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ALOYANA
SALUTATION TO FIVE SUPREMES
NamoArihantanam, I bow down to Arihants; Namo Siddhanam, I bow down to Siddhas; NamoAyarianam, I bow down to acharyas; NamoUvajzayanam, I bow down to Upadhyays; NamoLoesavva Sahunam, I bow down to the universal fraternity of Sadhus and Sadhvies. Eso Panch Namokkaro, Savva Pav Ppannasano,
Mangalanam Cha Savvensin, Padhamam HavaiMangalam. These five salutations destroy all sins, and are the most auspicious amongst all the auspicious ones. "O Lord! What good does aloyana i.e. confession or reflection do to the soul?" asked the Chief Ganadhar Shri Gautam Swami to Lord Shri Mahavir Swami. Lord Shri Mahavir Swami replied to the Chief Ganadhar Shri Gautam Swami, "O Gautama! The threefold darts, viz. deceit, desire for worldly gains as return of the result of spiritual activities, and perversity, which create obstacle in the path of liberation or Moksha, and lengthen the span of worldly existence, are removed by such a confession or aloyana. Sanity manifests soon after the removal of these darts. This sane soul becomes free from deceit, hatred, or attachments, and would not attract karma particles which are responsible for being born. For the purification of the soul, it is essential that all liberation-seeking souls resort to reflection and confession, which roots out the darts and brings sanity." Before such a reflection, one should think this with keen attention. From the beginning of time, all the worldly souls assume several roles like a dancer or an actor, and assume infinite transformations of the Karma particles in the series of births in various forms and suffer several miseries like birth, old age, death, mental pain, disease, or worldly troubles. This soul is born sometimes as a mobile or as an immobile; sometimes as a one-sensed being or as a five-sensed being; sometimes as a male, a female or as a neutral; at times rich or poor; at times powerful or weak; at times a king or a pauper; at times in a high-caste or in a low-caste, at times as highly lucky or quite unlucky, sometimes as a beast or as a bird; at times as an ant or as an elephant; and sometimes as a heavenly god or a goddess while other times as an inhabitant of hell, or as the most inferior being with a common body to share known as nigoda jiva. One should also reflect this: I have related myself infinite times with every other soul as a mother or a father, as a brother or a sister, as a wife or a husband, as a son or a daughter, as a servant or a master, as a friend or a foe. I have thought that all of them are mine and that I am theirs, that they are my dear ones or my enemies. Thus, I have created the bondage of Karma out of the sense of belonging caused by an attachment or hatred. I have wondered through every place of the Universe, but found nothing superior to that of gaining the excellent religion in a right manner. O soul! Due to the rise of religious merits of the past, at present, you have gotten the best human life, cultured country, the best family, a healthy body, a long life, unimpaired sense organs, and the company of the virtuous. There too, due to the rise of some special religious merits with the blessings of the worthy guru, you have gotten the chance to hear, understand, and develop the faith in the religion preached by the Tirthankar. Therefore, if you want to achieve prosperity of your soul, then now is the time to give up carelessness, shake off idleness, sleep, or sluggishness, and be vigilant, and devotedly put in practice this extraordinary religion with real love, and sincerity, because it is difficult to get such a
