GUIDANCE TO INNER JOURNEY: FROM SOUL TO SUPREME SOUL
The Agamas unveil the secrets and doctrines of the omniscient, ParmatmaMahavira. Shri Acharanga Sutra is the first Agama that illustrates the path to attain freedom from misery and pain by following a peaceful lifestyle that leads us towards spirituality. ParmatmaMahavira had spent 12 ½ years in deep meditation and gained complete control over all his senses i.e. mind, body and speech, thus attaining enlightenment. The knowledge that he experienced during the course of his meditation is illustrated in this sutra. The 1st sermon delivered by ParmatmaMahavira for the welfare of the people after enlightenment was through this sutra. There is an in-depth description about how the soul is a different entity from the physical body. This sutra helps one to differentiate between the physical body and the soul. It provides guidance on how the human nature leads us to worldly life and how to free ourselves from this bond. This sutra has 9 divisions. It gives an insight on how to detach from the worldly life, become an ascetic and about the life of an ascetic. This sutra inspires one to awaken his inner-self. It is the 1st sermon given by ParmatmaMahavira and thus it is the root or foundation of omniscience. Without introspection of the soul, all the other kinds of awareness are futile. The ultimate aim of the soul which is to realize itself is known as ACHARANGA. It is the pillar on which resides a sadhu or sadhvi. It gives a narration about the conduct and behaviour of a monk (sadhu). How one conduct oneself is known as behaviour and to observe the rules of conduct is ACHARANGA. Researchers prove that plants have a life. In this Jain Sutra, ParmatmaMahavira had proved that not only plants but also earth, water, fire, air have a life. The sensation of water is similar to the sensations of plants. The sense of touch that humans have is similar to that possessed by water and earth. The size of a mountain changes because the earth is living. Geologists have proved that height of mountains varies from time to time. People are content when they have all the luxuries, but the happiness and contentment that comes without possessing these luxuries gives supreme bliss to our soul. The Parmatma has stated that ‘Comforts gives us pleasure (physical body), but the pleasure derived from spirituality (soul) is incomparable’. source: https://parasdham.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/shri-acharanga-sutra-1st-anga-sutra/
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UvasaggaharamPäsam, PäsamVandämiKamma-ghan-mukkam;
Visahar-vis-ninnäsam, MangalKallänÄväsam (1) Hey ParmatmaParshwanath, O ParshwaYaksh,You are an embodiment of infinite grace, you are the destroyer of all obstacles and difficulties. I surrender myself in your Sharan and express heartfelt VandanBhavna to you. When a seeker experiences Oneness with the Divine, it brings his innate Divinity to life and he starts experiencing his own inner Divinity! O Parmatma, may my VandanBhaav have such strength that it helps me experience an unbreakable Oneness with you. Your intense Sadhna has freed you from the shackles of Karmas. Your soul glistens with such purity that no Karma can ever taint your transcendence. May my inner Purusharth, my devotion be so intense that it helps me nurture such purity within me and free me from my Karmas. This blessed Stotra has the ability to destroy the most poisonous venom, and thus I have full faith that it will protect my soul from all the Anger (Krodh), Ego (Maan), Deceit (Maya) and Greed (Lobh), the venoms which have made my soul impure since time immemorial. It is rightly said, “You become LIKE the one whom you truly look up to, in whose Sharan you surrender your heart!” O Parmatma, I have come to your Sharan, make me worthy of residing in Your Sharan, in your heart. You are a manifestation of purity and positivity, your mere remembrance is auspicious, a blessing to every seeker! As I sing your glory, may my life be embalmed with the same purity and positivity! Visahar-fulingManatam, KantheDharei Jo SayäManuo; TassaGah Rog Märi, Duttha-JaräJantiUvasämam. (2) This revered Stotra has the “Vish-har Mantra”, the Mantra which subdues every venom is deeply embedded in it. The seeker who weaves this Stotra in his very breath; whose every activity is underlined with the constant yet sublime remembrance of this Stotra in every passing moment, invites peace and happiness in his life. The Stotra protects such a seeker from all diseases and sorrows, and most importantly acts as a saviour of this soul from the disease of Bhav Rog (the unending cycle of birth and death cycle). Under the positive vibrations of this Stotra, the seeker is protected from negative influences like weak planetary positions and inauspicious auras. Unfavourable influences like those caused by black magic and tantrik practices can also be overcome by the positive energy of this Mantra. Above all, this Mantra has the ability to purify your thoughts and emotions. A silent connection with this Mantra helps you become positive in your thoughts, emotions and actions, exalting your entire life with positivity. ChitthauDureManto, TujzaPanamoViBahu-falo Hoi; NaratiriesuViJivä, Pävanti Na Dukkha-Dogachcham (3) Hey Parmatma, Like a child, I may not be able to express my prayer through words, I may not know this Stotra by heart, my pronunciations may be unclear or flawed. Even then, a single bhaav of Vandana and heartfelt Pranam to you, showers upon me your infinite grace to help fulfill all my aspirations. Pranam is the bhaav where my eyelids slowly lower down in reverence, my head bows down in veneration, and my ego melts in surrenderness. This expression of deep respect (vinay) has the ability to destroy innumerable Karmas and thus paves the way for success in every field. And it is not only humans like me who have the monopoly over this beautiful Stotra. Anyone who recites this Stotra, be it humans or living beings from the animal and bird kingdom; experiences peace, happiness & well-being, and gets rid of any troubles or difficulties in their lives. TuhaSammatteLaddhe, Chintämani Kappa-Päyavabbhahie; PävantiAvigghenam, JiväAyaramaramThänam. (4) O Parmatma, The mere recitation of this Stotra with unconditional faith has the ability to make my Soul worthy of achieving Moksh. Your Sanidhya, Your Stuti, Your Stavna is like the Chintamani gemstone and the Kalpavruksh tree. The Chintamani is an incessantly rare and precious gemstone, and at any point of time, there are thousands of Devas (celestial beings) in its service. The one who possesses this gemstone can get whatever he desires. Similarly, the Kalpavruksh is a wish-fulfilling tree. Anyone who stands under this tree and asks for something, is granted with whatever he wants. Your Stavna easily fulfills materialistic desires, but more importantly, it also has the ability to fulfill a seeker’s desire to reach the state of Ultimate Satisfaction – Moksh. The faith a seeker places in your Stavna, evolves and opens the Samyak Darshan (Right Vision) within him, and makes him capable of achieving liberation. EaSanthuoMahäyas, Bhatti-bhar-nibbharenHiyaenam; Tä Dev DijzaBohim, BhaveBhavePäsJinachanda (5) O Parmatma, Your Stotra is truly Divine and magnificent, its strength is unmatched; because it helps me attain YOU, it helps me experience YOU! As I sing this beautiful Stotra, my heart elevates in devotion. The essence of this devotion lies in the fact that Your impression on my heart is indelible. There is not a single moment in my life when I fail to experience Your grace, Your Krupa! O Parshwa Jineshwar, Your child is innocent and naive. I may not understand much. I am full of ignorance. Yet, with a heart melting in devotion, I pray to you… Bless me with your Sharan, your Krupadrashti and this blessed Jinshasan in my every birth…till my last birth! O JineshwarParmatma, just like the ocean witnesses a strong current of waves on seeing the candescence of the moon, may my heart evolve in deep gratitude and bhakti bhaav on experiencing Your presence and dissolving in Your memories! Source:https://parasdham.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/shree-uvasaggahar-stotra-meaning/ Bhadrabahu and Varahmihir were two Brahmin brothers. Their father was an official priest in the king’s palace. Due to their association with a Jain monk these two brothers were highly influenced by the principles of Jainism. This guidance and inspiration drew them closer to renunciation and they accepted sainthood. They became Jain Monks. Both the brothers were very intelligent and deep study helped them gain knowledge on various subjects. In depth study of the Aagams made them attain Inner Knowledge. Both the brothers studied Aagam at the same pace, but only Bhadrabahu swami could grasp its essence because of the gentleness of his heart and the reverence he had for His Guru. Varahmihir Swami failed to do so, because of the dryness and rigidity of his heart. As a result, Bhadrabahu Swami was conferred the position of “Acharya” (leader).Unable to attain this position and stature, Varahmihir Swami developed enmity and jealousy towards Bhadrabahu Swami. His hatred and disgust knew no bounds and he became anti-communal and anti-religion. He developed hatred for Jainism and quit sainthood. He was very proficient in astrology so he practiced astrology to earn his living. With the knowledge of Nimittshastra, he used to predict the past, present and future. He was thus appointed as a royal priest by the king and was given shelter in the palace.
A few days passed. At that time the queen gave birth to a son. People in the kingdom and the palace were overjoyed and extremely happy. Varahmihir prepared the horoscope of the newly born prince and predicted his life to be 100 years. People of the kingdom visited the prince, to shower their blessings on the new born prince and so did all the religious leaders of different religious groups. Bhadrabahu Swami had arrived in the kingdom along with his disciples. However, he did not arrive to bless the prince. Varahmihir noted his absence and quickly pointed out to the king.”All the religious monks residing in our kingdom have paid a visit to bless our charming prince, but the head priest of the Jain sect, Bhadrabahu Swami has refrained from coming. This indicates that he does not desire the well being of our prince and the kingdom.” The king too felt that Bhadrabahu Swami’s absence was a punishable offence. However, the king was just. He thought that it would be wise to first know the reason for his absence, before punishing him. So he sent his minister to meet the Jain Acharya. When the minister inquired the reason for not visiting the prince, Bhadrabahu Swami politely replied, “We desire the well-being of all the living beings on this earth. Hence there is no question of any ill-feeling towards our prince or the kingdom. However, how can I bless the prince who is going to die after 7 days?” With the help of his deep inner knowledge, he had foreseen the trouble that was to befall on the prince. He predicted the trouble and told the minister that, “On the 7th day from today, the prince will be killed by a cat.” The minister quickly returned to the palace and narrated the prediction to the king. On listening to Bhadrabahu Swami’s prophecy, the king was heartbroken. He started thinking… “Varahmihir has predicted that the prince will live for 100 years. This Jain Acharya is truly our ill-wisher. His prophecy is also negative. He definitely deserves to be punished. However, since it is the question of only 7days, let me wait and watch. After 7 days, I will surely punish him.” To save the life of the prince the king left no stones unturned. To prove Bhadrabahu Swami’s prediction wrong, the king ordered to throw every cat and kitten out of the kingdom. This task was completed within the next 5-6 days. The 7th day arrived. By now, the king was confident that no one could harm his son because there were no cats or kittens in his Kingdom. In the morning, after bathing and dressing up the prince, the maid was carrying him in her arms and taking him to another room. Suddenly an iron piece fell on the head of the prince and he died on the spot. The king and his family were in a state of shock. They received a huge blow. However, the king realized that Bhadrabahu Swami’s prediction was indeed true! However, no cat was involved in this incident. Hence, he sent his minister to clarify the matter. Swami said, “The iron slab was a cat shaped iron piece!” On examining the iron piece, everyone realized that what Bhadrabahu Swami said was indeed true. This incident increased the respect of the Swami in the King’s eyes. Varahmihir was further infuriated with Bhadrabahu Swami and felt insulted. Varahmihir felt that it was better for him to leave this kingdom, because he had lost his recognition and prestige as an accurate astrologer. He also realized that his lack of knowledge was an obstacle that was blocking the way to fame and honour. He also felt that Bhadrabahu Swami could not digest his fame and that is why he had come to this kingdom, in order to prove him incapable and inferior. Finally Varahmihir left the kingdom and went to a forest where he practised deep penance for years. Upon his death, Varahmihir was re-born as a Vyantar Dev. Through Avadhigyaan, he came to know about his previous birth and once again his anger for Bhadrabahu Swami was aroused. Since he now possessed several powers, he decided to take revenge and hence spread an epidemic in the community. Acharya Bhadrabahu Swami identified the trouble and with his supreme knowledge, he recognized that it was the deed of Varahmihir, the Vyantardev. To protect the community from this grave trouble, Bhadrabahu Swami initiated a 3-day fast and immersed himself in the deep worship of Parmatma Parshvanath. While singing the hymn in the praise of Parmatma Parshvanath, the Uvasaggahar Stotra was naturally composed. Deep love and devotion of Bhadrabahu Swami found expression in this Stotra. On completion of the recitation of the seventh stanza of the Stotra, the Adhishtayak Dev of ParshvanathBhagwaan, named Parshvyaksh appeared at the service of Bhadrabahu Swami. Swamijirequsted, “I have no personal desire, but I request you to solve the problems and difficulties faced by our community due to the upheaval caused by the actions of the VyantardevVarahmihir.” Parshvayaksh paid deep reverence to Bhadrabahu Swami, and was awed by his Unconditional devotion towards ParmatmaParshvanath. Considering the request of Swamiji, Parshvyaksh soon resolved the problems and the Vyantardev disappeared. Bhadrabahu Swami advised each and every member of the community to recite this Stotra with deep devotion and unwavering faith. When all the members followed his instructions, they were relieved off their problems. However, over a period of time, people began to misuse this Stotra to solve minor problems. Since Parshvyaksh was bound by his promise which he had made to Bhadrabahu Swami, he had to appear at every call of the devotees and solve their problems. At last, Parshvyaksh approached Bhadrabahu Swami and explained the situation. Bhadrabahu Swami understood and used the “SwaharanVidya” to erase the Stotra from people’s memory. Thereafter, he reduced the Stotra to 5 stanzas (the other 2 stanzas were embedded in these 5 stanzas). Shri UvasaggaharStotra of five stanzas was then unfolded before the masses. Parmatma Mahavira’s preaching’s “The Agamas” are the scriptures which are the core value of Jain perception. Agama is a path to take mankind towards non-violence, restraint and penance. A = Towards Soul, Gam = Moving, i.e. one which helps movement towards our soul is Agama. Agama means The Jain Tirthankara’s discourse, a mapped path to attain salvation and liberate the soul. It is not only a unique treasure chest for enlightening the soul but also an incomparable archive of worldly wisdom. It is also an ocean of knowledge consisted of diversified areas related to Material Sciences, Biotechnology, Geography, History, Politics, Mathematics and Astrology.
The scriptures advise Ahimsa (non-violence) and a meritorious life as basic requisites for achieving these objectives. One can attain enlightenment even if one can absorb a small ray of light from the radiant treasure of the Agama. It is an invaluable source for setting the soul free from the karmic cycle by cleansing it from evil influences, as it mentions several processes of self-purification. The signature style of these scriptures is to display wisdom, reflection and character as a trilogy, making them the base principles and benchmarks of religious paths. Historically, 980 years after Parmatma Mahavira attained nirvana (heavenly abode) after his enlightenment of the soul (kewalgyan), Acharaya Sri Devardhigani felt that with the passage of time, due to deterioration of human memory, we may lose the teachings of Parmatma Mahavira. In an attempt to protect the divine legacy, he called upon 500 leading spiritual monks to transcribe the teachings into a readable format. This task took them 13years as all transcribes were always memorized and never written down in a book by the spiritual monks. Ancient Jain monks have made many efforts to keep the Agamas intact and edited, researched, modified, and abridged the meanings to keep the divine knowledge abreast with times, hence making an immense contribution to future generation. In depth knowledge, study and research of Agamas remove the darkness of ignorance and lighten the flame of knowledge in our soul. One can call it as code of conduct of Jain philosophy. These are categorized into 5 divisions:
1. Sri Acaranga Sutra 2. Sri Suyagadanga Sutra 3. Sri Thananga Sutra 4. Sri Samvayanga Sutra 5. Sri Bhagavati Sutra 6. Sri Gnatadharmakatha Sutra 7. Sri Upasakdasanga Sutra 8. Sri Antagada Sutra 9. Sri Anuttarovavai Sutra 10. Sri Prasnavyakaran Sutra 11. Sri Vipaka Sutra TWELVE UPANGA SUTRAS
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