Basics Of Jainism Series Topic 1 Namokar Mantra Ṇamō Arihantāṇaṁ I bow to the Arihants. Ṇamō Siddhāṇaṁ I bow to the Siddhas. Ṇamō Ayariyāṇaṁ I bow to the Acharyas. Ṇamō Uvajjhāyāṇaṁ I bow to the Teachers. Ṇamō Lōē Savva Sāhūṇaṁ I bow to all the Saddhus. I bow my head towards Panch Parmeshti. Arihant Parmeshti: the one who has destroyed the four ghati karmas, namely Gyanavarniya (knowledge blocking) Karma, Darshanavarniya (perception blocking) Karma, Mohniya (passion causing) Karma and Antaraya "obstacle-causing" karma. More info en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arihant_(Jainism) Siddha Parmeshti: A Siddha is a soul who is permanently liberated from the transmigratory cycle of birth and death. Such a soul, having realized its true self, is free from all the Karmas and embodiment. Acharyas-They are Jain monks or saints who are heads of the order or the group of not only saints but also of the four fold organization of Jains-monks, nuns, laymen and lay women. They not only follow the rules of conduct for the monks strictly but also ensure that the monks under them do so-as also the entire lay community follows the rules framed for them .They teach the right conduct and punish the delinquents to bring them on the right path. They are the spiritual heads of Jains and are responsible for the preservation and propagation of the noble path. Upadhyays-They are monks who are responsible for the study of scriptures and dissemination of their knowledge, amongst the monks and the laity. While the acharyas are the heads who administer and maintain discipline in the Sangha, the Upadhyays look after the teaching of the scriptures. They are thus the spiritual teachers. Saints or Monks-Those who have renounced the world for spiritual search are monks. Under right conduct we have seen the duties prescribed for monks. These are briefly the observance of five major vows (Mahavrata) three controls (guptis), five types of vigilance (Samitis), ten commandments (dharma), twelve penances (tap) etc. The monks are required to observe these rules strictly. I bow to above said. That is why this mantra is also known as Namaskar mantra. Question: Why is Arihant Parmeshti is bowed before Siddha Parmeshti inspite of the fact that Siddha Parmeshti destroyed all 8 types of karma and Arihant Parmeshti destroyed only 4? Answer: Arihant Parmeshti are our ultimate masters. They tell us the path to liberation. Thats why despite they come second in hierarchy, we adore them first in Namokar Mantra. Lets discuss the specialties of this Mantra. 1. Masters have been given utmost importance. a. Arihants are adored before Siddhas. b. Out of the 5 verses, 3 of them adore different different ranks of masters. There is not a common verse for master rank. Just like in a professional course, 2nd year students are like our Saint Parmeshti, 3rd year students are Upadhyay Parmeshti and Final yeat students are Acharya Parmeshti. They all guide us. We get help from them in solving our day to day problems. So, to represent their importance, 3 seperate verses are mentioned for these 3 ranks of Masters. 2. This Mantra teaaches humbleness. Just lean and adore towards to highest order souls of the universe. 3. We do not expect any materialistic desires in return. 4. The Mantra says of worshiping a character and not an individual. 5. If Lōē(all) is used in the last verse of any Mantra, then it means Loe(all) is applicable to all the above verses too. Like in this case Last verse is “ Ṇamō Lōē Savva Sāhūṇaṁ”. So the Lōē here is applicable to all the above verses i.e. Ṇamō Lōē Arihantāṇaṁ and so on. Question 2: How is this Mantra Eternal(beginningless)? Whereas this Mantra was written in Prakrit language? Answer: All the souls who have liberated till now since infinity have humned Namokar Mantra in past. The writtings in this time cycle is written lately. This way this Mantra is eternal.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 15:56:54 +0000
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