Reader ! I come today to your lotus like hands. Read me with due care and attention. Take to your heart the truths told by me. Whatever I tell, you reflect on it with a discriminative mind; by so doing, you will obtain knowledge, meditation, moral conduct, discriminative understanding, virtues and peace of the self.

You may be aware that many ignorant men and women waste away their valuable time in reading worthless books and are led astray, censured by society and go to the netherworlds after death.

Whatever books you have already learnt and are still learning are only about this worldly life; but this book will be beneficial to you both in your present life and the next, as it contains to some extent, explanations of the sayings of Bhagawan Mahavir.

Do not underrate or insult this book in any way; do not tear it, do not blot it or spoil or defile it in any other way. Deal with it discriminatively. Wise men have said that where there is discrimination, there only exists religion.

Also one more suggestion to you is that you read out this book in its order to those unable to read it but desire to read it.

What you do not follow in this book, try to understand it with the help of a wise man. In so doing, do not allow idleness or indiscretion to disturb your mind.

I complete this lesson by praying to Arhat Bhagwan Mahavir that he may help you to secure the good of your soul, to give you knowledge, peace and bliss, to make you benevolent, kind hearted, full of forgiveness, discrimination and intelligence.

(Chopai - Poem)

Dharma Tattva Jo Puchyun Mane, To Sambhalavu Snehe Tane;

Je Siddhanta Sakalno Saar, Sarvamanya Sahune Hitkar.(l)

Bhakhyun Bhashanman Bhagawan, Dharma Na Bijo Daya Saman;

Abhaya Dana Sathe Santosha, Dhyo Pranine, Dalava Dosha(2)

Satya Shila Ne Saghalan Dana, Daya Hoi Ne Rahyan Praman;

Daya Nahi To E Nahi Eka, Vina Surya Kiran Na;li Dekha.(3)

Pushpa Pankhadi Jyan Dubhaya, Jinvarani Tyan Nahi Agnaya;

SarvaJivanu Ichchho Sukha, Mahavirani Shiksha Mukhya.(4)

Sarva Darshane E Upadesh, E Ekante, Nahi Vishesh:

Sarva Prakare Jinano Bodh, Daya Daya Nirmal Avirodh!(5)

EBhavatarak Sundar Raha, Dharie Tariye Kari Utsaaha;

Dharma Saitainu E Sirubha Mula, E \iana Dharma Sada Pratikula(6)

Tattvarupathi E Olakhe, Te Jana Pahonche Shashvat Sukhe;

Shantinath Bhagawan Prasiddha, Rajchandra Karunae Siddha. (7)

I am telling you some of the common anomalies and different states in human life on which if you reflect, your faith in the existence of future births or rebirth will well develop.

One person sleeps on a beautiful cot having a flowerbed on it while the other does not get even a tattered quilt as his bed. One keeps himself always satisfied with various dainty dinners while the other cannot get for his dinner even a piece of bread. One enjoys unlimited wealth, the other begs for a penny from door to door. One by his sweet sayings attracts the minds of many hearers, the other moves like a dumb. One moves about dressed in beautiful clothes with ornaments on his body, the other does not even get a torn cloth to cover himself from extreme cold in winter. One person is a sick man while the other person is very strong bodied and healthy. One is very intelligent while the other is a mere dull. One has beautiful attractive eyes while the other is quite blind. One is lame and the other is short of legs. One is enjoying good fame and the other suffers from defamation. One commands lakhs of people and servants while the other suffers insults from all in his contact. Seeing one person we feel joyous, seeing another person we feel a vomiting sensation. One has all his senses in good order while the other has lost some of them. One has no idea of poverty of poor people while other has no end of his own sufferings.

One died while being conceived, one died soon after birth, one was born dead, one dies at a ripe age of hundred years.

No two persons have exactly identical faces. Differences of language and living conditions are observed in the world. A fool as a king on a royal throne is praised and saluted by all, and powerfully learned men suffer strokes of misfortune.

Thus you see anomalies of various kinds in whole world. Have you ever thought about these anomalies? I have described yet if you have ever thought about them, please tell what should be the reason behind all such anomalies? It is only due to good or bad actions of the soul or self.

It is by one's own actions that one has to wander in the worldly life at large. One not believing in rebirths, cannot explain the reasons of these anomalies. Again how can such a person even think that there is no rebirth? If he thinks this way, he will also have to agree with our view i.e. belief in births and rebirths.

You might have heard that learned persons say that our human body is the best of all other living bodies, but you may not be knowing the reason for their saying so and so I tell it to you.

This worldly life is replete with miseries and so the enlightened persons plan to overcome it. Realizing liberation, they enjoy eternal happiness and such liberation cannot be secured in any other living body. Neither in divine state nor in other animal birth nor in hell can one get soul liberation. It is possible only in human birth and so human body is regarded as best of all living bodies.

Then you would ask why do all human beings not obtain liberation? And here is my reply. Those who understand humanity in real sense get over the miseries of worldly life. Men in whom discriminative intelligence has dawned are really called human by learned persons. It is with the help of this discriminative intelligence men distinguish between truth and untruth, adopt truthful religion, recognize highest truth and observe noble good conduct as a result of which they secure incomparable liberation. Learned persons do not call a man by the appearance of his human form but call him so, only when they find discriminative intelligence in him. We need not say that one who possesses two hands, two legs, two eyes, two ears, one mouth, two lips and one nose is a human being. If that is so, then even a monkey possessing all these parts of its body in common with those of human body, can also be called a human being. Besides a monkey in addition possesses a long tail also. Then should we call a monkey a superman? No, one who understands humanity can only be called a man or a human being.

Learned persons say that birth in human body is very rare to achieve; it is possible only as a result of performance of many meritorious deeds by a soul. So when we get human birth we should swiftly use it for benefiting our soul. Even small children like Ayamantkumar, Gajasukumar obtained liberation by right understanding of humanity. This additional power that man possesses, helps him even to control animals such as intoxicated elephants. If by the same power they can control the elephant in the form of their mind, what an immense benefit they can secure?

In no other living body completely right discriminative power can grow or manifest and so in such other births one cannot enter the royal road of liberation. Therefore it is necessary to make full use of our human birth to secure liberation or self-realization. Some foolish people waste this rarely obtained human birth in bad conduct, ignorance, sense-life and in intoxications and prides of many kinds and lose their life in vain and as a result they lose the invaluable opportunity (precious jewel) to work for the real benefit of their soul. Such persons are in name human but really monkeys.

We are unable to know for certain the exact moment of our death. Therefore one should quickly pay attention to a good religious life by all possible means.

Once upon a time King Shrenika of Magadh country endowed with all sorts of acquisitions went to a forest named Mandikuksha for enjoying a horse-ride. The Luxuriance of this forest was mind absorbing; it was dense with various kinds of trees and they were strewn with various kinds of delicate creepers and they were enjoyed by various kinds of birds; in it, were heard sweet chimings of birds of various kinds, the forest was bedecked with various kinds of flowers and various kinds of streams of water were flowing in it; in short that forest named Mandikuksha looked like Nandanvan or a Garden of Eden.

In it, King Shrenika caught sight of a very youthful and fit for enjoying happiness, ascetic enraptured in deep spiritual bliss sitting under a tree. The king got extremely pleased at the sight of this beautiful bodied monk and began to praise in his mind wondering the monk's unheard of incomparable beauty. What unheard of and beautiful skin colour this monk possesses! What a mind absorbing and attracting bodily form he has! What an unheard of pleasingness he has! How wonderful forgiveness he owns! How bright is the lustre of his renunciation shining in his body! What a want free man he is! What a fearless gentleness this sage commands! How free is he from all sense pleasures!

Thinking in this way, getting more and more pleased and praising excellent qualities of this ascetic, walking slowly towards him, taking a few rounds around him in veneration, bowing down before him, he sat at a reasonable distance not too far nor too near. In all humility with both hands folded he asked the ascetic:-

"O Arya! or a Noble person ! You are an youth worthy of praise; your age is quite fit for enjoying sense pleasures; this world can offer you many sorts of happiness; amorous pleasures fitting every season, pleasures of water-play and pleasures ofhearing sweet words of attractive women ; instead of enjoying all these, you have renounced them and strive hard on the path of an ascetic life. Please be kind and tell me what is the reason for doing so?

Hearing these words from King Shrenika the ascetic replied:- "O King ! I was experiencing orphan-hood; none became my true friend to procure for me unprecedented object and to secure for me my spiritual uplift, to sympathize and be favorable with me, and to give me supreme happiness with pity. This was the reason for my experience of being an orphan."

Shrenika smiling at these words of Anathi Muni said;" You have acquired great spiritual powers! How do you say that you have none to protect you? If you really feel so, I am prepared to protect you. O fearless! You enjoy all sense pleasures. O Saintly friend! Make your rare human birth successful and easily fruitful."

Anathi Muni said , "O King Shrenika ! How can you relieve me from my orphan-hood when you yourself are an orphan? How can a pauper turn other man into a prince or a wealthy man? How can an unintelligent person give learning to others? How can a baren woman deliver a child? How will you give me protection when you yourself are without such protection?"

Hearing these words from he monk, King Shrenika became much disturbed and surprised. He heard the words of the Monk the like of which he had never heard before and so doubting them he said as under:-

"I enjoy riding many kinds of horses; I own many kinds of intoxicated elephants. The whole army with its various regiments is in my command. There is no dearth of cities, villages, harem and four legged animals in my possessions. I enjoy all kinds of pleasures which a man can enjoy; my servants exactly carry out my orders. Wealth of all kinds is in my home; many things which a mind can aspire for, are near to me. Being so great as I, how can I be called an orphan? Possibly O Bhagawan (God like person) ! You may be wrong or mistaken in your calling me an orphan." To this the Monk said :-"O King ! You have not rightly understood my statement. Now you hear with concentration and close attention how I became an orphan and how as a result of this feeling, I left worldly life and became a monk. After hearing what I say, you may decide about the correctness or otherwise of your doubt:-

There is one beautiful city named Kaushambi very old and full of various excellences. Therein dwelled my father named Dhansanchaya very rich and wealthy. O King ! In the first part of my youth, my eyes began to give me unbearable pain; my whole body felt a burning sensation - that disease poured all its anger on me and pierced me more powerfully than sharp weapons like a deadly enemy, by that unbearable pain of the eyes I was attacked with a severe headache. Because of this continuous deadly pain, like the strike of a powerful mace (Vajra) and capable of instilling terrible fear in others too who saw me suffering I was much miserable.

Numberless physicians expert in treating such disease treated me to cure me of all my pain with the best of their medicines but all was in vain. None of them could cure me and relieve me from my pain. This itself O King, was my experience of being an orphan. My father began to offer all his wealth to one who could cure me of my disease, but it was all fruitless. O King! Thus I felt that I was an orphan. My mother was sorrow stricken seeing my incurable pain but she could also not relieve me from my pain, this O king was my orphan hood. My elder and younger brothers born of the same mother, tried all their means to give me relief but they also failed; O King! This was my experience as an orphan. Similarly my elder and younger sisters could not cure my disease; O King! This was why I felt I was an orphan.

My wife who was totally devoted to me, who was affectionate to me and who was loving me very much was wetting my chest with her tears; she tried to apply many kinds of ointments to soothe me in my pain - ointments made from corn, water and other fragrant substances and plasters known and unknown made from flowers and sandalwood but she could not make me free from my deadly disease and unbearable pain of the eyes. Thus my wife who never left me or kept her away even for a moment failed to cure my disease; This was O great King ! My feeling of being an orphan.

Thus by neither someone's affection, nor someone's medicine, nor some one's vailing, nor someone's tiring efforts that disease could be driven out. At that time I repeatedly bore unbearable pain and so I felt much dejected by the machinations of this world.

Then I decided that in case I get freed from my deadly disease and pain of my eyes, I would immediately leave worldly life of sense pleasures and I would take to ascetic life full of great forgiveness of controlling all five senses and free from all worldly activities.

With this decision I went for a sleep and when that night was passed gradually, O King ! All my disease and pain were gone for good and I became free from my that disease. So taking consent from my parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives in the early morning I adopted this ascetic life full of all forgiveness, full of sense restraints and free from all worldly actions.

"O King Shrenika ! Thereafter I became the Lord of my own soul as well as of all other souls. Now I am the Lord or Protector of all kinds of living beings. Your doubt about my calling you an orphan must have been dispelled by now. Thus the whole world up to a Chakravarti or an Emperor of all land he can reach and command, is really an orphan and need proper protection. Where there is Upadhi - external trouble, there is orphan hood. So you reflect on what I say to you:-

Take it for certain that none but our soul or self is the creator of our sorrow and misery; our soul itself is the creator of unhappiness like the piercing brambles of a Shalmali tree i.e. a cactus tree with sharp thorns. Likewise the soul itself is the creator of happiness like that what can be achieved from a Kamdhenu cow fulfilling all his desires without any trouble or delay. Our soul brings us all joy like that of enjoying a garden of Eden - a Nandanvan - a garden or a park which gives divine pleasure and happiness to all who visit it. Our soul itself is the performer of our deeds, our soul itself can avoid them if he decides not to perform them and our soul itself brings us all troubles and misery; so is our soul itself the author of all our happiness. Our soul itself therefore is both our friend and foe. Our soul itself makes our bad character and the same soul itself creates our spotlessly good and noble character and steadfastly maintains it."

Thus the Anathi Muni gave an illuminating sermon about the nature of soul or self to King Shrenika who was much pleased to hear it. With folded hands in a spirit of veneration, he said, "O Lord or Bhagawan! You have addressed me rightly; you described vividly and correctly the orphan state of a living being O Great sage! You are really having your soul as a protector, you have real brothers and you have adopted right religion. You can protect all orphans. O pure and holy Sage! Forgive me for telling you that I can protect you and that you deserve enjoying sense life in the world instead of living as an ascetic. I have derived much benefit from your enlightened teaching to me. I beg your pardon for inviting you to enjoy worldly life of sense pleasures which is always obstructing the good of the soul. It is my fault and so you pardon me for the same." With these words king Shrenika bowed down to Anathi Muni and taking a few rounds about the monk as a mark of high respect, in all humility and modesty returned home.

The teaching of Anathi Muni, practicer of great penance, an ascetic par excellence, possessor of high spiritual intellect and fame, completely relieved from all knots or bondage and a master of spiritual learning, to king Shrenika on the basis of his own personal experience, both as a householder and also as an ascetic, confirms the soul - saving aspiration known as Asharan Bhavana- a strong determination by a human being that every- body on earth is really an orphan and one gets freed from such a stage only by realizing the true nature of his own soul or self. Many people experience sorrow and suffering equal to or more than what Anathi Muni experienced in his life and we see all that before our own eyes and should this not be enough for our deepreflection about the real nature of self or soul and that of the World at large ? This orphan hood or feeling of being one needing shelter or protection but not getting it, is spread over all worldly living beings and it can be abandoned or renounced only by highest philosophy and best moral conduct embodying universal forgiveness and non-violence in thought, word and deed. This is the only way to liberate one's soul from the bondage of one's good and bad deeds. As Anathi Muni was really an orphan while he was leading a householder's life so is every soul always an orphan till it accepts highest philosophy. For being a protected person, it is necessary to know true divinity, true religion and a true preceptor.

Three fundamental reals we should necessarily know. As long as there is ignorance about them, soul's benefit cannot be secured. These three fundamental reals are True divine Person, True divine Religion and True divine Teacher or Preceptor. I tell you about the first real namely the True divine person.

A True divine person (Satdeva) is one who has achieved absolute knowledge and absolute perception, one who has burnt the heap of his all good and bad Karmas by highest penance and steadfast meditation; one who has achieved Shukla Dhyan or pure meditation shining more bright than the white moon and white conch. One though he be a sovereign ruler of the whole world or such a ruler's son or a prince, knowing the world as totally the cause of infinite sorrow, renounces it for a better life; one who destroys three kinds of torments or tortures to the soul namely Aadhi =(Mental calamities) Vyadhi =(Physical diseases) and Upadhi (Worldly troubles) with the help of absolute compassion, peace, forgiveness, non-attachment and spiritual soul power; one who moves in his self - pure nature burning four principle Karmas as obstructing pure knowledge, clear vision or perception or insight and noble character and burns other hindrances to highly spiritual development; one who burns all the roots of Karmas, one who pursues noble life till some of his past Karmas have been either mallowed down or burnt completely and who abandons all Karmas springing from infatuation or false attraction and who avoids sleep and keeps himself constantly engaged in burning the roots of all his Karmas, one who preaches with his purified speech like a natural flow of rain water to other worldly heated persons for securing them highest peace with a total spirit of non - attachment, one in whom one cannot find even in dream the least element about worldly enjoyment of sense life; one who does not start advising others about self realization till he has achieved absolute Knowledge, this means that he keeps mum till his own real aim is fulfilled. He is free from five kinds of obstructions, laughter, affection, hatred or aversion, fear, disliking, sorrow, misunderstanding (Mithyatva), ignorance, non-remonstrance (Apratyakhyan), attachment, avarice, sleep and sex-desire, in short he is free from all these eighteen kinds of vices, and he is poised in his self nature enjoying infinite truth, consciousness and bliss and in him very elevating twelve virtuous qualities shine forth; he is one for whom, birth, death and worldly life have totally vanished. One who possesses all above described qualities, is recognised by Bhagawan Mahavir as a truly divine person. Since such a person has realized his pure self-free from all faults or shortcomings, he is called the most venerable Lord. A person who still has one of the above mentioned eighteen vices does not become a true Divine person. This highest truth can still be further understood by excellent aphorisms preached by Bhagawan Mahavir.

From time without beginning, this soul aimlessly wanders in worldly life goaded by the fetters of the web of his own actions or deeds. Not even for a fraction of a moment, this wandering soul enjoys real happiness. He always hugs to his heart his own downfall. And the element which holds this soul from falling into its degeneration is called religion. All knowing Bhagawan Mahavir has enumerated various parts of this true religion; of these various parts two main ones are: (1) Vyavahara Dharma (2) Nishchaya Dharma.

The principle requirement of Vyavahara Dharma is Daya or compassion. Rest four great vows are also to be observed purely for protecting compassion. This compassion is of eight kinds:

(1) Dravya Daya (2) Bhava Daya (3) Sva Daya (4) Para Daya (5) Swarupa Daya (6) Anubandha Daya (7) Vyavahar Daya (8) Nishchaya Daya.

(1) First Dravya Daya :-- To perform every act of worldly life taking due care not to hurt any living being or taking care to preserve and protect other life is known as Dravya Daya

(2) Second Bhaava Daya:-- To preach another living being purely with a view to save him from his downfall is known as Bhaava Daya.

(3) Third Swa Daya :-- This soul has been enmeshed or caught in a condition of misunderstanding and infatuation since time without any beginning and so it is not realizing truth, it is not yet capable of putting himself under obedience of Jineshwar Bhagwan to know his true self; thinking this way to enter right religious life is known as Swa Daya.

(4) Fourth Para Daya:-- To protect living beings of six kinds (Chha Kaya) as prescribed by Jineshwar Bhagawan is known as Para Daya .

(5) Fifth Swarupa Daya:-- To search for one's true self with the help of minute discrimination is Swarupa Daya.

(6) Sixth Anubandh Daya:-- When one's preceptor or teacher tries to improve his pupil's behaviour sometimes by harsh words ; to all outside appearance it looks improper but in the end it works for the benefit of the pupil and leads to compassion. Hence this is called Anubandh Daya.

(7) Seventh Vyavahara Daya:-- To observe compassion in regular common life with due attention and also accord with religious instructions is called Vyavahara Daya.

(8) Eighth Nishchaya Daya:-- Single mindedness in search of one's pure self and whole attention in the motto without any distinction is called Nishchaya Daya.

Bhagawan Mahavir has described Vyavahara (Practical) Dharma by these eight kinds of compassion. It includes or covers the happiness, contentment and a gift of fearlessness to all living beings when one reflects on these eight kinds of compassion.

Next i.e., Second Dharma is called Nishchaya Dharma - to dispel the illusion about one's own true nature, to know the self as self and nothing else, this worldly life is not mine, I am pure Self like the Realized Great Souls and I am without any attachment, free from all bonds of karmas and relations, I am different from the body and the rest to me. To be and behave with such a determination and understanding is called living in the self's pure form; it is called Nishchaya Dharma.

Wherever there is some pain or unhappiness to a living being or whatever act involves harm to any living being or dissatisfaction to any living being is no part of Daya -sympathy or compassion and without sympathy or compassion there is no true religion; and by this essence of true religion as explained by Arhat Bhagawan Mahavir, all living beings enjoy fearlessness.

Father - Son! Who is your teacher in your school?

Son - Father! My teacher is a very learned Brahmin and a man of right understanding.

Father - How are his speech and character?

Son - He speaks very sweet words; he is never calling anybody without giving him due honour and respect. He is never inconsiderate. He is very deep in his thinking. His words are felt by us as soft and fine as flowers. He never insults anybody and he teaches us good lessons with proper patience and right understanding.

Father - Please let me know why do you go to him?

Son - Father! Why do you ask this question to me? I know you are sending me to learn skill from him so that I may be wise in my worldly life, that I may learn proper method of good behavior to make my life successful and fruitful, that I may learn from him lessons of good moral conduct.

Father - Suppose your teacher was of bad character or wrong behavior?

Son- O! Then it would be quite wrong and harmful to me. I would have learnt his bad character and also would have learnt to use bad language in behavior with others. Who then would teach us good conduct for leading a moral life?

Father - O Son! From this I can teach you a best lesson. As for worldly life good moral conduct should necessarily be learnt, so to know right religion and proper religious discipline is necessary for preparing essential requisite for a better future birth. Just as lessons of good moral life can only be given or taught by a good moral teacher, so lessons of good religious life can be taught by the best preceptor or religious teacher. Naturally there is much difference between a good moral teacher and a good religious teacher. A good moral teacher is only a prismatic piece; a good religious teacher shines like a priceless jewel.

Son - O my protector (Shirachhatra)! What you say is quite correct. There is a perfect need for a teacher of right religion. You have many a time told me about many unending miseries of this world and to get over all these miseries of worldly life, only right religion can be most helpful. Then please let me know by what kind of a teacher we can be initiated into right religious life?

Father - O son! Teachers are of three kinds - (1) Teacher - wood type (2) Teacher - paper type (3) Teacher - stone type. Of these three kinds, the first wood type teachers are the best ones, as they only help us to cross the ocean of worldly life quite successfully. Just as a piece of wood swims in the ocean and also helps one who sits on it to cross the ocean water successfully.

The Second paper type teachers are of ordinary type. They are moderate between the first and the third types mentioned above. Paper type teachers cannot successfully cross the ocean of worldly life nor can they help others depending on them. They can only show the way and thereby they can help the pupil to acquire some good meritorious deeds.

The third type of teachers namely stone type are such that they drown in the ocean along with those taking their help. The first type namely wood type teachers are available only in the administration of the world by Jineshwar Bhagawan. The second and third types of teachers are working for increase in the coverings of Karmas which keep the soul away from knowing its real good. We all need the best of things and such things can be available in properly the best places. If we select a best religious teacher he can put us in his true religious boat and along with him we also can successfully swim the ocean of worldly life. We cannot understand without the help of a best religious teacher, fine philosophical distinctions, fine distinctions of different selves, clear understanding of Loka Lok = this world and many other worlds and the nature of this worldly life with all its intricacies. Hearing this you may be prompted to ask me as to what are the specific characteristics of such a wood type teacher?

Then I tell you the same: - The wood type teacher will well know the precept given by Jineshwar Bhagawan; and he would follow it in his behavior fully well; and he would also advise others to follow it; he would have completely renounced riches and sexual life, he would live on innocent food and water; he would suffer patiently twenty-two types of torments; he would be full of forgiveness or sympathy or compassion; he would control his desires and he would keep away from all actions arising from desires and he would be thoroughly self-controlled and may be a master of all his sense powers; he might always be engrossed in the knowledge of all fundamental reals; he might be maintaining his bodily life purely for religious purposes; he will never be shy or coward in scrupulously following the religious path prescribed by Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir, he would never touch or take even a blade of grass not given to him; he must have abandoned all sorts of dinners during night; he would be equanimous in his behavior and he would preach truth without any feeling of attachment In short such are the merits of a wood-type religious Teacher. O Son! You can find in Jain Religious Scriptures the details of a true teacher's character and his knowledge acquisitions quite properly and with due considerations. As you grow thinking more about this in future, I shall gradually teach you further truths.

Son - O Father! You have told me in brief very useful and about beneficial truths. I shall always think and reflect more and more about them.

Even while dwelling in his worldly householder's life the best Shrawaka (who has contacted best teachers, hears their teaching carefully, is discriminative and modest) is successfully under going spiritual discipline; his order of a householder becomes praiseworthy.

Such best householder performs Samayika = to take a vow Of equanimous behavior; Kshamapana = to beg pardon before Shri Bhagawan Mahavir for any of his fault or faults; Chovihar Pratyakhyan, a vow not to take four types of food at night; Yam = to practice restraints and follow injunctions of good behavior for the whole of his life and Niyam = observes some vows for a specific period of time.

He views other women just like his mother or sister according to the age of the woman seen.

He gives as per his capacity money and food in charity to the right persons who have grasped the truth - they are called Satpatra or rightly deserving persons.

He speaks Peacefully sweet and soft language.

He always thinks of right religious scriptures.

As far as possible he does not resort to falsehood, deceit etc., to earn his livelihood in business or other avocation.

He gives due respect to his parents, his wife, his sons, Muni or Monk and preceptor.

He gives religious discourses to his parents.

He takes due care in keeping his house clean, in cooking purpose, in arranging food materials, in sleeping accommodations etc...

He behaves intellectually and teaches his wife and children lessons of modesty and humility by his own modest and humble behavior He makes them religious minded.

He increases unity in his whole family.

He welcomes a guest with due honor and respect.

He never sends away the beggar at his door without giving him food to satisfy hunger.He always keeps himself in contact with right religious persons or men of noble thoughts and deeds and he always approaches them with a view to learn from them lessons of noble behavior.

He always behaves within the limits of his stature in life and feels contented with what is with him.

He always keeps to his capacity a library of good religious works.

H maintains or runs his family life with minimum needs and with due care, keeps away from hurting any living being.

Such life of a best householder Shrawaka leads him to his best spiritual development and this is what is said by the all-knowing best men.

Inquirer of Truth - Intellectual Truth! Some are devoted to Shankar, some to Brahma, some to Vishnu, some to Sun, some to fire, some to Bhavani, some to Paigambar and some are devoted to Jesus Christ. What would they be expecting to gain by their devotion?

Truth - Dear Inquirer, all these devotees worship various deities with great expectations to gain liberation.

Inquirer - Tell me then do you think that by such devotion they will obtain the highest state i.e., liberation?

Truth - I cannot say that they will do so. Whomsoever they call their Deities or highest Gods have themselves not attained liberation, then how will they help their devotees to obtain it? Shankar etc, have not burnt or destroyed their own Karmas and they have their own shortcomings; therefore they are not worthy of worship by their devotees for liberation.

Inquirer - What are these shortcomings ? Please narrate.

Truth - Ignorance, sex-desire, laughter, affection, hate, sleep, Mithyatva or wrong attribution or misunderstanding, attachment, avarice, absence of non-attachment, fear, sorrow, disliking, obstruction to donation, obstruction to gain, obstruction to valour, obstruction to enjoyments of things enjoyable single time as well as many times. These are eighteen shortcomings or imperfections. If a Deity has any one of the above mentioned imperfections Or shortcomings, he does not deserve to be worshipped or devoted by the aspirants for liberation.

One able Pandit(well - versed in learning) has said that those who call themselves God and are inviting others to call them so, are self-cheats, because by keeping a woman by their side they are not sex free, taking weapons in their hands to kill others they have enmities for their enemies, by keeping a garland of beads for repeatedly chanting the name of a Deity, the fickleness of their minds is proved or affliction of their minds is indicated. Those who say 'Come to my shelter, I shall protect you, I shall relieve you from all your sins' are egotists and atheists. If such is their own state, how can they help others to obtain liberation? Besides some say they have taken human incarnation being God themselves, then this proves that they have some purpose to fulfill and so they are imperfect.

Inquirer - Well brother, then who is worthy of worship and whom should we offer devotion so that virtues of our own self can shine out?

Truth - Our self can shine out most by devoting our-self to the infinitely self -realized souls who are in form of pure truth, consciousness and bliss; besides this can also be done by offering devotion to Jineshwar Bhagawan Mahavir who is free from all above mentioned shortcomings, who is free from the dirt of all Karmas, liberated himself, completely non-attached, completely fearless, all knowing and all seeing.

Inquirer - Shall we then believe that by devoting to the infinitely self-realized souls and to Jineshwar Bhagawan they will give us our liberation.

Truth - O brother Inquirer! That infinitely all knowing Bhagawan is completely non attached and without any imperfections; he does not expect either his praise or blame, nor has he any desire or purpose of giving us the fruit of our devotion to him. In fact it is necessary to make an incomparable self effort to avoid ignorance and infatuation and bondage of all our Karmas good, bad and indifferent in which our soul is fettered; and Jineshwar Bhagawan and other self-realized souls who have become immotal, infinitely powerful, all knowing, and all seeing and so who have completely realised their self in its full nature, are showing us the path to follow and by their purity they inspire us to become like them as in origin state of our soul, they are helping us to make supreme effort for our liberation, they help us in freeing our-self from all imperfections, they give us peace and strength to burn our Karmas as by taking a sword in our hand valeur shines out and by taking an intoxicating drink we get intoxicated, so by meditating on the infinite virtues of Jineshwar Bhagawan and other self-realized souls, our soul also rises on the ladder of infinite virtues leading to self's pure nature, and bliss. As by taking a looking glass in our hand we are able to see our face as it is, so by devoting ourselves to Jineshwar Bhagawan and other self-realized souls, we get a clear vision of our self in its real nature.

 Inquirer - Arya Satya! If all self realized souls are worthy of worship and devotion, then is it necessary to worship a particular self-realized soul by his name?

Truth - Yes, it is necessary to worship a self- realized soul by his name. Whatever thoughts and reflections arise by meditating on the pure form of a self-realized soul is the effect but by what means they became self-realized, when we reflect on these means, we will remember their extreme control on the senses, great non-attachment, infinite compassion or sympathy, great meditation etc. By remembering the names by which these self-realized souls were moving from place to place as Arhat Tirthankaras, their pure noble conduct and pure faultless character will be remembered by us and loved in our hearts and this love for such noble behavior and conduct will do us much good. While remembering Bhagawan Mahavir's name we shall be prompted to know who he was, when was he born and what did he do to become self-realized. All this will be remembered by us and thereby a spirit of such non-attachment and excellent discrimination can grow and develop in us.

Inquirer - But in Logassa-Sutra, there is a mention of names of twenty-four Tirthankaras? Explain to me the purpose of such mentioning.

Truth - The purpose of such a mention is that one can remember the names and noble conduct and character of twenty-four Jineshwaras who lived in this time and in particular areas of our land and thereby one can gain pure truth. The conduct of a non- attached person preaches non-attachment. In the form of a self-realized soul, all twenty-four names of twenty-four Tirthankaras as a group of infinite series of twenty-four Tirthankaras who flourished in various spans of infinite time are included. By remembering now the names of twenty-four Tirthankaras of our present time, we remember fine knowledge of the condition of our times. Just as we in our time remember the names of twenty-four Tirthankaras of our time so did the devotees remember the names of twenty-four Tirthankaras well known in their time in the past and this will be followed in future too when with advance of time new series of twenty-four Thirhankaras will flourish in future. Therefore it is not for certain that twenty-four names of a particular group of twenty-four Thirthankaras must be taken or remembered. But the essential lesson is that it will be easy to remember the life and conduct of the series of Tirthankaras of his time for the memory of their virtues and efforts made for self-realization, One can only know by the name of a Tirthankara his birth, his activities and his preaching. And by such remembrance our soul shines out; as a serpent, awakens hearing the sound of a flute, so a soul hearing its powers gets awakened from its slumber of worldly life.

Inquirer - You have given me the best reason for devotion to Jineshwar Bhagawan Mahavir. My view that devotion to Jineshwar is not at all fruitful, caused by the influence of modern education, is now gone and I firmly believe that one must devote himself to Jineshwar Bhagawan.

Truth - One gains incomparable benefit by devoting to Jineshwar Bhagawan. There are great reasons for it Jineshwar Bhagawan. There are great reasons for it, e.g. "Recognizing his obligation, we should worship him necessarily. As by such devotion we remember their great effort at self-realization and this brings us essential good. I have told these general reasons according to my intelligence only. Let this be the cause of happiness to other devotees also."

Some believe that true greatness consists in wealth, some believe it to consist in having a high family status, some believe it to consist in having good sons, some by positions of power and high authority; but all these beliefs are false or wrong or erroneous when looked at from a discriminative intelligence. Whatever these people regard as greatness is not really great at all, on the contrary these things or achievements are insignificant.

You may be believing that in worldly life you become great getting good food, drink, honor, command over servants, prosperity and all these on the strength of your wealth, but just because of these achievements only you cannot be really great, you should not believe this to be greatness at all. Wealth is collected by incurring many many sins; when achieved, it breeds pride, inattention towards duties, indiscrimination to what is right and what is wrong in you.

For achieving a high family status you have to maintain a large family satisfying all its needs, and in so doing you have to incur sins and suffer pains and miseries; you have to maintain your family by many immoral acts. Having good sons, does not give us forever, good name and fame and for maintaining them also we have to perform sinful deeds of many kinds; and with all these what benefit we gain ?

By authority or power we become dependent on persons senior to us, we get puffed up with pride of power and sometimes we have to become cruel and inflict pain on others, sometimes we have to employ immoral or questionable means, sometimes we have to bribe persons and be unjust to some persons; sometimes we have to use these means willingly or sometimes we are forced to employ them un-willingly. Tell me then what greatness lies in all these? Only greatness of our sinful Karmas. By sinful Karmas we down our soul and where there is our soul's downfall there is no greatness at all, on the other hand it is only lowerness.

Soul's greatness lies in truth speaking, compassion, forgiveness, benevolence and equanimity. Wealth etc. gives greatness to our Karmas and not to our soul. Thinking this way wise persons give their wealth in charity, become relievers of other people's pain and sorrow by establishing best schools of learning; keeping only one wife, look at all other women as their daughters. They by their families become beneficial to a certain community; entrusting the burden of maintenance of worldly life to their sons they devote their life to a religious discipline; they show to others what is good moral life by wisely conducting their authority or power for the benefit of the King whom they advise or serve and also benefit the subjects of the king by wise and judicious administration. In this way a kind of true greatness is achieved. But even such greatness is not fixed and firm. There is always a fear of death. What one hopes to do, he is unable to do and his hopes remain in the precincts of his own mind. The world attraction is such that one forgets his plan or one loses his discriminative power. Therefore we should definitely or undoubtedly realize that there is no real greatness like truth speaking, compassion, forgiveness, celibacy and equanimity. Bhikshuk or one monk observing pure five great vows achieves real powers and real greatness - the like of which had not been achieved by even Brahamadatta-sovereign ruler of a large kingdom by his wealth, family, sons and high authority. This is my view.

By Bahubala one has not to mean the strength of one's own hands or arms. But here is given a short but wonderful life story of a great man named Bahubala.

Bhagawan Rishabhadeva a king leaving all attachments, entrusting his duties as king to his two sons Bharat and Bahubala was moving as an ascetic. After some time Bharat became a sovereign ruler and in his school of weapons was produced a powerful wheel and all the land wherever this wheel moved was brought under his rule a~7d so he became the ruler of six continents. Only Bahubala did not accept his brother's suzerainty and so there was a battle between them; for a long time none was defeated; then Bharat in bitter anger hurled the strong wheel on Bahubala, but the rule was that this wheel would be ineffective on brothers of the same father and so this hurled wheel returned to Bharat without hurting Bahubala. At this Bhahubala became very much angry and raised his powerful fist to beat Bharat, but exactly at that time there was a change in Bahubala's mind, his inclinations changed and he repented for what he had done and what he was about to do. He said, "What I am doing is highly censurable and the result of my that doing will be very harmful and painful to me. Let Bharat enjoy the whole kingdom. Why should we destroy each other and gain nothing? I should not strike Bharat with my closed palm of my hand, but it is also not proper to turn back my palm." So saying Bahubala with that palm pulled out hair from his own head and turned a monk, and left his kingdom and moved out as an ascetic. He desired to go and meet Bhagawan Aadishwar who was staying with his ninetyeight religious initiated sons and other noble devotees male and female but feelings of pride arose in his mind that if he went there he might have to bow down to his ninety-eight younger brothers and so it was not proper for him to go there. Moved by such thought of pride he stayed in the forest with single minded devotion and concentration.

Gradually twelve months elapsed and due to extreme penance, his body was reduced to a mere skeleton of bones and he looked like a dried tree but till the seed of pride was present in his mind, he could not obtain perfect liberation. Then Brahmi and Sundari both sisters in form of nuns came to him and preached him as under:-- "Arya Valourous Brother! You row get down from an intoxicated elephant. By riding it, you have suffered much." Hearing this from his sisters Bahubala started thinking about the preaching of the sisters and as a result he came to realize that the intoxicated elephant was none else but his sense of pride which he still had kept preserved in his mind and soon he abandoned feelings of pride and as he started to bowing down to his father and ninety-eight younger brothers, he obtained absolute incomparable and divine state of self-liberation.

Reader ! See how feelings of pride are undesirable and harmful!!

A living soul wanders in the forest of worldly life by enjoying fruits of his meritorious deeds (Shata Vedaniya) as well as suffering the results of his sinful deeds (Ashata Vedaniya) in following four states which must be known by every aspirant for liberation.

(1) Narakagati:-- State of hellish experience - Persons planning big worldly gains for their selfish ends without any consideration of harm to others involved in carrying out such big plans, drunkards, flesh - eaters and such other people engaged in killing other living beings, go into dire hell where not even for a moment they experience peace, rest or any kind of happiness. In hell, there is deep darkness all around. There one has to suffer cutting of his own bodily parts, one has to suffer burning his body into fire and one has to drink bitter water which would pierce every part of his body touched by that bitter water. One has to suffer terrible miseries of narrowness of space, restlessness and continuous instability in such dire hell. The miseries of such hellish life cannot ever be completely described by all-knowing realized souls. Oh! This soul has suffered such miseries of hell time without number.

(2) Tiryanchagati :-- A person employing deceit, lies and questionable ignoble means in worldly life, becomes in his next birth a lion, a tiger, an elephant, a deer, a cow, a buffalo, and an ox etc. In this state of birth, one suffers from hunger, thirst, heat, slaying and bondage, beating, carrying unbearable burden compulsorily and such other pains and tortures.

(3) Manushyagati (Human Birth) :-- In human birth, one loses control over what to eat and drink and what not to; in these matters one behaves without proper consideration of bodily health; one behaves shamelessly, one enjoys sex life with his mother and daughter and does not consider such action as sinful at all having no idea of moral or immoral life; one daily eats flesh, steals and enjoys sex life with other person's wife - all these are great sins but a man sometimes does not feel them so and does what he must not do. In other countries where proper lessons of good moral life are not taught, human beings may behave in manner described above, but even in Arya Desha or India also the Kshatriyas - Warriors, Brahmins, Vaishyas who are without intelligence, poor, ignorant and suffering from various kinds of diseases, and such persons are suffering miseries arising from pride, dishonor and such other mental states.

(4) Devagati :-- In this state of the life of deities one suffers from mutual enmities, hatred, afflictions, sorrow, avarice, sex obsession, intoxication, hunger etc. Even deities are living such lives full of suffering and torture.

Thus these four states of a soul are described in general. In all these four states of a living being, human state is the best one and also not very easy to obtain. The highest benefit of knowing and realizing one's self can only be gained in one's state of a human being. So a human birth for self-realization is absolutely essential. Still in this human birth, one has to undergo many pains and face with many obstructions in one's path of liberation.

Even in human birth, a soul suffers much pain in its embryonic state in the mother's womb almost eight times the pain suffered by piercing red hot needles all over the skin of a very young person, and it gets delivered after living in mother's refuge, urine, blood and pus almost for a long period of nine months in a fainted state. Even at the time of delivery, the soul suffers infinitely more pain than in that suffered in its embryonic state. Then one becomes a child and this state of childhood is spent in refuge and urine and in a naked state playing in dust, moving and crying in ignorance for some years. Then comes youth and in this state one has to incur many kinds of sinful actions for earning livelihood and he turns his mind to the source of his birth i.e. in sex life. The youth is spent away in infatuation, intoxication, idleness, pride, censure, contacts and separations and many cycles of such type. Soon after it, comes old age in which state, our body is trembling, saliva drops out of our mouth by its losing its teeth; our skin is showing wrinkles on its surface, our senses of smelling; hearing and seeing become dull; our hair grow white and begin to drop out; we lose the power of walking, and so we have to move languidly with a stick in our hand as our support and sometimes we have to spend the rest of our life bed-ridden. Heavy breathing, cough and such other diseases overpower us and marking time for death one day we are dead and gone forever. Our soul leaves our present body and goes away; our dead body is either burnt to ashes or cremated for rotting. How strong agony we suffer at the time of our death? Thus even in this best human birth-best of all four births mentioned above- one's life is full of pain and suffering; and not withstanding all this, one may not pass through all states of life from birth to death as per order described above. Death visits a living being at any time it likes; it does not necessarily visit us in our ripe age; it may take our life even at birth, or in childhood or youth suddenly. Therefore wise men work for their soul's benefit quickly without sloth or idleness.

1. Great philosophers compare worldly life with a sea. The sea of worldly life is unending and unfathomable. O people! Employ your best effort for crossing this sea of worldly life successfully! Make the best effort for it! These are the repeated words of philosophers at various places. This analogy is quite adequate too. Just as in a sea, many waves arise, similarly waves of sex and other sense desires arise in a man's mind in worldly life, Just as the sea surface is plain on top, so also this worldly life looks quite simple and easy apparently; just as a sea is very deep at some places this sea of Samsara or worldly life is full of turning a man round and round, leading him to his downfall in a feat of illusion or hallucination or infatuation or intoxication. By standing near a seashore in its shallow waters, sometimes we deep our legs in mud, so this sea of worldly life deeps us in the mud of strong desires for worldly enjoyments even in very small incidents. Just as a sea when stormy, drowns a boat or a big ship, so this worldly life leads a soul down by storms in the forms of contact of women and strong desire for sex enjoyments. As a sea looking quiet and cool by unfathomable water contains fire in it called Wadavanala = fabulous sub-marine fire, similarly in worldly life Maya or misunderstanding always burns ablaze. As in monsoon a sea becomes very deep by rain water, so the sea of Samsara or worldly life by sinful acts of a person leads him to deep down to his downfall and firms up its foundations for keeping a soul always bound and miserable.

2. Second fitting analogy of worldly life is that of fire. Just as fire produces or emits burning heat, so the soul is given many torments, sorrows, miseries and many sufferings by worldly life. Just as a person cries tearfully when burned by fire, so a person cries tearfully to get out of worldly life when burnt by hellish unendurable unlimited troubles and torments given by worldly life. Just as fire destroys all that is poured in it so worldly life destroys all souls that are led away by it. As fire grows by whatever combustible substance like Ghee or firewood is put in it, so this worldly life grows by Ghee in the form of allurements and firewood in the form of attachment to sense objects.

3. The third fitting analogy to worldly life is that of darkness. Just as a string gives us in darkness an impression of a serpent, so does worldly life show truth as untruth. As in darkness, living beings meet with striking wrong objects and get pained, so many souls wander unconsciously or without a knowledge of their true nature of a soul or self, in the four states or births of a living being. As in darkness, glass and diamond are felt alike and none is correctly known, so in the darkness of worldly life, one does not have the knowledge of what is proper and what is improper from the point of view of soul's real nature. As in darkness, animals and men with eyes working, behave as if they are blind, so in worldly life even people knowing souls get infatuated as if they are blind. As in darkness the trouble of owls and other dangerous animals is on the increase, so in worldly life, greed, misunderstanding (Maya = illusion) etc. are on the increase. Looking thus from many points of view, worldly life is really like darkness.

4. The fourth analogy to worldly life is that of a wheel of a cart. As while moving ahead, it is moving itself round and round, so this worldly life keeps on going moving itself round and round, like the wheel of a moving cart. As the cart wheel cannot move without its axle, so this worldly life cannot move without its axle of unreality or Mithyatva or illusoriness. As the wheel is supported by its spokes, so this worldly life sustains itself on doubt and carelessness for reality and infatuation or Pramad. Thus in many ways worldly life can be rightly compared with the wheel of a moving cart.

Whatever low analogies can fittingly be given to worldly life are less than it deserves. We knew these four analogies. Now we should derive a lesson from them.

1. Just as one can cross an ocean with the help of a Strong boat and an expert boatman knowing the nature of the sea and trend of its water currents, so with the help of true religion and a set realized preceptor or a saintly Guru or Master, this ocean of worldly life can be successfully crossed by the spiritual aspirant for liberation. Just as wise navigators have found out a safe way of crossing a deep ocean, so has Jineshwar Bhagawan shown the way of best philosophy which will safely save one from worldly life.

2. As fire consumes everything it gets but by water it extinguishes, so by the water in the form of total non-attachment the fire of worldly life can be totally extinguished.

3. As one can see his way in darkness with a lighted lamp, so with the lamp of philosophy, the darkness of worldly life can be totally dispelled and the truth of the self can be seen.

4. Just as a cart cannot move without an ox or a pair of oxen, so the wheel of worldly life cannot move without the help of attachment and hatred. Thus like a good physician, proper diagnosis of the disease of worldly life is shown above, with it analogically the right medicine along with necessary instructions to follow for successful cure are also mentioned above, and one who wants liberation of his soul is advised to constantly keep this in mind and he should advise others also to do the same.

Philosophers advise reflecting on and keeping in mind following twelve aspirations for fixity of the attitude of total non-attachment and that of similar subjects beneficial to one's soul.

1. This body, prosperity, wealth, family, other relations are all destructible. Only the soul or self which wrongly owns the above appendages is really indestructible or to feel that everything other than one's self or soul is transient while only the soul or self is permanent and eternal. To keep this in our mind is the first aspiration called Anitya Bhavana.

2. There is none to protect our self at the time of the death of our body, only a resort to true religion can protect us. To think this way is the Second Asharana Bhavana.

3. To realize that this soul of ours has wandered through many cycles of birth and death and now is the time to find out a way of getting liberation from it. When shall I be free from it? It i.e., worldly life is not mine, I am a liberated soul. To think this way is the Third Samsara Bhavana.

4. To think that this my soul is alone, it has taken birth alone and it will leave this living body alone; it will alone suffer or enjoy the fruits of its bad or good deeds. To think constantly this way is the Fourth Ekatva Bhavana.

5. To think that in this world none is related to each other; his body, wife, sons and all are quite different from him is called Fifth Anyatva Bhavana.

6. To think that this body of ours is impure or unholy, it is a mine of refuge and urine, that it is the resting place or abode of diseases and old-age; that I am quite different or separate from such a body - this is the Sixth Ashuchi Bhavana.

7. Attachment, hatred, ignorance, illusion or misunderstanding (Mithyatva) etc. are all adventitious to our soul; that they are incoming troubles to our soul - to think this way is known as the Seventh Asrava Bhavana.

8. To employ one's soul in obtaining right knowledge, appropriate meditation and thus to stop performing new actions or Karmas- to think this way is called the Eighth Samvara Bhavana.

9. To act in religion with right knowledge is the way to burn our past Karmas. To constantly think this way is known as the Ninth Nirjara Bhavana.

10. To think of the origin, maintenance and destruction of a hierarchy of all worlds of living beings and matter is the Tenth Lokamrarupa Bhavana.

11. To keep in mind that while wandering in worldly life to get right knowledge to the soul, is rare, and suppose such knowledge is obtained, then to imbibe true religion leading us to total non-attachment is further a rarity - this way of thinking or reflecting is known as Eleventh Bodha Durlabha Bhavana.

12. To keep in mind that to get a right preacher of true religion and to have a teacher of pure religious scriptures in this worldly life of ours, is very difficult and so a rarity. To think this way is the Twelfth Dharma Durlabha Bhavana.

By constantly doting upon the above mentioned twelve life-saving aspirations, good and noble souls have realized the highest state of their being, whoever thinks now or will think similarly in future will get the same result.

In the time of Bhagawan Mahavir there lived a Shrawaka hearer and follower of true Jain Religion- named Kamadeva who with a pure heart, observed twelve vows or Vratas, and endowed with discriminative intelligence was always devoted to the teach- ings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir. Once in the Divine Assembly, Indra the highest Deity praised Kamadevals firm faith in Jain Religion. At that time, a deity of shallow understanding hearing in the Assembly this praise of Kamadeva, spoke out:--

" I have followed it. All can call themselves patient and quiet till they do not suffer from torments and miseries (Parishaha) and they can also boast of being steadfastly devotional to their adopted religion. I can prove this fact by turning Kamadeva's mind away from his devotion to Jain Religion." Kamadeva who as at that time quite stabilized in strongly observing his soul quite different from his body as a practice to leave his body peacefully at the time of death and free his soul (in Jainism it is called Kayotsarga)

This boastful deity assumed the guise of an elephant and pressed Kamadeva unbearably but Kamadeva remained unmoved and steady; then this deity adopted the body like a wooden pestle and in the guise of a black serpent or cobra made a terrible hiss, but Kamadeva remained unmoved and did not swerve even a little; then this Deity laughed cruelly and in a guise of a monster, beat Kamadeva and tormented him very much; even then Kamadeva did not shake or swerve from his Kayotsarga; then this deity assumed the body of a lion and began to frighten Kamadeva but the latter did not budge a little from his Kayotsarga. This way this boastful deity tried his best for the major part of the night to deviate Kamadeva from his Kayotsarga but totally failed in all his overtures. Then the deity by his Yogic insight saw that Kamadeva was unshakable Like immovable Meru Mountain. Then knowing unshakable stability and faith of Kamadeva in his Kayotsarga religious practice, he bowed down to Kamadeva in veneration and praise and asking pardon for what he had done, he returned home.

What lesson we get from the stability of Kamadeva in his Kayotsarga, can be easily understood from the above story without any further comment. The philosophic lesson from this is, that once you enter the preaching of Nirgrantha Mahavir Bhagawan, you should remain steadfast like Kamadeva Shrawaka in your faith in the sayings of Bhagawan Mahavir. Meditations such as Kayotsarga should be done faultlessly, with a single-minded faith and steadfast devotion. With a changing or fickle mind, Kayotsarga meditation becomes faulty. We are pained to think of those who are prepared to down their religion for gaining some monetary value as they cannot be expected to be steadfast in their religious practices.

It is said even in common words that truth is the support of this world creation, or this world maintains itself on the foundation of truth. From this saying the lesson is that religion, morality, kingdom and normal dealings in worldly life are carried on by truth. How dangerous would be the state of this world if there is no existence of these above four? Therefore to hold that the whole world is maintained on truth is neither exaggeration nor unbelievable.

I am describing below, for philosophic consideration, how dangerous a bit of untruth of only one word spoken by King Vasu had resulted for him.

Vasuraja or King Vasu, Narada and Parvata learnt same discipline from one teacher. Parvata was the son of the teacher who after his father's death, came to stay with his mother in the assembly of King Vasu. One night, with his mother by his side, Parvata and Narada were studying the religious books, while during study Parvata said 'Ajahotavyam'. Hearing this, Narada asked Parvata the meaning of Aja to which Parrata replied, 'Naturally, Aja means a goat'. Narada said, " When we three were studying this religious work under your father's guidance your father said that Aja meant Vrihi or rice of three years and now why do you say quite wrong? Thus verbal conflict arose between Narada and Parvata on the truth of what the master said about the meaning of Aja. Then Parvata said, " Let us go to Vasuraja or King Vasu and what he meant by Aja should be accepted by both of us as correct." Narada accepted Parvata's proposal and decided a prize to be given to the winner. Paravata's mother sitting by the side of her son, heard this discourse or dialogue. She also remembered clearly her husband's statement about the meaning of Aja as Vrihi or three years old rice. So fearing the defeat of her son Parvata, she went to King Vasu same night and she asked him about the meaning of the word Aja; to this King Vasu, who had also learnt from Parvata's father as his teacher, that Aja meant Vrihi in the context of Ajahotavyam, said Aja meant Vrihi.

Hearing this Parvata's mother said,' My son has told Narada that Aja meant a goat and knowing this is not correct, you shall have to tell Narada that Parvata was right in meaning Aja as a goat in that particular context, that this is to be done for siding with her son's statement when the contestants Parvata and Narada would approach him for correct meaning of Aja. To this King Vasu said,' How can I tell a lie? I cannot speak untruth.' But Parvata's mother said ' If you do not side with my son, I shall put my life to an end. Hearing this, King Vasu was under a dilemma. He thought that on his throne, he always spoke the truth and so he was sitting on his throne without any support of the throne seat and it was well known to all people under his rule. Now what should be done? If truth is told then he incurs the sin of the death of Parvata's mother and wife of his teacher; if he accepts Parvata's meaning of Aja as a goat he has to tell the untruth by which he would lose all fame of being a truth speaker.

Inspite of his love for truth- speaking, to save the life of his teacher's wife, King Vasu very reluctantly said to Parvata's mother that he would tell a lie and side with Parvata's meaning of the said word. Hearing these words of King Vasu, she came home. Next morning Narada, Parvata and his mother came to King Vasu for decision. King Vasu deliberately pleading ignorance, asked Parvata what was the bone of contention, to this Parvata said, 'O King of Kings Vasu! Tell us the meaning of Aja. King Vasu asked Narada as to what did Aja mean according to him. Narada replied'O King ! Why do you not remember that Aja meant three years old Vrihi?' Hearing this, King Vasu said,'Aja meant a goat and not Vrihi.' The moment these words came out of the mouth of King Vasu, he was hurled out from his throne and he died on the spot.

The main lesson for us from the above story is that we should always speak the truth and particularly a King not only should speak the truth but also should favor justice.

Of the five great vows advised by Bhagawan Mahavir the first is non-violence in thought, word and deed and as fences around this vow, the rest four are given; the first of these fences is the great vow of truth speaking. It is necessary to know many sections of truth from religious scriptures.

Contact of a saint is the root of all happiness. By contact with a Saint, one can achieve his best desires for soul's progress. Contact with a Saint is the best means to purify our-self. What we gain by a few minutes of contact with a Saint, cannot be achieved by many years of bad contacts, on the contrary such bad contact prompts us to incur many sinful deeds, and defiles our soul. The general meaning of Satsanga or Saintly contact is the contact with the best person. Where there is no pure and clean air, there is the breeding ground of diseases; similarly in the absence of contact with the Saints, the soul's diseases are on the increase. As we try to close our nose by cloth from inhaling filthy smell, so it is necessary to keep away from bad contacts. Worldly life is also one kind of contact, and it is infinitely bad contact bringing pain and misery to our soul and therefore abandoning it, is highly desirable. Whatever kind of contact not helping one in self-realization is no good contact. Satsanga or contact with al Saint always puts us on the right path of self-realization. That which shows us the path to liberation is really good friendship. To keep our mind solely engaged in reading and thinking about the best religious books is also a Saintly contact. Meeting Saintly persons and observing their disciplined life is also a kind of Saintly contact. As the dirt and dust of a cloth is washed out by a good detergent or a soap and clean water, so the teachings of religious works and those of Saintly persons in our contact, help us to remove all binding Karmas of our soul so as to purify and liberate it. Take it for certain that a contact advocating attachment, enticement to pleasures like music, dance and encouraging sweet or tasty food, howsoever you live in such contact, is definitely a bad contact and it must be avoided at all cost. Even one saying gained by Saintly contact, gives us invaluable benefit. Therefore philosophers, have principally advised us to avoid all worldly contacts and keeping aside all other thoughts and feelings in our mind should think of our loneliness. In this advice praise of contact with Saints and good religious books is included. Absolute unity of mind means keeping one's mind in deep meditation or in the study of Yoga. But contact of similar thinking persons irrespective of their number is also a kind of loneliness because their behavior has exemplary similarity based on identical feeling and thinking and willing. And in this way, the contact of the Saints, all working for same goal or purpose of self-liberation, is also a kind of loneliness; If it is asked that why should the contact of many sense-indulging persons not be called loneliness as they also think of similar thoughts and behavior, our reply is that such persons are not of the same nature. They are led away by their different self-interests and they quarrel among themselves and work for cross-purposes inviting unending troubles and worries to all around. Where a contact involves selfish interest and illusion or Maya, is not to be regarded as good contact at all. Such contacts are never pure or faultless. When great monks meet they are pleased with one another, they respect each other, they are free from considerations of love and hate, they are all self contented and they all think of purifying their own souls and help others to do so. Also to some extent such Saintly contact is of a person engrossed in religious meditation with minimum movement. Joy derived from contact with the Saints is highly praiseworthy. A Saintly contact gives best knowledge, clarifies several questions from scriptures, describes or tells stories of knowledge and meditations of various kinds, inspires good reflection on the characters of Saints, releases waves of philosophical thoughts, is a place where there is a discussion of essential principles of good religion with an impartial or non-sectarian point of view, where there is much deliberation on statements about liberation - such saintly contact is very difficult to obtain. If it is asked as to the possibility of the presence of a deluded person in saintly contact, here is the answer. Where there is illusion and selfishness, it is not a Saintly contact at all. The crow in the assembly of swans, if not detected by color or appearance, will be easily distinguished or recognized by its different voice; if it keeps mum, it can be identified by its facial features, but it will not go into darkness. Besides what will deluded people engrossed in the life of worldly enjoyments gain by going to the assembly of Saints? There in Saintly contact, there will be no talk of eating; possibly they may go to the Saint for a little peace from worldly worries and if one goes there once, he may like to go there frequently for developing a love of a life of religious discipline and it may be for his good; and suppose he does not like the talk of the Saint, he may stop contacting him further. As you cannot swim on solid earth, you can never degenerate into bad life by saintly contact. This is the wonderful effect of saintly contact. Which worldly person with delusion would go to a saint whose contact is faultless and whose behavior is morally exemplary ? Rarely any unfortunate and that too is impossible. Saintly contact is a supreme beneficial medicine for a troubled soul.

A living being having no limit to its possessions, is not happy. Whatever such a greedy person acquires, he desires to get more than it and in his burning desire to get more and more, he is unable to enjoy fully what he already has acquired, and sometimes he loses what he has already got. By such greed, his mind remains always unsatisfied and it becomes unstable and he indulges in sinful activities to satisfy his greed. In case, by accident he loses his life in the craze for getting more possessions, then it becomes the cause of his downfall. The best of monks can absolutely abandon all acquisitions or possessions, but even householders can fix up a limit of their possessions, according to their real needs. By fixing a limit, one does not try to keep with him more than what he requires within his limits; and this way, he develops a sense of satisfaction in what he has already acquired and he becomes free from a mad desire to get more and moreof what he has with him. Thus he passes his time happily. It is a strange nature of wealth that when one has it, his desire to get more grows and thus his greed increases day by day. Rarely, a man even possessed of some religious knowledge and firmly believing in leading a religiously good life, can free himself from the fetters of greed, and his inclinations get stuck up in this greed. But such greed is never bringing happiness to a man nor is it beneficial to his soul. Those who did not put a limit to greed, have been found to have suffered harm immensely.

One who conquers the land of six continents and compels all the people of the conquered land to follow his commands, is known as a King of Kings _ a Chakravarti King whose word is law to ail lands where his conquering wheel goes. In the series of such Kings of Kings in a long stretch of time in the past, there was a Chakravarti King named Subhum who was not satisfied with his possessions of six continents and so he decided to conquer other six continents as part of series of Dhataki continents. We said, all the Chakravarti conquered six continents but he should do something more than that. By being the Lord of twelve continents his fame would spread far and wide for a long period. With this object in view, he put a Charmaratna or a hide jewel in the sea on which his large army was supported. It is said that one thousand Deities served this Charmaratna, one of whom thought as to when would he be free from that servitude and so he thought before starting serving Charmaratna, he should meet his wife and with this idea uppermost in his mind this deity went away, and other deities similarly followed the first one and in the end as there was no controller of Charmaratna, it was drowned and with its drowning King Subhum with all his army also died by drowning. King Subhum with his ambition to command more lands dipped in sins went to seventh hell, the direst of all pain giving hells named Tamatamapcabha. See! The commander of six continents King Subhum could not enjoy and in a greed of getting more and more possessions he died with all his soldiers. If this is the miserable end of a King of Kings then what to talk of ordinary mortals? Thus greed or extreme possessiveness is the root cause of many sins. It can be called the father of sins. Its nature is to obstruct eleven vows. Therefore one who works for the uplift of his own soul, should at all cost abandon greed and behave putting limit to his acquisitions or possessions. In short one should live with the satisfaction of his minimum needs.

There can be many persons who have committed to heart a number of scriptures but there are very few who have deeply and discriminatively thought over a few sayings of the great teachers and have thereby acquired as much knowledge as is available in the scriptures. To reach the real is not a small matter; it is just like crossing a sea by one jump.

Artha means wealth, Artha means the real and Artha means a sense of meaning or a second name of the.same word. The word Artha has many such other meanings. But here in this lesson I shalt tell you about Artha meaning the real. Those who commit to memory the holy sayings contained in the addresses of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir, by their strength of love for them, gain good fruit but if they realize their inmost essential meaning, they are able to gain happiness, joy, discrimination and a very great wonderful beneficial result. As an illiterate man cannot distinguish between fine letters and wrongly drawn lines or scribblings, so does the person given to committing something to memory know little the distinction between the thoughts expressed in other books and the sayings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir and this is because he has not deeply thought over and grasped the indwelling meaning of these invaluable sayings or teachings; also he has not rightly considered them. Though one requires a powerful sharp intelligence to rightly grasp their hidden meaning but still one can think over it to some extent. A stone may not melt but it can be wet by water. So whichever sayings are committed to memory would yield more benefit if they are also understood correctly in their hidden meanings. Without such understanding, mere committing to memory is parrot like. A parrot can be trained to call out Rama without having any idea of Rama at all. A parrot does not know whether Rama is a person's name or the name of any fruit grape etc. Such is the state of a person who without grasping the meaning of a statement simply commits it to memory.

An illustration of Vaishyas or Shrawakas of Kutch though laughable, is appropriate here to give us a good lesson. In some village of Kutch State there lived three Shrawakas named Rayashi, Devashi and Khetashi and they were regularly observing their Pratikraman = looking over the sins committed in the immediate past and begging pardon and deciding not to repeat them in early morning and at dusk. In early morning Rayashi used to lead this practice and at dusk Devashi. Pratikraman at early morning for the night Rayashi used to lead and therein he had to start saying ' Rayashi Padikkamanu Thayammi' and similarly Devashi had to start saying 'Devashi Padikkamanu Thayammi' at dusk for the day time. It so happened once that by pressing request of many persons at dusk on one day Khetashi was asked to lead Pratikraman.So Khetashi like thosetwo Shrawakas, started Pratikraman by saying 'Khetashi Padikkamanu Thayammi. Here he only substituted his name where Rayashi and Devashi were starting Pratikraman with their names. Hearing these words all burst out into laughter and when Khetashi asked as to why others laughed, he was replied that he should not say'Khetashi Padikkamanu Thayammi.' Khetshi replied' I followed Rayashi and Devashi. When they started Pratikraman with their names you did not object and now when I do the same, you laugh and object to my so doing. Is it because I am poor and they are rich that you object and laugh me out?' Khetashi's simplicity was pointed out and the reason for not saying 'Khetashi Padikkamanu Thayammi' was explained to him and then Khetashi realised his mistake and was taken a little aback for his memorising without knowing the meaning.

This is only an ordinary story, but the wonder of meaning is really worth noting; a philosopher can think more on this matter. Otherwise the sayings of Nirgrantha Vardhaman Mahavir are always gainful to the learner as sugar is sweet to any person who eats it. Oh! What a wonder the meaning of a word creates? And what joy we have, when we appreciate the meaning of words!

Just as discrimination is the root element of religion, Yatna or carefulness to see that no living being is hurt by our action, is the subsidiary origin or root of religion. By discrimination, we can grasp religious teachings and by careful behavior in accord with them, the elements of religion can be kept pure and one's behavior can be properly religious. Yatna means careful and beneficial non-violent behavior. Yatna to be observed by Saints of Jain religion are called five Samities which are super most.

These five Samities or five types of careful behavior which protect the great vow of compassion or non-violence, of Jain Saints cannot be completely observed by a householder, still if he behaves with care, he can to a good extent observe the vow of non-violence. What is therefore important, is very careful and modest behavior and gentle action in all possible ways. Where there is carelessness, there compassion cannot be easily observed - compassion gross and subtle prescribed by Jineshwar Bhagawan. And all this happens because of want of sufficient carefulness or Yatna. Swift and fast walk, imperfect way of cleaning water, use of firewood without removing dust and insects moving on it, using anything without a proper look at it, imperfect inspection of germs in corn, keeping utensils for long without proper cleaning, unclean and dusty rooms, Spilling water in the entrance of one's house, keeping unused cooked food for long, putting a hot dish on floor without keeping it on a good wooden support doing all these things, one gains only uncleanliness, obstructions and loss of health and these cause great sins. Therefore one is advised to do every action carefully to avoid any hurt to a living being or a loss of even a small insect or germ. So use carefulness in walk, sitting, getting up, dining, and such other daily activities. By such careful behavior, you save many things; not only you keep your things and instruments of use clean but your soul also remains free from avoidable sins. Walk slowly and gently, keep your house very clean, keep clean water by passing it twice or thrice through a clean cloth so as to free it from dust and small germs, use firewood after removing dust and insects moving in it. All this care does not take much of our time and it is not difficult to follow in ordinary householder's life. Once you make such rules, it forms into a habit, and by such care many poor germs who have done no harm to us, are easily saved by us from our careless killing them.

It becomes therefore the duty of every discriminative householder or Shrawaka to do every work with due and proper care.

Bhagawan Mahavir has said that not to eat at night is a great vow like five great vows beginning with non-violence. All four types of food at night are forbidden by him such as (1) Eating breads, rice, sweets etc. (2) Drinking water etc. (3) Eating fruits, fresh and dry, and (4) Munching cardamom or cloves etc. These foods are forbidden because small germs called Tamaskaya like the food one takes at night, are formed in food and they have the same color shape as that of the food and so they cannot be distinguished by us at night. By igniting fire at night many innocent germs with firewood and moving by on walls are burnt by heat, if some poisonous germs are getting into our stomach with eaten food they may cause some serious diseases in whole family. Therefore objectively and mentally night eating involves violence, and so it is forbidden.

Even in epics and the religion based on these historical works, night eating is prohibited for maintenance of noble behavior still it is habitually done by the followers of epics. But prohibition of night eating still stands as a principle, good to follow.

There are two kinds of lotuses in our body, which are crouched at sunset and which open their petals at sunrise and therefore at some places Ayurveda (Lore of longevity and health of human body) also enjoins upon prohibition of night eating as it involves eating some disease-bringing germs along with food and causing harmful diseases.

Saints take their food two Ghadi (48 minutes) before sunset and then they do not take food till two Ghadi (48 minutes) have passed after sunrise. More details about prohibition of night eating can be gained from contact with Jain Monks or learning from Jain religious scriptures. One immensely gains by avoiding all four types of night eating and this is advised by Jineshwar Bhagawan.

No religion is comparable to Daya Compassion. Compassion is the very body of a religion. Where there is no compassion, there is no religion at all. There are such harmful religions in the world who say that there is no sin to kill a living being; at the most protect human life. Followers of such religious views are fanatical ( Zhanuni) and blinded by their pride and they do not know even an iota of compassion. If they minutely think, setting aside their religious pride, they can easily realize that even killing a small germ is greatly sinful. As one loves one's soul or self, similarly every living being loves its own soul or self. Such followers should ask themselves as to how much unlimited harm they are creating to their own soul by fearlessly and carelessly killing innumerable animals and germs only for a slight gain or a mere habit? Not having any root of intelligence in them, they are not able to think this way at all, really they have trained themselves as incapable of such a line of thinking as to what is real compassion and they remain steeped in incuring more and more violence or life killing and hurting.

In Vedas and other books written by great preceptors of Vaishnavism, we do not find any thought about subtle compassion, still they, the followers of Vedas and Vaishnavas are much better than those not understanding at all the nature of real compassion. These Vedic followers and Vaishnavas have much thought of saving and protecting animals and birds and even beasts. But as compared with these people, we the followers of Bhagawan Mahavir are much more fortunate to learn real essence of religion that even hurting a small petal of flower is also sinful and as such we are quite free from performing all sacrifices involving killing or hurting any living being. We try our best to save all lives. We do not intentionally harm or like to injure or to take life of any living being. We are free from eating prohibited foods; we are totally vegetarians.

In our time the observance of compassion or non-violence in thought, word and deed has much been followed by us because of the strength of Yogic acquisition of Bhagawan Mahavir, the son of a great King Siddhartha. His noble behavior and spotlessly clean pure and perfect non-violent living has supported the Jain religion and its followers leading to the maximum goodof all living beings. Men may gain excellent acquisitions, beautiful wives, obedient sons following the wishes of their parents, gain large families, gain honor and fame and positions of high authority and to gain any or all of them is not very difficult but to understand what is true religion and to have indomitable faith in it even to a small extent, is very very difficult.

Those getting acquisitions listed above, by indiscrimination, incur many sins and invite great trouble and tortures for themselves and for others around them, while a little faithful feeling of Jain religion elevates the follower to a very high state of his soul or self. Thus compassion followed, leads the follower to a very blissful state. Since we have been born in the family of followers of Jain Religion, we should lead a pure compassionate life and we should constantly remember that we have to protect all living beings with the best of our efforts not only this but we should advise others also by all intelligent ways to follow this universally acceptable and beneficial compassion. In the next lesson, I shall tell you the story of very intelligent Abhayakumar who invented a method by which all living beings can feel protected. How fortunate we should consider ourselves if we get an opportunity to teach logically essentials of our Jain Religion to Anaryas or foreigners who are not following compassion from all points of view.

A high king named Shrenika of Rajagrahi city of Magadha country, once was sitting in royal assembly. Occasionally his advisers and highly placed officers who were fond of flesh-eating remarked that accidently at that time prices of flesh had gone very low. This statement was heard by chief Minister AbhayaKumar and so he decided to teach a lesson to these advisers and officers fond of flesh-eating. That evening after dispersing the assembly, King Shrenika went to his palace. Then Abhayakumar for his purpose went to each of these advisers and officers who had discussed flesh prices and wherever he went, the adviser or officer concerned asked the reason of his visiting his house to which to each and all, he replied that King Shrenika had caught suddenly a very deadly disease (Maha Roga) and all physicians called for treating the king said that flesh equal to the weight of one and a quarter penny, of the liver of a gentleman would cure the king of his deadly disease. You are favorite of the king so I have come to you for getting the required flesh. Every adviser or officer who heard it replied. "How can I give the required quantity of flesh though very small, from my liver unless I died? It can be given only after I die and so I am unable to give it for saving king's life." So saying as an alternative, every officer and adviser offered some money for not telling the king about his refusal to give his liver flesh and taking all that, Abhayakumar returned home.

Then next day when the Royal Assembly met, all those who had refused to give the flesh from their liver, came and sat in their proper seats. The King Shrenika also was sitting on his throne and all those advisers and officers inquired about the King's health, hearing which the king was surprised and when he turned to Abhayakumar from whom they heard about the sudden attack of a deadly disease on the king previous night, Abhayakumar replied, O King ! Yesterday your advisers and officers said that flesh was available at very low price in the market; hearing it I had been to their homes for getting it but they gave me money but did not give me required flesh weighing only a penny and a quarter from their liver. Then tell me whether the required flesh was cheap or dear ? Hearing these words of Abhayakumar, all the advisers and officers of the King held their heads low in shame and none could say a word. Then Abhayakumar said - ' I had not arranged this skill to pain you at all but just to teach you a lesson. When our flesh is to be given while alive, we totally refuse to do so for fear of death because we want to remain alive then what to talk of other birds and animals who also love to remain alive as much as you or I do love to remain alive. Every living being wants to continue his or its life; none wants to die. As we want to save our life by parting with invaluable wealth in exchange, similarly the life of birds and animals also must be saved. We men are speaking, walking, intelligent higher animals and other living beings cannot argue with us in a language we can understand and so when we give them pain by killing them, we should realize what great sins we commit for our food when we can easily feed ourselves without such flesh and keep away from flesh eating at all. We should therefore constantly remember this saying of chief minister Abhayakumar that every living being loves its life and so protection of the lives of all living beings becomes our highest fundamental religion. There is no religion higher than protection to all living beings. King Shrenika was much satisfied and pleased by this saying of Abhayakumar, besides all the advisers and officers of the king also learnt a very important lesson and all of them took a vow not to eat any flesh as their food since that time till the end of their life. Flesh eating is prohibited and also not hygienically good and besides we do not get it without killing a living being and so it is against good moral and religious life. So they all followed Abhayakumar's teaching and began to give protection to all living beings since then and thereby they brought much joy and happiness to themselves.

Pratyakhyana is a Sanskrit word, its equivalent Ardhamagadhi word is Pachchakhana, which you might have heard many a times. It means not to turn one's mind to any particular thing that is harmful to our soul. Pratyakhyana is an exercise of mind for stopping harmful inclinations. The reason behind Pratyakhyana is a very noble and deep one.

Pratyakhyana is making a rule for the mind not to turn to something harmful to our soul. Unless you take a vow of Pratyakhyana, whatever harmful you do not do or think about is not of much importance, because then it is not called Samvara, as you have not controlled a desire to do a harmful act. For example we may not eat at night but if we have not made a rule not to eat at night it may not give us that much religious benefit as it would when we follow pratyakhyana about it because in the absence of a rule i.e. Pratyakhyana for not eating at night, our mind remains free to desire some day night eating, and so absence of a rule does not yield a good result as the rule would yield. As many animals like dogs and rats or even unwanted men may enter our house when its doors are kept open, so also many unwanted bad desires can get into our mind when its doors are kept open. Thus Pratyakhyana is a nice, religious way of keeping the doors of our mind closed for not allowing harmful thoughts and consequent bad actions to enter our soul. As we know that we cannot see the middle of our back and so we do not even desire to see it, so by taking a vow of not eating or drinking something, we do not naturally turn our mind towards it and so no consequent action follows. Thus Pratyakhyana is a protecting wall or a fortress obstructing the entry of undesirable thoughts or inclinations in the mind. Great souls have shown the methods of repentance to follow for undoing the effects of bad thoughts cherished or wrong acts done due to forgetting the vow taken by us not to have these thoughts or perform those acts.

There is also another great benefit of Pratyakhyana, and that is that our mind is employed in doing certain good deeds advised by religion and all the rest are automatically kept out of our mind, and they do not worry or bother us at all. Our mind follows the road of the rule deliberately chosen by us without let or hindrance. Like the bridled horses, our mind trained by certain definite rules, follows a correct road to our soul's progress towards liberation. By following accepted rules of thought and behavior, our mind becomes single-minded, clearly thoughtful and full of discriminative power, and this joy of our mind keeps also our body quite healthy. Besides our body by good rules, keeps free from eating undesirable and unhealthy food, and also free from vices like enjoying sex life with other man's wife. Intoxicating objects when taken, leads our mind astray; it is under these circumstances only Pratyakhyana that saves us from such a malady, and our mind becomes pure and flawless.

You might have understood from the above description how Pratyakhyana is the excellent way of observing a religious vow. I advise you to leam more about it from the sermons of a true teacher and also from going well through the relevant religious scriptures.

When King Shrenika was ruling on the throne of the city named Rajagrahi, there lived in it a Chandala or a man selling flesh of live animals. Once this Chandala's wife conceived and during this period of conception she had a strong desire to eat mangoes and so she asked her husband to get them for her. Chandala said that it was not the season for mangoes and so he was helpless, otherwise if it were a mango season, he would get it for her even if it was very high on a mango tree by his special mystic power. Chandala's wife replied that she had heard of a mango tree in queen's garden in the city which was yielding mangoes in abundance even in out of the season and on that mango tree, mangoes would be bending down and so her husband should try to get for her mangoes from that mango tree. To satisfy this wish of his wife, this Chandala went to that garden and surreptitiously going near that mango tree, by his mystic power, the branches laden with mangoes were bent down and took a few mangoes and by another mystic power that branch returned to its original height. Then this Chandala returned home and satisfied his wife's strong wish of eating mangoes. The Chandala repeated this procedure regularly and once the gardener observed the lessening of mangoes from that mango tree and he thought somebody must be stealing mangoes from that tree and so he reported it to king Shrenika with all humility. Hearing this, king Shrenika asked his very intelligent Chief Minister to find out' the thief of mangoes. Abhayakumar with a clever trick found out Chandala as a thief of mangoes and calling this Chandala to his court he asked him as to how could he get the mangoes from such a high mango tree hoodwinking the sight of so many watchmen of the garden ? Chandala admitted his theft and said,'Pardon me! I tell the truth that I have mastered a mystic power by which I can bend down a high twig and to bring it to its original height, and it is by this mystic power that I stole away the mangoes of queen's garden regularly to satisfy my wife's desire to eat mangoes. Abhayakumar said he could not pardon him but he could persuade the king to pardon him if he taught him in return his mystic power as he would need it. Chandala agreed to do so. Then Abhayakumar brought thisChandala near king Shrenika when he was sitting on his throne and told the whole story of Chandala's regular stealing of the said mangoes. King Shrenika agreed to pardon the thief if he taught him the learning by which one could bend a very high object to get something from it and afterwards to replace the bent object to its normal height. Then with trembling hands and fearstricken mind this Chandala standing on the ground began to teach king Shrenika sitting very high on his throne, his mystic learning, but king Shrenika could not grasp it at all. Seeing this, Chief Minister Abhayakumar swiftly got up and said to king Shrenika as under - 'O great king ! If you really need to learn this lore from this Chandala then you exchange places i.e. you stand where Chandala stands now and let this Chandala sit on your throne, then only you will be able to learn the said mystic power or lore.' King Shrenika acted accordingly and he acquired the mystic power from Chandala.

This story is only for getting a good lesson from it. It only says that without giving due honor to a teacher, a student even if a king, cannot learn anything. Thus respect to a teacher and modesty and humility towards him are the only means by which a student can learn from his teacher. To acquire true knowledge, one should gently with all humility, approach a true teacher.

For getting the knowledge of our self, if we approach a Nirgrantha Teacher or Preceptor with all humility how much beneficial to us would it be ! Therefore Bhagawan Mahavjr has described modesty and humility as the root of religion in his holy scripture namely Uttaradhyayana Sutra. One can achieve great excellence by showing modesty and respectful humility to teachers, monks, learned men, parents and to all elderly persons.

In olden times, even earlier to the time of Shri Mahavir, many persons have been monogamous i.e. satisfied with only one wife. One of them was a famous rich person Sudarshan Sheth a saintly householder. He was very rich, having a beautiful form and face, lustrous and middle aged. Once he had to pass by the Royal Assembly Hall for some work in the city where he was staying. Al that time the Royal Queen named Abhaya was sitting in the balcony of her palace from where, she saw this beautiful Sudarshan Sheth. She was much attracted towards the beautiful lustrous body and face of this Sheth Sudarshan and she called him up through her servant, giving a reason simple in appearance but with deceit behind it. After some meaningless talk, she invited him for sex enjoyment. Sudarshan tiled to preach her that it was very bad and she should not talk to him about it at all, still queen Abhaya could not calm down her desire for sex-enjoyment with Sudarshan. In the end Sudarshan said that he entirely lacked of the power of his male sex and so he could not enjoy sex life with her at all. In spite of this statement, queen Abhaya made all sex overtures in order to attract him but he was unmoved in his firm determination. So she allowed him in her utter helplessness to go away.

One day there was a public meeting and a dinner in the same city and so many people were moving here and there and it was a great celebration. Six sons of Sudarshan with Godlike features and very beautiful form and figure had come to this meeting and queen Abhaya with her attendant named Kapila also had come to this meeting with all her pomp and pride and there she saw those six sons of Sudarshan, and she asked her attendant Kapila as to who were these beautiful six sons ? Kapila said that they were the sons of Sudarshan Sheth. Hearing this, Abhaya felt much angry with Sudarshan. When the whole meeting and its celebration and dinner were over, Abhaya and her attendant jointly told the king - 'You may be under an illusion that in your kingdom justice and morality prevail; that your subjects are free from the attacks of vicious or bad men; but the fact is that bad intentioned people even enter your harem and there is none to protect the chastity of women in your harem. Then what to talk of other outside places where anybody can do anything. A Sheth named Sudarshan of your city invited me to enjoy sex life with him and I had to hear from him sentences not worth describing to you, but I hated everything and I drove him away. What a great lawlessness than this can be said prevailing in you' kingdom? Normally kings are always known for their impassionateness and one sided hearing and making hasty decisions without due or proper considerations, and added to this, came the sweet deceitful statements from his own queen." All these enraged the King very much just as a drop of cold water falling in extremely hot oil pan would enrage fire instead of quelling the heat. The king soon ordered that Sudarshan be hanged to death immediately and all arrangements for it were completed, what was left was only to hang Sudarshan.

Whatever else there may be, there is enough light in the assembly of this great world. Truth ultimately shines out and prevails over all falsehood and injustice. So the very time Sudarshan was made to sit on the chair for hanging, the seat

turned out to be a great royal throne made up of pure shining gold and celestial bands were played and joy prevailed all around. The noble saintly character of Sheth Sudarshan shone out in full splendor and glory in the world galaxy. This proved that truth always ultimately wins. The best steadfastness of Sudarshan for faultlessly noble and morally excellent character raises one's soul to a very pure and high state!

Meaning :- 1) Those who do not have a bit of sexual desire in their mind even while looking at a very young woman but consider her form as a wooden idol are praised in this world as Godlike persons.

2) Woman is the main leading person on the stage of whole worldly life. If she is abandoned everything of worldly life is abandoned as this world full of sorrows and sufferings grows from a woman only.

3) By being victorious over this sexual desire one can be victorious over calamities of this whole world just as by being victorious over a King, one becomes victorious over his whole army, towns and power.

4) Even by a small sprout of sexual desire one's mind is turned away from self knowledge and self-meditation just as even a little quantity of liquor when drunk makes a man intoxicated and indiscriminative.

5) For one who with nine perfect protections observes pure celibacy yielding true happiness there will remain only few births. O Brother! This is the fundamental saying of great persons.

6) Celibacy is just like an excellent Surataru (Kalpavriksha) offering desired happiness. So one who observes celibacy in thought, word and deed gets unmatchable happiness, may be a man or a woman.

7) As milk of lioness needs a deserving vessel of Gold for preservance so needs self realization a deserving state of soul to shine. O wise man ! For achieving a deserving state of the soul, always observe pure celibacy.

Namo Arihantanam

Namo Siddhanam

Namo Aayariyanam

Namo Uvajjayanam

Namo Loe Savvasahunam

These holy sentences in the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir are known as Navakara Mantra or Namaskara Mantra or Pancha Parameshthi Mantra.

Twelve virtues of Arhant Bhagawant, eight virtues of Siddha bhagawant, thirtysix virtues of Acharya, twentyfive virtues of Upadhyaya and twentyseven virtues of Sadhu in all they make one hundred and eight virtues.

Not Considering one thumb, the rest four fingers of the hand have totally 12 tapering ends, and since there is planning to think over 108 virtues by saying Navakara, there seems an indication to a disciple that Oh fortunate! Chant Navakara Mantra nine times on each tapering end (12X 9 = 108). Kar also means doer.

When we multiply 12 X 9 the multiplication comes to 108. So we can also say that this Navakara Mantra consists of 108 highly spiritual virtues and Panch Parmeshthi means that in this world there are five highest and greatest things and they are Arhant, Siddha, Acharya, Upadhyaya and Sadhu and a Mantra saluting these highest personalities is called Parmeshthi Mantra and this Mantra is for salutation to all the five at a time so this Mantra is called Pancha Parmeshthi Mantra.

This Navakara Mantra is considered to be in force from beginningless time, because these five greatest teachers Panch Parmeshthi are in existence from beginningless time. It means that these five greatest spiritualteachers are not of present time but are constantly there from infinite time and the souls chanting this Navakara Mantra are also from times immemorial. Therefore chanting of this Mantra is also proved to be from immemorial time.

Question : What is your opinion about the saying of Saints that by knowing this Navakara Mantra perfectly, a man attains the highest state of soul ?

Answer : That view of the Saints about the effectiveness of this Navakara Mantra is just and correct. I believe it is so.

Question : On what basis it can be said just and correct?

Answer : Yes, I shall explain to you that basis. First of all for concentration of the mind it is the meditation on the true virtues of Jagat Bhushan Panch Parmeshthi Bhagawan who are the highest of all. Secondly philosophically it also indicates that we should think over the form of these greatest souls with discrimination because when we think over why these PancParmeshthi are worthy of worship then for a saintly person itbecomes necessary to think over the form and virtues of these greatest souls. Then say how highly beneficial can be this Navakara Mantra to our soul ?

Questioner: By your explanation I also agree to the view of great truthful saints that this Navakara Mantra can easily lead to self-liberation i.e. MOKSHA.

Taking the first letter each of these Panch Parmeshthi i.e. Arhant Bhagawant, Siddha Bhagawant, Acharya, Upadhyaya, and Sadhu we can make an important sentence as (A + SI + A + U + SA) "ASIAUSA" and it means QM,the form of Yoga Bindu; so we should definitely chant this Navakara Mantra with a pure heart.

Samayika illumines our soul power, causes rise of right knowledge, right vision or perception, helps us to enter the state of pure Samadhi or meditation, gives us invaluable gain of destroying all our Karmas, makes us take the middle course between attachment and hatred. Thus Samayika is an excellent vow of daily practice for a spiritual aspirant for liberation. Samayika means : SAMA=middle course of mind keeping free from opposites of attachments and hate, + AAYA means gain of the pathof liberation in the form of GYAN, DARSHAN,CHARITRA arising from Samata or equanimous mind and IK means the aspiration or firm feeling. The method or discipline by which our mind is turned towards gaining liberation of our soul from all its Karmas and worldly life is called Samayika. Discriminative Shrawaka practises this Samayika daily by leaving aside the feelings of 'Arta' = Sorrows and 'Raudra' = Pride in fierce sins by stopping all such sinful inclinations of thought, word and deed.

Material elements of our mind are like a swing moving from one-extreme position to the opposite one. Even in Samayika when it is advised that our mind should be pure and should not think of any worldly thoughts of attachment and hate etc. our mind sometimes runs on the rails of imagination planning many ways of leading worldly life. Besides by mistake, loss of memory, infatuation etc. our speech and body behave faultily and so our practice of Samayika becomes faulty. The total faults of mind, speech and body are thirty-two in number - ten faults of mind, ten of speech and twelve faults of bodily behavior. We should know them all to keep our mind away from them. Knowing all these thirty-two faults, our mind becomes watchful not to commit them. Now I tell you ten faults of the mind

1. Aviveka Dosha -- Not knowing the nature of Samayika, thinking in the mind that whether it will yield any good result or not ? That whether any spiritual aspirant had ever gained liberation by practising Samayika or not? Such thinking is known as the first fault of the mind called Aviveka Dosha.

2. Yashowanchha Dosha -- This is the second fault of the mind in which one performs Samayika but desires of being praised by others if they come to know it. Such thinking is known as Yashowanchha Dosha.

3. Dhanavanchha Dosha -- If one performs Samayika hoping to gain wealth by it, he incurs this fault of desire for wealth .

4. Garva Dosha -- Fault of pride. People call me very religious and praise me for observing ideal Samayika. This is Garva Dosha.

5. Bhaya Dosha -- Fear of being censured. I have been born in a Shrawaka family, and people respect me for it and if I do not perform or observe Samayika, people will say even that much I cannot do being born in a high Shrawaka family. Performing Samayika from such a fear of public censure is Bhaya Dosha.

6. Nidana Dosha -- Performing Samayika with a desire to get some fruit of that performance, namely wealth, good wife and good children.

7. Sanshaya - Doubting whether Samayika can give any fruit or not?

8. Kashaya Dosha -- Sitting for Samayika observance in an angry mood or turning one's mind to anger, pride, illusion and greed while observing Samayika.

9. Avinaya Dosha --Performing Samayika without any modesty or humility is known as Avinaya Dosha.

10. Abahuman Dosha - Niot performing Samayika with devotion and a feeling of encouragement or internal joy.

In the previous lesson I told you ten faults of mind, disturbing Samayika. In this lesson I start telling you ten faults of speech, obstructing Samayika -

1. Kubola Dosha - To utter bad words while performing Samayika.

2. Sahasatkara Dosha - While in Samayika, talking without proper thinking as to the result of his talk. Hasty talk or reply without thinking discriminatively is Sahsatkara Dosha.

3. Asadaropana Dosha - To give wrong advice to others while sitting in Samayika is known as Asadaropana Dosha.

4. Nirapeksha Dosha - Speaking any sentence in Samayika without taking care of the teachings of religious scriptures.

5. Sankshepa Dosha - Muttering lessons of religious Aphorisms not in full but in a short form and not pronouncing the Aphorisms clearly and correctly. while sitting in Samayika, or speaking words which would afflict the hearer ; not speaking pleasantly

7. Vikatha Dosha While in Samayika, talking many matters unrelated to self, forgetting the aim of Samayika such as talking about the country, Government, women, meals etc. etc. This is Vikatha Dosha

8. Hasya Dosha - To laugh at someone or to cut jokes at others and to enjoy such joking with a laughter. This is HasyaDosha.

9. Ashuddha Dosha - Speaking the religious lesson of Samayika more or less than what is correct in the original or speaking t incorrectly and wrongly.

10. Muna Muna Dosha - Speaking out the lesson of Samayika unclearly or so faultily that he cannot himself understand the meaning of his muttering. After telling you above ten faults of speech in the performance of Samayika, I shall now tell you twelve faults of bodily behavior.

After telling you above ten faults of speech in the performance of Samayika, I shall now tell you twelve faults of bodily behavior.

1. Ayogya Aasan Dosha -- Sitting in a disrespectful posture while performing Samayika.

2. Chalasan Dosha - Sitting on a shaky seat or sitting ona place from where one may be required to move very often. This disturbs one's performance of Samayika.

3. Chaladrishti Dosha-- Keeping moving or unsteady eyes in Kayotsarga while performing Samayika.

4. Saavadhyakriya Dosha -- To commit sin or to instigate others to commit sin while performing Samayika is Saavadhyakriya Dosha.

5. Aalmbana Dosha -- Sitting with a back shelter of a wall or a pillow which may result in killing some germs or worms resting on the wall or under a pillow and inviting sloth or drowsiness by such sitting. This is Aalambana Dosha.

6. Aakunchana Prasarana Dosha -- Crouching or spreading hands and feet while sitting in Samayika is Aakunchana Dosha.

7. Aalas Dosha - To twitch limbs and make sounds etc., to express idleness is Aalas Dosha.

8. Motan Dosha -- To twist one's fingers and make sounds thereby. This is Motan Dosha.

9. Mala Dosha -- To scratch one's skin or to press it for removing dirt or dust on one's body is Mala Dosha.

10. Vimasana Dosha -- Sitting keeping his hand on his neck and thinking of anything other than the lesson of Samayika is Vimasana Dosha.

11. Nidra Dosha -- To get a sleep in Samayika is Njdra Dosha.

12. Vastra Sankochan Dosha - By fear of cold , to contract one's body with cloth to cover it is called Vastra Sankochan Dosha.

One should perform Samayika free from these thirty-two faults and five ATICHARA.

In the absence of single-mindedness or concentration or proper carefulness, some of the above mentioned thirty-two faults do occur. Religious scientists have fixed normal length of time of Samayika as two Ghadis or forty-eight minutes. If Samayika is observed with due attention, it gives great peace to one's self. Some who cannot pass even forty-eight minutes peacefully get much uneasy and do not know what to do. If there is no activity in Samayika then how can they pass that much time ?

In present times there are very few people who perform Samayika very attentively and carefully. When Pratikraman is to be done along with Samayika then time passes very easily. But there are such persons who are good for nothing and they are not even performing Pratikramana carefully. Still it is better than wasting time in doing nothing. Those who do not know even Samayika Sutra completely are much perturbed and puzzled during Samayika. Some strongly involved in worldly affairs plan worldly schemes during Samayika period and thus their Samayika becomes very much faulty.

If Samayika is not performed according to religious rules, it is a matter of deep sorrow and it shows the burden of one's heavy Karmas. For such persons, days pass away in vain. What one has not gained namely his own self - benefit from infinitecyclic life of birth and death, can be gained by regular observance of faultless Samayika forty-eight minutes daily.

To observe Samayika with proper attention soon after entering Samayika one should perform Kayotsarga of more than four Logassa Sutra and stabilize his mind. After achieving steadiness of mind one should recite best poems describing non-attachment, recollect what was studied by him in past, and try to study new religious books. He should advise others needy about following a good religious life; this is how one can pass easily the time of Samayika.

If he happens to be in vicinity or contact of a Jain Muni, then he should hear from him the sayings from Jain religious scriptures and should reflect on the same devotionally and if such a contact is not available, nor the study of religious works is possible in their absence, then he should hear from an intelligent religious student, sayings encouraging non - attachment or he should study something similar. If none of these facilities can be had then he should spend some time in Kayotsarga attentively and some time can be utilized in reading biographies of highly religious personalities. In short so far as possible, one should devote his period of Samayika in developing a pure religious atmosphere discriminatively and joyfully. If no religious literature is at hand, he should spend his Samayika period in chanting Navakara Mantra or Pancha Parmeshthi Mantra but never waste his time doing nothing. One should perform Samayika patiently, peacefully and carefully. As far as possible one should increase his contact with religious scriptures during the Samayika period.

Everyone should save at least forty-eight minutes out of twenty-four hours and perform Samayika with deep sense of veneration.

Pratikraman means going into one's past deeds looking back on one's deeds minutely and observe how they came to be done. Such can be the explanation of this word. When we perform Pratikraman on a particular day and time we recollect sinful deeds or faults of our past, admit them one by one, repent for them with pure heart and decide to keep away from them in future. This is also normal meaning of Pratikraman.

Highest spiritual Saints and devotional Shrawakas repent or beg pardon for their faults by day at sunset and by night before sunrise and this is said here as Pratikraman. We should also perform this Pratikraman without fail because one binds himself with many kinds of Karmas by way of thoughts, words and deeds and this has been elaborately described in Pratikraman Sutra. Therefore with that help one can repent for his faults committed during day and night.

By regular practice of repentance with pure heart one improves himself day by day, makes his soul free from even minor faults and afflictions and impurities that defiled it. One begins to develop a life of clear discrimination, develops fear for next birth and compassion for self and all living beings; his is softened and he clearly knows what is to be grasped and what is to be abandoned. With witness of Lord Mahavir as if he is present in life, one can repent for his ignored or forgotten sinful acts and thereby he can purify his soul. Thus Pratikraman becomes best means of Nirjara or freeing the soul from all its binding deeds or Karmas.

This Pratikraman is also called as 'AVASHYAKA' and its meaning is worthy to be practiced as a necessity. And it is true. Since it removes dust and purifies the soul and so it deserves to be performed surely.

Pratikraman performed at Sunset is called Devasiya Padikkamanu, the repentance for sins committed during the day; the Pratikraman performed at the later part of night is called Rai Padikkamanu - these are the words of Prakrit language. Pratikraman to be performed at the end of a fortnight is called Pakshika and Pratikraman to be performed at the end of the year is called Samvatsarika. This arrangement determined by Saintly persons is a fine discipline.

Some of the persons of normal or ordinary intelligence say that Pratikraman for repentance of day and night together can once be performed in the early morning everyday but this is not correct to say because suppose all of a sudden there is some event at night or a man dies at night then he would miss Pratikraman for that day time.

Arrangement of performing Pratikraman Sutra is an excellent one - its fundamentals are the best. Therefore Pratikraman should be performed as far as possible patiently, in our easily understandable language, peacefully and carefully with mental concentration.

One pitiable beggar was aimlessly wandering in a forest where he felt hungry and so limping in weakness, he reached the residence of an ordinary man in a nearby town. There he implored him in many ways, asking for some food to quell his hunger. The householder's wife with sympathy brought from her kitchen some sweet food which was left out by her family after dinner and gave it to this beggar . Pleased with getting such unexpected food he came out of the town and sat under the shade of a tree; there he cleaned some space, put his old water pitcher by his side and on other side put his tattered dirty quilt and on one other side he sat to eat the food and he finished it with good relish and putting a stone as his pillow he lay down and being intoxicated by the unusually excellent food he was fast asleep. During sleep he dreamt that he had acquired great prosperity and put on royal dress and costly ornaments; his victorious fame had spread far and wide; his servants were waiting nearby to carry out his orders; his attendants were praising him; he was sleeping on a beautiful cot in grand palace; divine damsels were massaging his feet; from one side the servants were pleasing him by soft congenial breezes by moving the fans in their hands - this beggar's soul was overpowered by this very pleasant dream and while enjoying this dream all the limbs of his body were much delighted ,at this time clouds with rain gathered in the sky and sounds and lightning were heard and seen, sun was covered with thick clouds and darkness spread all around, and all these symptoms heralded the advent of heavy rainfall and there was a sudden powerful thunder and frightened with its noise, that poor beggar suddenly woke up from the sleep.

On sudden waking up what he saw that his old pot was lying at the same place where it was lying, his tattered quilt was lying at the same place where it was kept, his dirty and torn clothes on his body were in a same position as they were put on. There was not even the slightest change neither any increment nor any decrement. Neither there was that country nor that city, neither that palace nor that rich bed, neither those attendants nor those announcers, neither those damsels nor those rich dresses and ornaments, neither those fans nor those breezing airs, neither those servants nor those commands, neither those worldly pleasures nor those pride of power and riches. He saw himself in the same position as he was. He was much dejected to see this position. He began to think that he saw all false pompous in his dream and he felt happy. There is nothing of that sort here. Actually he did not enjoy any pleasures of the dream but to that result he felt only dejection. Thus that poor soul was put to much grief.

O Fortunate souls ! These worldly pleasures are transient like a dream of the beggar. As the beggar in dream saw various sorts of those worldly pleasures and felt happy in dream so the same way lowly persons feel happy in enjoying various sorts of these dreamlike worldly pleasures but as the beggar waking up from the sleep realized the falseness of the dreamed pleasures so the souls when enlightened with self knowledge realize the falseness of these worldly pleasures. As the beggar in real life could not enjoy the dreamed pleasures but was much dejected in the result so the infatuated persons feel happiness in this world and believe as if they were really enjoying happiness but in result they gain sorrows, lower birth and repentance. These worldly pleasures are not only transient and vanishing but also resulting in grievance, like a dream. Therefore wise persons search their soul's benefit and put efforts for their self prosperity. There is a couplet - poem on the transience of worldly life as under:

Forgiveness is an effective weapon to conquer internal foes. It is an armor protecting holy character. A person who with pure heart sustains forgiveness with equanimity of mind even in unbearable pain, is able to cross the ocean of worldly life.

Gajasukumar, younger brother of Krishna Vasudeva, very beautiful in body, renounced the worldly life taking initiation from Bhagawan Neminath at young age of only twelve and was engrossed in deep meditation sitting in a crematorium; thereby his character full of wonderful forgiveness, attained very high spiritual state of the self. I'll tell you that story. Gajasukumar was betrothed to a very beautiful daughter of a Brahmin named Somal but before marriage Gajasukumar renounced the worldly life. So Somal got fiercely angry and wild as his daughter missed a beautiful boy who would be her husband and he went in search of Gajasukumar and searched out from where that great monk Gajasukumar was sitting in performance of Kayotsarga, with pure heart and steadfast mind in a crematorium; prepared a furnace of wet sticky earth on the head of Gajasukumar and putting burning charcoal in it and added other firewood and so there was great heat. Gajasukumar's young tender body began to burn and seeing this, Somal went away from there. You can imagine what a terrible pain Gajasukumar might have been suffering by burns. But he kept equanimity of mind and did not allow any anger to disturb his mental peace. On the contrary making his soul elastic he said to himself that had he accepted Somal's daughter as his wife in marriage, Somal might have given him a rich turban which would have been tattered by long use and resulted in worldly miseries but instead he gave him a turban of burning fire by which he could be released from his soul's attachment to his body and so helped him to obtain quick liberation. As a result of this unshakable extreme forgiveness, Gajasukumar, bearing killing pain of burns with peaceful mind, became all seeing and all knowing, got infinite happiness of life. What an incomparable forgiveness and how excellent its result! Philosophers have rightly said that if one's soul proceeds completely in its own nature of eternal peace and bliss, it realizes liberation there and then. The famous forgiveness of Gajasukumar gives us an absolutely correct advice to follow it and realize our self quickly.

You must have frequently read the name of chief Ganadhara Gautam an excellent disciple of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir. Some disciples of Gautam even obtained Kevalgnana or absolute knowledge following Gautam's teachings but Gautam himself could not attain to absolute knowledge as he had strong affection for and attachment of love to Bhagawan Mahavir. The impartial justice of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir is that attachment on anything is miserable. Attachment expresses infatuation and infatuation is only worldly life and till it did not vanish from the heart of Gautam, he could not attain liberation and absolute knowledge. Then when Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir Jnata Putra or all knowing attained incomparable spiritual powers and left the mortal world then Gautam was coming from the city and hearing Bhagawan's leaving his body for good i.e. Nirvana (Moksha), became sorrow stricken and in a mood of unbearable separation and expressing affectionate feelings said :'O Mahavir ! You not only did not take me with you but also did not remember me at all. You did not look at my attachment for you! This you should not have done.' Thinking this way gradually he rose up to the ladder of total non-attachment and said to himself 'I am committing a great mistake. Why should that great non-attached and completely passionless Shraman Bhagawan show any attachment to me? He had the same equanimity towards friend and foe. I therefore am wrongly keeping any attachment for that great non- attached Bhagawan Mahavir. Attachment is the strong force binding one to worldly life.' So thinking constantly in this way Gautam set aside all his sorrow and mourning and became completely non-attached and then soon shone out infinite knowledge in him and attained Nirvana or liberation.

The attachment of Gautam Muni has given us a fine spiritual lesson. Attachment for Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir became a binding force to the great disciple like Gautam and gave him uncouth pain, then guess how much infinite pain ordinary people must be suffering from by the attachment in their worldly life; attachment and hate are the two bulls or oxen yoked to the cart of worldly life; if they are not present, worldly life immediately stops or closes. Where there is no attachment, there is no hate at all. This is a universally accepted Principle. Attachment causes strong binding of the soul to its Karmas and by destroying attachment completely one soon gets liberation or self-realization.

Meaning : (1) Mohini Bhava means cherishing love or attachment; I wish that I may not look at another woman or other person's wife with amorous eyes; that I may not covet another's wealth and riches considering it just like stone or earth and I may turn my greed in the right direction with a strong desire to know pure philosophical truth instead of my greed for riches. I wish that I may observe twelve vows and humility and I may purify myself by constantly thinking of my soul's essential nature and thereby I may become Sattvika or pure good. Such a rule when adopted by me may bring me real happiness and release from worldly life may this desire or aspiration remain unfettered in my mind constantly-this is my prayer to Bhavahari Bhagawan Mahavir savior from world's miseries.

(2) 1 wish that I may meditate in my mind Bhagawan Mahavir and thereby I may develop my knowledge, discriminative power and spiritual thinking and research the essence by thinking more deeply about the nine fundamental substances Jiva, Ajiva up to Moksha and thereby devote myself in deliberating by many ways the best advice of all knowing philosophers. I wish that by this way there may not arise in my mind any doubt while wholeheartedly following the teachings of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir. Rajchandra says that this is his worthy desire in his mind and advised you to adopt the same so that you may be a safe traveler of liberation or self-realization.

There was a city called Kaushambi. In its royal assembly there lived a fitting learned man named Kashyap. His wife's name was Shreedevi who gave birth to a son named Kapila whosefather expired when he was only fifteen years old. As Kapila wasthe only son, he was nurtured with all love and affection but he could not be a fitting learned man and so some other man replaced his father's post. Whatever Kashyap earned by his skill and bequeathed to his son, was all spent in maintenance by Kapila who could earn no more. Once Shreedevi was standing at the entrance of her house when she saw the learned Pandit on her husband's position passing by her house along with some of his servants moving with honor and pride. Seeing him going with great honour Shreedevi remembered the glory of the past time. She recollected how she enjoyed happiness when her husband served as a court Pandit. She reflected that not only she lost that happiness by her husband's demise but to add to that even her son Kapiia did not study well thus she was engrossed in such sorrowful thoughts and tears burst out from her eyes. Just at that time Kapila returned home and asked his mother reason for her weeping and though reluctant to tell the reason, when pressed by Kapila, she said to him as to why she wept. At this Kapila said "See Mother ! I am of course intelligent, but I have not been able to use my intelligence enough and so without the learning required to take my father's position I could not be selected ; now if you permit, I am prepared to go where I can learn enough to my capacity." Shreedevi sorrowfully replied 'It is not possible for you. Otherwise there in Shrawasti town on the border of Aryawarta, your father's friend named Indradatta stays and he trains many students in scriptural learning if you can go there, then you can learn from him as much as desired.' Soon after a couple of days Kapila departed for Shrawasti town and within limited time Kapila reached the residence of Indradatta and seeing Indradatta at his house told him his whole story and reminding him of his father's friendship with Indradatta requested to accept him as his student. Indradatta happily granted the request and started teaching Kapila. But Kapila had to beg for his food as he had no money for his maintenance during his study. Begging took a long time and at noon he had to cook his meals from the material got by begging and this way he spared very little time to study. Pandit asked Kapila the reason for his slow progress in study, at which Pandits showing sympathy took Kapila to a rich man and arranged through him with a Brahmin widow to give Kapila cooked food regularly and thus relieved Kapila from his anxiety.

While from this minor anxiety he was relieved, other major anxiety of worldly engagement arose. Kapila was in his prime of youth and that Brahmin widow who served him daily meals was also quite young and there being no other living member in her house they both came in regular contact and by that contact Kapila fell in love with that Brahmin widow ! See how dangerous is the lonely contact !!

Kapila forgot his mission of learning and he and this Brahmin widow could hardly maintain them selves from what he received in charity from a rich man as arranged by Indradatta. As days passed by, both of them hardly could clothe themselves Kapila instead of remaining a student, became a house houlder ; but he was quite incapable of earning his living as he had no experience of such earnings. So this clever Brahmin widow suggested to Kapila that it was no good to be confused but success lay in right efforts. She advised him to see the king of that city Shrawasti whose daily practice was to give some gold to a Brahmin who visited him first in early morning and blessed him. If you try and succeed then you can get two golden coins. Kapila accepted it and he tried for about a week to get up in the early morning but failed to do so as he would go to the King's palace very late and so he returned empty handed. So Kapila decided to sleep in the open so that he could get up early in the morning 10 visit King's palace. At the middle of night seeing the moonrise, Kapila got up and mistaking it for early morning he ran to the King's palace but there the palace guards thinking Kapila to be a thief, kept him with them and at day break they produced him before the king for punishment. Kapila was much sorrow stricken but the King did not find any symptom of a thief in Kapila and so at King's order Kapila narrated the whole story of his life. Hearing this pathetic story, King showed mercy and sympathy for this Simple boy who mistook moonlit night as daybreak. The king felt mercy for him and wanted to relieve him from his poverty so he asked him what he needed to relieve his poverty. He can demand as per his wish as he had taken so much trouble to bless me. Kapila kept dumb for some time and when the king asked him the reason for his keeping mum, Kapila said, 'O King ! My mind is not yet at ease and so I am not able to decide as to what should I demand.' Hearing these words, the King asked Kapila to go to the opposite garden, think what to ask for and return. So Kapila went to the garden and sat at thinking.

only famous wealthy person he shall not have any power or authority so he should ask for half of his kingdom but if I ask for only half of his kingdom then the king would be of his equal grade and he would be called a beggar of the king therefore he should ask for his whole kingdom. Thus this Kapila drowned more and more in the ocean of greed.

But Kapila after all was basically bound with only light Karmas so he gradually returned from this stage of greed and began to think in a different way. Well good man ! Why should you be so much ungrateful to take up the whole kingdom of the king and make him depraved who was kind enough to reward you as much as desired? Really speaking it is only my own sense of depravity in doing so. Therefore I should demand for only half of his kingdom. But no, I do not want even such botheration of ruling half kingdom and then where is the limit of botheration in becoming millionaires also. Therefore at present I should ask for only one or two hundred coins instead of ten millions. Oh good man! Even one or two hundred coins will lead me to sense pleasures and force me to miss my scriptural studies, therefore should ask for five coins only, Oh ! At present I do not need even five coins so I should ask for only two coins for which I had come here.

It is now clear enough that I was deeply drowned in the ocean of greed. What wonder? The greed which was not satisfied with even asking for the whole kingdom is satisfied with only a feeling of contentment and sense of discrimination. Had the king been an Emperor then what more I would have asked for and if I would have not obtained more than King's empire then how would my greed had been satisfied and unless my greed have been satisfied how would I have been felt happy. If my greed is not satisfied by even empire then how can it be satisfied by two coins ? Thus Kapila took right viewpoint and said to himself,' I do not want even two coins, Oh ! From two coins my greed ascended to whole kingdom. Real happiness lies in only contentment and never in greed. Greed is the seed of the tree of whole worldly life. O Soul ! Why do you require it ? You came here for learning and instead you fell in love, from that love you were brought to this king suspecting you as a thief; from there you were asked for requesting the king to give you some wealth to relieve you from your immediate poverty and from there you rose on the ladder of endless greed and now you descend to demanding or asking for nothing by rising on the ladder of Contentment. In this worldly life one falls from one difficulty to another having no end to such wandering. It is therefore quite meet for a wise man to abandon worldly life based on greed and attachment and enjoy invaluable happiness and peace in alife of non-attachment and infinite contentment. In this way by quelling greed many of Kapila's layers of ignorance were torn asunder and his heart became full of joy and mind full of discrimination. Thus he could think of his highest self with best knowledge and rising on the ladder of knowledge he is said to have attained absolute knowledge.

How lowly is greed ! Philosophers and all knowing persons say that greed is endless like the endless sky. It never grows old, it remains always young and energetic. Once one desire is satisfied it develops the other and thus without end it goes on. Therefore contentment is the beneficial tree of unending happiness and it completely satisfies the essential requirements of mind and body.

(Manahara Chhanda) (Extending Greed of a Pauper)

Hati Dinatai Tyare Taki Patelai Ane; Mali Patelai Tyare Taki Chhe Shethaine; Sampadi Shethai Tyare Taki Mantritai Ane; Aavi Mantritai Tyare Taki Nrupataine; Mali Nrupatai Tyare Taki Devatai Ane; Dithi Devatai Tyare Taki Shankaraine; Aho! Rajchandra Mano Mano Shankarai Mali; Vadhe Trushnai Toy Jaya Na Maraine. 1

Karochali Padi Dadhi Dachan Tano Dat Valyo, Kali Keshapati Vishe Shwetata Chhavai Gai; Sunghavu,Sambhalvun, Ne Dekhavu Te Mandi Valyun, Tem Danta Avali Te, Khari Ke Khavai Gai. Vail Ked Wanki, Hada Gayan, Angaranga Gayo, Uthavani Aaya Jatan Lakadi Levai Gai ; Are! Rajchandra Ema , Yuwani Harai Pana, Manathi Na Toy Randa Mamata Marai Gai. 2.

Karodo a Karajana Shira Para Danka Wage, Rogathi Rundhai Gayun Sharira Sukaine Purapati rarla ana Mathe, Peedavane Taki Rahy Peta Tani Vetha Pana, Shake Na Puraine. Pitru Ane Parani Te, Machave Aneka Dhandha, Putra, Putri Bhakhe Khaun Khaun Dukhadaine; Are! Rajachandra Toya Jiva Jhava Dava Kare, Janjala Chhandaya Nahi, Taji Trushanaine. 3 .

Thai Kshina Nadi Avachaka Jevo Rahyo Padi, Jivana Deepaka Pamyo Kevala Jhankhaine; Chhelli Ise Padyo Shall Bhaiye Tyan Ema Bhakhun, Have Tadhi Mati Thaya To To Thike Bhaine. Haath Ne Halavi Tyan to Khiji Buddhe Suchavyun Ee,Boiya Vina Besa Bala Tari Chaturaine! Are ! Rajachandra Dekho Dekho Ashapasha Kevo ? Jatan Gai Nahi Doshe Mamata Maraine! 4.

Special Meaning: (1) When one was very poor, he aimed at being a Patel of a village. A Patel may be a headman of the village holding a large plot of land to till and get crops but may not have much money so he has to work himself. When he became a Patel he then strongly desired or aimed at being a rich person (Sheth) who has comparatively more money and can keep servants to do his work. When he became a chief rich person (Nagar Sheth) he aimed at being a minister to a King and earn money and position of power or authority also. When he became a minister he could know the secrecy of the kingdom. He now aimed at being a King to rule over the subjects, since the king has to propitiate deity to maintain and increase his rule and power so when he became a King then he aimed at being a deity and when he became a deity he had to obey the chief so he aimed at being Indra, the ruler of the deities. Rajachandra says oh ! Even one becomes Indra, the ruler of deities his greed is not satisfied.

(2) In old age the body gets pale and emaciated, the skin shows wrinkles on it, mouth becomes hollow by teeth dropping out of it and thereby one has hollow cheeks, one by one hair on the head gets white all the powers of the senses get gradually diminished or lost - loss of speaking, loss of hearing, loss of smelling etc. One in such old- age cannot chew food, his spine gets bent, his waist gets bent and so he cannot sit erect, bones lose their strength, his feet would give pain, he loses his bodily beauty, he loses power of easily sitting or getting up and so he has to walk with the help of a support of a stick. Oh Rajchandra! Thus the whole youth is replaced by pain giving old age, but still he does not leave the sense of attachment, or a feeling of me and mine.

(3) Even though one becomes too much poor and passes through many miseries by incurring heavy debts of crores, he still feels that one day he would gain again his wealth and property. Even though one's body suffers from a deadly disease and becomes too much weak he still lives on hope of recovery from it and become again healthy. Even though one has the possibility of arising so many troubles from the ruler of the land still he feels he would be happy by shifting to another kindgom. Even though one may not have anything to satisfy the hunger of his family, his father and wife may be creating many sorts of harassment, his sons and daughters may be often asking to eat something though the miserable father has nothing to give. Rajchandra says oh .... still in this sorrowful state one claims to own as a father, as a husband, as a head of family and does not turn his mind from mineness of worldly cares due to wishes and desires.

4.) Here it is described what happens to a dying person on the last moment. The old man on the deathbed is deadly suffering from incurable diseases, he is not able even to turn on any of his sides. His pulse is not working well, he is quite unable to speak or say anything and all his senses have failed. Seeing such situation of the old man passing through unbearable pains his brother told that earlier the old man dies the better it would be for him. Hearing these words of his brother, the old man at once got angry and said mustering all his strength - "You sit quiet don't say anything, I do not need your wisdom. Oh! Rajchandra, see, see, how strong is the force of hope of living long that this old man even while, breathing the last, does not wish to leave the attachment of his body and die peacefully.

Really the sense of mine which binds oneself to this worldly life should be abandoned from the very beginning so that it may not trouble you at all.

Disrespect for religion, undesirable elation, idleness, and Kashaya (Anger, Pride, Illusion, Greed) all these are characteristics of Pramad. Bhagawan Mahavir said to Gautam in Uttaradhyayana Sutra - 'O Gautam ! This life of man is as short lived as a drop of water falling on the edge of a blade of grass ; as this drop may anytime fall down so this human body may vanish any moment. One should Surely keep in memory the fourth line of this lesson giving Poem 'Samayam Goyama Maa Pamae'.This holy line has two meanings (1) O Gautam ! When there comes an opportunity to do good to yourself, take it and use it to your advantage soon without waiting or any loss of time (2) Second meaning of this line is that we should not miss even a smallest part of the moment of this life as our living body may die any moment, and as we do not know when we shall die, lord of death like a hunter ready with his bow and arrow to kill his prey any moment, we should immediately devote ourselves to working for self-realization or our liberation. By negligence we shall miss the opportunity of performing our progressive religious duties.

Excessively wise men like self realized highest souls leave all the worries of worldly life and devote themselves purely to religion for self-improvement day and night and they do not slacken their religious efforts even for a moment. While wise Persons i.e. discriminative householders utilize some portion of their daily life in performing regular religious duties and also attend enthusiastically to religious activities whenever opportunities come forth and do good of their soul. But foolish persons waste their life in sleep, food, Sense-enjoyments and useless criticism of others and in merrymaking and as a result they invite their downfall and lower births where they cannot avail religious performances again. Therefore so far as possible, one should carefully utilize his time in his self improvement by mastering a liberating religious discipline. Out of twenty-four hours of a day and night, eight hours are spent in sleep and the rest are spent in worldly worries wasting time in needless talk and aimless wandering. Instead, if one utilizes even a couple of hours for his pure religious development leading him to a noble life, it is quite possible. What an excellent result may he yield thereby. Moment is most precious one. Even a sovereign ruler cannot buy a moment in exchange for his whole kingdom. Losing a moment may mean losing whole life from viewpoint of philosophical truth.

Young Disciples: Bhagawan ! You are telling us at every stage that discrimination is a great benefactor; that discrimination is a lamp by whose help one can recognize his true self remaining in deep darkness around. Discrimination protects religion. Where there is no discrimination there is no religion. Then tell us what is discrimination?

Preceptor : O disciples of long life To understand truth and falsehood in their correct form is called discrimination.

Young Disciples: Every man understands to say truth as truth and falsehood as falsehood; then O venerable Preceptor! Can we say that they have understood the root of religion?

Preceptor : Give me one example of what you say.

Young Disciples : We ourselves call bitter as bitter only, call sweet as sweet and poison as poison and nectar as nectar.

Preceptor : O disciples of long life ! All what you say are connected to material objects but can you identify all these connected to soul as to what is bitter, what is sweet what is poison and what is nectar?

Young Disciples: Bhagawan! We have no idea about such sayings.

Preceptor : Then one has to understand that the self whose true nature is pure knowledge and pure vision or perception has been besieged by untruth in the form of ignorance and wrong perception and both true self and untruth have been so mixed that it is difficult to distinguish both clearly and correctly. In spite of enjoying worldly pleasures infinite times, the soul does not wish to get away from attachment of worldly pleasures, and instead it regards wrongly false pleasures as nectar and hugs to them lovingly and affectionately. This is indiscrimination. Because worldly life is really bitter, it gives bitter and unbearable pains and sufferings. On the other hand non-attachment is a good medicine to the soul ailing from ignorance and untruth; yet it is wrongly considered as bitter and worthy of getting away from it. This also is indiscrimination. This union of truth and untruth can be separated by discrimination and attain nectar state of soul. Now tell me how much beneficial one is discrimination?

Young Disciples : Oh ! You are perfectly right in proving discrimination as the root as well the protector of religion. One can never recognize one's own self without discriminative power. Knowledge, good conduct religion, truth and penance - all these will not arise in the absence of discrimination. One who has no discriminative power is a dull and ignorant and he keeps himself always engrossed in useless distinctions and differences of opinions and deludes himself by defective insight. We now will always keep in mind your teaching on discrimination.

In previous lessons it has been said about the nature of worldly life to some extent. You might be remembering that.

All knowing saints have described worldly life as infinitely sorrowful, infinitely full of miseries, disorganized, like a see-saw and impermanent. They seem to have completely reflected on the nature of worldly life before giving it the above adjectives. The Soul or Self wanders in the cycles of innumerable births and deaths under the strong influence of infinite ignorance and interminable conflicts of the life lasting for ages, infinite deaths and infinite sorrows and sufferings. The apparently attractive lure of worldly pleasures have benumbed our soul so much that it does not find anywhere else the happiness it sees in worldly life, and in such condition the soul has not even cherished a desire to see the nature of truth and enjoy the real happiness following from such knowledge and vision. It is mad after the pleasures of the world as the butterfly is mad after the light of a burning candle. All knowing saints do not call worldly life happy even for a moment; not even the smallest spot in worldly life is without poison of attachment and hatred. From a wild bear to a great sovereign ruler - all are engrossed in strong attachment to worldly life; surprisingly a bear is even more attached to worldly life than a sovereign ruler. A sovereign ruler enjoys supreme command over his subjects but at the same time he suffers from botheration of whole kingdom while the wild bear has no such worry at all. As this ruler is attached to his wife intensely so is the bear attached to his mate intensely. The more lure for prosperity, the more one has to suffer for protecting it or for increasing it. Both the ruler and the bear are born and have to die one day. Thinking deeply this way both are caught in momentariness, disease and old age. In material possessions the ruler is more powerful and resourceful and enjoys the fruits of his good deeds, enjoys comparatively a peace of mind while the poor bear is suffering from pain and fear. Both of them have their periods of happiness and sorrow, love and hate, freedom and fear. But between the two the sovereign ruler is extremely powerful and capable of deep understanding and higher intelligence, he can search for the lasting happiness and peace of his soul but if he keeps himself under the stuper of ignorance and want of discrimination till death and he loses the game. The bear cannot be compared with the praiseworthy sovereign ruler from viewpoint of his superiority but from viewpoint that in enjoying sense pleasures both stoop low; both have bodies filled with pus and flesh etc. Thus the position of a sovereign ruler though highest in worldly life is momentary, painful, lowly and full of ignorance; then how can one find more happiness or better condition anywhere else ? In fine, there is no real happiness either in the worldly life of a sovereign ruler or in the animal life of a wild bear. Whatever illusory happiness one sees in them, it is fraught with danger, it is momentary and so it is only misery and not happiness at all. Therefore the all knowing saints have turned their back towards any attachment to worldly life in whatever stage it may be. Worldly life is total unhappiness, full of miseries, infinitely painful, sorrowful and afflicting. A wise man once detached from worldly life should not even look at it, a sea of mere sorrow and suffering.

Non - attachment is the only best guide to a worldly man desiring liberation and resulting unalloyed happiness and peace.

The religious rule prevailing today is that of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir. Since the Nirvana" of Bhagawan Mahavir nearly 2414 years have passed away. He was born to Smt. Trishaladevi a Kshatriya wife of king Siddhartha in Kshatriyakund Nagar (city) of the country of Magadha. He had an elder brother named Nandivardhamana and his wife's name was Yashoda. He stayed as a householder for thirty years. Then he spent twelve and a half years moving alone as a recluse and leading a life of severe austerity observing religious discipline and penance, putting his thought, word and deed in right order, and in this way he burnt all his harmful Karmas and he attained absolute knowledge and absolute vision or insight or perception on the banks of river Rujuwalika. Totally living for approximately seventy-two years, burning all his Karmas he became a Siddha or a Self-realized soul. He was the last i.e. twenty-fourth Jineshwar of the series of twenty-four Jineshwaras.

This religious rule of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir prevails today and it will continue for twenty-one thousand years hence i.e. till the completion of Pancham Kaal. This is said or declared in Bhagawati Sutra.

This PanchamKaal is said to contain ten exceptionals and so, so many calamities have come upon the Dharma Tirtha or the rule of Bhagawan Mahavir, similar other calamities are now at present and will come in future on this Dharma Tirtha according to the First edition of Moksha Mala or Liberation Garland was published in Vira Samvat 2414 and Vikram Samvat 1944. statement in Bhagawati Sutra.

In Jain religious community, many mutual differences of opinion and belief have arisen and they have been widened by leaders writing religious books full of censure of those who do not agree with them. Impartial devotees use their discrimination and without wasting their time in discussing such different opinions, devote themselves to the fundamental teachings of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir, keep faith in the advice of Jain monks known for their best character and by true single mindedness control their body, mind and speech with the aim of self- realization.

Sometimes periodically the original teachings come to light to some extent but because of adverse time they do not shine forth as required.

In Uttaradhyayana Sutra there is a saying 'Vanka Jadaya Pachhima' meanings that the disciples of the last i.e. twenty-fourth Tirthankara - Mahavir Bhagawan will be Vanka and Jada. Vanka means not of such simple nature that they may obey easily the sayings Of Bhagawan Mahavir and Jada means not so much brilliant that they may deeply think over the sayings of Bhagawan Mahavir and understand the mystery from all points of view, and its truth is fully realized today beyond any doubt. Where are we thinking of philosophical Truth ? Which best character and behavior we reflect upon? Where do we devote any fixed time to the study and following of religion ? Where do we aim at the rise and prosperity of religious truth in all fields with interest ? Where we are single mindedly searching assiduously religious truths? We believe that we are Shrawakas because we are born in Shrawaka families, but we should not agree with this belief at all. We should realise that a Shrawaka is not necessarily determined by birth; he is a real Shrawaka who has adopted a required line of behaviour, who has obtained necessary knowledge of authentic religious books and who engages himself in search bf religious truths or who has attained some special virtues out of them. Even by birth and family habit, some Shrawakas observe general outwardly compassion and this is praiseworthy but only a few know the religious truths. There are also so many who are raising unnecessary doubts about pure religious truths and they are half-hearted knowing very little but think themselves so called religious inquisitors. There are also some who know religious truths but take pride in thinking that they only know the truths and the rest are totally ignorant about them. But there are very few persons who knowing religious truths, judge them well and realize their real valuation. Of the five kinds of knowledge, Keval Gnana - absolute knowlege, Manahparyava Gnana and Paramavadhi Gnana are lost in the present time from this area, Drashtivad a Jain scripture prepared by Ganadhara is also lost. Therefore by a little knowledge of deep religious truths, doubting their efficiency and authenticity, is not a proper attitude. If you have doubt based on proper thinking, you should get it solved from one who knows more about it, and even if you do not receive from him an answer quite satisfactory to you, you should sustain your faith in the faultless teachings of the great self-realized Bhagawan Mahavir, firmly believing that such a noble soul will not say anytime anything but truth and the whole truth. Such a faith should not be allowed to shake. Few persons know the style of Anekantavada of Jain religion.

Some misfortunate persons try to find faults in the jewellery house of essential jewel like teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir and prepare the way for their downfall and invite many binding Karmas. Who might have discovered the method of drying green vegetables and take them at the occasion when the green vegetables are prohibited ? What should we think of such persons?

This subject is a vast one and this is not the fit place for saying more about it. In short what I have to say is that it is not desirable for our soul's benefit to lose ourselves or take sides in the religious quarrels of various sects . We should instead keep in contact of best and peaceful self- realized Jain Monks, we should purify our thought and behavior, we should develop discrimination, compassion and humility in us and always adopt forgiveness as much as we can. Where there is proper justification, we may give advice of helpful discrimination to uphold the religious rule of Bhagawan Mahavir. Never have any doubts about his teachings with a shallow intelligence. Therein lies our highest good and we should never forget this.

Inquirer: I have liked very much the descriptions of noble behavior of Jain Saints. I do not find such noble behavior in Saints of any other religion. A Jain Saint suffers extreme wintry cold with a prescribed cloth, in summer though there is extreme sun heat he is not supposed to use an umbrella as his head-cover or a foot wear in his feet. In burning sand, he has to move and suffer extreme heat peacefully. Till they live, they take and use only boiled water after cooling it, they cannot sit or take rest in a householder's residence; they observe pure celibacy; they cannot keep even a single penny with them; they cannot utter improper words, they cannot use vehicles. Really such holy behavior is indeed bringing liberation. But in nine protective fences of pure celibacy Bhagawan Mahavir has advised not to take bath and I do not understand it properly why has he advised so.

Truth : Why can you not understand it ?

Inquirer : Without taking bath there will develop impurity.

Truth : Which impurity will develop without taking bath ?

Inquirer : Without taking bath our body remains dirty and unclean.

Truth : Brother ! It is not thoughtful to say impurity when our body is unclean and dirty when we do not take bath. Think upon from what material our body is created ! Our body is a store house of blood, cough, refuge, urine, marrow etc. All these are covered by our skin only then how can such a body be called pure? Besides a Saint has not performed any worldly act as a result of which he needs a bath.

Inquirer : But what harm is to a Saint if he takes a bath?

Truth : This question results from superficial intellect only. By bathing innumerable germs are harmed, one's sex urge gets enkindled, one breaks his vow of not taking a bath; one experiences a little change in his thinking about the non-attachment to his body; all such impurities arise from taking a bath and by this, the soul becomes greatly impure. One should first think of soul's impurity before going to think about body's impurity. There is of course impurity if the dirt of the body becomes the cause of germs" which may take place along with dirt but, by other dirt or dust settled on our body by not taking a bath our soul saves itself from hurting other living beings and so it shines forth rather than being clouded The vow is broken by taking a bath and the soul becomes impure. The impurity of the soul is real impurity and not the seeming impurity of a body without bath.

Inquirer :You have shown me a very fine reason. Thinking more reflectively on the teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir we learn more and more and get much more joy. Alright. But whether a householder should avoid or not the impurity of his body caused by hurting others or by performing an impure bodily action while discharging his household duties?

Truth : impurity must be got rid off with an understanding mind. There is no other holy philosophy like Jain Philosophy and it does not teach impurity but one should correctly understand the nature of purity and impurity.

Get up before dawn, remember Navakara Mantra and by it purify your mind, and perform morning Pratikraman with proper attention to look over the faults committed during night rather not commencing sinful inclinations in the early morning.

Illumine your mind by praying to Bhagawan Mahavir according to established procedure after finishing Pratikraman and then praise him and study some of his teachings.

Respectfully behave with your parents and start your worldly actions very carefully so as to be free from hurting any living being and not forgetting soul's benefit.

Before taking meals have much eagerness to offer from your prepared meals to the deserving persons i.e. self realized Saints or persons devoted to religious life, and if you get such opportunity please act accordingly.

Keep a fixed time for meals and movements as well as for study of religious scriptures and for reflecting on philosophical works.

In the evening perform religious duties etc., as daily discipline. i.e. perform Pratikraman with proper attention and all care.

Perform Chouvihar Pratyakhyan - Decide not to eat four types of food during night.

Sleep for a fixed time at night.

Before going to bed, beg pardon for eighteen sources of sin (18 Pap Sihanak), for faults occurred in observance of twelve vows, apologize all living beings and then after chanting Panch Parmeshthi Mantra take sleep in full peace with best healthy feelings of soul.

These general rules will be very beneficial to you, giving happiness and peace. I have told them briefly. By thinking more deeply on them and by following them well they will be more and more beneficial to you and lead you to supreme liberation.

Oh God ! I am much mistakened I did not bear in mind your invaluable teachings. I did not reflect on incomparable truths told by you. I did not adopt the best form of character and conduct prescribed by you. I did not recognize or follow well compassion, peace, forgiveness, and purity preached by you. Oh God !

forgot, wandered aimlessly, rambled here and there and I am caught in the snare of interminable worldy life. I am sinful, intoxicated or puffed up with pride and my soul is defiled with dust of my Karmas. O Highest Soul ! I do not see my liberation without following the truths you have told. I am always engrossed in the machinations of worldly life, I have been blinded by ignorance, I have no discriminative power and so I am a blockhead or foolish. I have no support or protection, and I am an orphan. O non-attached highest Soul! I now seek support of You, Your religion and Your monks. I have strong desire to destroy my sins and faults and to be totally free from them. I now sincerely repent for all sins committed by me in my past. As I dive deep in fine spiritual thinking, the wonders of your truths enkindle my true nature. You are non - attached, free from all aberrations, pure truth, consciousness and bliss, naturally joyful, infinitely all knowing, all seeing and the enlightener of all three worlds. I simply beg pardon in your witness, for my spiritual benefit. Let it be my strong wish and inclination that I may never question or raise my doubt about the truths preached by you; that I may always remain on the path indicated by you! O All knowing God! What more can I say ? Nothing about me is unknown to you. I only seek pardon for all sins resulting from my deeds or Karmas in a spirit of repentance.

Aum Peace, Peace, Peace

If a cloth is stained with blood, it cannot be cleaned by blood; on the contrary it will be more stained. It is possible to clean the stains if washed in water. Use this example for cleaning a soul. A soul has been defiled from times immemorial by the blood of worldly life and in every cell of the soul this stain is spread. Now if we wish to remove this defilement or impurity by worldly enjoyments and entanglements it can not be removed. Stains of blood cannot be removed by blood so it is certain that impurity of soul cannot be removed by worldly enjoyments. There are many religious paths known in the world and about them one should first certainly decide that impartially looking, any religion wherein enjoyment of women is advised or advocated, or acquisition of wealth is advised, or wherein all sense pleasures, colorful enjoyments, types of singing, dancing and bodily happiness and ease are favored or encouraged it cannot bring to us the real peace of our soul. Because if such things are called religious, then the whole worldly life is full of such worldly matters and so it should be called thoroughly religious. Every householder's residence is replete with all worldly enjoyments - children, wife, sense-pleasures, music, dance, amorous life etc., are in full swing in these houses and to call such house as a religious temple is to say that there is nothing like irreligion at all. And what is then wrong in our normal behavior in worldly life ? Suppose someone says that we cannot pray to God in our house and for such prayer only religious temple is a fit place, to him we can only regretfully reply that he does not know the truth of the highest self Paramatma and pure devotion to it in a spirit of non-attachment. Whatever else may be said, leave it there and let us turn to our fundamental point. Philosophically looking, this soul moves in worldly life quite defiled by sense enjoyments and miseries resulting from them. This defilement can only be removed by pure water of non - attachment. The unfettered or released preceptor cleans our defiled cloth of our soul, using the truths preached by Arhat Bhagawan Mahavir as his soap, mixes it with pure water of non-attachment on the stone of noble conduct and character. For this work non-attachment is absolutely essential and without it nothing else can be of any effective use. Therefore non-attachment can really be said to be the real nature of religion. As the religious truth preached by Arhat Bhagawan strongly advocates non-attachment, we should accept that non - attachment is the real form of true religion.

On this world stage, there have been many different religions, and such differences exist from times immemorial. This is a fact, but how these differences have undergone transformations can now be considered here. Some religions are similar to each other while some religions stand reverse. Some religions are spread by mere Agnostics. Some call general honesty and good conduct as religion; some call knowledge as religion, some call ignorance (not to know anything and live happily) as religion, some regard devotion as religion, some call to follow rites and such other religious activities as religion; some call humility and high modesty as religion and some call preserving bodily health as religion.

All these religious preachers are seen saying that what they say is the result of their complete knowledge and therefore is truth and whatever else other religions preach is untruth and resulting from false logical thinking. Therefore these different religious preceptors have engaged their intellectual powers in running down each other's religion. Preachers of Vedanta, Sankhya, Buddhism, Nyayamat, Vaisheshikamat, Shakti Panth, Vaishnavism, Islam, Christianity etc. have each and all said that what each one says is the whole truth and that is the only successful way to liberation. In such an atmosphere of mutual religious differences how should we find our way?

Really speaking the plaintiff and the defendant cannot both be true, nor can they both be wrong. May be, the plaintiff may be more correct and the defendant may be less wrong, or it may be otherwise. But in no case both of them can be wrong. Thinking this way, one religion may prove right and all others may be wrong.

Inquirer: This is a wonderful situation. How can we call all religions correct or all religions wrong or false? If we say that they all are false or wrong, we would be agnostics or non-believers in any religion, and there would be no truth in religion at all. It is certain that there is truth in religion and a true religion is necessary in this world. If we say that one religion is true and all the rest are wrong or false then we should prove it so. If we say all religions are all correct, then it is like building a wall of sand. Because if they are all correct then there is no need for so many conflicting differences at all. Why should they all not unite to establish only one religion? Thus because of contradictory religious beliefs we have to stop thinking for some time.

Still I may explain this matter further according to my thinking power, and the explanation I give is truthful and impartial - it is not one-sided or prejudicial, it is not partial or involving any indiscretion or indiscriminate on the contrary it is the best and worthy of sincere consideration. In appearance, it may look common or ordinary, but from reflective thinking, it would appear mysterious and important.

You should clearly accept that any one of these various world religions is perfectly true. Now calling one religion perfectly true other religions may have to be called totally untrue ;but I would not say so. From the point of view of Nischaya Naya an original form of pure self knowledge the rest religions can be proved to be untrue; but from the point of view of Vyavahara Naya - or common parlance, they cannot all be called untrue or false. I only say that one religion is totally true while other religions are imperfect and with defects besides some of the other religions are results of misguided thought and agnostic and so they are completely untrue. But the religions that talk about the next worlds and advise to be away from sins and evil deeds can be said or shown to be imperfect and defective. Let us set aside for the moment the one philosophical and religious system that I call pure and perfect.

Now you may doubt as to why should the preachers have preached such imperfect or faulty religions? This should be explained properly. The pro-pounders of other religions thought about truth as far as their intelligence could lead them and whatever truth they could realize by their inference, logical arguments, and analogies they declared that to be perfect final truth and they tried to establish it accordingly. Whatever side they took they went whole-hog into it, leaving aside the rest sides of truth, and they thus described either devotion or faith or morality or knowledge or worship of divine as the only real religious path for man's betterment. This way, they did not give proper importance to other subjects which were also to be regarded. Besides whatever subjects they selected, they could not view them from all points of view, but they used their powerful intellect in describing one side of the path they selected and they thus could satisfy others of ordinary thinking or understanding by their wrangling that what they advocated, was the total truth. These preceptors ruled or guided by the idea of fame, doing public good or a desire of being worshipped as Bhagawan they used all their capacities in following what they called the truth and they succeeded this way very much. Some attracted many persons by their luxurious and easy going life ; as the world is already immersed in illusory living and so many people followed their living and teaching one by one with pleasure and satisfaction. Some saw in these religious preachers qualities of good morality and non-attachment and so they believed in what they preached, and seeing that these propounders were highly intelligent as compared with them, they worshipped their preachers as Lord or Bhagawan. Some spread their religion on the strength of non-attachment but later introduced the use of worldly means of sense - enjoyment in their religious living and practice and advised their followers to use the said means for their religious development. Even in one religion, some followers chalked out their own way of living different from the established practice and founded separate sects of their own. This they did, to cover their own imperfections and to justify the wrong way they adopted. Thus increased the cobweb of numerous sects in one religion. One religion when followed by four to five generations of a family became a traditional religion for succeeding generations. This happened from place to place.

If one philosophical or religious system is not perfect and true, other philosophical or religious systems cannot be proved or said to be false or imperfect by any standard. Therefore let us examine the imperfection and one-sidedness of other religions from the point of view of one religion which we call or know as perfect and wholly true.

In these other religious systems, we do not find finer thinking about ultimate truth and reality. Some preach the existence of a world-creator, but his existence cannot be proved by a standard means of knowledge. Some say that knowledge brings liberation and they are also saying so with one-sided thinking, and so are one-sided those who preach liberation by religious rites and other external forms of worship of the divine. Some who say that liberation can be obtained by both knowledge and religious rites , also do not know the real nature of knowledge and religious rites and so they are unable to explain in series the steps leading to liberation, nor the stages of knowledge and liberating actions, and this shows their want of all-knowingness. From the point of truth, the biographies of the religious propounders prove beyond doubt that they were themselves not free from eighteen faults enumerated in Lesson No. 8 Satdeva Tattva and Lesson No. 13 Devotion to Jineshwar-Part-l in this book. In some religious systems, violence, want of celibacy and such like unholy means are openly advocated or advised and therefore such systems can be easily shown to be imperfect and established by sense-attached preceptors. Some of them have defined liberation as all pervading, some have defined nothing as liberation, some have defined liberation with form and some have said that liberation is a state of the soul remaining for some time and then again a fall from that state; but none of these descriptions of liberation can be authenticated or proved to be correct beyond doubt. The exact disproof of such imperfect religious views is worth seeing in the philosophical works written by Jain Acharyas who were dispassionate and detached in their outlook and understanding.

With an exception of the Vedas, all other religious preceptors known from their biographies and preaching are seen to be imperfect. Even the Vedas with separate propounders of various Vedic parts have created courageously a semblance of truth byputting it in mystery but they also can be shown to be imperfect and one-sided by going through their many more opinions.

What about the perfect system, I have to say it is Jainism established by totally non-attached or Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir. The propounders of Jain religion - the lines of 24 Tirthankaras were All Knowing and All Seeing. Though they have flourished at different periods of time, they have preached the same truth and a religious discipline with the same goal of self- realization or liberation. None of the other religions have described the nature of compassion, celibacy, noble conduct and character, discrimination, non- attachment, knowledge and procedure of right action as perfectly as is done by these series of Great Jain Preceptors. They have left no doubt about their all-knowing experiences by describing pure self-knowledge with its hierarchies, the movements from one body to another body of a soul, birth, life, death, the sources of birth, various spaces, time and its various forms. All these details are very well found in Jain philosophical works and nowhere else. Because of long lapse of time and by Paramparamnaya absolute knowledge etc, are not seen here still the doctrinal truths or sayings of Jineshwar Bhagawan Mahavir are still available undistorted and they are imperishable. Some of their doctrines are so fine that it may take whole life time to fully understand one by one. I have something to say about them in further lessons.

By the religious truths preached by Jineshwaras, no affliction or pain is caused to any living being. They preserve the protection of all souls and the effulgence or illumination of the full soul power. The more you read of those stages of soul power and understand them well and the more you meditate on them, your soul power shines forth and it compels us to admit the superiority and all knowing qualities of Jain religious philosophy. One who is a deep thinker of all religious differences and evaluator of the same, will surely admit the truth of what I have said here.

Here there is no space to talk more about the fundamentals of all knowing philosophy of Jain System and those of others.

 One Brahmin suffered much due to poverty and tired with it, decided to propitiate God and attain wealth. Being learned, he thought before worshipping God that in case by his systematic worship, God was pleased and asked for what he wanted from him, what happiness should he ask for ? After undergoing penance, if he did not know what he had to ask for, then his effort of penance for the propitiation of God would go in vain and so he decided that he should go over or travel the whole country, see the residences, prosperity and kinds of happiness enjoyed by famous worldly persons. With this determination, he started to travel and saw many beautiful and very prosperous cities of India. Skill fully he arranged to see the harem, happiness and prosperity of many highly honored kings. He saw rich men's palacial residences, administration, parks and gardens and families; but none of these, could satisfy his mind. He observed in his travel that some suffered from their wives, some from their husbands, some from their ignorance, some suffered from their separation of the dear and loved ones, some suffered from being pennyless, some suffered from in controllable wealth, some suffered from their bodily pains, some suffered from their sons, some suffered from their enemies, some suffered from their stupidity, some suffered from their parents, some suffered from their widowhood, some suffered from their family troubles, some suffered from their birth in a low family. Some suffered from someone's affection, some suffered from avarice, some suffered from loss of something they valued most. Thus everywhere he went, he saw people suffering from one or two or many kinds of these sufferings and so he could not reconcile his mind anywhere.

Wherever he went and saw there was suffering. At no place he could see complete happiness. Then what should he ask to God if He was so pleased? Going on thinking this way having heard the praises of an extremely rich man he came to Dwarika. He saw that the city Dwarika was elegant with its prosperity, riches, beautiful parks and gardens and so also was thickly populated. While seeing on his way, beautiful and palacial residences and going on inquiring he reached the residence of hat very rich man. The rich man was sitting in his entrance room. He welcomed that Brahmin as a guest, asked welfare and arranged for his dinner. After some time patiently the rich man asked the Brahmin whether he could say the reason for his visit.

The Brahmin replied, 'Please excuse me at present. You will have to show me all your prosperity, residential accommodations, your parks and gardens etc, after seeing all these I shall tell you the reason why I have come to see you.' The rich man thinking that the Brahmin may have some mysterious reason in saying so, kept quiet and said, 'Well act as you please.' After finishing the dinner the Brahmin requested the rich man to come along with him and show all his residences etc. The Sheth agreed to his request and went with him and showed all his parks, gardens, residences, riches, etc,.

At that time the Brahmin happened to see rich man's wife and sons also. They also gave respect to the Brahmin and welcomed him. Seeing their beauty, modesty, cleanliness and sweet tongue, the Brahmin became joyous. Then he saw the administration of the rich man's shop, where nearly hundred helpers in management were sitting and doing assigned duties. The Brahmin could see all these were also kind, modest and humble. Seeing all these possessions he was much satisfied. His mind found here somewhat satisfaction. He felt that this was the very person who seemed to be happy in the world.

How beautiful are his residential houses! How well are they kept clean and well maintained! How wise and husband's mind reading is his well behaved wife! How bright and obedient are his sons! How united is his whole family! How nice is the grace of Goddess of Wealth on him! It seems in whole of India there is none else as much happy as this person. Now after propitiating God if I have to ask for something, I should ask him to bestow all happiness alike this rich person's and not seek anything else.

The day passed off and the night followed and at bed time he Sheth and the Brahmin were sitting at a lonely place when the Sheth requested the Brahmin to disclose the reason of his visit.

Brahmin: I started from my home with a determination to find out the most happy person and then to practice penance, propitiate God and ask for such happiness for me, and to gain it. I have seen practically the whole of India and its rich cities and attractive places but nowhere even in the palaces of Kings, I saw real and complete happiness. Wherever I went I saw physical pain, disease, anxiety and suffering from adventitious natural calamities. While coming to this side, I heard people praising your happiness and so I arrived here to see you and your happiness and I feel now quite satisfied with what I have seen as your acquisition. I could nowhere else find prosperity, good sons, high earnings, good wife and family, beautiful and well kept clean well planned houses as I have found here. Besides you also are quite religious minded, virtuous and a great devotee of Jineshwar. Therefore I have come to believe that in India you are excessively happy. At no other place there is happiness like yours. In case I have to ask for anything by propitiating God, I have decided to ask him to give me the happiness like yours.

The Rich Person: Panditji (Learned Brahmin) : You have started from home with a good mysterious determination and I shall tell you my facts - the facts of my own experience. Please hear me patiently and then do whatever you like. You may be right that I have with me all the happiness you have seen and described; the like happiness may not be enjoyed by any other person in India; but I do not think that what you feel is true. My principle is that there is nowhere real happiness in this world let alone India. The whole world is burning in unhappiness and misery. You see me happy but I am not really happy.

Brahmin: What you say must be a result of your successful experience and a deep secret. Though I have read many philosophical works of deep thinking but I have never put efforts to reflect and grasp the thoughts expressed by you, nor have I all such experience like yours. Now tell me what sort of unhappiness you suffer from ?

Rich Person: Panditji , Since you ask, I tell you that which is worthy of your considerable thinking and therefore it may help you to find your path of happiness.

Whatever possessions you see with me now, such condition of wealth, family and wife I enjoyed before too. The time about which I tell you is twenty years back from now. My business and my prosperity were in full swing then but by my administration falling reverse only within a short period of three years, I who was a wealthy man rolling in wealth worth crores of rupees became penny-less. Whatever steps I took thinking they would turn to my benefit, turned quite opposite and reverse and all my plans were totally upset. At that time, my wife also expired and I had no child. Under the unbearable burden of heavy loss, I had to leave this city. My family people tried to save me as much as they could but that was all fruitless or insufficient like the effort to stitch the broken cloud or sky. I reached enough to that stage where scarcely I had food to eat. When I was leaving this city my relatives and friends tried to stop me from leaving the city for good, telling me that I had never even stepped out of this city and therefore they cannot allow me to step out side! They said, 'Your soft body which had never suffered any hardship is incapable of bearing troubles that lay ahead. Besides suppose you go out of this city and perchance you may again be happy, you may not think of returning here and so all of them thinking this way tried to persuade me to drop the idea of my leaving this city. But I had made up my mind to go out and so I tried to convince them that should I be rich again, I shall definitely return home. Promising this way to them I departed on journey for Port Jawa.

Good time commenced to come once again . Unluckily I had not even a penny with me to spend. There was nothing left with me to maintain myself even for a month or two. Yet I went to Jawa where by my intelligence, good fortune again shone out. The ship by which I traveled, its sailor saw in me very clever person quite up and doing, modest and honest, so I told my whole life story to his master who in turn, employed me for a specific work wherein I earned four times I needed for my maintenance. When I got myself thoroughly steady in this business I tried to develop this business with India and therein I met with success. Within two years, I could earn nearly five lakhs of rupees. Then taking willing permission from my proprietor, I purchased merchandise and arranged to return to Dwarika. Within a short time, I reached Dwarika and at that time many people of Dwarika came to receive me and I met my family people and other relatives with joy who praised my fortune. The merchandise brought by me from Jawa, gave me profit five times of what I have invested. Panditji ! There in Jawa, I had to commit many sins ; many a times I could not get enough food to eat, but my firm determination which I had made to earn wealth once again was fulfilled by my favoring fortune. What was missing in the miserable condition I was placed in? I had no wife, no children, I had lost my parents when I was quite young, my penny-less condition at the time of leaving my people and starting for a quite unknown place like port Jawa, was so much unbearable and painful that if may bring tears in one's eyes from view point of ignorance. Even at that time I had kept my mind in following my religion and I devoted some time daily in following religious discipline and that too with no expectation of gaining wealth, but considering that only religion is the savior of a living being from the sea of worldly life, considering that fear of death is not far away from us and so one should do something good for his soul as early as possible. This was my firm policy and I followed it well. I firmly believed that there cannot be any happiness from bad conduct, by it there is no peace of mind and it only increases the impurity or defilement of the soul. I had firmly kept my mind in this truth.

After returning here I got married with a girl from a good family, and she turned out to be a very good natured and well behaved wife and by her I got three sons; by strong administration and, that money brings more money, within ten years I earned crores of Rupees. I arranged well to bring out my sons as good natured, morally well behaved and with good intelligence and this way they have got grown up very well. I put my relatives at proper places of work in my business and thus improved their financial conditions. I fixed up some policy for running my shops and I started constructing best residences. I did all this in a sense of I and mine. What wealth and fame I had lost, I regained them, and stopped the name and fame of my family from degrading. All this I did for such a saying to be said about my family. But I do not take all this as real happiness. Though I am comparatively happier than many others still I consider this as peaceful pleasures and not real happiness. In the world, there is painful unhappiness to a great extent. I have made it a rule to devote my definite time to the study and practice of religion. At a fixed time of the day, I read right religious scriptures, I think over them, I contact highly self-realized Saints, I observe Yama and Niyama or prohibitions and injunctions preached by religion. I observe celibacy for twelve days in a month. I give charity to deserving persons secretly and so on. Thus I spend my time in religious life. To a great extent I have saved my time from being spent to my business and worldly living and I hope to be totally unfettered from worldly life by making my sons fit in the business and other worldly actions. At present I cannot be unfettered or non - attached and the reason for it is not that I wish to hug myself to worldly living but there is a religious reason behind it. The conduct of householders these days has much gone down from the religious point of view and Jain Monks are unable to improve this pathetic situation. A householder by his noble conduct can easily teach another householder to behave better and so improve the religious life of a community and so I try to bring many people to a good religious path of noble behavior. Every week we hold an assembly of nearly five hundred householders wherein the religious experiences of a week are reviewed and also our previous experiences for an hour or two. My wife having learnt religious teachings to some extent, she also holds the assembly of women householders wherein she teaches them lessons of noble religious behavior. My sons also keep as far as possible, contact with religious scriptures. My servant respect the learned people, honor the guests, behave humbly and modestly and generally they are truthful and sell the goods at the fixed price. They follow these rules very devotedly and carefully. Thus they also enjoy peace of mind. My wealth along with my moral character, my religious observances, my virtues and humility have impressed the people here very much. Even the King of this city can accept my moral decisions and such is my high position.

I am not telling you all this in my self-praise and that you may please keep in your memory. I am telling you all this in brief only by way of giving explanations to your question raised as to why I do not regard my external happiness as real happiness.

You can feel by all these, that I am happy and from ordinary thinking you can possibly believe that I am very happy. The joy I derive from my contact with religion, noble conduct, good moral life and the study of religious scriptures is indescribable. But I cannot be called happy from philosophical point of view. So long as I have not renounced completely external and internal acquisitions and attachments, there is a possibility of my being attracted to them and that are love and hate affecting me though not to a great extent, but they are still there and therefore, there is every reason to fear them. I have complete desire to abandon all contacts with this worldly life, but so long I have not fulfilled that desire of mine, separation of the said beloved persons, loss in business or in other worldly possessions, pain and misery of some family member can though to a small extent, trouble me. There is also a possibility of my catching some minor or major diseases, besides death too. Therefore I do not consider myself absolutely happy till I have cut off ail my mental and bodily knots, till I have abandoned completely all my worries, attachments and mental desires for attachment and acquisitions and all activities favorable to the increase of worldly life. Now you will see from philosophical point of view that wealth, wife, sons or family, none or all these together can bring happiness, and if I consider them as sources of happiness then when I had a downfall where was this happiness? That which may leave us any day, that which is momentary and where there is no uniformity or indestructibility, there is never perfect or complete happiness. Therefore I cannot say in my present position that I am perfectly happy. Therefore I carried on my business with much thought of pros and cons, I cannot say that I did not use ambitious plans, immorality or even a little deceit; I had to employ many of such kinds. If you hope that you can be wealthy by propitiation of God, then I tell you that in the absence of your meritorious deeds of the past i.e. good fortune you cannot gain wealth by any means. Gaining wealth by meritorious deeds and then for maintaining it and developing worldly sinful affairs, deceit and honor and pride will result in acquisition of many sins and sin sends you to hell; sin goads you to lose your invaluable human birth; a discriminating soul will never like to eat up all its merits, to increase its load of sins by increase of wealth and suffer from the increasing burden of worldly life. I have told you formerly the reason why I had earned this wealth. Now you can do as you please. You are a learned man, and I like learned persons. If you desire to devote your time after religious life and spiritual meditation I welcome you to stay here with me with your wife and family. I shall make an easy arrangement with interest for your livelihood as per your wishes. Here you may study religious scriptures and teach others to study the truths and preach them truths. I hope you do not go after false or illusory acquisitions such as wealth, fame, honor etc. But I leave it to you to decide your line of future action.

Pandit .You told me very important description of your experienced life which is worthy of my serious consideration. Definitely you are a very great soul; by your meritorious actions you are a very fortunate soul; you are thoroughly discriminative and your capacity is unique and wonderful. What I desired from being tired of my poverty was only one-sided and incorrect. I had never thought like you from all points of view, nor I had the discriminative power as shown by your thinking. Though I am a learned man, I do not have with me your experience and your discriminative intelligence and this I admit truthfully. I really feel obliged to you for suggesting me the plan of my better living and I, in all modesty and humility, accept St with joy and a sense of gratitude. I do not desire any attachments for me. The lure of wealth only gives more attachments and increases our troubles. This statement of yours as an essence of your experiences, I appreciate very much. The worldly life is always burning and it never gives happiness. Your praise for the happiness of a Saint or a Monk is quite correct, and that is the real path of truth yielding eternal happiness of liberation free from all worldly troubles, anxiety, disease and dispeller of all undesirable aspirations caused by ignorance.

Rich Person : I feel joy pridelessly, for your acceptance of my plan. I shall properly plan for your stay with me. I take your permission to tell you here my general thoughts relevant to our talk

1) Persons who are led away by deceit, greed and illusory expectations for earning wealth are very unhappy. They are not able to make full O' even partial use of the wealth already acquired by them; and they only bear the trouble of maintaining it and they incur incalculable sins and they are hooked away by death any time to their utter surprise and dismay. Suffering from a low birth they are increasing the unending worldly life. They waste their human birth and make it valueless though for obtaining liberation, it is an invaluable and rare acquisition. Therefore such persons are always unhappy.

2) On the other hand one who has kept with him his minimum requirements for his livelihood, observes the vow of living with one wife only i.e. is monogamous, keeps quite contented and saves other living beings, follows prohibitions and injunctions prescribed for 'religious life, behaves benevolently, has less attachments, has less deceit for earning wealth, is truthful and keeps engaged in the Study of religious scriptures, remains always in contact with the Self-realized Saints and serves them in all humility and respect, who cherishes a strong desire to be free from all worldly fetters, who lives like a recluse though living in a worldly life, whose sense of non-attachment and discrimination is very high, such person passes time as a holy and happy man.

3) Further to the above described holy and happy persons in worldly life, there are still higher souls who have abandoned all desires and acquisitions, who move in the world completely free from any material possession, free from attachment to any particular place, any particular time, any particular affection or desire; these persons look to a friend and a foe with perfect equanimity and they employ their time in pure self-meditation or they devote themselves to the study of religious works, such sense-controlled and passion -controlled, totally unfettered persons are the happiest in the world.

4) Still further those who have destroyed all their destructive Karmas those whose other four types of Karmas have been reduced to the minimum and they are free, enjoying infinite knowledge and infinite vision or insight- these souls are perfectly happy and they remain in infinite life and infinite freedom and infinite happiness; they are free from all Karmas good, bad or indifferent.

Thus the above classification given by the truthful Saints is fully accepted by me. The first type of persons and their way of living are not accepted by me at all. The second way shown above is now acceptable to me, and to a great extent I advise people to follow it. The third way is highly respected in the world. And the last, the fourth way is universally respectable acceptable and these great totally unfettered souls are really truthful conscious and blissful.

Thus Panditji! We talked about the nature of happiness. Occasionally we shall discuss about it further and think more on it. I have been highly pleased by telling you my thoughts about happiness and my pleasure has enhanced by your being agreeable to my views. Thus discussing this matter among them- selves they went to bed joyfully with complete peace of mind.

Discriminative souls thinking about these thoughts and views about happiness, will realize the truth and will achieve the highest stage in spiritual development. The characteristics of men of minimum need, men of no needs and men who are totally freefrom all fetters of worldly life are worth serious deliberations of thinking people. So far as possible, reduce your wants and employ your energies for the betterment of the community with an equanimous mind, be benevolent, compassionate, be full of forgiveness and peace, be holy and pure in mind and body- living this way is full of happiness. It is not necessary to say that totally unfettered souls are always happy and that the self-realized or liberated souls live in eternal happiness and bliss.

Bahu Punyakera Punjathi Shubha Deha Manavano Malyo; Toye Are ! Bhavachakrano Aanto Nahi Ekke Talyo; Sukha Prapta Karatan Sukha Tale Chhe Lesha E Lakshe Laho, Kshana Kshana Bhayankar Bhavamarane Kan Aho Rachi Raho? (1)

Laxmi Ane Adhikara Vadhatan, Shun Vadhyun Te To Kaho? Shun Kutumba Ks Parivarathi Vadhavapanu, E Naya Graho; Vadhavapanu Samsaranu Nara Dehane Hari Javo, Eno Vichara Nahi Ahohol Eka Pala Tamane Have!!! (2)

Nirdosha sukha Nirdosha Ananda, Lye Game Tyanthi Bhale, E Divya ShaMimana Jethi Janjirethi Nikale; Paravastuman Nahi Munjhavo, Eni Daya Mujane Rahi, E Tyagava Siddhanta Ks Pashchat Dukha Te Sukha Nahi (3)

Hun Kona Chhun? Kyanthi Thayo? Shun Swarup Chhe Maarun Kharun?Kona Sambandhe Valagana Chhe? Rakhun Ke E Paraharun? Ena Vichara Vivekapurvaka Shanta Bhave Jo Karya, To Sarva Atmika Gnananan Siddhanta Tattvo Anubhavyan. (4)

Te Prapta Karava Vachana Konu Satya Kevala Manavu? Nirdosha Naranu Kathan Mano 'Teha' Jene Anabhavyun; Re ! Atma Taro! Atma Taro! Sheegrha Ene Olakho, Sarvatmaman Samadrashti Dhyo Aa Vachanane Hradaye Lakho (5)

Meaning : 1. Only when the soul in its cyclic life of births and deaths collects a heap of meritorious deeds, only when our sinful deeds are considerably reduced and our good deeds are considerably increased it takes this auspicious human birth in which it gets an opportunity to utilize this good human birth for realizing its own pure self and put every effort for perfect liberation of the soul i.e. to attain 'Moksha'.

In Uttaradhyayana Sutra ten examples are given to show how difficult for the soul it is to obtain human birth. After obtaining human birth, the hearing of the teachings of great benefactors Saints, the rise of strong faith in those teachings heard and the strong desire to follow those teachings and adoption of the religious discipline advised therein - all these are one by one highly difficult to achieve.

If one feels the true value of human life ,then he would not allow even a moment of his life to go a waste. At one moment he can get the correct understanding of the nature of Self, at another moment he can close the doors of entry of sinful deeds, at another moment he can burn the heap of his Karmas and detach his soul from them, at another moment he can achieve absolute knowledge of his Self -- all these moments are the best in human life.

Though one has luckily or fortunately obtained such an invaluable human birth, it is a regret to observe that not even one round of the cyclic rotation of births and deaths is set at naught by the soul. Therefore All Knowing Saints feel pity and sympathy for such souls who did not even try for their uplift. How can these rounds of rotation be reduced without attaining 'SAMYAK DARSHAN'

Till getting right understanding, the soul moves round and round in the cyclic rotation of life and death, passing through four types of living beings - hellish, animal, human and divine. One's merits get reduced by enjoying human happiness as fruits of his merits like the water trickle. Why not think a moment on this point. Know that every moment you increase binding Karmas is really called Bhavamarana and it is harmful and dangerous for the soul.

2. Even one becomes a rich man or a king what has he gained by sparing no time for his liberation ? Even if he possesses a large family, what real greatness he achieves ? One only increases his binding Karmas by acquiring wealth and authority or a large family and missing the precious opportunity to do some good to his soul. Oh! If you think even for a moment on these facts it will transform your life for good.

3. All Knowing Wise saints show him the way how he can distinguish between real and illusory happiness and after having a clear idea of what is real happiness, he should try to obtain it by studying the relevant religious scriptures or by devotion to the All Knowing, faultless and Saintly unfettered Souls. Only this way one's soul possessing divine powers can secure freedom from the deadly fetters and can enjoy faultless happiness and faultless joy; then only one can realize the infinitely divine and lustrous power of his soul.

Whatever is controlled by the soul makes for real happiness; whatever fetters this soul makes for real unhappiness. By turning attention to not-self i.e. body, senses etc., the soul's cyclic rotation increases; by returning from it, the soul becomes self-controlled, self-disciplined, self-knowing and self-seeing. That which is not of the soul, should be left off and that which really belongs to it, should quickly be accepted. This is the proved principle of noble living. Whatever is bringing misery in the end, is no happiness at all.

4. What deserves to be abandoned is told first, now is told what deserves to be accepted and adopted. This is real invaluable philosophical thinking. (1) Ask your self who am (1) and by eliminating all what you are not, realize that you are pure Self. (2) Ask how are you born? Realize that you are eternal, you are not born at all, only your body is born. You are beginingless and endless and so you are eternal. (3) Ask what is your pure form? Realize that you are pure liberation. (4) Ask why are the adjuncts of the not self stuck to the Self? Here think of the soul as author and enjoyer of worldly actions. (5) Ask whether you should keep these adjuncts or abandon them for ever? Here think of the means to liberate the soul from its fetters. One can experience the philosophical truth of Self-knowledge if the above five questions are quietly raised by the mind discriminatingly and proper answers to them are obtained.

5. Proper answers or solutions of the above stated five questions, should be philosophically determined as their solutions are not easy to obtain. Now is told by way of suggesting the key to the solution of these five questions as to whose teaching or advice should one accept or follow. By way of reply it is said that you should accept with unshakable faith the saying of Sat-purusha or a completely truthful person who has realized his Self.

Prathama Atma Siddhi Thava, Karie Gnana Vichara; AnubhaviGurune Sevie, Budha Janano Nirdhar; Kshana Kshana Je Asthirata Ane Vibhavik Moha, Te Jenamanthi Gaya, Te Anubhavi Guru Joy, (79)

One having no Self interest in giving you advice, one who has experienced his Self, if the teaching of such a person is believed and followed, then one can easily turn one's steps to realize his Self. What does a truthful Guru or Preceptor say? The Self is really yours and yours only; know this Self soon and all of you fix your gaze in this Self. If all souls are seen as equal in strength and power and are recognized as such philosophically, then such a person will not be attached to love and hate. Every person who sees his own Self will easily see and recognize similar selves in all living beings. Then there will not remain any love or hate, attachment or aversion. Keep this saying engraved on the slate of your heart so that it can never be forgotten or lost. One from whom unsteadiness and all attachment to not-Self have totally gone away is an experienced Self-realized Preceptor whose saying should be believed.

(The details of the meaning of the poem of this lesson are given on the base of the book"MOKSHAMALA VIVECHAN' prepared from the excellent and invaluable explanations delivered by very respectable, Saintly Param Poojya Shri Brahmachariji a religious authority at Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram, Agas (India)).

So long as tongue desires tasty food, nose desires fragrance, ears desire to hear musical instruments and songs of prostitutes or public women, eyes are lured by seeing beautiful forests and parks, skin desires fragrant ointments, till then such a person cannot be non-attached, unfettered, non-acquisitive, non-engaged in plans of elaborate worldly acts and celibate. It is best to control one's mind from all the above described matters. Control the mind and thereby you can easily control all the senses. To control one's mind is very very difficult. In one fraction of a moment the mind wanders over millions of miles incomparably travelling faster than the fastest horse. The mind in spite of its fast movement, feels never tired; its speed is active and very difficult to catch. Great all-knowing saints have been victorious over this mind by steadying it with powerful reins of self-knowledge, in Uttaradhyayana Sutra Namiraj great seer told Shakrendra that there are many who can conquer ten lakhs of enemy army but very rare are persons who have controlled their souls and such a control is far more excellent than conquering ten lakhs of enemy army.

Mind is the creative base or breeding ground of all troubles. Mind is the cause of bondage and freedom. Mind is the infatuator of all worldly life; if this mind is controlled, not the least difficult is to realize the nature of one's true Self.

The hankering of the senses for their appropriate objects is only encouraged by the mind. Really it is mind that asks for the pleasures of the senses such as agreeable tasty food, melodious voices of musical instruments, sweet fragrance or odor, lustful observation of a woman, application of fragrant ointments on the skin etc. Lured by such hankerings, it does not allow a person to think of or remember religion. In case one remembers religion, it doss not allow him to pay full attention to it; in case one tries to attend to religion and its beneficial teaching, it drags him away from it towards sense-enjoyment on a downward path. In case the mind does not succeed in its machinations then it tries to bring deficiency in the attention of religious following. Only those who firmly fix their attention on the path of their religious discipline in spite of this opposite trend of their minds, they control their mind fully and strictly following the teachings of the great saintly preceptors, achieve all invaluable attainments.

Very rarely one can control his mind all of a sudden; normally it is controlled by strict discipline of repetition of religious practices and such repetition can very well be done when one frees himself from worldly fetters or worries. Still however, in householder's life, we can find mind control by adopting following ways :- Whatever bad desire mind suggests, forget it and do not fulfil it at all; when it desires the pleasures of voice and touch etc. do not fulfil these desires at all; in short never be led away by your mind's desires or ministrations, on the contrary you compel your mind to accept your way of living and that also living for self- realization or liberation. Without this sense - control and consequently mind control, our troubles continue to pester us as if we have not abandoned them at all and we have to bear this burden and suffer with the fear of public censure. Therefore control your mind by repetition and bend it to follow your directives and thereby achieve the benefit of realizing your soul or self.

In what a wonderful way All knowing Saints have in few words shown the nature and the secret of the Truths and by that what a super progress of the soul can be achieved ! Nature and form of the deep and important subject like celibacy is shown briefly in a very miraculous way. Celibacy is compared with an excellent tree and to protect that celibacy there are nine means and they are shown as nine fences to protect that tree, and this discipline makes easy to remember these nine means in a better way for precaution while observing the celibacy. These nine means - fences are described here correctly as per scriptures.

1) Vasati - A celibate saint should not stay at that place where any woman or animal or neutral person may be residing. Woman is of two types (1) Human and (2) Heavenly woman. Again these are of two types (1) original and (2) idol or photo. Animal means buffalo, cow etc. Neutral means a human being of neuter gender. Movement and activities of all these harm the pure feelings of celibacy of a celibate Saint. Therefore a celibate Saint should always be away from that place where all these reside.

2) Katha - Even talk causes aberrations in the celibate's mind. Talk of women, or talk of amorous life is undesirable harmful talk. Hence a celibate person should not indulge in such talks at all. A celibate monk should not preach either one woman or a group of them, nor he should talk about sense or sex pleasures or read such literature.

3) Aasan - A celibate should not sit with a woman on the same seat. Where a woman has sat, a celibate should not sit on that seat for at least 48 minutes because it causes remembrance of a woman and thereby arises sex desire so has said All Knowing Bhagawan.

4) Observation of a woman' s body - A celibate should not observe the woman's body and its limbs by seeing constantly at a special part of a woman's body, sex - desires arise by it, so has said All Knowing Bhagawan.

5) Kudyantara - A celibate should not stay where keeping a wall or torpolin or a cloth in between, a couple enjoys sex-life because the words used by that couple and its movements may cause amorous thoughts in the celibate's mind.

6) Purvakrida- Never remember what you did as a married Person in your householder's life after being a Saddhu or a nun maintaining celibacy. Such remembrance or recollection may break celibacy.

7) Pranita. Do not rake milk, curds, Ghee and such other Sticky objects as your food to often as these objects increase your Semen and promote elation and excitement and this encourages Your sex urge. Hence they are not good for celibacy.

8) Atimatra Ahar - Never fill your stomach nor overeat anything, as this may excite you to break celibacy.

9) Vibhushana. A celibate should not take bath, should not apply any ointment, should not use flowers etc., as they are harming celibacy.

Thus Nirgrantha Bhagawan has prescribed these nine fences to follow for the Protection of Pure celibacy. Mostly you may have heard about them. Yet in a householder's life one may easily keep these in mind while observing periodical celibacy and from this point of view these nine fences are put here with some explanations for the attention of those who want to practise celibacy.

What want can one find in the riches and prosperity of a Sovereign Ruler ? Sanat Kumar was such a Sovereign Ruler. His skin color and bodily beauty were extremely excellent. Once in the religious assembly of heaven that form and beauty of Sanat Kumar were much praised. Some two deities did not like this praise. So to remove their doubts about the correctness of this praise, in the guise of Brahmins, they went to the inner residence of Sanat Kumar. At that time his body was pasted with fine substances and his limbs were anointed with fragrant and soothing substances and he had put on a small cloth to cover him partly and was ready for a good bath. These two deities saw Sanat Kumar's attractive face, gold colored skin and body and moonlike luster and were extremely pleased with what they saw and as acknowledgement of what they had heard and its full confirmation by what they saw in Sanat Kumar, they nodded their heads. So Sanat Kumar asked them as to why did they nod their heads? The deities replied, 'We were very anxious to see your face and bodily form and lustre praises of which we heard at various places and we saw the same in you today and so we are much pleased and satisfied and the reason for our nodding heads is that you possess more beauty and form than what we heard as praises of the same by people from place to place. Sanat Kumar elated by hearing those words said :'You may have well seen me and my beauty now when I am about to take my bath; but my beauty and luster are worth seeing when dressed in royal costumes and bedecked with costly jewelry and ornaments, I sit on my royal throne in my assembly. At present I am only sitting for a bath. You will really be much, wonder struck at that time seeing me.' The deities said,' Well we shall come there to see you then in your royal assembly.' Saying these words the deities went away.

Then Sanat Kumar put on the best matching dresses and ornaments and making his body more and more attractive and lustrous and going to his royal assembly hall, sat on his throne. On both sides his able ministers, learned Pandits, army chiefs and other assembly members sat in their proper places. Sanat Kumar was much praised by all around him serving him in the best way and so he shone out extremely well. Exactly at that time the two deities returned and seeing Sanat Kumar again nodded their heads but in a quite different way than what they had done earlier indicating that they were sorry and displeased at this second sight instead of pleasing. The Sovereign Ruler then asked them as to why did they nod differently at this time. What is the reason? To this the deities replied' O King ! We saw vast difference - like that between the earth and the sky -between what we saw in you before and what we saw in you now.' Sanat Kumar asked them to explain clearly what they meant. By Avadhi Gnana ( super- knowledge) the two deities said, 'O great King! First your body appeared nectar-like to us and now the same body appears poison like to us. Therefore seeing nectar like body of yours, we nodded our head in praise and seeing your poison like body, now we nodded our heads in sorrow and regret. If you want the proof of our saying so, spit a part of the betel leaf you chew now and let a fly sit on it and it will immediately die.

Sanat Kumar examined the statement of the two deities and it was found correct. His body due to the burden of his past Karmas with the addition of the pride of his present body had turned poisonous. Seeing this strange transformation of his mortal and unholy body, Sanat Kumar thought of non-attachment of such body and he felt the whole worldly life worth abandoning. He thought such impurity can be found in the bodies of his wife, sons and friends etc. So it is not proper to be mad after them or to take pride in such a living body ; so saying, he abandoned his prosperity of six continents and went out as a hermit. When he was moving as a Sadhu, he caught a deadly disease and to examine his faith on truth, one deity approached him as a physician and said, 'I am an expert physician and your body has been prey to a very deadly disease which I can remove quickly if you so desire.' -To this Sanat Kumar as a Sadhu replied,'O physician! The disease of Karmas is stronger and more deadly than my present disease. If you are capable of relieving me from it, do try, otherwise leave me alone to allow the disease of the body to take care of itself.' The physician replied, 'O Sadhu ! I am not capable of removing your disease of your Karmas.' Hearing these words, by his spiritual powers the Sadhu plunged his finger in his sputum and applied it to his disease and the disease suddenly disappeared, and the body regained its previous health. Then the deity showed his original form, praised the Sadhu for his spiritual powers and returned home.

The disease like leprosy in a body can show it thoroughly replete with blood and pus oozing out of it and at any moment this body can show symptoms of very deadly diseases, at its every cell there is an abode of one and three quarters of diseases and this body is made up of such diseased three and a half crores of cells. One can say therefore, that every body is a storehouse of innumerable diseases; they only manifest as they like and torment the body. And this is proved when seen it with a discriminative mind. Everyone of these diseases manifest in a body by a disproportion of food etc. and this body is sustained by refuge refuge, urine, hellish material, bones, pus and marrow ,it looks beautiful only by its outer skin covering. Why should one feel lured by such a bodily form and lustre? It is really an illusion or even a delusion. Sanat Kumar only took a little pride for his body and that too this body could not bear it. O lowly soul ! Why do you get lost in such a temporary glamour of your body ? Such attachment to a body is not at all beneficial to a soul.

Great saints advise attainment of following thirty-two disciplines for enlightenment of our Self.

1. To give knowledge of the scriptures to our disciple so as to make him or train him like us.

2. Whatever knowledge we have as a Preceptor, we should teach it to others and enlighten them with the same.

3. One should not abandon his fixed religious discipline even in times of great trouble or difficulty.

4. Practice penance without any desire for worldly happiness here or in future births.

5. Whatever lessons we have received from our great preceptors we should carefully keep them in our mind and behave accordingly and we should accept new lessons discriminatively.

6. We should abandon the sense of mine and thine.

7. We should perform secret penance.

8. We should maintain greedlessness.

9. We should conquer all afflictions and sufferings.

10. We should keep our mind simple and ready to receive good beneficial spiritual lessons from highly non-attached great souls

11. We should practice Pure self-control.

12. We should keep pure, our right understanding of the natures of Self and not-Self.

13. Keep your mind in a concentration with healthy self-attitude of liberation.

14. Follow religious discipline without any deceit.

15. Give due respect to deserving persons.

16. Shorten the limit of desires by means of contentment.

17. Merger yourself always in an atmosphere of total non-attachment.

18. Behave without any illusion or attachment.

19. Be attentive in Pure good activity.

20 Observe Samvara or close all doors from which, sinful karmas may enter your soul, and thereby stop the in rush of sin into your soul.

21. Try to get rid of your faults with equanimous mind.

22. Keep yourself unattached from sense-pleasures of all kinds.

23. Observe five great vows as flawlessly in original form.

24. Observe five great vows as flawlessly with all classes.

25. Perform Kayotsarga enthusiastically.

26. Engage yourself in acquiring self- knowledge and self-meditation with a concentrated mind without any Pramad-care-less or idleness or sloth.

27. Always be minutely inspecting in your Self-conduct

28. Perform meditation with single mindedness for all sense-control.

29. Never be afraid of any misery that may result even in your death.

30. Always avoid contact with women.

31. Engage yourself in purifying yourself by repentance.

32. Propitiate Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir at the time of death.

Each one of these thirty-two disciplines is very invaluable. One who preserves all of them attains infinite happiness.

Some matters and mental desires are on this earth's galaxy which though known to some extent, cannot be said well, still those matters are not perfectly everlasting or possessed of infinite points of view. When such matters cannot be said in words or are indescribable then how can we get or find any analogy for unending happiness of liberation ? Gautam Swami asked Bhagawan Mahavir to tell him about unending happiness of liberation and Bhagawan Mahavir replied, 'Gautam! That unending happiness ! I know it but there are no adequate words to describe it. There is no analogy available here by which I can describe it or say it out. There is no happiness or matter in this world which can stand in comparison or equivalence with the unending or infinite happiness of liberation.' So saying he gave an example or illustration of a Bhila or a simple rustic, as follows :

In a jungle there lived a good Bhila with his family. He had absolutely no idea of the adjunct of prosperity of a city etc. One day some King arrived there for horse play on his way and he badly suffered from thirst so he asked this Bhila with a sign to give him some drinking water which this Bhila gave. The King was much satisfied drinking fine cold water, and with a view to reward him for giving this invaluable drinking water, the King took this Bhila with him. After returning to the city, the King kept this Bhila in a royal way, the like of which he had never thought of or seen in his whole life in the forest -beautiful palace to stay, many servants to satisfy his needs, very attractive cot to sleep and very sweet tasty food and very fragrant ointments for applying them to his body for extreme comfort. Thus the Bhila was extremely pleased and happy. The king would send many diamonds and emeralds of various colors and kinds and many other similar objects to the Bhila for seeing ; he would send the Bhila to gardens and orchards for a pleasure walk and stroll. Thus the King tried to keep the Bhila extremely happy. One night when the Bhila was lying in his beautiful cot and all around were sleeping he remembered his family and children and so he suddenly got up and without taking anything from there, he started for home and on his return he met his family people who asked him as to where had he been all these days. Bhila replied, In all happiness, I saw many praise-worthy things where I had gone with the king.

Family People : But what were they like ? Please describe them.

Bhila: What can I say ? How can I describe what I saw and enjoyed ? There is nothing here known to us by which I can give you an idea of what I saw and enjoyed.

Family People : How can this be? Here are conches, shells, fine stones etc. Was there anything worth seeing like them?

Bhila : No, No, Brothers ! There is nothing here which can be compared with the things saw and enjoyed in the city. Nothing here is so beautiful and valuable as can be compared even with the hundredth part of the things I saw there.

Family People : Then keep quiet; don't say anything. It appears you suffer from a hallucination. How can there be anything better than what we find here with us ?

O Gautam! As this Bhila had experienced royal happiness and prosperity and he knew it, still he could not explain to his family people by giving any comparison, similarly I cannot describe to you even the smallest part of incomparable happiness of liberation which is of the nature of truth, consciousness and joy of the pure Self without any possibility of transformation. I cannot find any analogy for this happiness.

Those doubting the nature of liberation are illogical rationalists. They have no idea of real happiness as they are after momentary happiness of this world. Some having no self-knowledge say that there being no means of greater happiness left except the available means of worldly happiness, those who have or claim to have self- knowledge say that happiness of self-knowledge is unending and limitless. But this statement does not show any power of discriminative understanding. Sleep is loved by every man but therein one is not able to know or see anything, and if anything is known in sleep, it is the illusory knowledge of the dreamt objects which are not real at all, but such dream experience may have some effect on the dreamer's mind. If in sleep without dream, one can see and know all fine and gross objects and yet take quiet undisturbed sleep, then how can he describe the objects seen in deep sleep? What analogy can be fitting to such experiences in dreamless sleep? This is only a gross example, but a simple person who has no discriminative understanding, can by this example be helped to think about eternal happiness that a realized soul enjoys in liberation.

The illustration of the rustic Bhila is in a little different language and with a slight change told here to help one to get some idea of eternal happiness.

Bhagawan Mahavir has described mediation in four kinds.

Now I tell you four characteristics of religious meditation or Dharma Dhyan.

1. Aagna Ruchi - Rise of liking in our mind to accept the teachings of Vitaraga Bhagawan Mahavir.

2. Nisarga Ruchi - Our soul naturally by recollecting the knowledge of its past births, likes to follow noble conduct preached by Bhagawan Mahavir realizing the scriptural understandings.

3. Sutra Ruchi - The rise of a liking for the aphoristic teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir about revealed knowledge and infinite distinctions of reals or truths ; a liking to hear, to think over them deeply and to study them with all affectionate feeling. This is called Sutra Ruchi.

4. Upadesha Ruchi - Rise of a liking for the teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir as under :

To burn all our Karmas resulting from our ignorance of the real by acquiring knowledge; and to see that no new binding Karmas are done by the help of knowledge; whatever actions resulted from our illusory understanding they should be removed or burnt by our clear discrimination of truth and falsehood and even by that clear discriminative power we may not create new or fresh Karmas ;whatever deeds we may have done in our past by attachment may be destroyed or burnt by non-attachment and we should see to it that no burden of new deeds by attachment is created by us. Whatever deeds committed by us by Kashaya=Anger, pride, illusion, greed should be burnt by total abandonment of Kashaya, and we may not create new deeds by forgiveness etc. Whatever Karmas we may have committed in our past by Ashubha Yoga or unfavorable activities may be burnt by favorable activities (Shubha Yoga) and we should see that we do not create new Karmas by Shubha Yoga or favorable activities; whatever Karmas we may have committed by the Aasrava or in rush of bad deeds resulting from the satisfaction of tastes of five senses, should be eliminated or burnt by Samvara or closing of the dears from where these deeds may have entered our soul, by penance but at the same time we should carefully see or keep a watch that we do not create new deeds by Samvara in theform of penance. For this purpose we may abandon or leave the Aasrava Marga or the way of inrush or entry of deeds in our Soul and adopt sincerely the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir for adoption of Samvara Marga; that we may have a rise of strong aspiration in our mind to hear and follow the teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir for this purpose. This is known as Upadesha Ruchi. These four are characteristics of Dharma Now I tell you four supports ( Aalamban ) of Dharma Dhyan.

(1) Vanchana - To read the aphoristic truths in the presence and guidance of a preceptor or a saintly person who knows the hidden meaning of the doctrines of Arhat Bhagawan with all humility and with a desire to experience Nirjara or burning of past deeds and to have right knowledge. This is known as Vanchanalambana.

(2) Pruchhana - Asking questions to a Guru or a preceptor or a saintly person as humbly as possible, for getting self-knowledge to bring into more light the religious path shown by Jineshwar Bhagawan, also to remove all doubts about these truths preached by other religious leaders, to examine impartially the truths of other religions. This is called Pruchhanalambana.

(3) Paravarttana - To ruminate time and again, the meanings of pure religious aphoristic truths by recollecting the Sutras of Jineshwar learnt earlier for keeping them firmly fixed in our memory and for helping Nirjara or shedding off past deeds with Shuddha Upayoga = with care and attention of pure original nature of soul is Paravarttanalambana.

(4) Dharma Katha - To express the aspirations and sentiments similar to those expressed by Vitaraga Bhagawan or to repeat them as such in a religious assembly with a view to firmly accept them with full determination, setting aside all doubt, disbelief or desires without creating any disliking in the mind, and thus making Nirjara or burning all past Karmas of the soul is called Dharma Kathalambana and by this way the speakers and the hearers, both can be equally beneficial by following the commands of Jineshwar Bhagawan.

After telling you four supports of Dharma Dhyana, I now tell you four Anupreksha = inspirations of Dharma Dhyan which are already covered in twelve soul saving or liberating aspirations and they are (1) Ekatvanupreksha (2) Anityanupreksha (3) Asharananupreksha and (4) Samsaranupreksha. I hope you recollect what I have said about these four Anuprekshas as part of twelve liberating aspirations, earlier.

The great past preceptors of Jain religion and the present saintly monks have described Dharma Dhyan very elaborately. By this religious meditation our soul enters constantly in the atmosphere of sainthood.

Whatever rules or distinctions, supports and Anupreksha of religious meditation have been told above, are worthy of serious reflection in one's mind. As said by other great monks (Munishwaras) I have described them to you in general or common language. With that it is necessary for you to ascertain which of these details of religious meditation is or are mastered or perfectly understood by you, or which of them you are now after, to understand fully. Any of these sixteen distinctions is beneficial and useful to you, but if you follow them in the proper order advised by great monks, they are likely to benefit you still immensely.

Some devotees commit lessons on Sutra Siddhanta or aphoristic doctrines preached by Jineshwar Bhagawan to heart or to memory, but along with it if they pay due attention to know the hidden meanings of the fundamental truths, then they clearly can understand the finer distinctions contained in them. Just as in the banana leaf there is further banana leaf, so in one Sutra meaning there is further meaning of the same Sutra. Thinking more deeply on these matters, will raise in you the seed of philosophical knowledge preached by Vitaraga Bhagawan which is pure and absolutely sympathetic or compassionate religious path. And this seed of correct appreciation understanding and strict following the religious path of Shri Jineshwar Bhagawan nurtured by the study of the Shastras or religious scriptures, by questions and answers on the same, by further mental reflection on the same and by contact with Jain Saints, it will finally grow into a developed tree which will later on give fruit in the form of Nirjara or burning all past Karmas, and illumination of the natural light of the soul.

The Vedantic philosophers have shown the kinds of hearing, meditative thinking and Nididhyasan or reflection of the nature of pure Self, but no religion except Jainism has shown such clearly with possible clear cut distinctions of the sixteen ones of Dharma Dhyan. And so they are unprecedented. From their study, one can obtain unprecedented encouragement to hear the Jain Scriptures, to deeply think over them, to reflect on them, to teach them to others, to remove all doubts and difficulties about them, to explain them to others, to think of one's loneliness, to think of the impermanence of this worldly life, to think of one's being an orphan, to adopt non- attachment, to reflect on the unending miseries of worldly life, and finally with the help of the preachings of Bhagawan Mahavir to have a mental picture of Lokaloka - many worlds living or galaxies of living beings. And all these are minutely explained point to point and with many fine distinctions.

By understanding some of them, one will find in him much rise of penance, peace, forgiveness, compassion, non-attachment and knowledge.

Even if you have studied these sixteen kinds of Dharma Dhyan you are further advised to repeat your study and derive excellent benefit from it for your spiritual progress.

That by which we are able to understand the nature of something is called knowledge. This is the meaning of the word knowledge. Now one should to his intellectual capacity inquire as to why is such knowledge necessary ? If there is a necessity then are there any means for acquiring it ? If there are means then are country, time and aspiration favorable to it ? And if all these are favorable then how long they are so ? While deeply thinking how many distinctions are there of such knowledge? What is worth knowing ? Further how many are the distinctions of such objects to be known ? What are the means to know them? What are the ways to acquire these means ? What purpose does this knowledge serve or what will result from acquisition of such knowledge ? All these matters need to be known.

1) What is the need of knowledge ? Let us first think about it. This soul has moved endlessly collecting binding Karmas by living in these ropelike fourteen worlds in all the four kinds of living beings, and this soul has resided repeatedly and for long long periods of time, in hellish and other embryonic painful places and suffered many unbearable miseries repeatedly. Thus this soul moves on and on without any real relief anywhere and much tormented by these miseries resulting as fruits of its own actions. The cause of this movement is his deeds clouding the soul's natural knowledge and others following them, and because of these obstructions of binding deeds of various kinds this soul is not able to realize its own nature and feeling strong attachment to illusion and infatuation, has believed the attached life as real life of its own. The fetal result or consequence of all these binding Karmas and the soul's clouding ignorance is what is said above namely to suffer infinite misery in innumerable unending ways.

To whatever extent this misery is unlikeable, to whatever extent it is painful and to whatever extent it is fierce and yet suffered from unending time only because of ignorance and the deeds resulting from ignorance is a matter of serious reflection by a spiritual aspirant; to dispel such ignorance there is absolutely and completely a necessity of right knowledge.

2) Now we shall here think of means of real knowledge. Complete knowledge cannot be secured with incomplete or inadequate means. Therefore the body which possesses complete means (5 senses and mind) can secure self-knowledge and that body is only human body. Here one may ask there are many souls enjoying human bodies and yet why are they not all acquiring. This necessary knowledge ? By way of reply to such a question, we can say that they may not have heard the holy teachings of the great souls who have acquired the necessary knowledge. Without hearing these teachings one cannot develop proper dispositions. And there cannot arise firm faith in a mind without these proper dispositions. And how can one acquire necessary soul saving knowledge if he has not heard the teachings of realized souls, has not therefore developed proper relevant dispositions to follow these teachings and finally has not developed in him, firm and indomitable faith in these teachings, how can then in him, arise necessary knowledge to save his Soul from worldly life ? Therefore achieving human birth and hearing of the teachings of self-realized, all knowing great souls and firm faith in these teachings are all the three means that are necessary for that knowledge. In countries called Anarya or outside India or where many bad deeds are done and so nothing can be done for soul's uplift one cannot get these teachings and so what is the use of having human birth in such countries ? Therefore being born as a human being in Arya country, is one of the requirements or means for real knowledge. After being born as a human being in Arya country, he requires a proper preceptor to teach him the religious truths and to enkindle in him firm faith in them. Such a preceptor should be Nirgrantha or one who has destroyed all his shackles or fetters.

Even birth in a family which is steeped in ignorance, pride, love and hate and devoted to sense-pleasures only also serves as obstructing to the dawn of-right knowledge, because strong and sharp religious differences also come in the way of right knowledge. Normally one accepts as true the religion of the family in which he is born. Therefore birth in a family of right understanding is also necessary for right knowledge. One should be fortunate to have all these favorable means to acquire right knowledge for his spiritual development. For securing all these means one should have many meritorious good deeds and all these make up the second group of right means.

3) If the means described above are all there, then one needs to know whether there is favorable country and time favorable to these means for right knowledge ? Let us think of the proper country and proper time for right knowledge here I third group of means. The land of India, Mahavideha etc. is a proper country for achieving real knowledge. Oh Fortunate Aspirants! All of you are luckily born in India, hence the country India is suitable for self-knowledge . According to the trend of present time, also there is a suitability to the extent of attaining Mati Gnanaand Shruta Gnana Because the present time is of Dusham Pancham Kaal and in this Pancham Kaal knowledge of Paramavadhi, Manahaparyava and Kevala these three kinds of knowledge are not found and so the present time is to that extent not completely favorable for soul saving knowledge.

4) If the country and time both are favorable then how long will they remain so ? BY reply I can say that whatever doctrinal Mati Gnana and Shruta Gnana are available shall remain generally for twenty one thousand years out of which two and a half thousand years have already passed away so the remaining favorable time is eighteen and a half thousand years; therefore time is favorable upto the end of Pancham Kaal. Thus country and time are favorable.

Now we can think ahead.

1) Where is the need for right knowledge ? We may elaborately repeat here this important point. What is fundamental and necessary is to rise on the ladder of the soul's real nature. Only this way infinite misery will be destroyed, by such destruction the soul will regain its natural happiness and the soul always loves happiness but that is the happiness of its real form. Because of agreeable country, time and Bhaav-feelings, creating faith and knowledge etc. are necessary Knowledge is necessary for rising higher with right self -feelings, take higher birth and from there getting human birth in Matlavideha, there rising again of Samyak Bhaav purification of philosophy and its development, and lastly knowledge as a means of the soul's uplift and as its true result total absence of duals of pleasure and pain, in other words, acquisition of holy liberation which is impartite or unbroken, incomparable and unendingly eternal - and all this is quite necessary.

2) How many kinds or categories of knowledge are there? I shall tell you about it here. There are infinite kinds of knowledge but for the understanding of the common man the All Knowing Bhagawan has told fundamental five kinds. They are (1) Mati (2) Shruta (3) Aavadhi (4) Manahparyava and (5) Keval. Each one of these five kinds has its own sub- kinds ; even of these sub- kinds, spiritually each one can be sub-divided into many other classes. And this goes on and on.

3) What is to be known? Let us think about it. When knowledge is defined as the knowledge of the real and its nature, then the real objects are infinite in number and how to know them all ? After being all knowing, by his all-seeing faculty, the self- realized soul knows and sees the nature and distinctions of that infinitely real from all points of view ; but by knowing which reals, he became all knowing ? Till all unending hierarchies are known, how to know the real elements by knowing which one can know all infinite reals in infinite forms? Let me answer this question now. Whatever unending objective reals we accepted are so from infinite or unending points of view. But as fundamental reals all of them can be summed up as two - i.e (1) Jiva or living being and (2) Ajiva or not - living matter. Separately or differently considered, there are in all nine kinds or the hierarchies or Shatadravyas(six matters) that are knowable. Knowing the ladder of these nine reals the soul by rising from one to the other, becomes all knowing and sees everything from all possible points of view, and by the same road the soul knows and sees all the worlds Loka and Aloka and their nature as one is able to know, see and feel an Amlaka fruit in his hand. Therefore Jiva and Ajiva are two kinds of objects to be known and they are mentioned here.

4) Now I shall tell you briefly the sub-kinds of Jiva and Ajiva. Jivas from the view point of their essential nature as Chaitanya or pure consciousness are all similar and so one, but in respect of their bodily forms they are endless in form and number. Regarding their bodily forms their senses etc, are worth- knowing, their Gati moving from one birth to another birth, Vigati (Moksha) liberation etc. are worth knowing, powers of progress in achieving senses and mind (Sansarg, Riddhi) are also worth knowing. Similarly Ajiva, its forms and formless wonderfully physical elements, like Akasha etc. (sky etc.) the time wheel etc. are worth - knowing. For knowing the Jiva and Ajiva intheir various forms and kinds, Ail knowing and All seeing Jineshwar Bhagawan has said nine kinds or nine truths of the reals.

Jiva, Ajiva, Punya, Papa, Asrava, Samvara, Nirjara, Bandha and Moksha. Some of these nine are acceptable, some are knowable, and some are worthy of abandonment. But all of these nine are indeed to be known by us - (1) Living being (2) Non -living being (3) Poonya-Merit (4) Papa-Demerit (5) Asrava- in rush of Karmas in the soul (6) Samvar-stopping this inrush. (7) Nijara-burning Karmas (8) Bandh-Bondage (9) Moksha-release or Liberation.

5) Means of knowing the above said Nine substances or reals. In ordinary thinking, though these means are known by us still we shall here say more about them. The Agna or teaching of Jineshwar Bhagawan in its pure form is to be known as it is. Individually and independently hardly one knows this. Otherwise, this can be learnt from or known through the help or grace of a non-fettered preceptor or a master who knows it. The non-attached knower of the teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan is the best teacher to tell us about these nine reals. For this purpose the Preceptor who sows the seed of faith in us or who nurtures this seed in us is a means. For getting this means, the abandonment of worldly life which means development of a quietude, Sense and mental restraint, observance of celibacy etc. are other means. This also may be described as a path of series of steps leading to the means of getting a knowing saint and learning from him with deep faith the teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan.

6) Use of such knowledge or the final result of such knowledge has already been described above, but from view point of time something remains to be said and that is that in these our times please repeatedly study for about forty-eight minutes in aday the teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan regularly. By such reading and study of every philosophical word said by Vitaraga Bhagawan Mahavir, the cobwebs of ignorance covering the soul's natural knowledge will die out or disappear and the real knowledge will shine out. I can say this with all discrimination to my command.

The thoughts on the wheel of time are necessary to be known. JineShwar has said two parts of time- wheel - (1) Utsarpini - that which moves up and (2) Avasarpini - that which moves down. Each of these two has six spokes. The present time part is the Pancham Kaal or the fifth spoke, and that belongs to the second part of time wheel called Avasarpini or the part of the time wheel that goes down. Saints have described the behavior of living beings fitting this fifth spoke of Avasarpini time wheel and this description is worth knowing and so I tell you here.

They describe the nature of the fifth spoke of the time wheel as under:-

The faith of people on the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir will gradually be dying out, or will gradually be reduced, the sects having different opinions on basic truths in the same religion will increase. There will be the establishment of false and pretending and confusing religious sects, which will openly and secretly, wrangle on petty matters of forms of worship and prayers in religious temples. People's liking towards irreligion and immorality will be on the increase. Truth and Compassion will gradually be on the decline. Infatuation and attachment to sense pleasures at any cost will be on the increase. Thus sins will increase and good conduct will be rarely seen. Impostor masters with pride and anger inside and wearing a cloak of innocence and knowledge will be respected and people will love and worship them. Men with evil and deceitful intentions and plans will succeed; Cunning and hypocrite speakers will be regarded as holy. Men observing strict celibacy and following good moral conduct will be regarded as full of vices; the distinctions or kinds of self-knowledge will be gradually destroyed ; aimless and purposeless activities will increase ; mostly ignorant behavior will be liked by people. Means of intense sense-pleasures will increase; one-sided partial views will hold the ground and pigheaded parties will usurp power and rule the people. Amorous life will be regarded as a necessary part of religion.

For want of real Kshatriyas or Warriors the land will suffer sorrows and not shine completely; incapable and powerless rulers and their descendant will pass their time in the pleasures with prostitutes ;they will totally forget religion, good action and right political philosophy; they will create injustice, they will loot their subjects as much and by as many wrong means as possible: they will indulge in many sinful activities and they will compel their subjects to follow the same. What we call royal blood will not be found anywhere; the importance of low and cunning advisers to the rulers will increase and these advisers or Diwans will advise the king to increase his personal royal wealth by taxing the poor subjects; they will ask the rulers to accept the court religion which will advocate misconduct or destruction of good and noble conduct, they will see to it that all virtues like valor and fortitude are conspicuous by their disappearance or absence, they will make the rulers blindly follow sins such as hunting etc. Officers of Government will be puffed up with pride thousand times more than their authority deserved. Brahmins and priests will be expecting more gifts or donations with increasing greed from their clients, they will bury truthful learning; they will acknowledge worldly means of happiness as good religion, Vaishyas or Merchant class will be deceitful, totally selfish and hard hearted or stony with no compassion in them. Good feelings of the whole human society will decline or decrease, and they will not stop from performing heinous crimes and dangerously harmful acts. Virtues like discrimination, humility or modesty, simplicity etc., will go on decreasing. Lowly behavior will be followed in the name of Anukampa or sympathy ; love for wife will exceed the love for the mother, love for the son will exceed the love for the father; good women solely devoted to their husbands regularly, will be less and less; regular bath will be regarded as bringing purity to a living man. Wealth will be the indicator of high family; discipleswill behave quite contrary to the advice of their preceptors, even land will be very dry ; in short there is decrease of best things and there is the rise and growth of lowest things and qualities in this fifth spoke of the Avasarpini part of the time wheel. One can easily see around us as to how much this nature of the fifth spoke of the Avasarpini part of the time wheel is prevailing today!

Man will not be able to put full faith in Saddharmatattva - or the true philosophical religion; he will not be able to fully grasp the real philosophy of Jain religion. After the release of Jambu Swami from the mortal body, ten immortal objects have disappeared from India.

Knowing such nature of Pancham Kaal, discriminative people will grasp the truth of right religion and in course of time developing faith in it, will secure a very high state of religious life and as a result win swiftly proceed on the road of self-realization or liberation. The teachings of Nirgrantha or Unfettered Bhagawan Mahavir, the unfettered preceptor etc. are the means of knowing right religion. By following these means, one can decrease his binding Karmas.

There is a statement in 'Dasha Vaikalika Sutra' that how can one ignorant person remain unmoved in self-control (sense control) who has not known the dispositions of Jiva or a living being and Ajiva or Non-living matter ? The meaning of that statement is that you should know the nature of Self and Not-Self and such knowledge is a complete necessity.

We can know the real natures of Self and Not-Self from the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan. Whatever is said in other philosophical systems about these two reals i.e. Self and Not-Self or Jiva and Ajiva is not fully correct. The noble person who with the help of elucidations of great highly illumined intellectual Preceptors or Acharyas knows the fundamental nine philosophical truths or reals discriminatively and can rightly know the nature of the self.

The method (Shaili) of Syadvad - may be this in one respect and may not be this in another respect is incomparable and full of endless distinct dispositions. This method can only be completely or perfectly known by all knowing and all seeing saints. However according to their teachings (Vachanamruta) and by following the Jain Agamas it is necessary to know as far as possible the real nature of the nine fundamental reals. By knowing or grasping these nine reals with full faith and interest in them a very high discriminative understanding, pure right appreciation (Shuddha Samyaktva) and very effective Self-knowledge begin to arise in us. In these nine fundamental reals, the complete nature of Loka loka is also covered. One casts his look on these nine reals and their philosophy as far his intellect and understanding can go, and his soul becomes illuminated by such knowledge as per his developed spiritual dispositions. This way he experiences pure juice of self-knowledge. A person whose philosophy is best and minute or fine (Sukshma) and who adopts that philosophy with noble conduct is very fortunate.

I have already given the names of the nine fundamental reals in the previous lesson. Please get or know more details about them from the great works of Preceptors or Acharyas Possessed of very high spiritual intelligence, because these great works are expository digests of the principal teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan. Hence these nine reals can be easily known with the help of a noble master or a preceptor. Necessary for obtaining the knowledge of nine reals are the classes of Naya, Nikshepa and Pramanabhed and their proper understanding is given by these great Preceptors in their scriptures.

All knowing Bhagawan Mahavir knew all details of Lokaloka- (many worlds) and saw them and taught them to fortunate People who heard him. Bhagawan knew these infinite details of the nature of Lokaloka by his unending or infinite knowledge but he showed to other common people the main nine fundamental reals in order to help them climb over the steps of right knowledge. So all details of Lokaloka are included in these nine reals. The subtle teaching of Nirgrantha Bhagawan is also covered in these nine reals from philosophical view point, besides all subtle thoughts of all different religious systems are covered in only one part of the science of nine reals. This holy teaching of Arhat Bhagawan is to uncover and bring to light the hidden infinite powers of the self. All these infinite powers can fully bloom out when one becomes an excellent knower of the science of the nine fundamental reals.

Subtle knowledge of Dwadshangi is also helpful to the knowledge of the nature of nine reals. Bhagawan has taught these nine reals from various points of view. Therefore it is undoubtedly believable that one who knew this science of nine reals from infinite points of view surely became all knowing and all seeing.

These nine reals can be known by a triple method of (1) Heya - what is worthy of being abandoned or rejected (2) Gneya- what is worthy of being known and (3) Upadeya-what is worthy of being accepted and followed. In these three ways we should think of Nine Reals.

Question : Why should one know what is worthy of abandonment ? Why should one ask or inquire about the way one has not to go?

Answer: This doubt of yours can easily be solved. It is necessary to know what should be abandoned. All knowing Bhagawan also has known all facts of worldly life. The reason for knowing the things worth abandoning is that in the absence of such knowledge we may adopt and accept in our ignorance a thing whose acceptance is not desirable for us. One has to ask for the villages which are on his way when a traveler is going from his village to another distant village. In the absence of such necessary information one may lose his way and reach a place he never wanted to go and besides he cannot reach his desired destination. As he asked the details of the villages falling on his way of travel, but did not stay there at all, similarly a spiritual aspirant should clearly and fully know what are sinful matters but at the same time he should not accept them at all; as the villages on the traveler's way were left behind to proceed on his way to destination so one should necessarily abandon the sinful matters coming on his way to liberation.

The saints who with the help of their True Teachers receive the knowledge of the nine fundamental reals in spite of this Pancham Kaal by hearing, reflecting and meditating with concentration on them, are really extremely fortunate and they deserve all praise. I should like to advise every well knowing person with all humility in me that he should know these nine realities in real form as they are as far as his intelligence can help him.

In the religious rule of Mahavir Bhagawan, too many divergent and differing views are found today. The main reason for this internal division is that its devotees neglected paying attention and due respect to Jain philosophy and they reveled in mechanical adherence to the details of actions in their worship and prayer, and its result is obvious. According to modern research the earth's population is one hundred and fifty crores out of which the Jain followers are only twenty lakhs and they are the devotees of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir, and out of these twenty lakhs Jains, hardly two thousand devotees, I think, might be knowing these nine realities by study, and of these two thousand devotees, hardly there might be only a few that can be counted on finger tips who might be knowing the nine realities by thoughtful understanding and serious mental reflection. It is because of this pitiable state of Jain followers regarding their grasp of the fundamentals of Jain philosophy that we find many disagreements and divergent views about the Jain way of religious living and worship. There is a well known saying that a hundred wise men have only one view and similarly many philosophical thinkers can agree to a single point of view, and so their views do not show differences most probably.

My request to every Jain Monk is that he should spread the knowledge of these nine realities discriminatively as obtained from his preceptor. This way his five great holy vows will be firm and steady ; he will get the gift of incomparable joy of nectar like teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan, he will easily follow the noble and holy conduct of a monk ; as his knowledge and following appropriate action will be pure, it will result in the rise of discriminative understanding of the Self and the not - self in his being and in the end, his cyclic rotation of birth and rebirth will go away, or be no more.

Those devotees of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir who do not even study these nine realities should necessarily study them; after study, they should ruminate them in their mind and their deep meanings should be with respect, grasped from the philosopher saints; their self-knowledge will shine forth there by and they will more follow the restraints and injunctions prescribed by Jain Religion.

By Nava Tattva or Nine fundamental realities I do not mean a composed book about them; but wherever the knowing saints have expressed whatever thoughts are about one or two of these nine realities. Kevali Bhagawan Mahavir has disclosed in the hierarchy of nine realities the whole galaxy of all the worlds. Therefore as one grasps this philosophy by various points of view, he will get unprecedented joy and spotless purity. What is essential for this, is discriminative power, capacity to learn them from the knowing preceptor with obedience and no idleness or sloth or slackness in learning and grasping them. I like these nine fundamental realities very much, and I like also those who experience the joy of knowing these nine realities.

In India today, in thd present time, only Mati Gnana or intellectual knowledge and Shruta Gnana or scriptural knowledge are available, the remaining three kinds of knowledge Avadhi Gnana, Manahparyava Gnana and Kevala Gnana are not available today by Paramparamnaya coming from generations of the preceptors. But as one, with perfect faith enters the cave of these nine realities, one finds in it wonderful or unprecedented self illumination, joy or bliss, the inspiration of powerful philosophy, highest merriment and deep shine which would turn him wonder struck and these philosophical thoughts will raise in him the pure right knowledge (Shuddha Samyak Gnana), In spite of the fact that the traditional power of understanding, very subtle meanings of the Syadvad teachings of the philosophy of nine realities is lost in India of today, yet whatever meanings about them shine out in a spiritual aspirant are clearly seen as full of serious truths. If they are repeatedly remembered and meditated upon, they can persuade even a Charvak thinker of a flickering mind taking pleasure in momentary happy living, to believe and be steady, in this true religion of Jainism. Briefly speaking, the philosophy of these nine fundamental realities will bring to its student rich presents of all kinds of spiritual acquisitions, purity or holiness, great noble character, non-attachment.

Once I had a talk with an accomplished learned man about the astonishing or wonderful teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir. In that relation that learned man said that though he accepted Mahavir as if powerful Philosopher whose teachings have been well ordered and classified in details by his clever disciples and though these thoughts were really wonderful, yet he could not say that these wonderful teachings include or cover the knowledge of everything in this world. Yet if I could give some Proof about it then he was prepared to admit it with faith. In reply I said that though I did not know the Jain teachings as they are O' in their specific distinctions, but whatever generally I know of them, on that basis I can give you the proof of all knowingness of Jain teachings. Then I started talking to him about the philosophy of nine realities. I told him that these nine realities include the knowledge of the whole Would but one must have the capacity t know them well. Then he asked for the proof of what I said to him. Then I told him eight kinds of Karmas and I asked him if he could add the ninth kind of Karmas which would be different from these eight kinds. Describing to him the characteristics of sin and merit I asked him to tell or find out any other characteristic not included in my description. In this way one by one I proceeded in my talk with him. First I told him the four different kinds of Jiva or a living being, and I asked him to add anything not included in these four kinds, or to subtract anything which was redundant, or overlapping. Then I told him the distinct kinds of Ajiva or Not Self or Not-living things and asked him if he had to add anything to what I said or subtract anything which he thought irrelevant or improperly classified. Thus I talked with him about the nine fundamental realities accepted by Jain religious philosophy and after thinking a while he said ,'This is really a wonderful way of 'Mahavir's teaching that I do not get any new kind of living being not included by Mahavir in his classification, nor do I get any new kind of sin or merit not included in Mahavir's classification nor do I get ninth Karma to add to the already declared eight kinds of Karma. I really did not know that Jain philosophy included or contained such fundamental philosophical principles. They can to some extent cover the philosophy of this whole world.

From what you say now, it appears that even now you have not taken to heart the Jain philosophical teachings, but when this happens, you will completely agree with my appreciation of them. I can say truthfully and with all impartially, that what pure knowledge is shown by them in these teachings can never be found elsewhere and whatever knowledge all other philosophical systems express, is covered by or included in only one part of Jain philosophical teachings. Jain philosophy advises knowledge from all points of view and that is called Syadvad which makes it impartial and not one sided or partial.

Your saying that Jain philosophy to some extent covers the philosophy of this whole world seems to me a dubious reply. Possibly because of our limitation to explain the Jain philosophy to you, it may be that you are still not fully agreeing with my appreciation of Jainisim. But that does not prove that the said Jain philosophical teachings of Mahavir Bhagawan are imperfect or limited, and to say this, is not to be partial. No one, howsoever deeply he thinks, can find in this world at any time the tenth reality to add to the nine realities shown by Jainism. Whenever in future, we may get an opportunity to meet and discuss this matter further and equally impartially then you may undoubtedly accept my view.

In reply he said, 'From your talk there is no doubt left in my mind about the wonder of Jain philosophy. As you showed to me some portions of that philosophy one by one, I can now freely admit that Mahavir had known secret powers and mastered mystic experiences.' Thus saying he referred to Labdhi Vakya namely "Upanneva', 'Vighaneva', 'Dhuveva', and further said 'No wonder is seen in the common or ordinary meaning of these words- Upanneva means to create, Vighaneva means to destroy and Dhuveva means to be steady or everlasting. But Shreemaan Ganadharas have proclaimed that hearing these words from the preceptor's mouth, the devoted disciples in the long past could obtain completely meaningful knowledge of Dwadashangi (Jain scripture)

I thought much on this matter but I felt in result that it is impossible to happen; because how can the very fine and subtle doctrinal knowledge be fully covered by these three words? Can you throw some light on this point?'

In reply I said that today in India three kinds of knowledge of which traditional transfer was possible from preceptor to his disciple in long series in the past are now lost or not available. Not withstanding this condition, I am neither all knowing nor possessed of great extraordinary intelligence, still so long as my ordinary understanding can allow me to reach, I will possibly give you a satisfactory answer to the point raised by you. Then he said, 'Yes, if it is possible then explain the nature of Jiva by the triple method of Upanneva, Vighaneva, Dhuveva. It means as under :

Question : is Jiva created ?Reply : No, it is not created.

Question : Is Jiva destructible?

Reply : No, it is not destructible.

Question : Is Jiva eternal or everlasting Reply : No, it is not eternal or everlasting.

Take this triple method second time as under :-

Question : Is Jiva created ?

Reply : Yes, it is created.

Question : Is Jiva destructible?

Reply : Yes, it is destructible.

Question : Is Jiva eternal or everlasting?

Reply : Yes, it is eternal or everlasting.

These thoughts are arranged by the whole group of persons in a systematic order. If they cannot be shown to be correct, then they will be very faulty from many points of view. That which is destructible, cannot be everlasting and this is the first doubt or contradiction. If Jiva has no creation, destruction or eternity, then how will you prove its reality? This is a second question or a contradiction. Destructibility and eternity are mutually contradictory and this is the third doubt.

If Jiva is absolutely eternal, then why did you say that it is created? This is untruth. This is the fourth doubt. If you say that Jiva can be created but it is eternal, then we ask who created this Jiva which by nature is eternal or everlasting? This is the fifth doubt; and if Jiva is created by someone then it loses its beginninglessness. This is the sixth doubt. If that which is absolutely everlasting or eternal is there in the destructible form, then such contradictory statement is made by Charvaka thinker and therefore such a statement implies acceptance of Charvaka view point and its mixture with Jain view point. This is the seventh doubt. If you say that Jiva is created and is destroyed then this is fully what the Charvaka philosophy advocates. This is the eighth doubt. Once you said 'no' for creation, destruction and eternity of Jiva at one time and then at the next moment you said 'yes' to all the three qualities of Jiva. Thus multiplying three by two, gives us six doubts. Thus totally there are fourteen doubts. By elimination of absolute eternity of Jiva, the sayings of Tirthankara will crumble down as untruth. This is the fifteenth doubt. If you accept creation and eternity, then creator's existence is established and in that case the saying of All-knowing Mahavir is proved as untrue. This is sixteenth doubt. If Jiva is accepted as created and also as destructible then that would mean impossibility of sin and merit etc. and in that case there would be no need of religion at all and religion and irreligion - both will be eliminated. This is the seventeenth doubt. If it is said that Jiva has creation, destruction and ordinary worldly life, then this means that Jiva is not absolutely immovable or unchanging then this would prove the truth of Vedanta that Maya is possessed of three qualities and this is the eighteenth doubt.

Thus the above mentioned eighteen doubts can be raised about the teaching of Mahavir Labdhi Vakya 'Upanneva, Vighaneva, Dhuveva,' if it is not well established. One Jain Monk Said to me and my friends that Jain Saptabhangi Naya i.e. the knowledge of a thing from seven different points of view or angles of vision is Apurva or unprecedented and that all objects by it can very well be known and established. This Saptabhangi Naya includes the distinctions of Nasti - a thing is not there and Asti - a thing is there - and these distinctions about the same thing are difficult to comprehend. Hearing this saying, we returned home and planned to apply the said Labdhi Vakya 'Upanneva,, Nasti Asti cannot fittingly apply to Jiva and so this and similar Labdhi Vakyas will be confusing. Still I do not view them scorn or disdain.

I believe the two distinctions of In reply I told him,'The way you applied the said Labdhi Vakya on Jiva using Nasti Asti Naya was not according to Sanikshepa (with Nikshepa) style and so possibly it might have led you to a partial view point. Besides I do not know Syadvad style perfectly well; I only know a part of it with my limited understanding and you have not applied Nasti Asti Naya according to Syadvad style. So whatever I can logically say, you please hear.

The scheme of saying 'no' to creation of Jiva can be shown to be correct in the sense that 'Jiva as self is beginningless and endless.' The scheme of saying 'no' to destruction of Jiva can be proved correct in the sense that at no time Jiva as self will ever be destroyed.

The scheme of saying 'no' to eternity of Jiva can be proved correct in the sense that 'Jiva does not remain permanently in one body.

The scheme of saying 'yes' to creation of Jiva can be proved correct in the sense that the Jiva migrates from one body to another till it gets liberated.

The scheme of saying 'yes' to destruction of Jiva can be proved to be correct in the sense that the Jiva suffered destruction in the body left by it for taking birth in another body. Or it can also be said in the sense that the Jiva suffers death at every moment spent by it to its attachment to worldly life, because it comes in the way of Self-realization. Thus we can say that the Jiva, engrossed in worldly life, is destructible.

The scheme of saying 'yes' to indestructibility or eternity of Jiva can be proved correct in the sense that Jiva in its essential nature as self is never destructible. It is eternal and remains so in all times past, present and future.

Now this way all the doubts raised by you will be solved quite satisfactorily and the truth of Labdhi Vakya will be easily convincing.

1. Jiva is not destructible; this proves its eternity solving your first doubt.

2. Creation, Destruction and Eternity of Jiva are all proved from different points of view and so the truth of Jiva is proved solving your second doubt.

3. As the eternity of Jiva in its tnre nature is proved therefore its destructibility is proved unreal solving your third doubt.

4. The Self in the Jiva is eternal so creation of that Jiva as Self, is disproved solving your fourth doubt.

5. Jiva's beginninglessness is proved, so the fifth doubt of creation of Jiva is solved.

6. Since creation of Self or Jiva is not established, the sixth doubt about the creator of Jiva is solved.

7. Taking eternity and destructibility together in the sense of self as eternal and Jiva as a living being in a body as destructible, the contradiction is no more there and so your seventh doubt of regarding Jain view of Jiva as the same as the Charvaka view of Jiva is solved.

8. We proved that the birth of a soul in a body is called creation and its leaving the body at death is called destruction, so both creation and destruction of Jiva are proved and so your eighth doubt that Jain view of soul is nothing but the Charvaha view of soul, is solved.

9 to 14 : As all these doubts are shown to contradict each other all these doubts are solved.

15. As we proved the beginninglessness and endlessness of Jive, the Syadvad saying is proved correct and so your fifteenth doubt about it is solved.

16. We proved that eternal soul never requires any creator, the truth of the saying of Jineshwar is proved. solving your sixteenth doubt.

17. We proved the existence or reality of Dharma or religion and Adharma or irreligion by showing good and bad deeds of Jiva creating furher lives of Jiva, and so your seventeenth doubt solved. We showed the cyclic rotation of worldly life binding the Jiva.

18. Proving all these facts as correct, the Maya of the Vedanta is proved as wrong and so your eighteenth doubt is solved.

I believe your plan of applying Labdhi Vakya to Jiva by Nasti Asti Naya could be quite satisfactorily resolving all your doubts. Still I do not think that the Syadvad style is perfectly employed by me, and yet you can derive much intellectual joy or amusement from it. For employing Syadvad style perfectly, we require more time for a long discussion and so I stop here; but one or two minor points I should like to tell you, if you have been satisfied with my solutions to your doubts.

After getting his satisfactory reply permitting me to tell him what I wanted, I told him reviving our talk about Labdhi Vakya; that his doubting its truth or calling it confusing (Klesharupa) is an unjust assessment. For understanding truly and correctly these Labdhi Vakvas - or sentences expressing high spiritual powers of their speaker -- one requires very bright self-power, strong receptiveness of the Master's teachings and a spirit of non-attachment. Till these qualities are not there, doubts about the correctness of such powerful teachings may remain. But I hope what I tell you now about the Labdhi Vakyas, will not go waste; and that is as under:

As you planned to apply Labdhi Vakya on Jiva by Nasti Asti view point even here too one has to employ deep and serious thinking about many details such as separate creation of each living body, movement, rest, conception, Paryapti, senses, existence or power of mind, word and body, knowledge, feelings, longevity, sense-pleasure etc. each one has its own nature of activity; if all these are individually studied in relation to this Labdhi Vakya 'Upanneva, Vighaneva, Dhuveva' many detailed thoughts can be derived from it and this is the unprecedented speciality of Labdhi Vakya. All think as far as their intelligence leads them but from the point of view of original substance and from that of its distinctions, these three words of Labdhi Vakya include the knowledge of the whole world. Very few philosophical thinkers think this way but when such Labdhi Vakya comes from the mouth of such great accomplished seers or preceptors then why can it not give or bring to its hearer Dwadashangi knowledge? How does a man, hearing the word Jagat or world understands leaving or setting aside one home, one residence, one village, one city, one country, one continent, one earth and all these, the meaning of a whole globe, containing innumerable details of houses, residences, villages, cities, countries, continents, rivers, oceans, skies empty illimitable outer spaces, stars, planets etc? The reason for such understanding is the depth of meaning associated with that word by common sense. Think how much is included in this word Jagat or world! As by saying the word world we can understand such broad detailed meaning, similarly polite, obedient and deserving devotees by taking understanding from their unfettered Teachers could get the knowledge of whole Dwadshangi Sutra from this Labdhi Vakya and so this Labdhi Vakya is not at all confusing one or giving pain if we comprehend it with politeness and discrimination.

Same can be said about the nine realities. Do you think that when the middle aged son of Kshatriya King Siddhartha boldly declared the non-existence of the creator of this world, he could have done so fearlessly without any secret experience of his knowledge of everything that can be thought of or seen everywhere? He said that this world is beginningless. When you read more about his faultlessness, you would definitely think that he was himself God or Parameshwar. He said what this world was felt by his all-knowing and all -seeing nature. He did not see any creator of this world and he saw that this world had no beginning and so he said what the world was, with no creator and no beginning. His impartial and absolutely correct philosophical thoughts are worthy of your deep thinking and sound research. Those speaking undesirable words about Jain system of philosophy do not know what Jain is and hence they do injustice to Jainism; therefore I think, they will invite their downfall by their egotistic partial understanding.

After this we had some talk and taking a promise from him that he would think over my appreciation of Labdhi Vakya and study more as he could, on a suitable occasion, I, with pleasure left him from there.

All this was said in connection with Tattvavabodh or knowledge of Reality. One should try to know and understand these philosophically deep thoughts as far as they are understandable or knowable to him in view of this present time. Whatever thoughts of Jineshwar Bhagawan can be grasped, one should try to grasp and accept them, and leave those thoughts which appear worthy to be left.

I tell quite truthfully that one who knows these fundamental realities as they are, shines out with Anant Chatustaya i.e. status of Moksha. Even in arranging in cyclic order these nine fundamental realities, half a suggestion is to show the nearness or close proximity of Jiva with Moksha!

You know well that counting nine realities starting with Jiva the last i.e. ninth reality in the series comes Moksha or liberation. In the series of one after the other, Jiva will be away from Moksha with seven other realities in between the two. So Jiva will always be in the beginning and Moksha will always be the last at the end. So the two in a serial order will always remain at opposite ends. The series is as under :-

Jiva, Ajiva, Punya, Papa, Asrava, Samvara, Nirjara, Bandha, Moksha.

As I told you before, that putting these names in cyclic order one can find that Jiva and Moksha are very near or close to each other, but instead of this close proximity of Jiva with Moksha, the proximity one experiences in worldly life is that of Jiva with Ajiva, but that is not correct, that proximity of Jiva with Ajiva is due to ignorance of Jiva, with the help of knowledge, Jiva finds its proximity with Moksha when all the nine names are put in a cyclic order as under:

Now have a look at the above cyclic order; do you find any proximity? Yes, we find there is proximity as said above. Jiva is very near to Moksha, but it should be in feelings of Jiva and when this happens then Jiva will definitely attain Moksha or liberation. The means to teel Jiva's proximity with Moksha are (1) Satparamatma Tattva (2) Satguru Tattva and (3) Saddharma Tattva. To be absolutely one with the other, Jiva to be one with Moksha - the living soul to be one with liberation, there are three means of knowledge - Gnana-right knowledge. Darshan-right vision and Charitra or noble conduct appropriate to right vision. By putting the nine realities in cyclic order, one may have doubt that when both Jiva and Moksha are very close to one another, then should the rest be abandoned ? By way of reply I say, that if you can abandon all the rest then do it by all means quickly and then you will be liberation itself. If it is not possible, then accept the teaching of Heya - that is worthy to be abandoned ; Gneya - that is worthy to be known and Upadeya -that is worthy to be adopted or accepted or adhered to or followed. In this way you will attain self - realization or Atma Siddhi.

Whatever I said before, is not for a man born in Jain family only; it is for all persons immaterial of their birth. Also you should undoubtedly accept that what I say is quite impartial and purely with a view to help all persons to realize their self.

Whatever Dharm Tattva - Religious truth I have to tell you is not to be done so because of my partiality or for my personal gain and there is no reason for me to say you that way. Why should I invite my downfall by telling you something irreligious with partiality or selfish interest? I tell you repeatedly for your following the teachings of Nirgrantha or unfettered Bhagawan Mahavir and that I do because these teachings are complete truths. Jineshwaras had no reason to preach wrong things or partial truths; also they were not ignorant people that under the influence of ignorance they might preach or teach wrongly. If you raise a doubt as to how can you know that they were not ignorant, then in reply, I should like to ask you to meditate on the secrets of their holy doctrines or principles. One who will do as I say, will never raise again any doubt minor or major, on these religious teachings; the propounders of Jain philosophy have neither favored me with gifts or money, nor are they my family relatives that even sometimes, I may side with them and tell you something with partiality. Besides I have no feeling or attitude of anger or hate towards propounders of other religions, that I may wrongly use my energies to disprove their teachings. In both I am impartial and equanimous with my limited intelligence. I have thought very much and so far as my intelligence could lead me,(can say with all modesty and humility, O Dear fortunate souls! There is no philosophical system as complete and holy as Jainism ; no God is equivalent to Veetaraga or Unattached Bhagawan Mahavir or similar other Jineshwaras, if you want to cross over success fully the ocean of infinite miseries, then you follow wholeheartedly the Kalpavruksha or desire-fulfilling tree of All-knowing Jain philosophical system.

Jain philosophy is so complete with series of extremely intricate subtle chains of thinking that one has to spend more time, even to have an elementary understanding of it. A wise man of good discriminative power should not form his opinion of that philosophy superficially or be led away by the misguided opinions or statements of the opponents of Jainism. It is not for him the right course to adopt or follow. Suppose a pond is full to the brink with water, and so its water on its surface appears calm and even leveled, but as we go further into it, we get into deep and deeper waters and we realize how deep it is, though it looks not very deep looking to its surface water. Similarly all religious philosophies of the world are like this pond ; looking at them superficially or in external appearance, to tell them as all equal is not just or proper. Persons having such opinion have not attained truth at all. One whole life may not be enough to know and comprehend fully even one holy philosophical doctrine of Jainism, and this is experienced by many great Jain thinkers. All details of all other religious philosophical systems of the world are not making up even a drop of the ocean of Jain philosophical system. One who knew Jain and adopted it becomes totally unattached and all knowing. How holy persons the propounders of Jain Religious Philosophy were! How whole or undivided, perfect and compassionate are the philosophical doctrines of Jain religion! There is no fault in it, no imperfection or incompleteness in it. Jain system is therefore absolutely faultless. There is no metaphysical thought or subject in the world which is not covered by Jainism and there is not metaphysical truth in the world that cannot be found in Jainism. Jain Darshan or Philosophy perfectly gives the details of an object from infinite points of view and so it is a perfect system. Reason is at its zenith in Jain system the like of which cannot be found in any other philosophical or religious system anywhere. As there are no two souls or selves in one body, similarly there are no two Jain systems in our one World: It means that no philosophical system can stand in comparison or as equal to Jainism. What is the reason for saying so? Then I say the reason is its perfection, non-attachment, truthfulness and as beneficial to the whole world. These characteristics of Jain religious system make it all knowing, all seeing and all perfect.

I should also accept with justice that when one philosophical system's perfection is to be proved, then one should clearly show the imperfection of another system or systems and that too taking an impartial point of view. Here there is no enough space to prove both the perfection of one philosophical system namely Jainism and imperfection of any other system. Still I have been telling you about it, though in brief. Fundamentally what I have to say to you is that one who does not accept my view or who does not like it or thinks it impossible, should impartially study Jain philosophical works and other philosophical works and thinking over them, should evaluate them in the balance of justice ; if he does so, he will surely conclude that what I had repeatedly said as striking the stick on the drum about the of Jain philosophy, was correct to the point.

This world is a blind movement, and in it there are many cobwebs of various religious systems. Very few become pure souls. Very few search for truth with full discriminative power. So I am not so much sorry to learn as to why followers of other religious systems do not know or study Jain system well. One should not doubt my saying this way.

Still I am much surprised as to why did thinkers of other philosophical systems call this holy and faultless religious philosophical system of Jainism propounded by Jineshwar Bhagawan Mahavir as Nastika or Atheistic- a system whose propounder had perfectly realised his pure self, was totally free from all vices and imperfections, had no reason to tell lies or unessential matters? Calling it Nastika they did not think much about it and its details and so they did not know it well and thereby they did not get any benefit for the good of their soul, and going further in ignorance they became prey to different opinions due to indiscrimination and gave such a hasty and false assessment of Jainism.

I believe they might have done so, not knowing the philosophical truths of Jain system ; besides they would have thought that they might be shaken in their faith in their own accepted system of philosophy if they knew Jainism well and then people who accepted their statements as correct would rise in revolt against them, and if that happened, their own greatness would decline and this might adversely affect their livelihood which solely depended on the Vedas, besides, their falsely established status of a Parameshwar or God in self will not continue and will vanish. Led by such a line of thinking they castigated Jainism as atheistic and by calling Jainism Nastika, they nipped in the bud any desire in their followers even to study Jainism and know its details to find out for themselves by independent impartial thinking, whether Jainism was really Nastika or not. Ordinary people do not give much thought to these matters and blindly follow their family religion. How can they be expected to think philosophically? To call Jainism atheistic is so unjust, so far from truth and causing so much harm to those who say so, that only those who have with discrimination understood and accepted Jain philosophical doctrines can know and appreciate. It is possible that my saying this, may be dubbed by unthinking people as partial and incorrect.

That opponents of Jainism referred to above, justify their calling it atheistic, by arguing that Jainism do not believe in the existence of God as a Creator of this world, and therefore those who do not believe in God as a Creator, are naturally to be called or regarded as atheistic. Such an argument easily and immediately appeals to simple unthinking people, and they accept it with a show of mental satisfaction. Such people have no inspiration to assess facts and think of the matter in the correct way. But from this, if it is thought as to why the Jain thinkers have called this world as beginningless and endless? What is the basis for Jain denial of a world creator God? Then thinking this way, they can come to realize the purity of Jain religion. What was the need of God, fulfilling which he created this world? Suppose he created this world, then why did he put happiness and suffering in it? Suppose he created it then what made him put death in it? To whom had he to show his play or Leela? If he created the world, what deed of his, resulted in his world creation? Why did he not think of or desire to create the world before that Karma of his ? Who is God or Ishwara ? What are the objects of this world? And what is this desire on the part of God to create this world full of imperfection ? Suppose he created this world he could have established only one religion in it. Why should he confuse his own created beings by various mutually opposite many religions in it ? Suppose God committed a mistake in creating this world! All right! We pardon him for so doing. But how did he become so over wise as to give birth to a man like Mahavir who at one stroke denied God's existence ? Why did this Creator God allow the establishment of \/ardhaman's religious rule in this world? Where was the need or necessity for God to strike his own legs by his own axe? This is one line of thinking of this matter. The other way of thinking is - let us ask whether the propounders of Jainism had any hatred or anger against such a God? Supposing that God existed and created this world, was the Jain thinker of the calibre of Mahavir lose anything by accepting God as world creator? Was he to gain any greatness by saying that God as World Creator did not exist at all ? Mahavir said as he saw, as he knew and declared that there was no God as world creator; that this world was without a beginning and without end. Thinking on these two lines, one can easily be convinced to realize that Mahavir and other holy Jineshwaras of before him have described this world as it is, nothing more, nothing less. They had no reason to say somewhat different from what they saw and knew. I feel pity for those who call Jain system of philosophy atheistic -- the philosophy which is holy and propounded by those who have advocated the protection of all living beings including the minutest unicellular organisms and who have described in detail all objects of the world big or small, high or low, the smallest material particles of dust and that too from all possible points of view. Which low state of being such men will reach, is painful to think!

One who does not succeed with justice, begins to pour out abuses. Similarly when Shankaracharya, Dayanand Saraswati etc. could not refute the solid philosophical doctrines of Jainism they proclaimed Jainism as atheistic and arising from Charvaka materialistic system. But if anyone could ask them Gentlemen ! You may discuss this matter later on, for saying such words does not require any time, any modesty and discriminative power or knowledge; but please reply to my question as to in what sense is Jain philosophy lower or wanting as compared with the Vedic philosophy? You tell us once of what standard are the Jain knowledge, teachings, the hidden meaning of such teachings and the Jain noble conduct and character? Also tell us how the thoughts of the Vedas accepted by you, are higher than those of Jainism? Thus when these opponents of Jainism are compelled to come to a definite point of such comparison, then they have only to keep quiet and nothing to say. In comparison of great noble persons by whose nectar-like sayings and power of Yogic acquisitions truth, compassion, philosophical knowledge and great noble conduct arise and grow in this world are regarded as lower then those Vedantic Vedic supporters who are steeped in enjoying sense - pleasures and who do not understand even general philosophy and whose conduct is not beyond question in compare to regard the second type of persons higher than the first type of persons and in addition to post them as God or Parameshwar and to worship them and to use undeserving language for truthful truths, to call those who have achieved their highest stage of self as atheistic shows only how deeply bound such persons are by their heap of Karmas. But the world has become blind by infatuation or Moha or false attraction ;where there are differences of opinion, there is darkness, where there is prevailing a sense of mine and thine or deep attachment, there is no truthful element - why should we not think about it this way ?

One important point I want to make here to you and it is without any sense of mine and thine and quite just, is that you may believe in or accept any philosophical system, and whatever you feel like, you may say about Jain philosophy; you see Jain philosophical thoughts just the same way as you see the doctrines of all other systems of philosophy. Whatever from your independent self-power you feel proper, you accept it. You need not accept either my view or any other's view at once but you think of truth.

Why have the English people succeeded in achieving proficiency in arts and sciences? Thinking about this matter, it is seen that they are very enterprising and adventurous and to add to their zeal, many come together to work out a scheme and succeed in it by persisting individual and collective efforts. What did they achieve by their collective co-operation in the development of arts and sciences? In reply you will see that they obtained wealth, fame and authority. By this reference, I do not advise you to behave like the English people to be proficient in various arts and sciences. But the secret truth told by All knowing Bhagawan Mahavir is under dormant condition today, and I show you the necessity to bring it to light, to publish it and to collect the great philosophical works of the Preceptors of the past times, to avoid all unnecessary doctrinal differences and divergent views of many Jain religious sects, and to bring to full bloom the religious learning and for this purpose I suggest that wealthy persons of good and noble conduct and highly intellectual persons should jointly make an effort to establish a great community or a society to achieve the above purposes. Such a society is very necessary today. I do not see the upward march of Jain religious rule till there is no collective effort by a society as suggested above devoting all energies to bring to light the hidden element of the holy Syadvad Mata. Wealth, fame and authority can be achieved by worldly proficiency in arts and sciences, but by proficiency in this religious art and science, you will obtain all powers and success in everything. After forming such a great religious society, you can establish similar sub-societies carrying out specific section of the total work. It is time to leave all petty differences of various quarrelling sects, and leaving them behind come out to form a fully co-operative Jain religious society. This is a much better way to fulfil one's duty to Jain religious philosophy. I wish what I say now, comes true, differences of Jain sects may vanish. Let all concentrate their minds on philosophical truths preached by Bhagawan Mahavir and eleminate the sense of mine and thine.

The repeated teaching of Bhagawan Mahavir is that save your soul and for it spread the light of philosophy and have noble conduct. Whatever ways are shown to achieve the above, are all dependent on tile strict control of mind and to achieve it, your aim of life should be strong and following are the obstacles to the fulfillment of your aim:-

1. Idleness. 2. Irregular sleep. 3. More than necessary eating. 4. Nature with no control. 5. Worldly machinations. 6. Irregular sex life. 7. Undesirable enjoyment. 8. Honor and Pride. 9. Limitless work beyond capacity. 10. Self - Praise. 11. Taking Joy of heinous objects. 12. Rasagaravalubdhata = To take pride and have greed for tasty food. 13. Excessive sense-enjoyments. 14. Desire to harm others. 15. Earning without reason. 16. Affection with many persons. 17. Going to improper places. 18. Not to master even single best rule.

So long as mind is keeping contact with above mentioned eighteen obstacles to its control, these eighteen sources of sin (18 Papa Sthanakas) will not be destroyed. If these sources of sin are destroyed, then mind easily becomes self controlled and expected success can be achieved. No man will be able to uplift his soul till these eighteen obstacles are near to his mind. In place of excessive sense-enjoyment, one who has not kept with him normal sense-enjoyment but who has taken a vow of total abandonment of all sense-enjoyments and in whose heart there is no root of any one of the above mentioned eighteen obstacles or obstructions to the mind, is a very fortunate and truthful man.

1. From one point of view rule is the controller of the world.

2. A man who knows the mystery of internal character of Great Saints, becomes God or Parameshwar.

3. Fickle or wavering mind is the root of all unbearable miseries.

4. Contact with many persons and excessive contact with few persons are both equally harmful or painful.

5. Philosophers call solitude, the meeting of similar minds

6. You will achieve happiness, joy and highest state of your being by controlling your senses and not by believing that you are happy when the senses control you.

7. Without attachment there is no worldly life and without worldly life there is no attachment.

8. Total abandonment of all contacts with worldly life in your youth brings you the highest state of your soul.

9. Think of that object which is by nature beyond the ken of the senses.

10. Be well attached to the good virtues of a virtuous man.

Today I ask you some questions for answering them to you according to the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir.

Question : Tell me what is the importance of religion ?

Answer : To destroy the fetters of Karmas of the soul troubling him from beginningless time.

Question : What is first - Jiva or Karmas ?

Answer : Both are of course beginningless. If Jiva is first, there must be some instrumental cause for defiling the soul which is by nature undefiled and pure. If it is said that the Karmas were first and then came the Jiva, then the question will arise namely who performed these Karmas ? Therefore by above justification it is correct to say that Jiva and its Karma are both beginningless.

Question : Is Jiva with form or formless ?

Answer : It is both with form and also formless.

Question : Please tell us from what point of view Jiva has a form and from what point of view Jiva is formless .

Answer : As the Jiva is in the body, it is with form, but as by its own nature, it is body-less therefore it is called formless.

Question : Why has the Jiva a body ?

Answer : As a result of the Karmas of Jiva.

Question : How many are the main kinds of Jiva's Karmas ?

Answer: Eight

Question: What are they ?

Answer : (1) Knowledge covering (2) Vision or perception covering (3) Vedaniya (4)Mohaniya (5)Naam-or name (6) Gotra-or family status (7) Aayushya or longivity and (8) Antaraya or obstacles.

Question : Give a general idea of these eight kinds of soul's Karmas.

Answer : (1) Gnanavaraniya means that which covers or conceals the infinite power of knowledge possessed by the soul. (2) Darshanavaraniya means that which covers or conceals the infinite power of vision or perception possessed by the soul. (3) Vedaniya means that which covers or conceals the infinite power of limitless and obstructionless or eternal happiness possessed by the soul. These Vedaniya Karmas are of two kinds - (i) Shata and (ii) Ashata when the soul is in a body. (4) Mohaniya means that which obstructs the soul's power of living in its own pure nature. (5) Namakarma obstructs the divine power of formlessness of the soul. The soul in its own nature has no birth and so no death; therefore to adopt a name while in a body is obstruction to its own nature (6) Gotra Karma obstructs the permanent spreading soul power (Avagahana) possessed by the soul. It attracts higher and lower tribe or family (7) Aayukarma obstructs the power of imperishabilty possessed by the soul. (8) Antarayakarma obstructs the power of endless giving, benefit, valor enjoyment (Anant Dan, Labh, Virya, Bhog, Upbhog) possessed by the soul.

Question : When these eight kinds of Karmas are destroyed then where does the soul go?

Answer : To endless and eternal liberation (Moksha).

Question : Has this soul any time achieved this liberation (Moksha) in the past ?

Answer : No.

Question : Why'

Answer : The liberated soul is free from defilement of Karma dust, and so there is no rebirth for it.

Question : What are the characteristics of a Kevali - a pure soul ?

Answer : A person who has destroyed four extremely dangerous Karmas and who has made the rest four Karmas as ineffective as possible and moves very freely on thirteenth step of the ladder of fourteen virtues, is a Kevali.

Question : How many are the steps of the ladder of virtues leading to liberation ?

Answer : Fourteen.

Question : Please give their names.

Answer :

1) Mithyatva Gunasthanaka, 2) Saasvadana Gunasthanaka, 3) Mishra Gunasthanaka, 4) Avirati Samyak Drushti Gunasthanaka, 5) Desha Virati Gunasthanaka6) Pramatta Samyata Gunasthanaka, 7) Apramatta Samyata Gunasthanka, 8) Apurva Karan Gunasthanaka, 9) Anivruttibadara Gunasthanaka, 10) Sukshma Samparaya Gunasthan 11) Upashanta Moha Gunasthanaka, 12) Kshina Moha Gunasthanaka ,13) Sayogi Kevali Gunasthanaka , 14) Ayogi Kevali Gunasthanaka

Question : What is the difference between Kevali and Tirthankara ?

Answer : In capacity and power both are equal. But in the past, Tirthankara has earned the title of Tirthankara ( Tirthankara Naam Karma), therefore he earns in addition, twelve virtues and many other excellences.

Question: Why does Tirthankara travel and preach people on his way ? He is a non-attached person.

Answer : To finish the binding of Tirthankara Naam Karma by which he has been bound in his past, he has to preach the people while travelling from place to place.

Question :Whose religious rule prevails now a days ?

Answer :The religious rule of Shraman Bhagawan Mahavir.

Question : Was there Jain philosophical system before Mahavir?

Answer : Yes.

Question :Who created it ?

Answer : The Tirthankaras who flourished before the time of Mahavir.

Question : Is there any difference between the teachings of Tirthankaras earlier to Mahavir and the teachings of Mahavir ?

Answer : From the point of view of absolute reality they are same with no difference. But because of the differences in the fitness of persons before Mahavir and those in Mahavir's time and also because of the difference in the spokes of the wheel of time before Mahavir and those in Mahavir's time, ordinary man may feel the difference in teachings of the Tirthankaras of the past and those of the present Tirthankara Mahavir. But justly speaking, there is no difference at all.

Question : What is their fundamental or principal teaching ?

Answer : Save the soul, bring to light the endless powers of the soul; free it from unending miseries in the form of binding Karmas.

Question : What means they have prescribed to attain this objective?

Answer: From Vyavahara Naya or empirical point of view, one should know the nature of Satdeva, Satdharma and Satguru to praise the virtues of Satdeva, to practice religion in three forms and to learn the religion and grasp it from the proper and right preceptor.

Question : What is this three pronged religion ?

Answer : Samyak Gnana = Right knowledge, Samyak Darshan= Right vision or perception and Samyak Charitra = Right conduct.

Question : Why do all souls not accept Jain philosophy when it is, as shown by you, the best of all philosophical systems ?

Answer : Because of their heavy heaps of Karmas, their thick layers of vanity and the absence of their contact with self-realized saints.

Question: What are the fundamental rules of conduct of Jain Monks ?

Answer : Five Mahavratas = great vows, Dashavidhi Yati Dharma, Saptadashavidhi Samyama, Dashavidhi Vaiyavrutya, Navavidhi Brahmacharya, Twelve kinds of Penance, Control of four kinds of Kashayas.

In addition practice of right knowledge, right vision and right conduct etc.etc. are so many rules.

Question : Five Yaamas of Sannyasis are similar to five Mahavratas of Jain Monks. Buddhism also advises five Mahasheelas. So in following these rules of behaviour, can we say that Jain Monks, Sanyasis and Bauddha Monks are equal?

Answer : No.

Question: Why not?

Answer : Five Yaamas of Sanyasis and five Mahasheelas of Bauddhas are imperfect. The different details of Jain five Mahavratas are very subtle while the different details of Yaamas and Mahasheelas are very gross.

Question: Will you give an example of this difference that Jain Mahavratas are subtle while those of Sanyasis and Bauddhas are gross?

Answer: There is an obvious example. The Sanyasis observing Five Yaamas eat Kanda Mula etc. i.e the roots of vegetables which are not eatable in Jainism; they lie down in comfortable beds; they enjoy travelling in various kinds of vehicles or conveyances and they enjoy the fragrance of flowers; totally utilize simple cold water. They eat food at night and they do not know that by eating food at night they destroy innumerable imperceptible germs, they may break celibacy and they do not go so deep in the finer meanings of celibacy. Similarly Buddha Monks take uneatable flesh etc. and use kinds of vehicles for travel and transport for their comfort and use many comfortable means for their daily life. On the other hand Jain Monks are totally keeping away from all these comforts, and so they are really non-attached.

Question: Is there any opposition between Vedic philosophy and Jain philosophy ?

Answer : Jain system does not oppose Vedic system as an opponent would do ,but truth is considered as opposite to untruth, and this is the kind of opposition of Jainism with Vedic philosophical system.

Quesiton : Which of the two, you say, is a true philosophy ?

Answer : Holy Jain philosophical system .

Question : The Vedic philosophical thinkers say that Vedas are absolutely true. Then how to determine which of the two systems is truthful ?

Answer : They say purely from their preconceived difference of opinions and from their feelings of disrespect for Jain philosophy. But I advise you to go through the fundamental principles of Jain and Vedic philosophies justly and impartially.

Question : I do admit that the teachings of Mahavir and other Jineshwaras are fully logical and just; but doubt about them arises only when they hold that there is no creator of this great world and so they say that this world is beginningless and endless. One naturally asks as to how can this vast world of innumerable beings living and not - living with rivers, oceans and illimitable sky with galaxy of planets etc, be created without its creation ?

Answer : You can argue this way till you have no idea of the divine power of the soul nor have you got an in cling of a little experience of the illimitable infinite power of the soul. But if you know the truth, you will have no doubt about the declaration of Jineshwar Bhagawan that there is no God as creator of this world and that this world with all its complexities is beginningless and endless. When you carefully study the book called 'Sammati Tarka', it will help you to settle your doubt.

Question : But capable learned men can prove wrong as right and establish their doctrines by various examples and arguments that you may not be able to dislodge them but how can we call it quite true?

Answer : He had no reason to tell a lie and accept for a moment that his statement was untrue then I ask why such a creator of this world gave birth to such a person like Mahavir? What was the purpose to give birth to such a son who may tarnish the name of his father?

On the other hand I should tell you that Mahavir and other Tirthankaras were All - knowing self-realized souls. If they knew and saw any God as world - creator they would have declared so and by saying so there was no harm to them.

Tapopadhyane, Ravirupa Thaya, E Sadhine Soma Rahi Suhaya;

Mahana Te Mangal Pankti Fame Ave Pachhi Te Budhana Praname .1

Njrgrantha Gnata Guru Siddhi Data, Kanto Svayam Shukra Prapurna Khyata;

Triyoga Tyan Kevala Manda Fame, Swarupa Siddhe Vichari Virame .2

Meaning : An aspirant shines like the Sun (Ravi) by practicing especially penance and meditation of his soul and then can delightfully proceed to his spiritual path shining like the Moon (Som). He achieves great series of auspicious (Mangal) Soul benefits thereby and thereafter he becomes praiseworthy among the learned saintly persons (Budh). 1

He is now greatest unfettered Nirgranth with absolute knowledge and greatest True teacher (Guru) to even True Teachers and he is now a savior of all worldly persons by delivering his divine sermons. Even he is not preaching the teachings, he is in perfect bright and blissful state (Shukra) and then he attains perfect liberation and becomes even free from this body and dwells (Shani) in Siddhalaya i.e. MOKSHA. 2

Here completes this Liberation - Garland.

Translator's Note:In this English rendering of Moksha Mala, I have frequently been helped by the book named Moksha Mala Vivechana of revered Shri Brahmachariji and in some places I have added some elucidation of the original from Moksha Mala Vivechana. By this humble effort I am introduced to the study of Jain Religious philosophy.

Publisher's Note:

With humble heart I bow to the holy feet of Param Krupalu Dev Shrimad Rajchandra and seek apology for if any wrong meaning or any wrong sentence or any wrong word is published in this publication due to my undeservingness and thereby disrespecting the Godly sayings of All knowing Shrimad Rajchandra.