Preksha Dhyana Contemplation and Auto Suggestion

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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It is considered to be the greatest achivement of a purposeful life. All other achievements, seem insignificant when one attains this state. One, who is fortunate to obtain various other things (wealth, power etc.) is, sometimes, found to be helpless and miserable. But one who has attained bliss is never, never unhappy or miserable. One attains bliss (samādhi) when one is free from physical sickness (vyadhi), mental agony (adhi) and emotional malaise (upadhi). Only when one has overcome the trinity of physical, mental and emotional disorders, one can hope to attain sustained happiness. When one suffers from physical illness (due to malfunction of a vital organ), one is unhappy with pain and misery. If one is afflicted with a mental disorder (such as tension), one becomes agonised and does not have peace for a single moment. Inspite of possessing all the comforts of life, one feels quite unhappy. An emotional malaise is even more terrible than a mental malady. Emotional malaise means psychological distor
tion.
Cruelty, fanaticism, militarism, retalitation are some of the psychological distortions. When one suffers from one or more of these, one becomes almost inhuman does such acts does not behave a human being. The obstacle of the above evil trinity must be removed before one can attain sustained happiness. Strange as it may appear one is able to choose one's way of life. "Which way shall I adopt? The way of the evil trinity or the way of bliss?" A question may be raised: Does anybody wish to choose the way of the evil trinity? The answer is: one suffers from the trinity of malaise only if one chooses to do so. An internal driving force produces a desire to become sick and ultimately manifests itself in sickness. The process is over-indulgence in food, drink and sex; anger, greed and lust-all these are the precursors of sickness. How can one distingguish between the desire for overindulgence in sex, etc. and the desire for going on the path of sickness? In reality, both are identical. If one chooses the other way, one never falls sick.
Similarly, one who does not wish to be afflicted with a mental disorder will never suffer from it. This is so because a
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