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GREAT HYMN OF OBEISANCE: A CONTEMPLATION
DEVOTION AND MEDITATION
natural thing which is good for the welfare of our soul - this leads to welfare of all.
The process of becoming Bhagwan shown to us by the passionlessomniscient Bhagwan is extremely simple, natural and independent, as it is represented by right faith-knowledge-conduct. Visualisation of one's own soul Bhagwan, different from 'para' (substances other than the soul), is right faith; knowing one's own soul Bhagwan, different from 'para', is right knowledge, and to get engrossed in and revel in one's own soul Bhagwan, different from *para', is right conduct. In all three-right faith-knowledge-conduct - the basic substance is merely one's own soul Bhagwan: therefore, first of all, it is essential to know it.
Let us think a bit on the fact as to what is the posture of statues of Bhagwan Jinendra installed in our temples? There would have been several postures, each better than the other, from birth to death, but why have we selected his posture of meditation?
In our houses we have decorated our pictures also, but all those are in the posture of attachment. In most houses, wedding pictures of welladorned husband wife are seen hanging. Tirthankars also got married. Why those postures were not selected in statues, despite the fact that this does happen in other religions. The statues of Ram-Sita, ShankerParvati, Vishnu-Lakshmi are made like this only. But why the statues of all Tirthankars are found in the posture of meditation only?
When we think deeply on this thing, one thing appears crystal clear that meditation is the best form of the character, perfect knowledge emerges and infinite bliss manifests in the posture of meditation only: infinite power is also achieved in the state of meditation only. Therefore, the posture of meditation is the religious posture, it is the best posture.
Meditation is the best, but whose meditation? Of one's own soul, not of 'para', not even of God. Perfect knowledge (kewal jnana) is achieved only through the meditation of one's own soul Bhagwan. All the souls that have achieved omniscience till today, they all did so by meditating on their own soul Bhagwan and even those who will achieve omniscience in the future would also do so due to the shelter of their
own soul Bhagwan. Therefore, meditation of the inner-self is the religion.
For meditating on the soul, it is necessary to know it. Similarly, for self-realisation also it is necessary to know the soul. In this manner, for the conduct characterised by meditation of the inner-self and for right faith characterised by self-realisation, and for right knowledge characterised by knowledge of the inner-self, it is necessary to know the soul. Finally, the conclusion is that for the observance of the religion, it is most appropriate to know one's own soul Bhagwan.
Not by listening or by reading, but to know the soul directly through self-realisation is the knowledge of the inner-self and to continue to know in this manner is meditation of the inner-self. Such knowledge of the inner-self is right knowledge and such meditation of the inner-self is right conduct. When such knowledge and meditation of the inner-self take place, at that time the self-realisation also takes place in the normal course; oneness with the soul also emerges naturally, the bliss, beyond the reach of senses, also emerges at that time, all these occur simultaneously and the name of all these put together is self-realisation
When this self-realisation manifests, interest in sensual pleasures and passions gets annihilated and at the same time the inclination and tendency towards sensual pleasures and passions also get reduced in the proportion of the intensity of self-realisation. When the time of the separation of this self-realisation gets reduced to less than one antarmuharat (forty eight minutes), the state of monkhood manifests and when this state of intense self-realisation remains continuously for one antarmuharat then omniscience manifests along with infinite bliss, beyond the reach of senses.
Therefore, for right faith-knowledge-conduct, for self-realisation, for infinite bliss, beyond the reach of senses and for acquiring omniscience, it is necessary to know and continue to know one's own soul Bhagwan. This is the path, this is the right path, this is the path to liberation, this is spiritualism, this is the way to become Bhagwan, this is the only task worth undertaking, all the rest are non-activity, they are unnecessary entanglements.
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