JAINA Convention 1999 07 Philadelphia

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 59

10th Biennial JAINA Convention
Liberation through Meditation
By Anop R. Vora, Rochester, NY
The liberation reflects the most purified state of mind-one without a single trace of craving and aversion (RAG and DWESH) round the clock. To achieve it, we must focus our efforts at understanding our thought process in depth. It is only when we understand our mind better and divert away from craving and aversion are we going to stop the influx of KARMAS and gradually move on to the path of liberation. Although this basic principle is known to many of us, the truth is that our thoughts are permeated most of the time with craving and aversion, in spite of spending a lot of time in temple worship, religious discourses, rituals and other forms of religious practices. It appears that they have not made much of an impact on us. If we critically examine the way we think and behave, we realize that we have not changed much after many years of life experiences. Unless we do something about this state of affairs, the liberation is indeed going to remain a distant dream.
The primary reason for this phenomenon is that we have indeed failed to comprehend and assimilate the "generic" process of how we think and subsequently act. In the corporate world, companies at least in the USA, have benefited handsomely by understanding their business processes and taking necessary corrective actions. Similarly to make a quantum jump at the spiritual front, we must step back and reflect upon the underlying process. This process understanding is very important if we wish to derive the maximum benefit from the religious practices including meditation.
The best way to understand the process is by examining the way our mind works. The typical sequence is as follows: 1. The mind gets a stimulus from any of these primary sources (a) Physical Senses (b)
Memory of past events (c) Imagination of future events, plans, fear for the future (d)
Desires. 2. Initially, the mind just receives raw data of information and becomes cognizant of the
stimulus. 3. Then, it quickly perceives the stimulus and makes a judgment. 4. Perception results into physical sensations-pleasant or unpleasant. 5. Mind reacts positively or negatively to the stimulus. The positive or negative approach is
akin to choosing the right or wrong leg of the fork on a road.
The last step is very critical. The choice of negative reaction involves liking or disliking (craving or aversion) and takes one to passions such as anger, arrogance, deception, greed and other miscellaneous passions. These passions lead one to unwholesome conduct involving violence, falsehood, stealing, sensuous pleasures, or craze for possessions either in active form or in passive form. Some times, the unwholesome conduct shows up immediately. In a civilized society, the passions usually remain dormant in various forms such as trickery, revenge etc. only to erupt at a later date. In either case, we form new KARMAS and get entangled into an unending cycles of life and death.
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