Book Title: Training in Nonviolence
Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Anuvrat Global Organization

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Page 60
________________ Training in Nonviolence cannot accomplish the task. There are many people who do not know what they are doing. They do not know what they want to be. They remain entangled in their own problems. A man was traveling in a bus. He was standing all the time. Others asked him to sit down because his destination was far off. He replied," How can I sit down? You don't know I have to reach soon. I have no time to sit down." Thus, a man remains mired in his own problems and ignorance. He is seized by deluded belief and misperception. As a result he fails to realize the truth. Without the knowledge of the means and the ways the process of training cannot be successful. We need to know the means and the ways to succeed in our aim. Practice The third component of training is practice which means knowledge of the means. Human mind is very complex. Its fickleness is a big problem. Even those who are responsible for carrying out formidable tasks are unable to control their mind. The unsteadiness of the mind is one of the biggest problems of the world. It precedes all other problems. The lessening of the restiveness of the mind, its stabilization and concentration pave the way for a state when mind ceases to exist. But this problem of the unsteady mind is also solved on account of our knowledge of the remedial measures. Faith is inculcated in the camps of preksha dhyan (perceptive meditation). One comes to realize it and becomes aware of the means. A sadhak (prectitioner) stays in dhyana (meditation for about an hour. When the time allotted for dhyana comes to an end, the practitioner asks, "Was the process of meditation completed in just ten minutes today?" During the period of meditation, awareness of time ceases. When there is deep concentration, awareness of time disappears. It's only in a state of restiveness that one thinks more of time and nation. These barriers vanish in a state of deep concentration. Leshyadhyana (meditation on currents of feelings and aura) and rang dhyana (colour meditation) are important types of meditation for the transformation of the heart. They affect our entire state of consciousness. After practising leshyadhyana many practitioners came to me and said, "Today we experienced the calmness of the mind to so great an extent that we didn't want to move away from it." I thought, "This is a strange phenomenon. Sometimes one is not able to go into dhyana. At other times having gone into the dhyana, one doesn't want to come out of it. Some times milk doesn't condense into curd and sometimes it so condenses that one has to cut it. Both of these conditions are problems. Through the use of appropriate means everything can be done. Without means or efforts even milk cannot be changed into curd." We live in the world of modes or alterable conditions. We cannot enter the material world. Our whole life is based on these modes. They are endless and man is lost in them. Modes continue to appear and re-appear - curd after milk, butter after curd, and density after fluidity and firmness after density. All these forms occur one after the other. These different forms of modes of material objects appear and re-appear on account of some or the other causative factors. What I want to emphasize here is that these alterable conditions, which we call paryayas result from our efforts. Through preksha dhyana we enlighten sadhaks about usage or 54 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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