Jainism by Vividus

Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

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priate interpretation of the Jaina conception of a prayer to (or before?) a Tirthankara who is a Siddha, free from all karmas. May be 1 am wrong; may be some of these lines are later interpolations by someone less than Achraya Manatunga, the original composer, to suit the conditions of the times and the prevailing mood of the people wishing to make a practice of reciting them daily. The story goes that on account of a great rivalry among religions, the ruling king of the time cornered this Jaina Acharya and forced him to prove the prowess of Jainism by freeing himself after being locked handcuffed in a prison cell. The composition of this poem, while thus locked handcuffed in a prison cell, by Acharya Manatunga in the praise of his Lord, did the Houdini trick, and to the surprise of all concerned, he did become free of the handcuffs and came out of the prison cell a free man, Shwetambaras contend that the original poem had only 44 stanzas, and not 48 as stated here.
II. A Song in contemplation of Equality and Equanimity consciousness.
Samayika Stotra
1. Oh, God! I wish I had friendship with all beings; a feeling of joy at the sight of the virtuous and sympathy at those who are in pain. I wish I had complete equanimity in all situations adverse to me.
2. Oh, God! I wish Your divine grace to pour in me such infinite strength that I could separate my pure soul from my physical, auric and Karmana bodies like a sword from its sheath.
3. Oh, Lord! I wish my mind to attain equanimity in conditions of prosperity or adversity, with friends or foes, in union or separation, in home or forest, abandoning all sense of attachment or hatred.
4. Oh, Chief among Saints ! I wish Your lotus-feet, the destroyer of the darkness of ignorance, get so clamped with my heart like an eternal lamp that I remain forever bound and steady with You, transfixed like a picture.
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