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THE JAINA GAZETTE sand petals, as big as Jambudvipa and shining like gold, to be situated in the midst of it, and the lotus to have a celestial pericarp like a mountain of gold. He should conceive a lofty throne resembling the autumnal moon to be placed in that pericarp and should imagine himself as sitting at ease on that throne, serene, without desire, or hatred and prepared to cenquer his enemy the Karman. Thus ends the first Dharana.
The Yogin should then imagine a shining and beautiful lotus with sixteen petals jutting out, as existing in the hollow of his navel. He should contemplate the fourteen vowels A, A, I, I, U, U, RI, RI, LI, LLI, E, AI, O, AU and AM: AH as marked on the sixteen petals and the great Mantra Arham with the dot over the line as shining on the pericarp. Then he should imagine a volume of smoke arising from the curvi. linear or repha of the Mantra, then a succession of sparks, and then a continuous flame. The flame increasing in intensity burns the lotus which exists in the heart, upside downwards and which is the product of eight Karmas and has eight petals. He should then imagine fire in a triangular shape with the Svastika on its apex away from his body blown by the wind and burning brightly with a golden flame. The fire from the Mantra burns the body in the inside, and this fire from outside, and being in flames the body is reduced to ashes and also the lotus in the navel. Thus far we have the Agneyi Dharana.
Then the man should imagine wind blowing with the violence of a tempest and scattering a way the ashes, after which he should think of it as becoming still. This is the Maruti Dharana.
Then he should contemplate a number of clouds pouring down rain in torrents accompanied by thunder and lightning. After that he should imagine a stream of water bearing the standard of Varuna, beautiful like the crescent of the moon and overflowing the sky with this water, he should wash off, in imagination, all the ashes of his body. This is the Varuni
Dharana. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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