Jain Center Minnesota MN 2007 07 Pratishtha

Author(s): Jain Center Minnesota USA
Publisher: USA Jain Center Minnesota

Page 61

Twelve Aspirations (Bhavanas)
Philosophers' advice reflecting on and keeping in mind following twelve (12) aspirations for fixity of the attitude of total non-attachment and that of similar subjects beneficial to one's soul.
1. Anitya Bhavana: This body, prosperity, wealth, family, other relations are all destructible. Only the soul or self which wrongly owns the above appendages is really indestructible or to feel that everything other than one's self or soul is transient while only the soul or self is permanent and eternal.
2. Asharana Bhavana: There is none to protect our self at the time of the death of our body, only a resort to true religion can protect us.
3. Samsara Bhavana: To realize that this soul of ours has wandered through many cycles of birth and death and now is the time to find out a way of getting liberation from it. When shall I be free from it? It i.e., worldly life is not mine, I am a liberated soul.
4. Ekatva Bhavana: To think that this my soul is alone, it has taken birth alone and it will leave this living body alone; it will alone suffer or enjoy the fruits of its bad or good deeds.
5. Anyatva Bhavana: .To think that in this world none is related to each other; his body, wife, sons and all are quite different from him.
6. Ashuchi Bhavana: To think that this body of ours is impure or unholy, it is a mine of refuge and urine, that it is the resting place or abode of diseases and old-age; that I am quite different or separate from such a body
7. Asrava Bhavana: Attachment, hatred, ignorance, illusion or misunderstanding (Mithyatva) etc. are all adventitious to our soul; that they are incoming troubles to our soul.
8. Samvara Bhavana: To employ one's soul in obtaining right knowledge, appropriate meditation and thus to stop performing new actions or Karmas.
9. Nirjara Bhavana: To act in religion with right knowledge is the way to burn our past Karmas.
10. Lokamrarupa Bhavana: To think of the origin, maintenance and destruction of a hierarchy of all worlds of living beings and matter.
11. Bodha Durlabha Bhavana: To keep in mind that while wandering in worldly life to get right knowledge to the soul, is rare, and suppose such knowledge is obtained, then to imbibe true religion leading us to total non-attachment is further a rarity.
12. Dharma Durlabha Bhavana : To keep in mind that to get a right preacher of true religion and to have a teacher of pure religious scriptures in this worldly life of ours, is very difficult and so a rarity.
By constantly doting upon the above mentioned twelve life-saving aspirations, good and noble souls have realized the highest state of their being, whoever thinks now or will think similarly in future will get the same result.
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