YJA Convention 1996 07 San Francisco CA

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 21

Incense:
I have entertained the false belief that inanimate karmas are the cause of my wanderings in the four phases of life, As such I indulge in attachment and aversion, when these karmas behave in themselves, Thus, I have been passing through material as well as psychic karmas for centuries, I have come to thee, oh trio, to burn external incense for achieving the sweet spiritual incense of my ownself. I offer to you this incense to destroy the antagonistic inclinations of my existence.
Fruit:
Whatever material entities I call my own, leave me all of a sudden, I, thus, become perturbed and this mental disorderliness leads to others of the same kind, I want to see my delusions dashed to pieces, and that is the purpose of my prayer to thee, I offer to you this fruit to obtain the fruit of supreme bliss.
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Mass of all the Eight Substances:
I wash off all imperfections of wrong belief after drinking deep of my own sentient nectar, Thus I destroy all passionate feelings and enjoy that sentient drink of my own-self, Matchless bliss is then born and sun of omniscience rises with all its glory, Sentient Perception and Vitality then appear in their fullness, which is the state of the Arihantas, Offering you this combination, I collect all the great attributes of my soul I am confident that I shall now achieve the glories of the supreme omniscient being I offer to you this mass of eight substances in order to achieve everlasting happiness of the soul.
Visharjan: The Closing
If I, knowingly or unknowingly committed any mistakes, By Grace of God, may they be pardoned. I do not know how to invite you, how to respect you and praise you, Please forgive me. I do not know any mantras, I am poor and have no knowledge But kindly allow me to continue to worship you. I have paid my respects the best way I could and I request that you go to your respective places.
SWETAMBAR PUJA: ASHTAPRAKARI PUJA
There are many types of Swetambar pujas. This particular puja can be performed every morning, Eight different rituals are performed during the puja: jal(water), chandan(sandalwood paste), pushpa(flowers), dhoop(incense), dipak(light), akshat(rice), naivedya (sweets), and fal(fruits). These eight symbolic offerings are not made to please God. No Jain worship is performed with the purpose of curing any disease, obtaining any material comforts, or achieving success in any enterprise.
By practicing this puja on a regular basis, it is believed to remove the eight types of karma. These are as follows: knowledge-obscuring karma, perception/awareness obscuring karma, belief and conduct diluting karma, energy obscuring karma, life-span determining karma, body-determining karma, status determining karma, and pain-pleasure producing karma.