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It is interesting to note that the most outstanding of the Jaina prayers is contained in what is known as 'Navakara Mantra' which contains nothing sectarian or personal to any individual and asks for nothing in return. It does nothing more than offering sincere veneration to those souls which are already liberated and which are on the path of liberation. These souls may belong to any sect or religious belief but so long as they are on the path of liberation or, are, infact, liberated, one who is a true Jaina bows down to them. This enchantation1 is as under:
Namo Arihantā pam Namo Siddhāpaṁ Namo Ayariyāņaṁ Namo Uvajjhāyānam Namo Loe Savvasahūņam
I bow down to all 'Arihantas'. I bow down to all Siddhas'. I bow down to all 'Acaryas'. I bow down to 'Upadhyayas'. I bow down to all the 'Sadhus'.
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such prayers cannot be considered as of the type discussed above. But even such prayers are not directly addressed to the liberated soul who is the Tirthankara. They are rather addressed to the God or Goddesses who are supposed to be in attendance of the liberated souls because these Gods and Godesses are not liberated souls and are supposed to help others This seems to be a subsequent innovation which has, strictly speaking, no sanction from Jaina philosophical doctrines.
Jain Education International
There is a class of thinkers, both Jaina and non-Jaina, believing in the sincere prayers offered to a higher soul resulting in moral as well as material advantages. They believe that ardent and sincere prayers offered with total self surrender, do produce vibrations which eventually become helpful to one who prays. Such a line of thinking may not be outrighlly rejected as incorrect, but that discussion would take us to a different subject of Tantra. For the present we are not concerned with it. 1. नमो अरिहंताणम्, नमो सिद्धाणम्, नमो आयरियाणम्, नमो उवज्झायाणम्, नमो लोए सब्बसाहूणम् । Bhagavati-sütra, I/1.
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