My Prayers

Author(s): Jain Society of Metropolitian Chicago
Publisher: USA Jain Center Chicago IL

Page 5

Jai Jinendra.
We are very happy to present this book of prayers, Bhaktigeet and Chaitya-vandan.
Prayer is a mode of communication between devotees and the divine. It is a vehicle to approach the divine with unconditional devotion. Through prayer, we express our respect, gratitude and love for Tirthankars and Pancha Paramesthi. Tirthankars, upon attaining omniscience, devoted their lives to preaching and guiding others on the path towards liberation. Prayers remind us of their teachings and help keep us moving towards that ultimate goal.
Regular recitation of prayers and contemplation of their true meanings help us exercise control on our passions and thereby help us to purify our thoughts and actions. They are a constant reminder that leading our life on the path preached by Tirthankars is the true and the only path to liberation. The human mind naturally orients itself to ideas and emotions through regular repetition. The function of prayer, then, is to bring forth change from within and spiritually uplift our souls. Real prayers originate from within the heart. Recitation of prayers is soothing to heart may be recited by anyone at any time.
In this book, we have included our long established traditional Stutis, small easy-to-learn prayers, bhakti songs in Guajarati, Hindi, and English, various Ärati, Ashta Prakäri Puja and the Chaitya-vandan. We have included transliteration and meaning of all Stutis, Bhaktigeet, Arti and Ashta Prakāri Puja; and meaning of all Chaitya-vandan sutras. As the path to Moksha is threefold, this book offers all three paths--Bhakti- (Prayer), Jnän (meaning of each prayer) and Kriyä (Chaitya-vandan Vidhi).
This book was inspired by our Päthashälä teachers and students and it is our hope that the students will learn, recite, and sing these prayers; many of which have been revered and recited by generations of holy men and women. We also hope that this book will be helpful to Pāthashālā teachers as well as parents to teach children and sing along with them.
We are very grateful to our dedicated Päthashälä teachers and volunteers for their constant unconditional support, valuable suggestions and inspiration in compiling this Prayer Book.
If anything presented in this book is contrary to the teachings of the Tirthankar Bhagawan and Jina Äjnă, we ask for forgiveness. Michchhä Mi Dukkadam.
Darshana Shah
Dr. Pradip Shah
Education Secretary
Dr. Mukesh Doshi