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Trimantra
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before one is called an acharya here.
Therefore here we are not talking about the traditional Jain or Vaishnav acharyas that are around. We are paying obeisance to the acharyas who have no desire for any kind of worldly happiness and who are following the conduct for progressing on the path of liberation of the vitarag Lords. They observe these codes of conduct and teach the same for others. To such a being I bow. Do you have any objection to that? Whoever he may be or of whatever sect he may belong to, as long as he is self realized, to him I bow.
Such acharyas do not exist here in our world today, but they do exist in other worlds. And therefore this obeisance will reach them wherever they are in the universe. This in turn benefits us instantly.
Questioner: Do these acharyas of our world posses any powers? When can the status of acharya be attained?
Dadashri: The status of acharya remained true for a thousand years after Lord Mahavir's nirvana but after that time it has turned into a worldly acharya status, and there has not been any true acharyas since.
Questioner: I am talking about the true acharyas.
Dadashri: The true ones have not arisen. The true acharya is a God.
Questioner: Then what about Kund Kund Acharya?
Dadashri: Kund Kund Acharya was one, but that was six hundred years after Lord Mahavir. What I am saying is that for the last fifteen hundred years, there has not been one. Kund Kund Acharya was completely Self-realized.
Questioner: But these acharyas of today are called acharyas based on their exposition of knowledge in scriptures.
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Trimantra
Dadashri: People may call them acharya but a real acharya is Self realized.
The Acharya Is The Reason For Liberation
How are tirthankaras beneficial to us? Doing their darshan (seeing; to look upon with reverence) gives great benefit and so does listening to them. The time to listen to them is when they give deshna (divine speech); otherwise the benefit is just from their darshan. The darshan of the tirthankar is needed for liberation. Just by the mere darshan of the tirthankar one can become absolutely enlightened. This is only for those who have reached such a level of spirituality.
Such beings are those who have acquired the knowledge of proper conduct from an acharaya and have reached a very high level of spirituality that all that is left for them is just the mere darshan of a tirthankar Lord.
So the final preparation is the role of the acharya. He helps one in the maturation process of the liberation. Even the tirthankar Lord considers the acharya to be the highest state of all.
Questioner: But why would the tirthanakar say that?
Dadashri: The tirthankar is endowed with 108 gunas (virtues or positive attributes) and acharya has 1008 gunas! Acharya is regarded as embodiment of highest virtues. He is like a lion. When he raises his voice, everything around him trembles. Just as at the mere look and sight of a lion, a fox would throw up the meat it just ate, such is the power of the presence of an acharya. A person would spew out in confession all the sins he has committed in the presence of an acharya. Even the tirthankaras admit that they have acquired their state of a tirthankar through the teachings of the acharya. So the acharya is the embodiment of the highest virtues.
