Jain Journal 2000 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 39

NEWS ON JAINISM AROUND THE WORLD the Adhinath Jain temple. When the Acharya recited the 44 verses of the Bhaktāmara Stotra all the chains which bound him got severed on their own and the temple turned to face him.
In this century this Stotra was propagated all over the country by Acharya Vikram Suriswarji whose disciple is Acharya Rajyesh Suriswarji. He has authored the Bhaktāmara Darshan elucidating the Bhaktämara stotra. During the Chaturmāsa this year he is planning to undertake an exposition of Jaina religion and philosophy based on this work and also a Bhaktarnara Maha Tap Aradhana in which 444 people will undertake a fast for a period of 44 days in Chennai.
This kind of congregational fasting and prayer is generally undertaken by the Jains from time to time, which has a two-fold purpose. At the level of the individual it prepares the spiritual aspirant for attaining the final goal of liberation by destroying the accumulated bad Karma and samskāras of past births. At the community level this goes a long way in prompting peace and prosperity in the region.
Extracts from The Hindu, Chennai, July 17, 1997.
Meditation antidote for worldly ills
What enabled the people of the past to lead a life of contentment and happiness, maintain equipoise and enjoy peace as well as sound health? They were not gifted with any of the modern gadgets. They went through rigorous physical, mental and spiritual exercises. They toiled hard and resorted to austerities.
Their food habits were simple and they led an unostentatious life. They followed the scriptural injunctions while they obeyed the religious practices prescribed by sages and saints based on the Agamas and other scriptural sources. They anticipated the pitfalls and warded them off, heeding the warnings of their forbears.
The most significant exercise they adopted was meditation which quietened their mind. It was an antidote for the worldly ills. In the age of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, people were self-dependent, their needs were very few and they spent their leisure reading the scriptures. The meditation they resorted to give them good memory power. They knew of the procedure connected with meditation and allotted plenty of time to cultivate this, with the help of mantras
The ancient people joined congregational prayers, visited temples and participated in Bhajans, all of which helped them in viewing events calmly and dispassionately. No doubt, several discoveries have been