ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 01

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

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Meaning: By reciting this Namokāra Mantra, where we pay obeisance to the five supreme auspicious beings, we annihilate all sins and misdeeds. Further it bestows auspiciousness to all beings where it is chanted and sheer reading of this Mantra also brings auspiciousness to all.
8.0 Conclusion: Arihantas etc. are called the five supreme auspicious and beneficial beings because that which is utmost beneficial is supreme and so named as Paramesthi. The Pañca' (five) who are 'Paramesthi are thus collectively known / named as "Pañca Paramesthi!
Salutation is offered with the object of getting our purpose accomplished and because the purpose of sermons etc. is accomplished chiefly from Arihantas, therefore, the salutation is offered first to them.
This purpose of happiness is accomplished by the invocation, prayer of Arihantas etc.? Ācārya Kundakunda? says that 'The auspicious disposition towards other non-self things is termed '
meritorious' (Punya) and the inauspicious as de-meritorious or vice (Pāpa) because in both the cases the thought / disposition is found attached / engrossed in non-self things. However the soul's whose disposition is not engrossed in other non-self things and remains engrossed in self - soul only, then such a disposition is termed as pure; i.e.; the disposition are of 3 kinds -inauspicious, auspicious and pure. An instant in the form of intense passion are inauspicious (cruel), in the form of mild passion are auspicious (ingenuous) and passionless are pure. The destroyer of our natural character of the form of passionless discriminative knowledge is the knowledge obscuring and other obscuring karmas. The intense bondage occurs by cruel instincts and feeble bondage by ingenuous instincts and if the ingenuous instincts are strong then the intense bondage that had occurred in the past also gets feeble. No bondage is caused by pure passionless dispositions, rather only dissociation "Nirjarā of those karmas takes place. The dispositions of invocations to Arihantas' etc. are assuredly of the nature of feeble passions, therefore, are the means of destroying all sorts of passions, therefore, are the cause of pure dispositions. So by such instincts the self-obscuring-karmas become feeble and the passionless discriminative knowledge gets naturally evolved. Thus our purpose is accomplished by Arihantas'etc.
17. Suha pariņāmo puņam asuho pavam ti bhanidā manyesu.pariņāmo nanngado dukkhakkhay kāraṇam samaye./ Pravacanasāra, Kundakunda, verse 181
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0