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From their side.............
[From the first edition] All beings in the vast universe desire happiness. In the Acharanga Sutra, Shraman Bhagwan Mahavira said - "Savve pana ...... Suhasaya dukkhapaddicula" All beings, whether they are an insect or an elephant, a poor human or the king of heaven Indra, all desire happiness. No one desires suffering. 'Sukkhakamani bhutani' - The desire of all beings is to attain happiness. But the question is, how to attain happiness? It is not a fruit that hangs on a tree, which can be plucked or bought from somewhere! If it were so, all the rich people would have bought it long ago. Then the poor would not have been able to get happiness! But it is not so. Happiness manifests from within oneself. The seeds of happiness and suffering are hidden within the soul. The action that is essential to attain that happiness - one should contemplate, ponder and implement that action. The action of life, without which we cannot move forward on the path of spiritual happiness, is called essential. Just as breathing is necessary to stay alive, in the same way, in the spiritual realm, the action or practice that is necessary, essential for the purity of life, is called 'essential' in the Agam. Essential Pratikraman etc. are obligatory duties.
The literal meaning of Pratikraman is - to abstain from sins. Pratikraman is to bring the soul's attitude, which has become unrighteous, to a righteous state. Or the meaning of Pratikraman is - a genuine and meticulous examination of past life. Pratikraman is a medicine in the Jain tradition for the atonement of all the small and big distortions of the mind, which fall under the category of sin in some form or the other. Just as bodily distortions are diseases, so are anger, pride, deceit, greed etc. distortions of the mind are diseases of the mind. Its treatment is also necessary. Bodily disease can cause pain for at most one birth, but once the disease of the mind starts, if the person remains careless, it troubles him not only for thousands, but for lakhs of births. Thousands of Jain, Buddhist and Vedic stories from Indian mythological literature are witness to this. Therefore, it is paramount to immediately rectify mental distortions through Pratikraman.
In Anuyogadwar, eight synonyms of essential are given - essential, obligatory, Dhruvanigraha, Vishodhi, Adhyayan Shatkvarg, Nyaya, Aradhana and Marg.
1. Acharanga Sutra, 1/2/3 2. Udana 2/3 3. Avassayam Avassakaranij, Dhvaniggaho Visohi ya.
Ajzhayana-Chakkavaggo, Nao Arahana Maggo ||
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