Acharya Mahaprajna
We produce the sound Arham in the beginning of our exercises. We dedicate ourselves completely to the ideal symbolized by Arham. We orient ourselves completely towards the ideal and make it the receptacle of our faith. The sound Arham begins to vibrate in the atmosphere and produces an echo. After this has been done, we begin the exercise. We express our dedication to and faith in the ideal at the end of the exercise also and pronounce the sacred formula: I surrender myself to the Arihanta, to the sadhus and to the truths comprehended by the kevalis. This pronouncement expresses a complete dedication to the ideal. The Arihanta is not a person. The siddha is not a person. The sadhu is not a person. Dharma is not an object.
The term Arihanta symbolizes the highest stage of the development of the soul. It symbolizes the ideal of equality. It symbolizes the ideal of purity, which is the highest accomplishment of the soul. Dharma means a complete dedication of the self to the ideals of knowledge, supersensual perception and spiritual conduct.
Prince Konika got engaged in a battle. In the course of the fighting he came to realize that he would be defeated. He, therefore, surrendered himself to Indra. It was now for Indra to fight the battle on behalf of Konika. No enemy could stand before Indra and Konika became victorious. Once we have surrendered ourselves to truth, we gain unlimited strength.;
There are other difficulties in sadhana. These are presented by infatuation, inactivity and laziness. They attack us on behalf of delusion time and again. There are two kinds of weapons, weapons, which strike the enemy directly, and those which strike him indirectly. Tanks and guns strike the enemy directly. Spies, especially charming and enticing female spies attack the enemy indirectly. Innumerable female spices are engaged in collecting information about the enemy. They have become indispensable for every government.
Delusion is an enticing weapon used against a practitioner. In a state of delusion we feel as if we have gained everything and that nothing remains to be done. In such a case we lose the sense of direction. Bhagavan Mahavira said: "Self-negligence produces fear." A self-negligent man is always afraid of something or the other. He idles away his time and loses his opportunity.
There was a king. He wanted to appoint a minister. He interviewed a few persons. He made them sit in a room and said: I will now lock the room. I will appoint him as my minister who would open the door and come out. Every one wondered how to open the locked door. They were in a quandary. Six of them sat idly. The seventh was a clever man. He thought that there was some secret in what the king had said. He went to the door and pushed it forcibly open. The king had made a fool of them. He had not locked the door. He wanted to test these men and to know who among them were men without initiative. Six of them became deluded and thought that the door could not be opened. The seventh man had initiative and succeeded.
The path of sadhana is beset with delusions, which mislead the practitioner and render him inactive. It is initiative, which leads him through delusions. According to the Jaina tradition. Jambu Swami was the last man to become emancipated. No body after him has been able to gain Avadhi-Jnana and Manahaparyaya-Jnana. This tradition had a deluding effect with the result that people stopped taking any interest in Yogic practices.
A few years ago we were engaged in the preparation of the book now published under the title Manonusasanam. We were discussing the method of Jaina sadhana known as Jina-kalpa. We wanted to clarify what was meant by super sensual knowledge. Acarya Tulasi remarked, "I do not want to show is-courtesy to those Acaryas who have opined that there have been no achievements in this field, but I must say that this opinion has done harm to the Jaina tradition by discouraging its followers so much that they became apathetic towards sadhana. " Acarya Tulasi was correct. When there is no effort, there can be no achievement.
A man once borrowed sixty rupees from a friend. After some time he came to pay the debt and paid his friend twenty rupees only with the remark: "I think I have paid to you the entire debt." The friend replied: You had borrowed sixty and have paid only twenty. Forty are still due to me from you." He also reminded the debtor that thirty and thirty made sixty. The debtor replied, ' 'No, ten and ten make sixty. I have paid you the entire debt. I do not mind if you go on thinking that thirty and thirty make sixty. Keep your opinion with you. "There is no remedy for intransigence. Let us, therefore, correct our opinions with the help of knowledge.
We have to control our body as well as our mind. The mind is always active, has many tendencies and wanders here and there. We have to control it and reduce its activities. This can be done through kayotsarga. This process of kayotsarga is a process of balancing our powers. Let us not decrease our energy. For this purpose we have to maintain our health so that we may remain enthusiastic in our endeavours. Mahavira said, "Fight with the soul. There is no use fighting with external enemies. Fight with delusion and ignorance. The opportunity for such a fight comes only seldom. Only a few can avail of this opportunity."
The practitioner who fights with his soul with self-confidence and hope and never retraces his steps will certainly raised his consciousness to the highest level.
