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Ans. The question relating to the practice of medita
- tion in Jainism does not concern any one particular individual. In fact, the delusion in this context is widespread, giving rise to an unimaginable concept, without any foundation whatever. The learned are as much mistaken about it as the general public. In 1958, I happened to visit Nalanda during my trip to Calcutta. Some professors came and said at the very outset, “Jain sadhana is very austere. There is in it an open exhortation as follows: Become a monk, observe fasts, do penance, torment the body with utmost severity, squeeze it dry suppress all desires, pay no need to the body-ignore the demands of the body and the mind. Only by disciplining them will you achieve salvation. Stand in the sun and expose the body to the sweltering heat. Never do a thing with a view to physical comfort or convenience. Is all this true?"
I listened to them with attention, They had commented on the Jain religion in accordance with their pre-conceived notions and now they wanted to know my opinion. I said, “Not only you, but many other scholars have a similar conception of Jainism. And they have presented it as such. But I should like to know where in your reading you have come across such an exposition. Where did you hear it? What is the basis of your conception? Have you discussed this matter with any authorised Jain muni or acharya? Have you deeply studied the Jain Agamas? If not, on what basis do you say that Jainism is a stern religion, and that, excepting the emphasis on the mortification of the body, there is nothing like a tradition of meditation in it?"
A scholar may uphold any opinion on the basis of prejudice, pre-conception or illusion, but the fact is that a more non-assertive and pliable system of meditation
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Jain Education International
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| SR No. | 006546 |
| Book Title | Transmutation of Personality through Preksha Meditation |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Tulsi Acharya |
| Publisher | Jain Vishva Bharati |
| Publication Year | 1994 |
| Total Pages | 282 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, Yoga, L000, & L001 |
| File Size | 12 MB |