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Jaina Acara : Siddhanta aura Svarūpa
bright like the moon and seated within this is the form of a man. There are five retentions : (1) Parthividhäranā-One is required to concentrate upon five
imaginary objects in the following order. (i) one should imagine a vast ocean as big as the world inhabited by animal life with a thousand petalled golden lotus as big as the Jambudvipa. He should then imagine himself comfortably seated on a white throne placed on the lotus. Then he should imagine himself as getting ready to destroy all karmas.
In the centre of the lotus let one imagine golden Meru mountain on which there is a crystal throne. On one's soul is posited an ascetic. All this should be manifested to the ascetic himself. On the ground there should go on silent deity's name. Yajnavalkya says that he who is adept at this meditation suffers from no ailment whatsoever : The repetition of incantation should better be in the form of 'Soham', i.e. I am that.
In the Agneydhāranā he is required to imagine fire rising up from the mantrik syllables in a lotus placed on the navel and burning, the eight-petalled lotus in the heart representing the eight karmas. Then he should imagine fire outside burning the external body as well as the lotus in the navel. When all these are burnt to ashes the fire is extinguished, having done its job.
He imagines that his soul is seated on a throne. Inside the navel with face raised upwards there is a sixteen petalled red or white lotus. He places the sixteen vowels on those petals and imagines 'soham', refulgent like fire in the centre of the lotus. Then he imagines a dust-coloured lotus. The flames of triangular fire burn all karmas-fresh and accumulated ones with the result that the soul manifests itself in its pure state. The Upanisadas believe that he who is an expert in this art is not burnt even though hurled into fire.
Later he is to imagine a devastating whirlwind which carries away all the ashes left by the fire. This 'Vāyavidhārana' and the mind should be conjoined. He should imagine that the strong gust of wind is moving in a circular motion and at the same time the first letter of the incantation 'Ya' is shining forth. He who is expert in this lore can fly in the sky and can stay alive even in a windless place. He never grows old.
In the 'Värunidhāranāone is to imagine heavy rainfall which is to wash away the remaining ashes of the consumed body. The rainfall washes away all sand of karma sticking to the soul. The first letter 'da' or 'pa' is meditated upon. One expert in this lore is never drowned.
In Tattvarūpavatidhāraṇā' the Yogi imagines himself as devoid of the seven elements, as possessed of a lustre as pure as the full moon and as Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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