Jain Journal 2003 10

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

Page 37

SMT. LÁTA BOTHRA: ETHICAL UTILITARIANISM IN THE LIGHT
purification of the body, imposition of self-restraint regarding lust and revelry blended with penance are the most important facades for selfdevelopment. Today modern thinkers agree on this very principle. Napoleon Hill says that to attain healthy psyche, one must attain a healthy physique. Meditation classes like Vipāssanā and Preksā meditation are going on all over the world to enhance the tranquility of the mind on a global scale. The basic scientific logic implicated today through these modes were already being told by Mahāvīra 2600 years ago.
The process of meditation was amply modified by Mahāvīra and its positive output was being explained by him. Equanimity or samatā is the focal point of all Meditation that are being practised throughout the world. Mahāvīra himself went through the psychic struggle and by strict penance and continuous tranquil meditation he attained remarkable magnitude of tremendous power within himself. He was like a magnet, drawing such extraordinary, astral aura power, that the authority of an accomplished challenger like Gosāla became ineffective in his presence. A poisonous snake like Caņdakausika bit him and in spite of vehement strike, the snake went through a feeling of milk blended with its inherant taste, in place of the taste of blood. It reflects the sheer compassionate zeal that was reverberating all through Mahāvīra's body, which tended to change the very physical entity of his mundane existence. These effects were the result of his self-discipline.
Have you ever heard of a noble successful leader being a victim of greed? A wholesome meal gives proper stimulation to the stomach, an indispensable advice proclaimed by all leading health scientists. A Jain disciple follows a strictly regulated diet and does not break this rule. He consumes his evening meal before the sunset. This ancient tradition has been observed in Jainism since ages and even today, after thousands of years, this religion holds true.
By dint of meditation, today's hectic life and work schedules can be managed in a very simple way. A turbulent mind cannot concentrate and hence its total format becomes topsyturvy resulting in the degradation of its responsibility. Today, companies are carrying out meditation classes to enhance the mental energy so that by attaining a tranquil mind and body, the officers can work more efficiently in their respective fields. It is an amazing fact that meditation being dualistic in nature helps to enhance the spiritual and psychic upliftment, but, on the other hand, it helps to attain the pinnacle of worldly success and to give satisfaction in both the mundane and transmundane realms of existence.