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Page 11
Namo Arihantanam:
Namo Siddhanam:
Namo Ayariyanam:
Namo Uvajjhayanam:
Namo Loe Savva Sahunam
Eso Panch Namokkaro: Savva Pavappanasano: Mangalanam cha savvensin: Padhamam Havai Mangalam:
Navkar Mantra
by Narendra Sheth
I bow to the ARIHANTS (who have won over enemies residing in heart, such as hatred, jealousy, greed, anger, pride, sex, intrigue, and etc. passions).
I bow to the SIDDHAS (who have achieved complete liberation from cycles of births and deaths, by getting rid of all the Karmas).
I bow to the ACHARYAS (who are accepted as heads of the society, and who practice knowledge, character and penance). I bow to the UPADHYAYS (who learn and teach religious scriptures).
I bow to all the SADHUS (who give up their family lives, wealth and worldly comforts for seeking the true-self of the soul, that is, liberation).
The recitation of these five bows, Capable of destroying all the sins; Among all the Mangals (sin-eliminators), Is the first Mangal (to recite).
ravkar Mantra is the most unique prayer of all the prayers. Written in Ardhamagdhi language, it expresses the whole summary of Jainism in a nutshell. Instead of asking for material favors, in this prayer we meditate upon the virtues that we should be developing. Our aim is to uplift our own soul, through reminder of the noblest qualities of our great Tirthankars, Sadhus, etc. We do not pray to any one specific person, but we salute to the qualities of each and every great soul.
Jain Education Intemational 2010_02
The word Mantra means Prayer with Spiritual Powers. The word Namo means "Bowing, I submit myself to you." With an understanding of these words, let us learn the significance of the rest of the Mantra, and let us find out what kind of spiritual powers are hidden in it. We would also learn many more words while doing that.
Ari means enemy, and hant means destroyer. So the word Arihant means destroyer of enemy. But what kind of enemy? With many friends of other people we have problems, but as the time goes, the problems get forgotten or resolved. Then those people again become friends, so we cannot call them enemy forever.
But if jealousy (for example) takes over us, there would be no way of jealousy making peace with us! So it proves that jealousy is an enemy forever! Winning over jealousy is far more difficult than winning over people. So we respect the ones who do not get jealous. Thinking about those who do not get jealous helps us to overcome our own jealousy. It is the same way with greed, anger, pride, etc. If our car battery is weak, we jump stat it with a stronger one. Similarly, when we are spiritually weak, we should seek connection to those who are strong. Arihants are also known as Jinas, signifying winners. There are 24 Arihants, including Mahavir as the last one. They all reestablished religion, so they are also known as Tirthankars, implying church founders.
Siddha means accomplisher, who has successfully reached the goal. We all have different goals at different times. Some goals are easier to attain than others. The most difficult one it to get rid of all the Karmas. A Karma is our own good or bad deed. The fruit of accomplishing this goal is Moksha, where there is happiness forever. All souls in Moksha are liberated from the cycles of incarnations (births (cotntinued on page 12)
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