Jainism

Author(s): M R Gelra
Publisher: Createspace

Page 27

(iii) Concept of GOD Jains do not believe in an omniscient, all powerful, almighty God capable of creating and destroying the world. Hence, the speciality of the Jain prayer is that Jains do not pray to any particular God to ask for wealth, happiness or solutions to their problems.
We observe several respected scientists embracing similar philosophies. Einstein was once heard asking "whether God had any choice in creating the universe". More recently, Hawking described the universe as "...with no edge in space, any beginning or end in time..." and thereafter commenting on his opinion on God "...and nothing for a creator to do".
(iv) Meditation
Today, Jain prayer involves meditation too, because the objective of meditation and prayer seems to be common i. e. to achieve peace in life.
In meditation the object of concentration is the centre of the eyebrows, tip of the nose or the crown of the head. It is known as the command centre in yoga. The deep breathing helps in it. One may start this practice by inhaling through one nostril exhaling through the other nostril and inhaling and then exhaling through the first nostril. It is one full Pranayama. It helps in the purification of channels. The most important thing in meditation is to keep the spinal column erect i.e. the body, neck and head in a straight line. Meditation should be practiced by sitting in Sukhasana posture so the spinal column remains erect which facilitates the flow of energy from bottom to the top and helps in achieving peace of mind.
The word meditation is derived from two Latin words: meditari (to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). According to Jou TsungHwa, the Chinese term for meditation is Ching Tso, i.e. "sitting still with peaceful mind". Its Sanskrit derivation 'medha' means wisdom.
Modern scientists using brain imaging technique (functional magnetic resonance imaging), investigating the effects of the meditative state on Buddhist monks brains have found that portions of the organ previously active became quiet, whilst pacified areas became stimulated. "Perhaps that (spiritual) sense of reality is more accurate than our scientific everyday sense of reality. It shows that the different areas of the brain cause different actions or activity. Jains believe that there is constant increase in the power of knowledge during the silent hours of meditation. Dr Newberg's observations are that during meditation, people have a loss of the sense of the self and frequently experience a sense of void in space and time. Jains believe that meditation decreases the effect of Karma and increases the strength of the soul. Meditation has been practiced since the ancient times, mainly in the east. There is increasing evidence of meditation as a useful and, a powerful therapy for some people.
27