a problem individually, a satisfactory solution cannot be obtained. Vandana devoid of surrender is mere action and not experience. One who does Vandana eradicates birth in a low status(lower gotrakarm) and binds birth in a high status (uchch gotrakarm). Due to inferior or lower gotra an individual gets -

Page #182
lower caste, less beauty and less strength, in short all factors of lower strata in society. Whereas an individual with higher gotra karm gets all the factors associated to high living, superior caste, great strength, beauty and superior position in society. What if you were not born in Jain religion? Imagine if you were born as aboriginals in the jungles of Africa or Sudan. What if you had to be born in the midst of savages who eat human flesh? What would have been your state? You would have born as humans but you would not have been like human beings. Be eternally thankful to Parmatma and do not forget to acknowledge. O! Parmatma! My soul is at peace for having attained your religion, culture, understanding, high lineage and Jain religion. In Aagam it is clearly mentioned that when an individual does Vandana whole heartedly with deep feelings, then any resolution made from the heart never fails. What happens when one does Vandana, one desires to merge with Parmatma and one gradually starts merging with Parmatma? What does a sculpture do when he is handed over a

Page #183
slab of stone? A sculpture never adds any pebbles or cement to the slab. All he does is starts removing all that is extra and unnecessary. When all the extra and unnecessary part is removed, then a beautiful idol emerges from within. O! Parmatma! Please become a sculpture and start removing all that is unnecessary and extra in us. Start carving old stones like us and give us a beautiful shape, carve us into excellent images. Engrave us with your knowledge, faith, character and penance. Do you ever have such feelings, such yearning that Parmatma should carve you into beautiful idols? A stone can hurt, can an idol ever hurt? A stone on the road can become the cause of anyone stumbling or tripping over it but the same stone, when given to a sculpture, he makes a beautiful idol from it, can that idol hurt anyone or can anyone stumble over it? No! An idol can never ever hurt anyone. It is worth worshipping and revering. Why do we humans hurt others, kick others? We are still like those uncut stones, with quite a few negative qualities within us. Make one resolution in this life, "I do not want to hurt anyone and I do not want to kick anyone. Once, if all that is extra and unnecessary within me, is removed, if all my - 1762 =

Page #184
vices come out then virtues are bound to emerge from within." With Vandana, plead to the supreme, "O! Guru Bhagwant ! My only plea to you is that remove everything that is extra and unnecessary within me. I do not want anything else in this world" Je maaru chhe tenej hun pragat kari shaku evi kripa karo! Please do me one favor, so that I can manifest that, which is mine! Have you ever prayed with these feelings? To pray with these emotions, means to entrust one's self in the hands of All powerful All mighty Sculpture. "Pajjuvasami' means to hand over one's own self in the hands of Parmatma. We have uttered this word many times but till date, we have not entrusted ourselves in the hands of Parmatma. Pajjuvasami means I am worshipping you. I am praying to you with the most deepest and pure feelings. The heart that is handed over to a Guru does not remain one's own! The heart that remains one's own cannot be handed over to a Guru! As long as you belong to yourself, you cannot belong to a Guru! -- 117 =

Page #185
The day you belong to your Guru, Parmatma will become yours. Our only deficit is that we keep our heart with us. What will we do with our heart? If we entrust it in the hands of Parmatma. But our problem is that we do not surrender. There is only one reason for this. We do not have unflinching trust and faith in our Guru or Parmatma. When we surrender all that we have at the feet of Parmatma, then we do not have to worry about anything. -- 178

Page #186
Versatile Visionary Feelings of service, sadhana and devotion... humanitarian & philanthropic activities... dedication & discipline... these have become the global identity of a million of youngsters. This is Yug Diwakar Pujya Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb. Tough meditation and deep thinking are the strong pillars of His personality. Unique and innovative style of imparting knowledge is the source of blossoming His personality. With the intent of World Peace and Global Welfare, Pujya Gurudev's missions are not limited to Jain devotees only; but huge contributions in terms of time, energy & power are also received from Non Jain devotees who play a significant role in fulfilling these missions. About the Book... To attain 'Entirety through self-realization is the journey to Eternity' To accomplish the journey to Eternity... to uplift ourselves from the mundane world to liberation... Supreme Lord Mahavir has given us 73 milestones. Each word of Parmatma has the potential to bring about self-purification and selftransformation. Pondering upon these precious jewels of Parmatma, following them with utmost faith and devotion and being ever grateful to our revered Dev Guru, let us become the traveler on this path of Supreme accomplishment!! As one reads each commandment... understands it... experiences it...and follows it... one will move closer to Parmatma...closer to oneself! For more information, log on to... www.parasdham.org, www.arham.org, www.looknlearn.in 100/