Book Title: Art of Positive Thinking
Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Health Harmoney

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Page 236
________________ TOTAL FREEDOM FROM FEAR 221 since the development of the Quantum Theory but much before that, about three thousand years ago, this doctrine was well-established. According to it, the world is nothing but vibrations, nothing but wave after wave of sensation. A wave of fear arises and immediately vibrations of fear overwhelm the earth and the sky. If at that time we could somehow start a wave of non-fear, if we could produce vibrations of non-fear, the wave of fear stands dissolved. The doctrine of anupreksha is a contralateral doctrine which lays down that one wave can transcend another, that a good wave can be started, the bad one rendered ineffective. Similarly, a bad wave, if stronger, would destroy the good one. Our valour, intelligence and vision determine what we shall doat a particular time, and what kind of effort we shall put in. The man who has practised preksha meditation, the one who has perceived the truth that the evil wave can be countermanded by a good one, that a negative wave can be supplanted by a positive wave, becomes very alert so that as soon as an evil thought arises in his mind, he sets about releasing a counterwave of goodness that would repeal the former. Three different states arise in life the state of untruth, the state of truth, and the third state which transcends both good and evil. The state of untruth is an evil one, with a negative role. The second state is that of truth, which is positive and constructive. The third state transcends the other two; it is beyond right and wrong, beyond all options, beyond thought. This is the ideal state, quite remote for us for the time being. Generally, our life is spent between the counter-streams of good and evil. Sometimes the wave of goodness triumphs; at other times, the wave of evil sweeps away everything before it. The stronger our will-power and our resolve to live in the present, the more alert and earnest we are in the practice of preksha, and the more constant and regular our practice, the more alive do we become to the danger of evil and wicked thoughts arising in the brain. We are then able to release immediately a wave of goodness and purity. We start practising anupreksha and the evil wave subsides. Anupreksha constitutes an important means of avoiding untruth. The whole of Japa (repetition of a deity's name) is based upon that. You are asked to remember the deity, repeat the mantra, because if pure feelings and thoughts inhabit your mind, there would be no room left for impure thoughts and feelings to enter there. That is why one takes recourse to mantra, the incantation. Some people are reluctant to recognise the utility of the mantra in the field of spiritual development. But we feel that the mantra has an undeniable virtue which must be recognised. Because all of us cannot directly enter the state of nirvana (release from bondages). The phenomenon of a direct leap into nirvana occurs rarely. It is Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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