Jain Center of America NY 2005 06 Pratishtha

Author(s): Jain Center of America NY
Publisher: USA Jain Center America NY

Page 117

Ayodhya in the Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. He was brought up in a royal household and in time assumed the throne of his father's kingdom.
He married and had many children, including one hundred sons. His two eldest children, Bharat and Bahubali, grew to become icons in the kingdom for different reasons. Bharat became the greatest warrior on earth, while Bahubali became the strongest physical specimen ever seen. But despite all of his achievements and accomplishments Rushabh resigned his position of power and entrusted portions of this empire to his sons, and left its two largest divisions to Bharat and Bahubali; soon after Rushabhdev took diksha and set out in search for his soul
After many years of teaching and practice, Rushabhdev attained keval gnan. Soon after that he freed his soul and attained nirvana on the peak of Mount Ashtapad.
Chakeshvari: Chakeshvaridevi is the patron goddess of Rushabhdev, and is charged with the responsibility of carrying forth his spiritual message. With her many hands she grasps a number of weapons with which she seeks to protect those on the spiritual path.
Gomukh Yaksh: Gomukh Yaksha is the patron saint of Rushabhdev. He is responsible for helping protect the students and devotees of Rushabhdev as they follow his path to spiritual enlightenment.
Bhomiyaji: Bhomiyaji is a deity who is the embodiment of Mount Sametsikhar, now located in the province of Bihar in modern day east India. He provides the strength and energy to pilgrims as they travel rugged terrain of the mountain.
Bahubali: Bahubali was born as the second son of Rushabhdev, and the younger brother of Bharat Chakravarti, who became sole emperor of the world. In a famous incident the two siblings engaged in an explosive feud over Bharat's kingdom, and Bahubali, who was a far more physically imposing figure, had the opportunity to kill Bharat but gave up the fight, the kingdom and everything else to search for his soul.
Chandraprabhu: Chandraprabhu was the eighth tirthankar of our time.
He was born to Mahasen and Laxmandevi, the reigning royals of the small kingdom of Chandranan. This prince followed in the tradition of so many enlightened souls before him by taking diksha and seeking a life of harsh discipline in an effort to search for his soul. He attained keval gnan and reached nirvana on the peak of Mount Sametsikhar in the modern Indian state of Bihar.
Padmaprabhu: Padmaprabhu was the sixth tirthankar of our time.
He was the son of Shri Ghar and his queen Susimadevi in the ancient Indian city of Kaushambi in modern day Uttar Pradesh.
He took diksha and achieved keval gnan at Prabhas Giri, a thick forest that stood on the banks of the Yamuna river, about 100 miles from his home. He attained nirvana on Mount Sametsikhar in Bihar.
Shrimad Rajchandra: Shrimad Rajchandra was born in 1867 as Raichand to Ravaji and Deva Mehta in Vavania Bandar, a small village in what is now the western Indian state of Gujarat.
His was a prominent family of merchants and he was brought up in a household that featured his father's Vaishnav and his mother's Jain faith. He was a child prodigy, and turned to poetry as his emotional and intellectual outlet at a very young age. As he grew his writings and renown spread globally, and many powerful people sought his guidance, including a young revolutionary named Mohandas Gandhi. The two forged a close relationship, a tie that Gandhi himself considered vital to his own work and beliefs. But it wasn't until 1890 that Raichand found his own spiritual direction when he met a Jain monk named Laghurajswami, under whose guidance he continued his formal study of Jain philosophy.
Just six years later Shrimad published what is now recognized as his single greatest literary contribution, the Atmasiddhi shashtra. The work was an investigation into the very nature of the soul. He chose to focus upon the impact of karma and its emotional manifestations as misery and suffering. He continued his study into the depths of faith until his untimely death in 1901. To this day his legend lives on through his teachings, writings and memories as he continues to galvanize a new generation of people worldwide.
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